Silk'n or Tria for TEMPORARY removal? Which one?

Hair Removal Methods Do-It-Yourself Laser/IPL
#1

First of all I want to start off by asking I don’t get flamed for this, as I’m 100% fully aware that neither of these are true laser treatments and are not permanent. Having said that I have a question about the two in regards to temporary hair removal or delaying hair growth.

As mentioned in other posts I’m 26/male with light skin and dark hair. I do professional laser in all areas that I really care about as I know that’s the best option. I currently own the Silk’n to do other areas that are more just nice to be smooth in but not critical, like my hands, underarms, private areas, etc.

So here’s my question, I am getting results that I seem to like in some areas with the Silk’n like on my hands, but much slower results in areas like under my arms. I’ve only been using it for 2-3 months though so it’s to be expected. When I bought it I fell into the hype that it was at home permanent removal, but I now realize it’s just temporary, which I’m okay with. I use nair in private areas and it’s a few weeks before I need to do it again, so by using the Silk’n if it even delays that by twice as long then it’s worth it to me. Now on to my question…

The reason I bought the Silk’n was because of three reasons, one when they reviewed it and Tria on good morning america it got a better review, two because it has a larger treatment area and at the time I was considering doing my legs, finally 3 it doesn’t run on batteries!

The thing that I’m starting to realize is that if these are just temporary, I’ll have to keep using them, meaning every few months buying another $69CAD light cartridge for the Silk’n. So I’m just curious really people’s experience and results between it and Tria, as I’m contemplating selling the Silk’n and getting the Tria, since it’s just rechargeable and doesn’t need costly lamps all the time. So I can laser away all the time as much as I want and not care.

Sorry for the lengthy posts just curious for some feedback! If you go by the Tria website, the owner did it on his leg for 6 months and hasn’t had hair come back in 5 years haha.

#2

I have tried them both. The Tria was WAY too painful for me. And it was annoying having the recharge the thing all the time. The spot size is so small that you will be spending the tremendous amount of time trying to do a large area. And when it finally sheds you will notice all the places you missed with it. I thought it was very impractical.

If you want my opinion, keep your Silk’n. Neither are going to give you permanent results. So why not go with the one that is easier to use?

#3

Tria is a better device because it’s a diode too. Silk’n is an IPL.

However, I agree with TommyW.

#4

It’s a tough call I’m on the fence lol. Is it not better than the Tria hurts more,maybe it’s working better? I can understand the recharging being annoying, my thing is more just adding the cost of bulbs up over time versus buying the Tria and having it, so even if you do have to recharge it for awhile and then cover just a small area here and there. I agree though on legs or whatever Tria is going to be useless since the time it must take to cover your legs would be brutal. When I bought it I was under the assumption that they were permanent but would just take a lot longer, or would be permanent but maybe only 50% reduction or whatever, so when adding the cost of Silk’n bulbs it was still cheaper than going to a salon and getting professional laser. I don’t know, maybe I’ll keep my eyes peeled and see if I can find a deal on Tria. I got my Silk’n brand new off craigslist for $500cad which was a good deal so we’ll see!

