Sorry I know this has been done to death but Philips Lumea

[trumpisaflump]

Sorry I know there's lots of threads about this but I'm considering getting one for my bikini area only. I'm blonde with fair skin and the hairs on my face and underarms are blonde. My bikini area hairs are darker though (mid brown) and I think my leg hairs are dark but to be honest I never let them grow long enough to check!
Do you think the Lumea is a waste of money for one, possibly two areas? And if not which one is best?

[ElleL]

Hi, I have the Lumea and love. However, you DO need to keep up with the program because it really does alllll grow back otherwise. I did every other week for months and still needed to keep going but had to stop due to illness. Also worth taking into account that you can't expose the treated areas to sun close to the treatment (days/weeks, can't remember which) which had me nervous for summer time. I don't want to end up with pigmentation issues!
It won't work on blonde hair. I would say if you don't know what colour your leg hair is then it's probably blonde as anything darker and you'd definitely know about it, even just with short stubble! Just don't shave a small area for a few days to check properly, you don't need to leave the entire leg.
As for whether it's a waste of money for only a couple of areas ... Only you and your budget know that. Can you afford it? How much are the areas you want to treat bothering you?
I will say it left my skin baby soft and smooth while it was working, and it will keep working as long as you keep using it - and, as long as the hair isn't blonde! It doesn't hurt and it's quite fast. The shaving prep time for Bikini area is what takes the longest lol.
The other option is Laser instead of IPL. As far as I'm aware Tria is the only at home device that uses that technology. I have one... It hurts. I mean really hurts! The window is teeny tiny, and it takes a long long time to do the treatment because you also need to overlap the zaps - unlike IPL (where you must not overlap the zaps. However with laser, once the hair follicle is gone, it's gone. This does not, however, mean that other hair follicles (the tiny ones we can't see) in the area won't spring to life and turn into visible ones. I won't go into hair cycles and types, I'd be here all day, mainly because I'd have to look it up again lol. Anyway, laser has the potential to be permanent. IPL will never be. (Tria lasted about 4 months on my bikini area and then started growing back, probably because I have PCOS. I gave up treating my legs because the charge would go after half a leg & I personally found it exhausting both from the time & the pain - however if you have the energy and determination....... but again, it won't work on blonde hair).
Hope my ramblings are of some kind of use ;-) Tell us what you decide x

[trumpisaflump]

@ElleL thanks so much. Yes the hair on my legs is actually dark at the front of my shins and lighter on the back of my legs for some reason. And my bikini line-it doesn't massively bother me but I've spent 20 years trying to get rid of it so would be good to use something longer lasting. I'm hopefully going on holiday in July (if the quarantine to the UK is eased) so prob best to wait until I get back as I didn't realise it could cause pigmentation stains.

[IDKNABYBIF22]

You can get a smaller one if you're just doing your bikini line with it, £170 at Boots and Very atm. I have the larger one as am light skinned and dark haired and have pretty much done my entire body with it. I love it! When I bought it years ago they did a 100 day money back guarantee; if it doesn't work for you then you can return it and get your money back. My friend bought one at the same time as me and ended up returning it as it didn't make a difference to her.

[IDKNABYBIF22]

"Do you think the Lumea is a waste of money for one, possibly two areas?"

Depends on your budget and what you usually spend on hair removal really. I spent £35 on waxes every 6 weeks before, so 3 years of that would have been £910 . My lumea was £330, so it's saved me £580 so far.

[chipsandgin]

Does anyone have one who is pale with very dark hair but lots of moles!? I’ve been eyeing these up for a while but I’ve got tons of moles and that seems to count me out?

I’ve heard great success stories and I’d love to get one & never have to have a bikini wax again (saying this as someone who bought a home bikini wax kit weeks ago & haven’t been brave enough to try it yet!!)..

[IDKNABYBIF22]

Just checked and they still do the 100 day money back guarantee:

www.philips.co.uk/c-w/promotions/lumea.html

[Glitterb]

I’ve recently bought one as it was on offer at Boots, I’ve been looking for ages but finally took the plunge as I am sick of ingrown hairs, shaving and waxing.
I have light skin but dark hair (some areas are lighter haired) I have done one treatment so far and it’s brilliant! I think my legs will take the longest to get rid of as I used to epilate them.

Hoping if I continue I will see even better results by the end of summer!

[trumpisaflump]

@Glitterb that's great to know. I think I'll keep my eye out for offers and take the plunge.

[ElleL]

So sorry hon, you really can’t zap Laser or IPL over moles 😬

[ElleL]

That was to chipsandgin sorry

[justgoingforanap]

Has anyone with PCOS used Lumea with success? Before lockdown I was having laser every 6 weeks on my chin and it had helped a bit, but as I'm getting older more hairs are appearing on my cheeks and upper lip. I really want to try and get it under control before they turn grey and I have no chance! Also does Lumea hurt?!

