Philips Lumea Advanced IPL ➳ Review

I know Indian hair is so thick and long and oh so desirable, but not when it's on your legs.

Growing up, I’ve always been more so on the hairy side- compared to my fairer skinned friends- I've tried absolutely everything for a semi-permanent hair removal solution. From herbal remedies, to hours and hours dedicated to waxing- nothing worked, it always ended as a itchy stubble or a tribe of ingrown hairs. I hated it.

Just as I was about to throw in the towel, I stumbled upon IPL (Intense Pulse Light), the 'Philips Lumea Advanced IPL'. When I say, “this changed my life”, it actually changed my life.

I ordered the 'Philips Lumea' from Amazon for the retail price of, £250, the 6-month plan- although there are other options available for different time frames. It came with the machine itself, and 2 detachable heads. One for the body and larger areas, and a slightly smaller one for the face. The machine itself has 5 settings, increasing in intensity from 1 onwards.

I started off with my legs to test the waters. To really see how effective it is, regardless of the disclaimer on the manual that states the unlikeliness of results on darker skin shades. I was disheartened but determined. My legs are slightly lighter than the rest of my body, and guess what? It worked like a dream. I shaved my legs, marked them into sections with a white eyeliner pencil and zapped away at level 5- because go hard or go home. In the days that followed, I noticed a few bald spots on my legs, and the light at the end of the tunnel. I began consistently zapping my legs and as weeks went by, the hair growth had minimalised to, eventually, nothing.

With this, I grew hope in the possibility of being able to banish the hair on the rest of my body. After thoroughly reading the manual again, I learnt that you can hold down the button and continuously zap your skin- big tip - instead of pressing the button for each section of skin. To my glory, it worked! And to my darker skinned gyals, don’t let the orange flash discourage you, by holding down the button, you’re almost forcing the machine to accept your skin tone and just work. DISCLAIMER: I’m not 100% sure this is safe or the proper way, but it worked for me and is a potential hack I wanted to share to anyone who may feel rejected, like I did, that it is possible, and not your fault.

You may experience some stubble, and strawberry legs but stay strong and stay diligent, it’s all in the process.

Low and behold, a few weeks later, my face, arms, legs and even my underarms have been totally hairless for weeks now- hair is now rare. Regularly exfoliate and moisturise for super supple, smooth and silky skin. Be sure to download the app to keep track of your treatments, and for helpful tips!

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Advantages

• No hair, don’t care

• The incredibly slow and fine hair growth, despite how thick your hair is

• The skin is as soft as it would be after a wax

• How easy it is to use

• No more strawberry skin

• The machine will switch off by itself, if it's not in use after a certain period of time, so it is energy efficient

• Following calculations; I have found that the £250 investement would have paid for itself- with £20 spared- after the 27th week (in terms of spending £30 every 3 weeks for a wax), saving an additonal £30 every 3 weeks, following the 27th week.

Disadvantages

• The conflict it has with darker skin

• The pain of the laser (totally bearable)

• How long IPL process is itself (although, doing different parts of your body on different days, helps keep you motivated)

In spite of how long or painful the process is, the pros easily outweigh the cons, it is 10000000% worth it. I don’t know what the state of my body would have been in without it, and I can’t even begin to imagine how much money I’ve saved.

Lots of luck and love,

P xo

p.s this is not a sponsored post (I wish it was though lol)