First off all, i wanna say that the message board looks great.
now, i have a question: i used kalo once on my chest and it seems that im getting the wished results- thiner and lighter hair. is it going to last for good or the follicle will be able to complete its cycle and eventually the hair will fall off? i really dont understand how this stuff works.
Thanks for the kind words, quaterman!
Kalo is one of the many products that no one understands how it works, because it hasn’t been demonstrated in published clinical studies whether it works or not. The reduction in hair that many consumers report could be coming from the pre-treatment epilating they recommend, instead of from their cream.
Until the active ingredient in Kalo is tested under controlled clinical conditions, there’s really no proof whether it works or not. Hair removal is a very complicated issue, and these people put their products on the market without doing the testing required to back their claims.
I would like any comment or info about “Hair No More”. This is a 2 part use system where you first remove the hair then use either a gel or spray cooler/inhibitor. Body builders are using this products and it was recommended to club members who had course dark hair issues! The product has been used religiously by a male body builder but we have no information about female use of this product.
Hey Kelly–
I just posted some info on Hair No More under its own thread (click below):
</font><blockquote><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>quote:</font><hr /><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>Originally posted by Andrea:
<strong>Thanks for the kind words, quaterman!
Kalo is one of the many products that no one understands how it works, because it hasn’t been demonstrated in published clinical studies whether it works or not. The reduction in hair that many consumers report could be coming from the pre-treatment epilating they recommend, instead of from their cream.
</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>From my experience, I have to contradict that epilating reduces hair growth or makes the hair thinner and less noticeable. Do you have any valuable reports of customers using Kalo, Andrea?
Oops. My answer wasn’t very clear.
Epilating with a rotary epilator, or waxing, etc. has not been shown to have a permanent effect on hair growth.
What I meant to say was that regular epilation will mean you have less hair to deal after the first time you do it. That’s because the first time, you’ll have a lot of mature hair that isn’t actively growing. Since only a third of your hair is growing at any given moment, the hair that grows back in will not be as much at first. If you let it grow back for six months or so, it would return to the original levels, but until then, it would take a while for all the hairs to get back into their growth cycles.
That’s why many people mistakenly think they may be getting permanent hair reduction when they first start waxing or using a rotary epilator. It seems like there is less hair at first, and they jump to the conclusion that it’s never coming back.
In fact, that’s why unproven products like Kalo encourage users to epilate. They know many people will think Kalo is working, because they mistakenly think the epilation and/or the Kalo are removing hair for good.
Kalo and other over-the-counter “hair inhibitors” have no proof their active ingredient can reduce hair in controlled clinical studies. They say their active ingredient is an herbal concoction.
Kentucky Fried Chicken has seven secret herbs and spices… and there’s just as much published about Kalo’s results under controlled conditions for hair removal (i.e., nothing). So instead of Kalo, maybe people should just get a bucket of KFC! 
So to summarize:
</font>[ul][li]<font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>rotary epilators: temporary </font></li>[]<font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>topical hair inhibitors: temporary </font></li>[]<font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>prescription Vaniqa: permanent for some (requires continuous use)</font></li>[/ul]<font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>[/li]
[ May 09, 2002, 04:25 PM: Message edited by: Andrea ]
This isn’t an actual reply - i’m new and couldn’t figure out how to post an entirely new message.
I have a queries regarding a new product on the market - Biore Skin Smoothing moisturizer.
I have a few stray hairs on my chin that i pluck and bleach, but i’m looking for a product that will minimize my need to use these methods.
If anyone has tried it, let me know.
Vaniqa’s my next resort, but an over-the-counter product is more accessible to me, on my student’s budget.
I started a new topic about that product, J.R.!
I’ve moved all “shave minimizing” lotions, like Curel, Biore, and Jergens to the Shaving/Trimming forum. Unlike topical preparations discussed in this forum, these products do not make claims that they affect the growth rate of hair. They merely claim they affect the appearance of visible hair, by softening it and making it easier to shave.
