Silkn - why not on the face/neck?

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

Hello! This is my very first post and I wasn’t sure if it fits in this category (since Silkn isn’t technically a laser)… feel free to move my post where it belongs if necessary!

Anyways, I’ve been EXTREMELY curious about this aspect of the Silkn ever since I heard about the product. If Silkn isn’t actually a laser, and from what I’ve read it’s pretty low powered compared to professional machines, how in the world could it damage your eye if it was used on your face? And your neck? Your eye would probably be closer to the light when you lift up your arm to work on your armpit! :confused:

The product warns against use on the face and neck because:

“Using Silk’n SensEpil to remove facial hair may cause serious eye injury and may stimulate facial hair growth”

I’m guessing the “may stimulate facial hair growth” is due to the follicles being more sensitive in that area, is this correct?

And then there’s the eye injury… if it’s so weak, and not even a laser, how does it injure your eye? Could you block out the light with special glasses (like you would need with laser removal)?

If anyone has any insight on this, I’m dying to know how the Silkin’s light damages the eye (aside from maybe, repetitive flashes of brightness).

And just a note - please refrain from attacking me about not going to a professional instead of using the Silkin! I looked into the product and decided a big NO when I found out it wasn’t permanent hair removal. I’ve had both professional laser & electrolysis done and incredibly, I’ve learned more from reading these forums in the past few days than I have from two different professional hair removal experiences! The people on here know their stuff and explain it well - which is why I thought someone here would be able to answer my original question :wink:

#2

PS - sorry this is off topic and and random but I just noticed it! When you see the “Who’s Online” box in the column to the right, what is a “spider”?? Creepy!! :slight_smile:

#3

I used Silk’n on my face when I had it and it doesn’t work at all it just hurts and is uncomfortable. Laser can induce growth on your face if it’s too weak so not sure. The light is pretty bright, if it flashed directly in your eye I’d imagine it wouldn’t feel too good, but Silk’n is crap it’s only temporary and did absolutely nothing for me even temporarily.

#4

The Spiders are web crawlers that go on to sites like this and try to harvest email addresses to send you spam, or find information for search engine results. You know, like, find all mentions of melanoma.

The eye is very sensitive, and even looking directly into the sun can damage the inner eye. A direct hit from the silk’n light source would have potential for anything from irritation to blindness.

As for the stimulation of hair growth, that happens because an incomplete damaging of the hair structures is sometimes cause for the body to regenerate the damaged area in a way that is more resilient than the former untreated area had been. This can take the form of thicker hairs, deeper hairs, a color change in the hairs, or more hairs than before, or any combination of these possibilities.

Thanks for the kind words on the site’s usefulness. We put it here because we wanted something like this, and could not find it on the web. It was a case of saying, “If it is to be, it is up to me” (That is all of us)

#5

All lasers can cause eye injury. It’s the laser light that causes it. You don’t need to aim it at your eye. If you look at it, it can damage your retina.

Silk’n is a lower-powered IPL. What are your goals? You won’t get permanent removal with it and even for temporary purposes it’s not good for a male face because you’ll be left patchy. It’s not powerful enough to affect all the follicles there even for just temporary shedding, thus patchiness.

All lasers can stimulate FINER hair to become more coarse. That’s why lasers should ONLY be used on COARSE hair.

#6

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation, James!

Can the stimulation of hair growth happen with professional hair removal as well?

#7

It is much more likely that L.A.S.E.R. could stimulate increased hair removal than electrolysis, but poorly performed electrolysis could have a small chance of increase in an area. One would have to have incomplete treatments that lead to plucking, while a treatment that at least ended with full bulbs coming out would not likely have that chance available. Electrolysis is the Gold Standard of Permanent Hair Removal. This has been the fact for about 150 years and counting.

#8

Like I said, ALL lasers can stimulate more growth on finer hair.

#9

The face and neck were the only place the Silk’n didn’t work on me. And I tried it a few times…but no luck. I thought maybe maybe there was just too much hair there. I have so much facial hair it almost seems to be layered on my face. I ALWAYS have a 5 o’clock shadow, even right after I shave.

Wish it would have worked, be awesome to be able to go for months without shaving. :wink:

#10

Then, get the hair thinned with electrolysis. I did my 21 year old son’s chin and upper lip areas and he shaves every three days now. He wants it all off so he never has to shave again and I could do it easily, but am encouraging him to take the gradual approach.

Electrolysis is the answer to what you want to achieve.

#11

Oh Dee…

Believe me, if I had the financial freedom to do that, I would spend hours a day on your table until it was all GONE! Unfortunately that just isn’t an option for me.

I am just starting to see the amazing results from the electrolysis I have been getting on my shoulders and back. And while I absolutely LOVE IT, it has cost me a lot more money and time than I had planned on. I know it says all over the forum that it takes an ample amount of time. But of course I thought maybe I was special! Go figure! :grin:

#12

I’m excited for you Mr. TommyW! Even though it would put me out of business, I do wish there was an easier way for all the wonderful hairy people to get results that were quick, painless and inexpensive in the privacy of their own home.