Testimonial #1

Karen's Krazy 3

This testimonial deals exactly with the main theme of my blog.  I currently work at an office in Orem, Utah and one of my co-workers gave me the idea for this blog.  

As we were sitting in our training class we somehow wandered on to the topic of laser hair removal.  My co-worker Karen started talking about her personal experience with laser hair removal.  She has a close friend that was starting a laser salon here in Utah and one of the perks to that was that she was going to be able to get free treatments.  As Karen was finishing up her second treatment her friend told her that she was going to be putting the business on hold because she was scheduled to have her baby within the next two weeks. Generally to get rid of the hair completely, a minimum of seven sessions is recommended.  She explained that she basically wasted her time by not going to all of the sessions.  If you are going to start using laser hair removal to get rid of that gross body hair, I would recommend that you go to all of your sessions because otherwise, you're not going to benefit at all.  

Here are some parameters that should be included when considering laser hair removal for you or a loved one:

• Area of body treated
• Skin color
• Coarseness of hair
• Reason for hirsutism
• Gender

 Coarse dark hair on light skin is easiest to treat. Hair on darker skin is harder to treat. Certain areas (notably men's faces) may require considerably more treatments to achieve desired results. The main reason multiple sessions are needed is that hair grows in several phases (anagen, telogen, catagen) and a laser can only affect the currently active growing hair follicles (anagen), so several sessions are needed to kill hair in all phases of growth. This problem is countered by spacing appointments sufficiently so that inactive follicles will start to grow again. Laser does not work well on light-colored hair, red hair, grey hair, white hair, as well as fine hair of any color, such as vellus. For darker skin patients with black hair, the long-pulsed Nd: YAG laser with a cooling tip can be safe and effective when used by an experienced practitioner, or else the newer diode based laser systems such as the Soprano XL Blue laser have also been shown to be effective and safe on darker skin types.

In my next blog I will be explaining the details on the different phases of hair growth.  Come check it out!!

Video of the day:

Here we go again.......... FAQ

I have been thinking a little bit about what else I can include in my blog because I want to slowly build up until I can get into the real "dirt" about laser hair removal.  These first couple of blogs might be a little off topic just because I'd like to discuss the different options that each of us have when it comes to hair removal.  Like you read in my last blog I talked a little bit about the Epilator.  After I posted the blog I started talking to people about it and 9 out of 10 people I talked to had no idea what an Epilator was.  I am going to spend a little time talking to other people so I can add some personal experiences to my blog but for today I'd just like to talk briefly about why you would consider hair removal.

Here are a couple quick questions for you:

• Do you really like having body hair?
• Do you like that your spouse has body hair?
• Is it gross when your hair starts falling out?
• Does it really help swimmers and athletes?
• Does your tan stay longer w/o body hair
• What do people say about your hairy arms?

Here are the answers:  (these answers are from random strangers on the street)

• "I guess I've never really thought to much about it.  Now that I start thinking about it, there have been several times in the last couple years that I have considered it." -Amy
• "That's crazy that you'd ask me that because just this weekend my wife and I were talking about it and after 15 years of marriage she is sick of my hairy body and told me that she is going to get me an appointment to get ALL of my body hair removed." -Kyle
• "It hasn't started happening to me but I do have a neighbor that looks horrid because for some reason she has started losing her arm hair and actually has giant bald spots on her arms." -Gwen
• "My son is on the swim team and I've always asked him why he shaves his whole body and he continually tells me "Dad it cuts four seconds of my 1500 meter swim and that'll be enough to beat the state record this year", I personally wouldn't shave off all my hair but if it helps, why not?" -Charles K.
• (this one was hard to get because there aren't to many people wandering the street that meet this criteria) "Before I got laser hair removal I went tanning at least twice a week but since I finished my sessions I generally go about once every two weeks and I notice that my tan stays dark longer." -Stacy
• (I can personally answer this one based on my comments towards girls with hairy arms in high school)  "Dude, I guarantee we could find some wild animals in that girls arm hair."  Don't let this be you!!!

Now, I am pleased to say that about 25% of all Americans consider Laser Hair Removal so don't hesitate to just check it out!!

Here's the video of the day:  (it's hilarious and has nothing to do with Laser Hair Removal)

Epilator........ "The newest Transformer"

          Since we are going to be talking about hair removal we might as well go over some of the most common ways to get rid of that unwanted body hair that makes most of us self conscious about how we look.
I recently returned from South America and while I was there I was introduced to "The Epilator".  Now, in all honestly a name like that sounds like it should be given to the newest Transformer.
A friend of mine in Chile was talking to me about getting rid of his chest hair, so obviously knowing nothing about hair removal, I told him to shave it.  He was a little skeptical at first because he had a very hairy chest so instead of taking my expert advice he decided to check out Lider(a popular grocery store owned by Wal-Mart) to see what he could find.  After a long hard search (in the one isle of beauty supplies that Lider offers) he found these things:

• Nair
• Common razors
• "The Epilator"

When we hung out next he told me that he had seen this thing called an epilator at the store and basically explained that it's just a little metal machine that goes along ripping out your hair.  It sounded a little weird that people would pay money to go through something like that but I guess it's whatever works.....  right?

I haven't had the chance to personally try an epilator but I have a video here that explains some benefits of using one.  In this video the you'll hear some of the awesome benefits that come from using an epilator.  

Get on your way to self esteem boosting comments by getting rid of that unwanted hair!!

Get informed!!  Here's a sweet video

   

What is this?

I am starting this blog because the company I'm working for gave me the idea and because I'm already interested in knowing the real "dirt" about laser hair removal.
In the blog I'm going to be using several different views to get my point across:

1. Testimonials
2. Do it yourself hair removal methods
3. Professional hair removal methods
4. Research
5. Followers comments and ideas

If you have something to throw in I'm exited to hear what you have to say.

If you want to vent about your unsuccessful hair loss treatments now's your chance!!


Check out this story!!

My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.

So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those “cold wax” kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I’m not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. (“Cold wax,” yeah…right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!

OK, so it wasn’t the best feeling, but it wasn’t too bad. I can do this!

Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.

With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.

Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip)

I inhale deeply and brace myself….RRRRRRIIIIPPP!!!!
I’m blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!…

OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!

Vision returning, I notice that I’ve only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted. I think I may pass out…must stay conscious…must stay conscious. Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe……………… OK, back to normal.

I want to see my trophy – a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair.

I hold up the strip!

There’s no hair on it.

Where is the hair???

WHERE IS THE WAX???
Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip…it’s not! I touch. I am touching wax…

I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake…remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.

Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!

I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself “Please don’t let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!” What can I do to melt the wax?

Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I’ll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???

*WRONG!!!!!!!*

I get in the tub – The water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment – I sit. Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub…in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn’t melt cold wax.

So, now I’m stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!! I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It’s a very good conversation starter “So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!”

There is a slight pause. She doesn’t know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, “Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?”

She’s laughing out loud by now…I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!!! Right!!

I should be the joke of someone else’s night. While we go through various solutions I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor . Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!

By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace….the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.

What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It’s sooo painful, but I really don’t care.

“IT WORKS!!

It works !!” I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair….

THE HAIR IS STILL THERE…….ALL OF IT!

So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I’m numb by now. Nothing hurts.

I could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Next week I’m going to try hair color……