Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I saw this mentioned on the Marie show on Hallmark and was intrigued by it. They mentioned that Kim Kardashian uses it. I've never used a hair removal product like this or had hair removed professionally. I prefer this type of thing at home. ~What Is It? This is not a laser light, it is pulse emitted light. It is for permanent hair removal. My husband is a scientist & has worked with lights and lasers for many years, so I naturally a wanted scientific opinion. He did some research on it and read through the FDA application and patent information. He said is it similar to a very old fashioned camera, where you see a bright light and a popping noise. He explained that on the FDA application that it claims that the light hits the hair and follicle and basically starts to kill it. The hair will die, dissolve and the root will stop producing more hair. He can see a false claim a mile away with anything related to science. So I was glad to hear him say that it's not a false product and probably could work. After purchasing it was so true how bright the light is and the pop noise. Ya, but does it actually work? ~Does it Work?: It does work, but how quick and well depends on a lot of factors. First of all, I'm happy to say that this is a great product for those of us with dark hair. Most other products work well for fine light hair like No!No!, but this technology only works for dark hair. We have gone through Round 1 and there is substantial hair loss in a few areas, and a little bit in other areas. The manual says you can to do 4 rounds, two weeks apart. Then 4 rounds a month apart, then whatever needed afterwards. ~Stats: To give you an idea, the manual has a chart on the percentage statistics of permanent hair loss: Black Hair 8-10 sessions: 70% on legs, 60% on arms, 70% on bikini line, 65% on underarm Light Brown to Brown Hair 10-12 sessions: 60% on legs, 50% on arms, 60% on bikini line, 55% on underarm ~Skin Tone: Tha manual says that if your skin is too dark, it won't work. This is because it needs to see the contrast of light skin vs. dark hair to work. If you've tanned recently you're not supposed to use it for safety reasons either. I was concerned about buying it, since I have olive toned skin and wasn't sure, but I figured if Kim Kardashian could use it I could too. My skin is a little lighter than hers. There was no problem for me when trying to use it. It's specifically not for African American skin. ~Prep: Interesting enough, hair should not be plucked or waxed ahead of time, it must be shaved instead, cleaned & then dried. So you'll have to wait awhile to use until hair grows back if you've waxed or plucked, since the flash has to actually hit the hair below the skins for it to work. ~Timing: This process really can take some time to do if you're going to it right. I found that doing one small area or about a six inch square block a day worked best, especially with all the prep tips I use as mentioned below. Plus I wanted to limit my exposure to the flash on my eyes per day. This worked out, since you need to wait two weeks in between sessions anyway. ~The Flash: I have to say that hearing and seeing it the first few times unnerved me. It's a kind of loud pop sound and the light is extremely white and bright, then bright red comes through a millisecond later since it's reflected through your skin. It does take some time to get used to. That doesn't even cover the mini slap and heat you can feel. It's not bad compared to other hair removal methods, but I've yelled out 'Ouch' a few times even on level 1. There are 5 levels and there's a process described in the manual of how you have to figure out by skin area how much you can handle and if your skin can handle it. I noticed tougher skin like legs seem to handle higher levels better. ~When to use it: You have to keep the treated area out of the sun or use sunblock every hour your in the sun during treatment time and for a month after the FINAL treatment (which can be months later). So Fall is the best time to start using it. If the area is always clothed, then it's no problem. ~Face: The manual says you can use in on the lower part of your face, Sephora says you can't use it at all on your face. The issue for me had to do with eye protection more than the area it was used on. I used sunglasses and closed my eyes and my eyes still hurt for an hour afterward, so I think I may use a black night mask with sunglasses and eyes closed next time. ~ Safety: You need to make sure your eyes are protected with every flash. Eye safety is barely mentioned in the manual. My husband calculated that it's apprx. 3x's the sun's power on your skin and eyes. It really is important to wear good sunglasses. Push up your sunglasses to see better when you're changing spots, make sure the product is in place, then slide the sunglasses back down over your eyes, close your eyes, turn your face away, then push the trigger. TIPS: -Tip 1: The area of each flash is pretty small, that can be difficult for large areas, but wonderful for small areas. It says not to overlap or underlap - ya kinda hard to tell. If you press the machine hard into your skin it's designed to make a little rectangle mark that can help you figure out where you're applying. However that is not nearly enough help as far as I am concerned - so I have a tip to help out: Step 1: Purchase a thin skin colored lip liner or eye liner that you twist up to reveal more. I got one at Target made by a company called Pixi or it's also sold on Amazon. I read another review that someone used a dark eye liner pencil and it temporarily tattooed the marks in....eek! Step 2: Use a sewing measuring tape. They are like a fabric and twist and roll up as needed. This happens to be the same height as the flash area, the width is 1.25". Step 3: Place the measuring tape along your skin and mark the rectangle application size with dots at the edges. Mark the rows with numbers at the edge where you won't be flashing. I did about 4-8 rows this ways. The liner is also good to cover over moles, birthmarks, etc. since they shouldn't be flashed for safety reasons. This liner was a tremendous help and kept me from accidentally missing or repeating areas or overlapping. There can be a little underlapping, but you can change it from vertical to horizontal on the next round. -Tip 2: The other tip is for when the flash won't go off. Some areas may have a dark crevice next to it, like in between toes which the sensor picks up darkness & won't flash. So all you need to do is place some white fabric over the crevice area and tape it on, be sure not to cover the actual flash zone. The other reason the flash won't go off is if it doesn't quite see the skin tone - this happens periodically just because the angle you are holding it, so you just need to tip it down a little bit, so that the sensor sees your skin better and it will work fine. -Tip 3: I noticed that once I marked the area by pressing the machine a little hard into the skin, if I pulled it back a little so that it was barely touching the skin, the mini slap didn't seem as strong. Overall, I'm impressed and I'm loving this product. I can't wait to see further results over the coming months. UPDATE: Session 2: Areas that I saw substantial decline in hair growth after the 1st session, stayed the same. The other areas that less hair loss with the first session, I can now see an increasing loss after session 2. Somewhere around 20% hair loss. UPDATE 2: We went through 4 sessions now. I've seen two areas with little to no hair growth - yay! Other areas are about 50% decrease in hair growth. One area, I didn't seem to notice hardly any difference, that may be due to the fact that it was previously plucked, so that hair shaft is just growing in the next round. Overall, we noticed that the remaining hair is the same thickness, however it is growing out about much slower. The purchase has definitely been worth it for us, even if it's not perfect in every area. UPDATE 3: It's been a year and I'm very impressed with the results. I do a touchup once a month. Although I waited to try legs below the knee until the Fall, but couldn't handle the pain of the flash. I have no idea why this area hurt so much, when other more sensitive areas were fine - so I never did do lower legs. I'm really grateful for this product, it's been great - I never thought I could get permanent hair removal at home.