chica4, thanks for your feedback. what areas are you looking to treat? have you looked into professional treatments? areas like bikini are really not that expensive to do.
I wanted to get everywhere done but was trying out bikini first as skin was still pale (I’d say I’m a type 3 or 4, latino/meditteranean skin).
I’m from London in the UK, going in to Harley street in a weeks time for a consultation for my face.
Wow - I posted the original post… got busy with life, just stopped back to see if anyone had responded and now realized that I opened a whole can of worms!! Sorry about that. I will be interested to see what happens over the course of a year if anone actually receives one of these machines and uses it for more than a couple of sessions.
Just for the record… I have had professional laser hair removal on my bikini line (approx. 9 years ago) - not sure what brand of laser the derm’s office used but it was a diode and very effective; 95%. I had my lower legs done 4 years ago with a light sheer at a different derm’s office; also very effective, approx. 90% reduction.
Both of these were very expensive and that’s when I started to look for a cheaper way to accomplish the same goal. Really… who doesn’t want to look for a better deal??
I went to a Canadian chain (hummingbird) and had “Laser hair removal” on my thighs and underarms - which I soon found out was actually IPL (Soprano). The cost per treatment was INCREDIBLY inexpensive - but after 6 sessions on my thighs and around 10 on my underarms, I can honestly say that there was maybe a 10% reduction with the remaining hair slightly less course and lighter in colour. Brutal.
I have just booked in with a very reputable hair removal company in Calgary because they use the Candela gentlelase and from my research on this site it seems to be one of the preferred machines. They also have a ton of experience in electrolysis, so I’m hoping they can offer me a more complete solution.
What I really wanted a home machine for was touch-ups on my lower legs and bikini line - paying a $50 + $10 a pulse adds up pretty quickly!!
So that is my long story about why I posted this query in the first place. Hopefully those that buy and use this machine will post their results (good or bad) in the next year or so.
Thanks to everyone on here who shares their opininions, whether they come from industry professionals or people like myself who are just looking for a cheaper way to permanently remove hair.
Chica5 - make sure you understand that laser is only an option for COARSE hair. It needs to be coarse and dense. If that’s not what you have you your face, you need electrolysis, not laser. In fact, laser can induce MORE growth on a woman’s face with your ethnic background.
hate2behairy - thanks for sharing your story. I understand what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, that solution doesn’t exist. Tria is the closest you’ll come to it. It’s a diode for home use. It’s fine for touchups, but it’s not powerful enough to produce a permanent removal of the remaining hair. You really need electrolysis if you want that rest 10% removed. I’m assuming it’s probably finer hair anyway which laser can’t really target.
GentleLASE is a good way to go for light skin.
Thanks LAgirl - I always value your input and have found it very helpful in selecting a practitioner.
I didn’t want to go back to the place that I used to have my lower legs done as they only sell hair removal as a multi-session package. I found that they used settings that were far too low to accomplish much on the first 2-3 visits and really started to ramp things up on the final 3 visits (only on the final 3 visits did I see any reaction on my skin after treatment). I can understand being cautious on the first visit, but when I’m telling them that I don’t feel anything and the skin isn’t reacting at all… I figure the session 2 settings should have been bumped up much higher.
I have many fine, shortish, blonde hairs left on my lower legs - but these don’t bother me. I have the occaisonal (maybe 30 on each leg) long dark hair that I would like to treat. I’m going to try and get these re-treated when I get my thighs done - and am hoping that the technician will just charge me for the additional pulses and not the $50 initial charge each time. I figure if I’m paying $300 or so for my thighs and they are doing the lower-leg touch up at the same time - paying for just the pulses should be fair?
Would you think so?
HI jAMES -NEW HERE.
Where can I find an at home electrologist machine (one that works)? Thanks
And is there anything you can use to cut down the pain for laser or electology??
It depends on your price range. You can get new or used, based on how much you are willing to spend.
