Home IPL machines - I'm interested, and hairy, talk to me

[Moogdroog]

Think the time has come to seek a better solution before I turn into a yeti before Christmas. I have PCOS and my plucking/bendy stick/waxing routine isn't quite cutting the mustard any more. Dark hair and medium skin, so think I'm a candidate.

There seems to be a fair few machines about - was looking at the Lumea (£££) but noticed a cheaper Veet one and Boots do one too.

Anyone got one that they'd recommend (or not) - looking like I'll have to pool all my Christmas money and then some, but don't want to buy a wrong 'un.

I am loving my Boots Smoothskin. I think it might be good for you as it automatically detects skin tone so you don't have to worry about getting it wrong with medium toned skin. Have a look at all the glowing reviews.

Plus think of all the advantage points.

Thanks IsaBisa - Boots one might well be a contender then... wonder if I might be able to get one in the sale after Christmas...

Do you end up spending a fortune on the activator gel though, or does it last a while?

Oops, just noticed from the reviews that you don't need the activator gel with the new model.

The smoothskin gold doesn't need activator gel! Hurrah!

I am fair skinned with dark hair and after four treatments I have noticed a MASSIVE difference. You are supposed to give yourself 12 treatments weekly and then go monthly. I skipped last week (half term) and hardly have any growth. Astonishing.

I've been delighted with my Boots smooth skin - saw a woman umming and aaahing over it instore the other day and told her to go for it!

I have white skin and dark brown hair.

More votes for the Smoothskin then! Don't suppose anyone has one of these and a Lumea and has conveniently done a controlled experiment with each leg to compare, have they?

I have the Lumea, bloody wonderful contraption. I'm not yet hairfree but close after 4 sessions.

Moog - not on here but betcha someone on the interweb has!

I had the silk n glide from qvc

No real change so returned it

Allegedly I'm one of the skin tones for whom it should be a good choice.

Watching with interest as I am one hairy beast.

Horrible ingrown hairs as well have ruined my self confidence in swim wear !

Right, silk'n glide is to be avoided - thanks for the heads up lorelei!

I have the lumea. It's fantastic - dramatic reduction in hair growth, and the little bit that does can little be brushed off.

I've got an original boots smooth skin - I'm extremely pleased with the results. My bikini line used to go down the inside if my thigh and round the back of my knees and now it's nearly all gone as are my armpit hairs.
I would say that it is permanent.
Now I just zap any odd single hairs as they appear perhaps every few months.

How long until you see results? I have the Philips lumea, used it twice so far and not had much of a noticeable difference yet.

I didn't notice much difference until the 4th treatment with my Lumea. Love it now.

Oh sweet temptation!!! The Lumea is Amazon's deal of the day at £239...

I noticed that too Moogdroog (SFA fan? ). I'm tempted, because I'm tragically hairy, but it's still a lot of money...

Can more than one person use them (eg me & DD) or are they kind of set to your skin type

Bare in mind I never even saw one before this thread so I'm a bit

if you don't mind sharing it's perfectly possible - it's an expensive machine and usually has enough zaps in it to do more than one person. I found that the original smooth skin works well for me but not permanent- the top ups are definitely necessary so if I neglect it a while all the hard work is undone..

DriverSurpriseMe - yes! Big SFA fan and probably the furriest, well spotted!

It is a lot of money though isn't it. But, could be a life changer for me. We're going on our first proper family holiday next summer and the thought currently fills me with dread.

Sorry for hijacking

DD is mixed race will that make a difference?

'zaps in it' what does that mean?
Is it finite?

Get the Lumea, I love mine!

Katymac - not sure about DD, but the product specs seem to give fairly clear guidelines on what is likely to work skin tone wise.

Zaps wise - I think the light only has a finite number of flashes in it. The Lumea seems to be 250,000 and the Boots 120,000 - after which I guess you need to get yourself a new one.

people are so happy with this Lumea, I wonder if I ought to try it? But it was a pain to use the silk and glide so I don't really know if I can do with the faff again....