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As we get ready for shorts and bathing suit season, saying goodbye to unwanted hair is a top priority for many (including me).
I first dabbled in laser hair removal pre-pandemic when I got professional IPL laser treatment on my face at a med spa. At the time, I was nervous about the procedure and didn’t want to take any chances with my face. But after hundreds of dollars and a few years, I needed a touch-up. As I was leaving my last appointment a couple of weeks ago, having spent $60 for about 30 seconds of treatment, I started to research at-home laser options.
I knew I wasn’t looking for any budget-friendly tools—laser hair removal is not where I want to skimp when it comes to devices! I also messaged The Curator’s Beauty Editor Adriana Monachino to see if she had any insight into devices. She was quick to send me a link to the Ulike.
It’s all the rage on TikTok, she quickly texted back, and reviewers claim it’s safe, it works and it’s pain-free.
I slept on it and then decided to go for it. It takes about four weeks to see the full effects, but as the warm weather is quickly approaching, I wanted to share my results week by week.
How it works
Intense Pulse Light Therapy (IPL) is where the light from the device passes through the skin’s surface and is absorbed by the melanin of the hair follicle. This process essentially kills the hair follicle, so it doesn’t grow back.
Now, in order for the light to be able to target the hair follicle, there needs to be contrast between the colour of your hair and your skin tone. The more contrast, the better IPL works. Ulike has this chart which will help you figure out if it’s the right hair removal method for you.
Here we go!
My target areas: Armpits, bikini and legs.
Curator tip: Always do a skin test before you do a full treatment. I did a small area on my leg to see how my skin reacted. I had no issues, so the next day, I started.
Step 1: Make sure you shave the area before treatment. The kit comes with a handy travel razor which I used.
Step 2: Plug in the device and hold down the power button. Make sure you choose the right setting for your skin/target area. Soft mode for face and bikini, body mode for your legs and arms and then power mode for your armpits.
Step 3: Place the device on your skin and press the flashing button to activate the light pulse. Slowly move the device along the treatment area, pressing the button. For larger areas like my legs, you can hold the button down so the light continuously flashes as you glide the device over your skin.
Step 4: Repeat! For the first four weeks, it’s recommended you do treat three times a week. I went with a Wednesday/Friday/Sunday sched.
Use lots of sunscreen after! Slathering on your favorite SPF will be key this entire time.
Week 1
For the first week, I started with ‘soft mode’ everywhere just to see how I would react to the treatment.
This device is cool to the touch, so even though intense heat is penetrating your skin, the device feels cool on your skin. After I treat my armpit, I can feel a bit of a stinging sensation for a few minutes—but it’s nothing that would deter me. No marks of any kind were left on my skin, so even though I don’t need a touch-up on my face right now, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it in the future.
Week 2
Since my skin handled the device well, I picked it up a notch! I started using the power mode on my armpits and the body mode for my legs. I didn’t notice any more pain in my armpit area so that’s promising. I always apply my favourite moisturizer after on all the areas I treated. I feel like week two was the hardest because you’re hoping to start seeing results… but you need to way just a little bit longer.
Week 3
Okay, I’m finally seeing some results! The armpit area is where I notice the biggest difference. For this test, I have only been using the Ulike on my left underarm. Even though there is still hair growing back, it’s definitely thinning out, which is exciting. I’m curious to see the progress after another week. For my bikini area, I notice there’s less to shave when I’m getting ready to use the device, so that’s promising too. As for my legs (don’t hate me, but) I don’t have a lot of leg hair to begin with, so that area is a bit trickier to monitor. Once the four weeks are done, I will leave my legs for a bit and see what grows back.
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