As for reduction of sensation in treatment, on the practitioner side, skill and good equipment is a plus. On the other side of the probe, the person getting worked on should be well hydrated, caffeine free, well rested, and increase their vitamin B’s, supplement Vitamin C, E, and D-3.
hate2bhairy- You really should do electrolysis on those 30 hairs. That’s a 5-7 min electrolysis treatment every 3 weeks or so, i.e. about $15. Long dark hair probably won’t be affected by laser anyway. They really need to be coarse, not just long and dark.
Bern - Please read the section of this forum on do-it-yourself electrolysis. But realize that this is a BIG commitment. It’s not something you can start doing and be great at right away. Depending on what you’re treating, it’s usually easier and often cheaper to get professional treatments of either laser or electrolysis.
Icing and numbing creams help with pain.
LAgirl - thanks for the electrolysis suggestion. That makes total sense… I didn’t even think about using electrolysis on the remaining hairs because I’m such a laser junkie : )
I’m on the waiting list for electrolysis on my upper lip - so I’ll have my leg touch-ups on my lower legs done at the same time.
I’ll start a new thread to report my results with gentlelase (on my thighs) and electrolysis for upper lip and lower leg touch-ups… seeing as how I hi-jacked my own thread here! LOL
Waiting list?
Yes… waiting list. Neither of the practitioners are accepting new electrolysis patients at the moment - they have all that they can handle.
She thinks that she can probably get me in at the end of September when a couple of clients should be “finished” with their treatments.
I’m pretty confident that this is probably the best hair removal centre in Calgary… it’s run by Janice Champion (not sure if you have ever run across her). She has been in business for a long time… only does hair removal… has all of the certifications and training, is an RN and I believe even does some training for Candela??
I think it’s probably worth the wait. I have obviously had at least one poorly trained laser technician (probably 2) and I think electrolysis would require even more practice, training and skill than laser!
Hi…im new here…just wanna ask you guys what do u think is the most effective laser hair removal (Home Use)…i just saw this Xemos… but from reading to ur forum… im having doubts now…
im a female student that have hairs like those in gorilla (not exaggerating…its true)…and being a female in my adolescence yrs. i want to wear skirts…shorts but i couldnt since i hate hairs like those in men in my legs…
ive been doing shaving for 4yrs…but got tired of it since it grows after 3days…so i changed to waxing… that also grows after 2-3wks… but ofcourse ITS PAINFUL… im really tired of every month pain hehe…so i decided to look for permanent hair removals… and i saw this Home Used Laser hair removals
since im only a student…im going to ask my parents to pay it for me (what u recommend to be most effective) so i also nid it to be NOT TOO EXPENSIVE…
my criteria will be:
-permanent
-100% effective
-inexpensive
-not SCAM
i hope u will help me with this…
tnx so much
Your question reminds me of historic alchemy. Most Alchemists were on a quest to find out how to mix chemicals together to make gold, or how to pour chemicals over lead and make gold. Along the way, they found many medicines, and chemical breakthroughs, but never found a way to pour something over lead and make gold. The reason is they were asking the wrong question. Although you can’t pour chemicals over lead to make gold, a nuclear physicist and an atom smasher can change lead into gold all day long.
You can’t get what you want, in the way you are looking for it.
If you want a combination of 100% hair removal, relatively low cost, and no scams with a minimum of possible negative skin side effects, you need to step back to home electrolysis with a pro machine, and a buddy to learn to do work on each other after you read Mike Bono’s book and train yourselves working on each other’s legs using galvanic and blend before attepting to move up to thermolysis.
As James said, you would be better off spending money on an electrolysis machine. If you are patient and diligent about watching craigslist, eBay etc. you can land a pro machine for a few hundred dollars. The more you can spend, the better machine you can get, and a better machine (generally) helps reduce the learning curve.
Remember, learning how to do electrolysis is a big commitment, think of it as taking an additional course or two at school. There is a lot of studying, and a lot of “lab work” involved. But if you are willing to invest what it takes, it is very satisfying.
But, before you invest in doing your own electrolysis, it might be a good idea to see a few professionals and get a consultations (they are usually free) and try to get an idea what it will cost for a pro to do it. Depending on your situation, it might be cheaper to have a professional do it, than spend the money on an electrolysis machine, vision equipment, books, needles etc and the time required to learn.