#5

I have both of these items, i bought the tria first as the silk’n was not available yet in the uk. I am female, white with dark hair which was strangely much thicker on my legs below my knees to my ankles and on the back of my thighs.
Shaving was a nightmare on these parts as i would get razor burn and you could still see dark pores from the hair under the skin like a mans 5 oclock shadow and within an hour you could feel the stubble again.
It was painful waxing/epilating these areas and i would be itching/scratching my skin raw as the hair grew back usually only a week later and i also got ingrowing hairs. I never wore skirts without thick tights on or showed my legs cause they were a mess.
If i had a special occasion i wanted to wear a dress to without tights i had to grow my hair back for months then wax it a couple of days before for the redness and chicken skin effect to go away then pray i wouldnt get any spots or boils from the waxing knowing that as i was back in the vicious hair removing cycle again i would be tearing at my skin as the hair painfully pushed its way through the skin within a few days.
I used a nail whitening pen and ruler to mark out lines on my legs and was satisfied i covered the area well on the highest power, it was painful but bareable and time consuming, (i think i did a quater of my lower leg on one charge)i had to mark with a biro what areas i had done whilst the device recharged.
I cannot tell you what a difference it has made to me, the hairs started shedding and i did a second laser on my lower legs and thighs at the advised timescale. I dont know how i managed it but i also did my bikini line.
After those two treatments my legs were transformed, there was some patchy fine regrowth but by now the silk’n was out so i thought i would continue treatment with this as I thought it would be less time consuming (it was) and I can also state it is virtualy painless.
This summer I have had no concerns about bearing my legs at all, the few hairs I do get are very fine not like the thick coarse ones I had before, I keep meaning to laser them with one of the lasers but i just epilate them or shave. I do not have any regroth problems at all.
I have done my arms, underarms and the front of my thighs with the silk’n twice. That hair is what i call normal so never grew back fast after epilating like the devil hair i HAD on my lower legs and back of thighs.
All over my body now looks and feels virtually hairless you would have to look right up close to see any hair whereas before you could from a distance.
Anyway, I conclude the Tria broke the back of the chore of removing that awful hair and the Silk’n was a friendlier method to continue with.
They both work, i was so selfconcious before, it has changed my life having had the chance to use them. X

#6

That’s good to hear that you’re getting results, I forgot I even had this post up. Just an update for me, I sold my Silk’n for the price I paid for it, and I’m putting all that money towards doing professional treatments. Just wasn’t worth it for me! If anyone wants more info on Silk’n or to hear bout my personal expeiences just let me know!

#7

You are on the right track now. Are you keeping your signature information updated?

#8

feathertassel - thank you for your contribution. I hope you stick around to tell us of your progress. The shedding part is what makes lasers and IPLs great for problems like yours since shaving is what causes a lot of the problems you describe for people with thick growth.

I do urge you to have correct expectations. It sounds like you’ve only gone through about 2 months of growth. Legs have long hair cycles, so you haven’t really see the full growth come back in yet. So don’t be surprised if it starts looking like you’ve never done anything soon.

Also, if you really want to give this a good try, you need to stop all methods that involve pulling hair out with the root. That defeats the point and only makes it seem like the hair is gone for good or is much thinner. In fact, what you’re seeing is normal weak growth when it first comes out and are removing the hair with an epilator before it has a chance to mature.

#9

HI all. i’m doing some research before i purchase a silkn or a tria. I’m afraid of the possible pain these units may cause?

#10

Do a search here and at the cosmetic enhancements forum and you will find your answer.

#11

What is “almost permanent hair removal”?

Notice that the entire “test” lasted only 4 months. Notice also how they go out of their way to get you to equate these products as equal to use of machines like the GentleLase.

#12

If the hair is being killed, there will be pain. There are numbing creams to deal with. There is no such thing as completely painless permanent hair removal.

I think she said she used them for 2.5 months.

#13

She said she used them for 2.5 months, and then there was a period of 3 to 4 weeks after where she had not used anything so the GMA segment could show some result of how “effective” they were.

Of course, longtime hairtell readers know that the real test doesn’t come until a year later.

#14

I think she said the results she was showing were 2 weeks after her last treatment.

#15

Just an update on my hair removal using Tria & Silk’n.
Its been approx two years since i first posted and I can count on my hand the amount of hairs on each leg at any one time. I have three bulbs left of the silk’n that I keep meaning to use to do my bikini line as I only did that with the Tria which gave amazing results but killed like hell.
There are so few hairs I cant be bothered to get it out.
I only used the silk’n two more times on my legs, last used over a year ago, mainly the lower leg, back of thigh an top inner thigh as that was coarse hair. The front of thigh was very fine after initial use so only did that once.
I hated shaving/waxing and covered up rather than have the pain of removing the hair and even worse the nightmare as it grew back. I would like to state that the tria and silk’n worked for me and i am so glad I used them.