I was approached by St. Louis Laser and Vein Center in O’Fallon to receive one (1) complimentary laser hair removal treatment on two areas of my choice, in exchange for a review on my blog. This is not a paid or sponsored post, and the following is my opinion, based on the service and treatment given during my visit.
I am not a hairy girl by any stretch of the imagination, but shaving my legs and underarms every week can be monotonous as well as time consuming. So I was all game to visit St. Louis Laser and Vein Center for a treatment, but was kind of scared of the thought of having a laser remove hair on me. I’d seen it done on TV and it didn’t look pleasant at all. I’ve been told beauty is pain but there is nothing beautiful about pain!
I didn’t get worried too much after I was told that the laser used at St. Louis Laser and Vein Center is not that old school contraption that other places use. It’s a state of the art Soprano XLi that removes hair without much pain, even feels kind of like a massage on some areas.
JoAnne took great care of me and walked me through the process. She determined my skin type and how long the laser would need to be used on my body and made sure I was comfortable. I laid on what looked like a massage table and let her do her magic.
My underarms took less than 20 minutes for both and was nice and smooth once she was finished. I was told if any stubble grew back, that I could simply wipe it away with a washcloth. I haven’t had much hair grow back yet in that area.
The legs took the longest, about an hour for both front and back. JoAnne made grid marks with a white pencil on my legs so that she could concentrate on that area. I didn’t feel an uncomfortableness until she got to my knees. It was a little painful and I was told that the laser is attracted to color—the darker the color or pigment, the more the laser works, which makes it hurt. My knees are darker on my body than anything else, so that made sense.
All-in-all, I was happy with my first laser hair removal treatment and would highly recommend it. After 2 weeks, the hair hasn’t grown back at all. According to St. Louis Laser and Vein, some areas hair free at the first treatment. Depending on your hair type, you may have to go back for additional treatments.
Per St. Louis Laser and Vein:
Some take five to be hair-free. Because each treatment gets the active hair
and most people/most areas have 20% of their hair active at any time, five
will treat ALL of the follicles. Sometimes a treatment might come, though,
when two active growth cycles are overlapping and can impact both, or an
area may be composed of hair follicles that all cycle at the same time. The
‘happy trail’ on the tummy, for instance, sometimes takes a single
treatment.
The cost of laser treatments at St. Louis Laser and Vein varies. The regular price for legs is $395/single treatment $1580 package of five. The regular price for underarms is $100 single treatment and $400 package of five.
If you are in the St. Louis area and are interested in laser hair removal, or want to learn more, St. Louis Laser and Vein is having an Open House event on Wednesday, September 21. They will have a 12-2 lunch snacks time and drinks and appetizers 5-8.
For more information, click HERE to visit their website.
My experience at St. Louis Laser and Vein was wonderful and I highly recommend them for your laser hair removal needs. If you go, tell JoAnne I said hello. She is fabulous!
Not very hairy but still massive stubble
This is two (2) and a half weeks after ONE laser treatment
Sidenote: I have been asked if African American or darker skin is able to be treated with laser hair removal. The answer of course is yes. The laser system that was used on me allows for the technician to put in a code for your particular skin color and the laser then knows how long to stay on your skin to remove the hair.
I don’t know deary…After you said it hurt around your knees because they’re darker, what about my entire body??? Their code may not be safe for my skin tone LOL
Just kidding. I’ve never really thought about laser treatments but it would be good for the underarms since I don’t really care for shaving every week anyway. Hmmmm, we’ll see if I can get a sponsor for this service 😉
Kesha, the number settings they use go from albino to the darkest person on the planet. The reason why it hurt for me is because I am one shade all over and much darker on the knee area. So that same setting that was being used on my lighter areas were being used on the darker area on my knees. So again, it should be virtually pain free for you, if you decide to do it. The pain I did feel was not earth shattering. It was uncomfortable, however, and she did have to adjust the pressure in that area. 🙂
Shoot – I’m super pale Kesha – I might be able to sail right threw this!
LOL you are hilarious Robyn!
Yay! So fun to read about your visit to use!
Kesha, our Soprano XLi is one of the FEW that handles any and ALL skin tones. the traditional machines won’t even allow people who so much as go get tan. Which leaves out — everyone. This laser calculates formulas to make sure maximum energy is being delivered BUT makes sure to factor in the skin color and/or tone to adjust energy to a level where it’s attracted to the hair, not the skin pigment. It’s quite amazing, all due to computations the machine makes.
What makes knees more sensitive — our experience has led us to conclude — is how thick the skin is. The knee has very thin skin, and it’s right over bone, This is sensitive.
The bikini area, believe it or not, is not uncomfortable! But when the laser goes over the pubic bone, the sensitivity increases. You’d think a bikini treatment would tend to be more uncomfortable in other places, but it’s not…
Similarly, the one place that made me say “um” was on my shin bones as the technician glided over my lower leg, but it was really gone before I could even comment on it.
Now we all just need Santa to give us some Soprano treatments!!!!
I hope I’m allowed to post this commercial addendum — come “LIKE” us on Facebook, as we post specials a lot and really want people to come experience the Soprano and kiss shaving/waxing/suffering GOODBYE!
I appreciate the further explanation you and Danyelle provided. I’m sure it will be safe. I just have to now muster up the gumption to actually do it 😉
That underarm kinda looked pornographic! lol. My first reaction was… I didn’t know it was THAT kind of blog. I really need some hair removal – the older I get, the more weird hairs I get.
LOL, Aisha. I guess when you look at it a certain way, it DOES kind of look suspect. I understand about the “weird” hairs. I hear it’s caused by hormones. Whatevers. If I can get rid of it, I am game. 🙂
Interesting post.
I’d love not to have to shave. I have very fair skin and very dark hair.
Im starting to get thicker hairs on my chine. I have considered having laser treatment done, but it is quite expensive. Did you have your bikini area done as well – was that sore?
Thanks for the photos – good to see real life pictures of a treatment.
Really interesting thanks. Im really nervous about laser hair removal, but would like it done.
IPL and laser provides guaranteed on the result of procedure. The satisfaction they get after doing in their body. With that, most find more easy to eliminate hair removal like black underarm. Courage and confidence is increased with that surgery. Often can’t afford to have that operation.
I have heard such great things about hair removal. Thanks for sharing your experience!