[Jeremyironsnothing]

One set of treatments has made a huge difference. One year later it needs doing again, but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Even if I never do it again, it'll still have been worth it for the benefit so far.

[ElleL]

@justgoingforanap

Has anyone with PCOS used Lumea with success? Before lockdown I was having laser every 6 weeks on my chin and it had helped a bit, but as I'm getting older more hairs are appearing on my cheeks and upper lip. I really want to try and get it under control before they turn grey and I have no chance! Also does Lumea hurt?!

Lumea is IPL (intense pulsed light) the L doesn’t stand for laser. It’s a completely different technology & it’s not permanent in anyone. The treatments are every other week & then every 4-8weeks after that to maintain the effect (length of time you can go between top up treatments depends on each individual. So it really won’t do anything to help eliminate the hairs permanently before they start going grey because they will just grow back when you stop treatment/when the hair isn’t pigmented enough to be effected by the treatment.
I have PCOS. I used the Tria for my face because that one can be permanent as it is actually a laser diode treatment. However, with PCOS hair will often return in the treated area even with laser because of the excess hormone. The tria helpline, who are lovely, explained this to me. It’s not the same hair coming back, those are treated permanently, but there are so so many follicles all over our body, most of which are imperceptible being an extremely fine blonde hair or a dormant one etc etc, some of those spring into visible life because of the excess hormone. I found this myself after treatment. After 4 months it looked like I’d never treated it. The top of bikini line had responded really well. (TMI, but it didn’t work on the underneath (the lumea did though), again different areas respond differently. And there is even a risk, to anyone, that laser or IPL could even stimulate growth for some 😱.
I haven’t used the Lumea IPL on my lip as yet. Mainly because I know it is even more of an ongoing treatment program. I use Tria there, but have paused for the summer because I don’t want to have to deal with any possible pigmentation issues with the sun etc.. I am really not quite sure if it’s done anything in this area or not. I did it every other week for months over winter. I haven’t noticed any dramatic difference to be honest. However I do think the hairs are maybe finer now. Hopefully if I keep going they’ll get so fine they won’t be there anymore! But for me personally I know that’s going to take a loooong time!

The Lumea IPL shouldn’t hurt, no. It zings a bit occasionally if you’ve not shaved a hair quite short enough. But other than that it’s just warm.
The Tria laser however does hurt!
If you’re doing laser treatments and want to continue with that somehow then it’s the Tria you want, not the Lumea. If you want a different treatment then the Lumea it is. But be aware that even with laser, even if it is a salon one, because of the PCOS it may well not be a permanent effect for you. But I’m sure your salon will have explained all that to you 😉

[ElleL]

@Jeremyironsnothing

One set of treatments has made a huge difference. One year later it needs doing again, but it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Even if I never do it again, it'll still have been worth it for the benefit so far.

What treatment did you do a set of? Salon laser, Lumea or Tria?? Do you have PCOS? How long was the treatment set?

[Jeremyironsnothing]

Lumea. Can't remember exactly but think I had to do it every fortnight for 6 sessions or so. Borderline results for pcos but very dark hair.

[Jeremyironsnothing]

I used to shave and the stubble would be back on my legs within a few hours. Now I'd say the regrowth is more like normal people's. I'm sure if I did more sessions I could improve it even more. Must get round to it really. It was amazing.

[Frankiemintz]

I just want to buy this to use on my bikini line. Can anyone recommend which one is the best to buy for this?

[ichifanny]

I use the prestige on my bikini line only have all Brazilian style left now it’s been amazing think the advanced is meant to be just as good

[chipsandgin]

@ElleL Thank you! Bit gutted but I thought so...looks like I’ll be rocking the pale, moley, hairy look for eternity (sooo attractive!!) - to be fair I’m nearly 50 & have made it this far with waxing & shaving & am practically invisible, but I’d love to find some kind of permanent hair removal if there is an alternative- or just give up & hope the 70’s look comes back into fashion 😂!!

[Frankiemintz]

Thanks ichifanny

[morriseysquif]

I bought a cheap EPL pretend machine from Amazon, seems to be doing the job for me.

[morriseysquif]

IPL even

[LlamaofDrama]

@morriseysquif that's interesting, I did too and I'm not convinced mine is doing much at all. 5 months of treating, and I'm maybe seeing a bit of a result on my legs, but nothing on bikini line or pits. I'm glad it's working for someone!

[morriseysquif]

@LlamaofDrama I had mine on the lowest setting the first two weeks then ramped it up, that might be worth checking?

mine

Sorry to hear yours isn't doing the do!

[LlamaofDrama]

Thanks @morriseysquif! Mine is similar I think, but not the same one. Already on the max setting, I emit little puffs of smoke and a slightly singed smell . I'm glad it's working for you!