If you adjust your expectations, you can be happy with results of a combination of professional laser treatments and electrolysis. Laser works well on coarse hair. If that’s what you have, you start there and get rid of 95%+ of coarse hair. If you want 100% removed, you switch to electrolysis at that point. And for any fine hair from the start, you go for electrolysis right away.
Home laser machines are not powerful enough for permanent removal.
Getting reviews of Xemos is what brought me to these forums in the first place! And I’m glad I came here! I’m a student right now, but will be getting electrolysis once earn my degree (two more years) and can properly afford it. Paying for tuition is my #1 priority right now!
Thank you to everyone for showing me that this might very well be a waste of money!
I HOPE NO ONE PURCHASES THIS PRODUCT - VITAL SOLUTIONS IS A SHAM COMPANY!!! I ordered now 6 weeks ago, and have had no communication from them about where my product is, nor anything about a refund. If you google this, you will find a lot of other customers are having the same problems.
I urge everyone not to purchase from this company.
The one person who contacted me saying that he did get the product is saying that there is no information on how to arrange for that money back guarantee, and he really wants to return it.
It is my advise to take it up with your credit card company, they will get you your money back if it has been less than 60 days since you charged the item. If you paid by check or money order you have a harder time with trying to get anyone to give you a refund. In fact the money order people have a better shot at getting a refund than the people who paid by check, IF THEY KEPT THE RECEIPT FOR THE MONEY ORDER!
Dear LAgirl, Me11i, asskwoo, misjules, choice, karenfent
Firstly, please excuse my late response.
Perhaps I should clarify my statement regarding the existence of “home hair removal lasers”.
I do not purport to dispute the fact that home lasers exist, nor that the FDA have not approved such devices.
Many laser devices exist, are FDA approved (eg. Laser Pointers, Laser Printers, etc) and are safe to use at home.
My point is that the EFFECTIVENESS of hair removal lasers are almost directly proportional to the amount of energy (FLUENCE) the laser can deliver to the Melanin contained within the hair root/follicle.
High Fluence lasers are expensive and dangerous (in untrained hands) and therefore unlikely to be FDA approved (although the FDA are known to do some strange things from time to time) for home use.
So in summary, the difference between these FDA approved “Home Use Lasers” is not necessarily in the number of pulses that the device can produce, its build quality or branding, but rather in the strength (fluence) that the laser can produce to destroy the hair follicles.
Without becoming too technical and going into laser physics, Xemos’ device is unlikely to be able produce the fluences required for hair removal.
At the risk of sounding cynical, this is probably why so many people on this forum haven’t received their device yet.
Asskwoo your point with respect to the ‘cost contributing’ factors of producing any technology are valid and noted, however one must bear in mind that NASA produced its first space ship in the early 1900s, using your logic, we should be able to buy consumer grade space ships in the very near future. I guess the point I’m making is that certain technologies are just not feasible for home usage.
Also certain devices are too dangerous for home use, You don’t see the US Military marketing its battle tanks to the consumer because Hi-jackings and crime is on the rise?
Again, I caution unsuspecting consumers to be wary of such devices.
Regards
Kamlen Pillay
Me11i, please also forgive my lack cyber etiquette by cutting and pasting my comments on two forums that are discussing the same questions. On the count of being technologically ‘un-savvy’ , I plead guilty as charged.
Disclaimer: I have no stock or shares in ANY hair removal laser company or any company for that matter. My interest in laser hair removal stems from my own research in this arena in order to produce a credible peer reviewed paper on this subject.
Well… I bought one… so I guess I’m going to find out the hard way.
I’ll keep people informed on here.
Here are the details so far:
August 27th, 7:55 MST - Order placed. Status listed as - “Awaiting Fulfillment”
August 31st, 12:14 MST - Order status changed to “Awaiting Shipment”
Just my thoughts so far: First off, when people purchase products like this, they are excited. A company should realize this and try and quicken the process… if they don’t have enough stock… they should communicate this better so the customer is not left feeling helpless. My credit card was charged immediately and cleared immediately…yet it took them 4 and half days to change the status.