Showing posts with label philips lumea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philips lumea. Show all posts
I have now completed my eight-week trial of Philips Lumea. I have had four sessions, each two weeks apart, which took place under brand supervision at the Lumea "pop-up spa" in London.
The fact that it was a supervised trial meant that the timing was regular and my technique for using the device was exactly as intended by the manufacturer. I hope these reviews will be quite representative of the results you can expect if you follow the directions thoroughly.
In the interest of speed and convenience, I was testing the device on my armpits (which I photographed for you last time - no more pics though, it was just too terrifying).
After my first session, I noticed a real difference in the amount of regrowth (you have to shave before using IPL devices like Lumea, so this was shaving re-growth rather than regrowth from IPL-removed hairs). After that I saw slow but steady reduction in the amount of remaining hair patches over the subsequent weeks.
Now at 8 weeks, I'm seeing about 70% less hair on one side and 60% less on the other. I have also seen a difference in the skin around the remaining hairs - I don't see the dark shadow of new hairs lurking underneath the skin anymore - just clear skin, as if hairs had never grown there.
Sadly my time with Lumea has now come to an end, and since I already have a Boots iPulse Smooth Skin that I'm testing, I doubt I will buy a Lumea to continue my trial with (one IPL machine is enough, even for me). However in the 8 weeks I used it, I definitely saw a noticeable reduction in hair and I'm confident that if I kept going with it I could reach a more or less hair-free state given time.
In terms of useability and comfort, Lumea is superb. It is well designed, easy to handle and requires minimal prepping of the skin (no gel!). Its only shortcoming when compared to the Boots iPulse Smooth Skin (in my eyes its main competitor on the UK market) is that it only claims to provide a temporary result. If the power were increased to offer a permanent effect, I'd be recommending it wholeheartedly. However, I think most people will expect a permanent result for something at this price point (Lumea is £399), and would be disappointed that they'd have to keep using this every two weeks to keep their hair-free results. Don't get me wrong, it's a vast improvement on shaving and waxing. But ideally we want something we can stop using after a while, and Lumea makes no promises of that. I learned at the sessions that there has been anecdotal evidence of long-term users being able to space out their sessions to 4 weeks, but this isn't "official" information and shouldn't be taken as an indicator of performance.
Verdict - great design, great results, but the lack of a permanent outcome lets this product down.
I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting results at this point. But I was pleasantly surprised to see noticeable hair loss even after the first session, and by now I've got a definite balding-armpit look going on.
I have thought carefully about whether to post pictures of my progress. It's a tough decision. On the one hand I know you're insatiably curious as to the benefits of the Lumea. On the other hand, I know that nobody in their right mind would want to pore over photographs of my underarm area. In the end I decided that the interests of taste and public decency were outweighed by the power of hard proof. In internet terms, "PIX OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN." So with that in mind, here are my armpits.
Well, one of them anyway. This picture was taken after 4 weeks of Lumea (2x fortnightly sessions). I have shaved once since my last treatment two weeks ago, and you can see that the remaining hairs are about 5mm long. Impressive, no?
I cannot believe I have posted a picture of my armpit on the internet.
The launch of Smooth Skin was my wakeup call re. the possibility of home IPL. I researched it thoroughly at the time (and counted my pennies with a view to purchase), so that was my benchmark when I first investigated the Lumea.
As it now stands, Smooth Skin and Lumea seem to be the leaders in the home IPL field, so I'm delighted to be able to offer a direct comparison between the two from a user perspective.
The Smooth Skin arrived yesterday and I'm doing my initial patch test this morning.
Can't wait to see how this pans out...
(image via Google)
As mentioned earlier in the week, I'm currently trying out Philips' new home-use IPL device, Lumea. Yesterday I had my first session, and came face to face with the Lumea handset for the first time.
My first impressions are very good - the Lumea is about the same shape and weight as a travel blowdryer, and feels very solid, smooth and well-made. It's cordless and has an intutive control system - there's a trigger button, an on-off switch and a range of intensity settings (1-5) which can be adjusted according to skin and hair type.
The window at the head of the device is quite large - it took me about 15 "flashes" to do each armpit and I'd done the whole of both sides in under 3 minutes. Much much quicker than expected.
Lumea has a few advantages over its competitors - it doesn't need a contact gel, it's a cordless all-in-one unit, and needs no bulb replacement within its 40,000-flash lifespan (estimated to last about 5-7 years with normal use). However it's not a "permanent" solution. Instead, it's something you need to use every 2 weeks to prevent hair growth. If you stop, the hair comes back. Unlike more intensive treatments, Lumea doesn't claim to kill the hair root - rather it forces the follicle into a resting phase so that it doesn't produce hair.
Lumea has the same limitations as all IPL devices - it can't be used by women with very dark skin, or by those with blond, red or grey hair. For Anglo-Irish types like me, it's great news, but its potential user base is demographically pretty narrow, especially as it's only recommended for women.
Using it is fairly simple. The only bit I found tricky was angling the head correctly; In order to work, the window bit needs to be in full contact with the skin. When it's ready to flash, a green light on the back of the "head" comes on. I needed a few contortions to get it properly aligned at first, although it's something that I think gets easier with practice.
Did it hurt? No - and it shouldn't if you're using it at the correct intensity for your skin and hair type. The flash sensation is warm, but not unpleasantly so. It's like a very quick exposure to bright sunlight. If it does sting, you can turn the intensity down a notch using the buttons on the handle.
I haven't seen any results yet, and probably won't for the next couple of sessions, but I will let you know how it performs in future posts. Again, feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I'll field them to the experts at my next session.
In summary - so far so good, and I'm feeling very positive about the product after the first session.
IPL stands for "Intense Pulsed Light". It's a progression from traditional laser hair removal, and it started out in salons. Basically the little "window" in the head of the device shoots out a burst of incredibly bright light which is absorbed by the dark hair shaft. It is transmitted to the root of the hair which is then frazzled out of operation. The treatment needs to be repeated because hair follicles have different phases of growth and dormancy, so you need periodical re-treatment to catch them all.
IPL is now coming to the home-use market via brands like Tria, Philips, Boots and Remington, all of who offer a hand-held unit costing roughly £300 - £400. The Lumea retails at £399.99.
Because of the way IPL works, the method is restricted to those with a good contrast in tone between hair and skin - if you have black hair and pale skin you're ideal, but it's not any use for most black and Asian skintones or those with pale blond, red or grey hair. A frustrating limitation to an otherwise amazing-sounding method.
Unlike Boots' version which proffers "permanent hair reduction", Lumea provides no claim of permanent absence of hair. Instead the marketing blurb says that you can use it every 2 to 4 weeks and stay entirely hair free in perpetuity without any regrowth, ingrown hairs, shaving rashes or painful/expensive salon visits. Interesting contrast - I'm not sure whether it reflects a difference in the way the two machines work, or whether it's just two marketing gambits, but in either case, the prospect is exciting - a single payout for permanent, easy to maintain results.
I'll be attending 4 sessions over the next couple of months as part of Lumea's "spa sessions", which I think are restricted to reviewers (although there was a competition run in Glamour magazine to win places on the trial too). I'll be posting as I go to give you the detail of the experience and the results.
If there's anything you want to know or any questions I can ask about this unit on your behalf, please let me know in the comments.
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