Once upon a time, laser hair removal was the kind of thing you had to go to a big, fancy salon to get done. It involved technicians, special eyewear, and a pretty penny to pay for.
Some people still think laser hair removal is that big and tedious of an ordeal, but we've come a long way. Now you can use simple at-home devices to give yourself laser-hair removal treatments at home. These devices can run anywhere from $60 to $600, depending on what you're looking for from the experience.
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I decided to check out devices on the lower end of that range to get started. I just got the feeling that once hundreds of dollars were involved, so too should be a professional. I found a lot of different options with promising reviews under $100 and decided to pick one and get started. I went with the Veyfun Laser IPL Hair Removal Device for $69.99. I was still concerned it might be a little involved, but I quickly learned it's a viable hair removal situation for anyone running a little low on time and tired of razors and waxing.
There are a whole bunch of complaints you can have with body hair: too dark, too thick, too inconvenient. For me, I was tired of growing long, dark, scraggly patches of hair on my underarms and legs. The hair didn't grow in thick and could, in theory, be handled with some easy shaving, but shaving does a number on my sensitive skin.
In my quest to leave shaving behind, I wanted to get rid of the hair altogether, and I happened upon different at-home laser options. I went with the Veyfun Laser Hair Removal Device, which was a respectable $69.99 on Amazon. When it arrived, I was excited to learn more about how exactly this would work.
I learned right off the bat that these devices aren't for everyone. It included a chart that illustrated that the device isn't ideal for darker skin because it might burn the skin and in turn alter skin color. I went back and looked for that information on the Amazon listing (it was there), and it also showed that the device is advised only for use on black, dark brown, light brown, and medium brown hair.
When it came time to try it out, I was a little nervous. I decided my legs and underarms were the best places to start. I started with my underarms so that if I did have a skin reaction, it wouldn't be too obvious. The before image shows a couple of scraggly, insane hairs that seem to appear at full length immediately instead of growing slowly.
The flashes were so bright and so challenging to capture on camera from this angle. The machine is supposed to be 90 degrees against your skin, but from this angle I wasn't quite sure. Later, I moved on to my legs.
It was much easier to capture the bright flash — and to understand why the kit came with glasses to wear while you use the device. Having someone in proximity of me while doing it was uncomfortable for them, so it's probably best to do this during a little alone time.
At first, I was wary my hair wasn't thick enough for this to work. I did it two to three times a week as first advised and noticed toward the end of the third week that some of the hair had fallen off. I also noticed a few new hairs growing, which made me question if this was actually working.
That doubt was offset by the fact that I was having a blast unfolding these glasses every chance I got. Can you blame me?
I switched to twice a week during the next two weeks and didn't notice much of a difference. Now in the home stretch, I'm treating the areas just once a week. While there's definitely still hair growth, they're fewer than before.
I'll need a little more time with this to know for sure if it's a keeper, but it's promising so far. And for someone who is trying to solve a problem that's inconvenient more than anything else, it's something I'm willing to keep going with. I haven't had any adverse skin reactions so far, and as long as it stays that way, I'll be waiting to see just how long until I'm truly hair-free.
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