[ May 10, 2002, 11:57 AM: Message edited by: Andrea ]
Thanks, Andrea.
i have used kalo and i actually think it works…i realize that its not proven and may work different for everyone but i’ve been using it for a while and i have seen progress. to test i tweeze only a couple hairs manually and use it on them so i can keep a control on how its progressing. some hairs in the area have not come back at all and others have become much thinner. these are just what i’ve seen, others may not have had such good results. hope i helped somebody.
Hi Jon–
Thanks for joining and posting!
Consumer tests are anecdotal and not scientific, but there are a few ways you can be more specific that might be helpful for others. Could you tell us the following things:
- date you started use
- area of your body you’ve treated
- control area you mentioned (area and size)
- method of epilation
- treatment schedule with the topical
For instance, if you removed hair on both arms with the same method, but only treated one with Kalo, this could be an interesting observation, although it would still not be scientific.
What I’m trying to do with these boards is to be as specific as possible about consumer results. Over the years, many people have written to me that a product is working for them, but when I check back at six or twelve months, they say that it didn’t work as well as they said at first.
I assume you are epilating all the hairs in the area you’re treating. The tough part about all this is telling what’s caused by the epilation and what’s caused by the topical.
Because these guys didn’t do any published clinical studies before they started selling this stuff, there’s no way to know if you’re seeing a placebo effect or not.
Consumers often look to other consumers for informtaion on whether a hair removal product works or not, but it’s really hard for a consumer to tell. One, because they usually want it to work; and two, because you have to wait a long time to see if it’s had a lasting effect.
I’m interested in hearing from people who are trying these products, but like Jon, I want to emphasize that these are not proven. Some people are willing to take that chance, which is fine. But if you can’t afford to lose time or money to a product that may not work, I recommend sticking to stuff backed up by legitimate published scientific data.
Thanks again for the post, Jon!
alright, i’ll try to do this as best that i can 
…
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i started using kalo in middle march, the 17th i think.
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i’ve treated the back of my HANDS/FINGERS and FEET and plan to move on to other areas.
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i was skeptical at first so i just wanted to try only a fairly small area to see if i would get any type of result at all. i tried it on the back of my hands some on my feet, where the hair was not extremely thick but enought that i would be able to tell if there were results. indeed there were, more so on my feet than on my hands but i saw progress. so i stopped on my feet because i’m satisfied with that now. now on my hands i admit i still have some work to do but many of the hairs do not come back as the product says. the ones that have are noticeably thinner which do not make it look near as bad.
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ok, now i know waxing and all the other methods are great, but to keep a better control on the hair, i stuck to tweezing them out one by one. the key is gettin the hair from the root, which is fairly easy with tweezing if you do it right.
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although i want to rid my body of a lot of the hair, i must admit that i am lazy and do not want to do all six treatments as suggested by kalo. i do one immediately after tweezing and follow up with one or two more applications when the first dries. very rarely do i even do it the second day as suggested. i probably would get even better results if i did it as specifically directed.
*ok, now kalo says that it will slow hair growth after shaving. i tried this only on my upper lip just to see if this too was true. sure enough, it did. usually by the end of the day it is rough to the touch, not really to look at but enough that i want to slow it down. kalo says you will see results with this after a week or two, but it worked much faster for me, after one application.
I can see why you warn people so much about these inhibitors because many probably are scams. i just wanted to post my results so far so maybe i could help someone, but even the kalo company says that it may not work for everyone or as well for some as others. i just decided to take a chance because i hate hair. i guess i’m just a lucky one, hope kalo can continue helping me. sorry my response was soo long, just a lot of information. thanks for letting me post. the board looks great!
Thanks for the reply, Jon. Perhaps you could use Kalo on one hand and not the other as directed for a while, and see if others can tell any difference between the two.
As I’ve said before, this is not scientific, but the only way to tell anything about long-term results is to give continuing progress reports.
