The Miracles of a Laser (& I’m Not Actually Talking About the Boat Here)
OK — admittedly, this is kind of a weird post for a sailing blog. What I’m actually talking about here is laser hair removal. My skin is really fair and my hair is dark brown. So, I always felt like I had obvious stubble in my underarm area. That made me really self conscious wearing any kind of a tank top or sleeveless shirt — especially when I had to lift my arms over my head to jump a sail, or any related move.
That self conscious feeling made me look into laser hair removal; and I decided to go for it. If you are interested, I’d highly recommend it. However, do a little bit of home work first. I chose to go to Ideal Image. The medical qualifications and education of the staff at my local store really impressed me and gave me a safe feeling. I’m really glad that I got it done. My underarms are now really smooth. There’s no sign of stubble or any sight of hair.
It's tough to get a picture of your own underarm, but here's an example of how it can look ater treatments -- totally smooth & no stubble : )
The process involved about nine visits ~five in the first year (roughly every ten weeks) and four in the second year (about every fourteen weeks). Each visit lasts about fifteen minutes (with about two of that being the actual laser part). You can shift visits to fit your schedule. However, you have to be careful to limit sun exposure in the laser area for a couple of weeks before and after the laser treatment date. Honestly, that wasn’t too difficult for my underarms. I just wore shirts with sleeves, or sunblock and made sure that I didn’t spend a lot of time laying in the sun with my arms over my head (again, not that tough for me). The treatments are guaranteed. If I ever find any rogue hairs coming in, I can go back for a “search and destroy” visit. The laser “zaps” aren’t the most pleasant; but are definitely manageable for the long term benefit you get. Each laser pulse feels like a little pinch. Numbing cream is also available if you want it. I, opted to save that money and went without the cream.
When choosing the facility to provide your laser treatments, do a lot of questioning and comparison shop. At the shop I went to, they regularly run price specials and sales. I often hear about 50-60% price reductions. So, make sure you negotiate. This isn’t a cheap service, but for me, the price of my underarms has definitely been worth the benefit that I get.
I haven’t yet coughed up the money to get my legs done. When I do, I will probably spread those treatments out a bit more. That way, I don’t have to worry about avoiding sun exposure around treatment time when I’m sailing in the summer (Regardless, I always wear sunblock, and you should too).
Stubble REALLY bothers me. Since I haven’t gotten laser hair removal treatments on my legs yet, I use a combination of VEET and shaving. Here’s the type of VEET that I’ve had the most success with.
Happy Sailing!
