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(Mis)Adventures in hair removal. Every woman’s had them.
At the age of twenty-three, I finally worked up enough nerve to get my first Brazilian wax.While I had a good friend who swore by them for years, I had always been too self-conscious to spread my legs for a complete stranger, especially under harsh fluorescent lighting.
Of course the present me now scoffs at what a prude I was and all the sex with complete strangers under harsh fluorescent lighting I missed out on in my twenties.
I remember how nervous I was walking into the salon, knowing that the middle aged Portuguese woman who stood before me was about to see more of my vagina than most of my boyfriends had. And when she winced at the sight of my overgrown lady bush and immediately broke out the scissors as a prelude to my waxing, I decided it was best to avoid all eye contact or conversation, as well as any future appointments with her.
Unfortunately for me, the man I slept with that weekend went crazy for the bare, and if I’m being honest so did I, forcing me to face my wax yielding nemesis every three weeks until I finally stopped dating Mr. Slip n Slide a few months later.
Since then I’ve tried several other hair removal treatments, but I always end up going back to my trusty razor. It may be a pain in the ass shaving day in and day out, but it’s affordable, works for me, and, most importantly, doesn’t involve me exposing myself to a sneering Portuguese woman taunting me with scissors and a wax covered stick.
One thing I had never braved was laser hair removal, mostly because I’m not brave enough to forgo paying all my bills to cover the cost. Obviously a single mom like me can’t afford $1500 worth of laser hair removal treatments at a fancy spa on a bi-weekly basis, so when I was recently approached to try out the Silk’n SensEpil at home hair removal system I couldn’t help but say HELL YES to their Do-It-Yourself beauty treatment.
I’ve always been intrigued by laser hair removal. I’d imagined women who’ve done it save a lot of time and money by forgoing all the shaving and waxing appointments. Compared to the cost of professional spa treatments, Silk’n SensEpil is a significant price saver. At $499, you’re saving at least $1000 over the cost of lazer hair removal treatments at a spa, plus you have the added convenience of using it in your own home without appointments.
The ability to fit the treatments into my busy schedule, in the privacy of my own home, without an appointment, is a big deal for me as a single mom.
Best part? There’s no Portuguese woman taunting me about my lack of ladyscaping!
The Silk’n SensEpil also has the advantage of treating larger areas (6cm) when compared to other competitors that only cover 1cm at a time. Plus it is approved to use for facial treatments, when most other at home laser removal devices are not.
The treatments are simple, quick, and clean, with minimal set up required. I did my first treatment on my underarms and bikini line in about 20 minutes. TOTALLY pain free, by the way. Plug it in, and you’re ready to go. The most time consuming part was showering and shaving for the initial treatment, as you need to start with shaved, clean, and dried skin.
In the last four weeks I’ve completed two treatments on my underarms and bikini line and can already see a HUGE difference in the amount of hair re-growth. Two weeks from today I’ll be sharing my full review with some before and after pictures.
Yes, fellas. That means you just might get to see me in a bikini.
Want to win a free Silk’n SensEpil home hair removal system? Leave me a comment here with your funniest or most traumatic hair removal story for your chance to win one of your own! The Silk’n SensEpil Team will be reviewing all blog comments and choosing winners on or about September 26th, 2011. GOOD LUCK!!!
Want to slave less and say YES to one (or more) of Silk’n SensEpil’s products NOW? Promo code “Beauty20” gets you 20% OFF at checkout. Offer Valid September 1st – December 31st, 2011. $200 minimum purchase required.
Please Note: Similar to professional laser hair removal systems, Silk’n SensEpil will not work on individuals with dark skin tones and is not recommended for their use. To address this issue, a unique SKIN COLOR SENSOR is embedded in the Silk’n SensEpil to measure the treated skin complexion at the beginning of each session and occasionally during the session. The SKIN COLOR SENSOR ensures that pulses will only be emitted on suitable skin tones taking the guess work out of treatment.
Here is an example of which skin tones are suitable for use:
Disclosure: This post is based on my experience using the Silk’n SensEpil which was given to me for review by the company. I also received compensation for this post. No request to share any particular point of view was made. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
8 comments
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Tiffany Lopez says:
September 12, 2011 at 10:10 AM (UTC -4 )
I WOULD LOVE TO WIN THIS! I dont really have too many stories to tell about this subject but seriously , this single mama needs some landscaping as well. there may be some action in the future and I dont want to send the man running for the hills lol
Laurie says:
September 12, 2011 at 12:26 PM (UTC -4 )
i paid thousands of dollars for laser hair removal (I am pale as can be), and unfortunately it didn’t work for me. They shaved the area (my neck) prior to the treatment, so now my “problem area” is a million times worse than it was to start with. You have no idea what having something like this would mean to me. I have had a lot of trauma and loss of self esteem over this.
Reticula says:
September 13, 2011 at 12:06 AM (UTC -4 )
I wish I had back the hours I’ve spent trying to remove hair from below my waist. I hate shaving my legs. The nicks last longer than the shave, blades are expensive, and I feel like a contortionist trying to reach all over my lower half in the shower without washing off the foam before I get a chance to razor it away. A shave with an electric razor lasts about as long as it takes butter a piece of toast. I hate depilatories because they smell awful, take forever and make such a mess. I haven’t tried waxing for so many reasons I won’t bore you with them, I can’t afford lasers, and tweezing isn’t an option.