Their website claims: “Kalo does not need to be used for the rest of your life.” The real test will be after you’re done using it. They claim “You will never need to deal with waxing, tweezing, laser or electrolysis again.” I have yet to see that borne out by consumers who have gone one year after final use.
andrea,
have you used kalo for yourself? i dont see why you advise against it and try to say that its the pre-treatment other than the kalo that causes the reduction. i honestly believe kalo works. i have seen a great reduction in hair because for the past month and a half or so i've let the hair on my hands grow and they're so much thinner and less noticeable. i started kalo in march and have only done a couple sessions. i know if i continue that they will eventually be gone. i suggest kalo to everyone and really dont see why you advise against it if you haven't tried it yourself. even quaterman says he saw a thinning in his hair. i mean, come on give them some credit here.[ May 22, 2002, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: jon ]
Hi Jon–
I received a sample of Kalo from the manufacturer a while back and did not find any quantifiable difference in hair amount on my treated vs. untreated hand at six and twelve months after final treatment.
Six weeks is too soon to tell if a hair inhibitor is working or not. But the real test with a product like Kalo is to stop using it. They claim it’s permanent, but there are no consumers who have been able to confirm permanent results at six and twelve months after they stop using it.
Kalo may appear to be working, but the progress is quite likely a placebo effect rather than a legitimate reduction. You won’t know for sure for half a year, and by then, you’ve helped them move more product with premature reports of success, before there’s been enough time to evaluate the results.
As I’ve said before, it’s like fad diets. You’ll get all kinds of people swearing this or that diet or method works at the onset, but a year later they’re usually telling a different story. Hair removal is the same way. Permanence can only be judged based on long-term results, and six weeks isn’t long enough.
For the record, I’mn not slamming anyone who reports their progress here. I’m just pointing out that most consumers don’t understand how hard it is to evaluate a claim of permanent hair removal based on short-term individual results.
I’m hoping you’ll continue to report back your progress as time goes on!
jon, is think kalo is great product and i did have a reductionin the hair growth. yet, i find it enoying that nisim cannot answer all the consumers questions regarding to kalo.
i asked tom (the forum moderator)if i can achieve only permanent reduction and not full elimination and he told me that “they feel the hair will eventually grow back to normal but they never tested it” then he asked me to test it myself and keep them posted as if i was participating in their clinical trials. and another thing, kalo seems to work only in few areas, in my back it had no affect at all.
quaterman,
i know what you're saying when they won't answer your questions. but i think he meant that if its only used to make hairs thinner, they will grow back to normal. so are you still using kalo? it's made hairs thinner everywhere i've tried it so far which is several places now. let's hope it will keep it up!What are the chances that Jon does not work for Halo?
Anyway, I ordered some Halo. I’ll give it a try, why not. I don’t
suspect it will work, but what do I have to lose?
I would get laser treatment (for back and chest), but it is prohibitively
expensive for the moment. After learning the prices, I actually
thought about starting my own office offering the service! It is
a cash cow.
Welcome, Hairy!
I like to think everyone here has the decency to be honest, but of course, we can’t verify this online.
Many consumers feel as you do about trying an unproven method-- “what do I have to lose?” In fact, marketers of these products know that the price point they can set is between $20 and $30. With that, they’ll have enough people buy their product, because they are enough people who are willing to blow that much if it doesn’t work. Then it’s just an economy of scale. 90 million US households, maybe 10 million hear of their product and 2% respond to their ad… poof! 4 to 6 million in revenues!
A scam like IGIA tweezers can make $75 million in a year, and some people would kill their own mothers for that kind of money.
Kalo and others are literally banking on people willing to blow $30 on something that may or may not work. Either way, they still win, so it doesn’t really matter to them if it works. That’s why they start selling the product without any published proof of their claims.
[ May 28, 2002, 10:05 PM: Message edited by: Andrea ]