Philips lumea, I don't want to shave my face

[loopylou6]

I currently use hair removal cream to get rid of facial hair, I don't want to shave before using it, if it doesn't work, I'll have to shave daily.
Can I use hair cream, then the device the next day when a bit of stubble comes through?
Horrible feeling I've just wasted my money :(

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Looking for advice before buying an at-home IPL device? You’ve come to the right place. Check out our guide to buying and using a Philips Lumea - complete with FAQS, tips, and recommendations from the most discerning shoppers out there: Mumsnetters. MNHQ.

I cut with a scissors r pluck as I can bring myself to use a razor

do you have a lumea Catherine? Does it work for you with just trimming?

It won’t work unless you shave, it needs a root on the hair.

Don’t worry, I had the same reservations about shaving before I started laser treatment and I needn’t have worried, it didn’t make the hair grow back thicker and I didn’t need to shave every day.

I was worried about it but it was actually fine.

The first time I used it on my face I used hair removing cream and regretted it. I was left with tiny little scabs where the lumea zapped the follicles as the cream is quite harsh on the face.

Just gently shave downwards. You don’t have to be harsh. Tbh I think the cream is more harsh than a blade. You won’t need to shave more than 3/4 times if you keep on top of the zapping properly. I have tanned skin and black hair and it worked really well on me.

OP you won’t have to shave daily if the lumea doesn’t work, you would just go back to your old hair removal method. Shaving doesn’t breed shaving

Thank you for replies, much appreciated.
Paintbox, won't shaving leave a shadow tho? When my dh is clean shaven, I can still see a sort of, well, shadow

Hate summer, how bad was your facial hair? Mine is on chin and underneath. How long did yours take to work? And are you hair free now?
Klo, did you use the lumea?

I would guess that your dh has a lot more hair than you though op. Honestly, I’ve used the lumea and shaved and it’s absolutely fine.

Do you use your hair remover every day?

I'd not use the cream for 24hrs before using the lumea so that's there's no reside of cream on your skin. Shave immediately before using the lumea.
Then afterwards you can go back to your cream if you need to.

Them stop the cream 24hrs before your next lumea treatment. And repeat etc. You should find that you have to use your cream much less often. Overall you'd only be shaving once ever 2 weeks directly before the lumea treatment. Does that sound any better?

I'm fairly sure instructions on mine says you can use any hair removal method.

Cheers paint :)

Xyz, I NEED to use it every couple of days, but if I'm home and not needing to go out I don't bother. And every two weeks sounds like a dream. Thank you for your in depth reply :)

Loopy, it was really bad, on my upper lip, cheeks and chin . On my chin I had 2 thick wirey hairs that erupted every so often. I have nothing now..they’ve completely disappeared along with the normal hairs 😄.

Hate, I'm glad it worked for you. Mine is my chin and just underneath, it's a proper male pattern :(

I am very pale (deathly white) and have naturally almost-black hair so any body hair I have is very noticeable, especially on my face. I didn’t have loads and loads, but enough to have given me a tasche and a bit of a beard had I left it. I tried everything but nothing was without its problems, creams used to give me a beard of raw skin instead of hair and in the end I started shaving as it was painless and worked.

Eventually, I had EPL laser at a salon (6 sessions) which got rid of it all, but I did need regular top ups (2-3 times a year) so I bought a Lumea. It works great, I’m very happy with it.

Thanks klo :)

I have used my Lumea on my face and never shaved the hair there. It was actually an IPL expert that told me not to shave it just IPL it

The “charge” only goes so far up the hair shaft, doesn’t it? So by shaving, you’re maximising the chances of it getting to the root

I've been using mine for over a year and half and it's worked great on mine. I had horrendous hair problems on my face before.

I used hair removal cream but left it 24 hours as per instructions and it was good. I did that 9th december and had very little growth.

I just used the Lumea with no shaving or anything beforehand, worked fine :-)

I've just received my Lumea today. I'm really confused though. I understood that in order for it to work there needs to be some hair in the follicle to get zapped. But the instructions clearly say you can wax or epilate beforehand! I guess in that case it would work on the hairs which are below the surface and so wouldn't get ripped out by waxing or epilating?!

Shaving your face is fine, and the hair won't grow back thicker (some people seem to worry about this). But when I did it I realised that the peach fuzz on my face is there for a reason. It wicks away sweat. When I shaved my face I noticed it was oilier than normal and that my foundation was basically sliding off. So on balance I think I'll just keep the peach fuzz!

I've just realised this thread is about noticeable hairs rather than the recent trend for all-over face shaving (that's actually a Thing). Ignore me.

The peach fuzz on your face also reflects light and makes you look radiant. Apparently removing it will make your complexion look dull.