Let me start by saying having or not having body hair is entirely personal, and everyone should express themselves the way they want. For me it’s being mostly hair-less (apart from on top of my head and brows, duh), and I normally get IPL laser treatments at a dermatologist’s clinic, which is an expensive habit. It’s definitely more expensive than any beauty treatment I’ve ever had, as you have to do quite a few courses, you shouldn’t really be tanned for it to work well, and not cause any discolouration or skin sensitivity. Considering it’s quite expensive and tricky to get them on a regular basis (I actually get mine done in Greece, so that’s even trickier!) I was really excited to find out more about SmoothSkin Muse, the strongest at-home IPL (Intense Pulsed Lighting) of its kind, which is safe to use on body and face.
This is the latest model for this British company, which produces all their products in the UK, and is known for its innovations. They also have another model, Bare, which offers a quicker IPL experience, but not as strong as the Muse. It’s also cheaper, which is great for different budgets. Don’t get me wrong, the nearly £400 price tag isn’t cheap, but that’s not even 2 courses of professional laser treatment, so it’s definitely worth it! Depending on your needs, it might be used as a ‘top-up’ treatment which is mainly what I’m using it for.
Claims and how it works?
The company says that following consistent use once a week for 12 consecutive weeks will diminish the hair. As the hair cycle is about 3-4 weeks, being consistent with the treatments will ensure you catch all of the hair on the different stages. And then they recommend topping up every few months.
I haven’t used it exactly that way since I have had laser done before, so I can’t say how true this is, but it has helped a lot, and seeing all the positive reviews online definitely means something. The hair doesn’t fall off as with my normal laser treatment (Laser Alexandrite is the one I use by the way), but the follicle is ‘attacked’ at the root, so less of them surface essentially.
They say it takes 20 minutes to laser your whole body, and for me, it definitely took a bit longer, but I think it gets easier the more you use it and you get the hang of it. And if you can get someone to help with harder to reach areas that’s ideal! There are two settings for power and if you are in pain you can use the lighter one (the feather button), although this will take you longer to see results.
The unique and innovative technology (developed by their in-house team FYI) adjusts to your skin tone – there are some small lights on the side of the machine, which changes depending on the skin tone, the more lights the safer to use, but it’s absolutely safe to use unless the light goes red! I find that I tan a lot on my stomach and that’s where the light goes red. Even if you try to use it on those areas it won’t work, so don’t worry about accidentally pressing the button.
Also, you get unlimited flashes which is really hard to find with other at-home IPL treatments, but essential as you don’t want to be buying a new machine every few years.
SmoothSkin Muse*, £399 (here)
How to use?
Verdict
Yes this is worth the price tag, as it’s very well made, and has settings never seen before on at home IPL machines. My only issue is that after a while I didn’t know exactly which areas I had already done so I need to find a way to ‘track’ it so to speak in order not to go over them twice.