Don’t even get me started on trying to tame the bikini jungle. Anything I do there leaves painful, itchy red bumps that look worse than the big red bush that grows down there naturally. But as a single middle-aged woman who wants to get laid every once in a while (and that’s always another story, isn’t it?), I shave as close as I can with a little electric razor and practice my “so why do you want to fuck a Barbie?” look in the mirror.
I’ve had the shaving dilemma for decades. Yes, decades. I remember I was so excited all those years ago when the Epilady came out. I really thought it was the answer to my prayers. I wanted one so bad, but it cost about $70 and that was a lot of money. I drooled over them for two years before my husband finally bought me one for my birthday. I could hardly wait the whole week it took to grow out my leg hair 1/4 inch so the coils would have something to grab onto. I dreamed of smooth, hairless legs and a tidy, bumpfree bikini line. My Epilady was my new best friend.
I took it into the bathroom for some privacy and read the instructions. Seemed simple enough. Hold it next to my leg and the rotating coils would pull the hairs out. After a few times, they wouldn’t grow back, having finally recognized how unwelcome they were. The instructions warned there might be some mild discomfort. Big fucking deal. Couldn’t be any worse than razor nicks or the burning chemicals in Nair. I turned on the Elilady and held it near the side of my calf.
And oh my fucking god it grabbed onto my hairs and chewed them out of my flesh like an Epibackhoe. A little discomfort? I could have taken a weed whacker to my leg and that would have been a little uncomfortable. This felt like a million tiny razor blades whapping against my skin. And the goddamn thing wouldn’t let go. Once my grown-out hairs started wrapping around those coils, it just kept winding them in and tearing them out. Finally I turned it off and threw it across the room. The side of my leg was dotted with blood where about half of the hairs had been ripped out. All that and it didn’t even get all of the hair!
I ran downstairs crying, “That fucker hurts like hell and it made me bleed! What if I’d used it on my coochie first instead of just my leg? I’m bleeding! Look at my leg!”
My husband—who is now my ex and no wonder—said, “What did you expect? It’s rotating coils that pull your hairs out by the hundreds. Of course it hurts.”
“The directions said ‘mild discomfort.’ Look at this blood! Does this look like mild discomfort? Here. Let’s try it on your legs. Give me your leg.”
He declined. I insisted. He declined. I insisted. He offered to get “my” money back if I’d shut up. And he actually did get the money back. He contacted the company and they refunded his money and didn’t even ask for the Epilady back. I threw the fucker away.
Since then, I’ve had no hope for an easy way to get rid of the hair below my waist. I’d almost given up until I read your blog today. Please may I have a Silk’n Sensepil? I see that the name as the word “epi” in it, but I’m willing to try it anyway. And I promise to blog about the experience when I do and share the link.
Jen says:
September 13, 2011 at 7:28 AM (UTC -4 )
I would love to win this!!! My worst story would be when I tried to wax my bikini area with an at home kit. I actually got the wax strip stuck and panicked. I didnt read the directions about how to get it off. I had to tell my mom (omg) she dumped baby oil on it and it came off. That was 10 years ago and I have stuck to shaving since then!
CanCan says:
September 16, 2011 at 9:01 AM (UTC -4 )
I started waxing in 2010. On New Years Day. I thought, a new year, lets start FRESH.
I was also in Vietnam.
So I went to this wax place. I had never waxed before ever. The place where the waxing occurred what not unlike a vet office. Stainless steel tables and florescent lighting. The lady put plastic down on the table, and first started trimming My Area with scissors. hair was flying all over the places, it was like a scene from Edward Scissorhands. Then she put on the hot wax.
I guess she thought I looked uncomfortable and that the wax was too hot, because she leaned down, put her face near my crotch and started BLOWING ON IT TOO COOL IT OFF.
I absolutely wanted to disappear/die. Yes. Worst moment of my salon life.
I put my elbow over my eyes and tried to pretend I was somewhere else.
Not only that, another salon worker stuck her head in the room in mid-wax to ask my waxer about lunch. Don’t mind me. I’m just here getting waxed, spread eagle on a stainless steel table.
After the wax I was so traumatized I couldn’t look anyone in the eye. I went for a bicycle ride and took myself out for coffee before returning to my family.
But, I’ve kept waxing since then and I can’t “go back” if you know what I mean.
I would love to win this. Tres awesome.
CanCan says:
September 16, 2011 at 9:04 AM (UTC -4 )
PS, I fondly refer to this as my “Vietnamese Blow Job” story. Everybody loves it. Except me.
CanCan says:
September 16, 2011 at 9:12 AM (UTC -4 )
Oh, ha let me add this too! Inspired by a co-worker, I also started waxing my arm pits this year. Last time I went, I guess it must have been amazeballs, because when the spa lady pulled the strip off, made an impressed sound “ooooo!” and then showed me the hairy strip to be like “you should be pretty proud of yourself, missy”.
I am actually. I’m very proud of my ability to remove armpit stubble in a single strip.
Uh.
?
silk n sensepil reviews says:
January 28, 2012 at 3:32 PM (UTC -4 )
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The Fabulously Single Project Week Six: Insanity, Wrinkles and Girlfriends | Sex, Lies & Bacon says:
November 28, 2011 at 6:00 PM (UTC -4 )
[...] I was lucky enough to work on a social media campaign for Silk’n SensEpil a few months ago and because that campaign was so successful they enlisted my help for a new one [...]