Friday, June 30, 2006

Laser Hair Removal :: The First Zap

The clock struck 7:20pm as I finished sewing the sequence tail onto the newly official FasionMista (announcement to come) while thunder and lightening kept the time during the developing downpour. My laser appointment was at 7:45pm and Gerdy wasn't about to go outside to pee, and I wouldn't have either, but I put on my coat, kissed my man goodbye, and hit the elevator.

I ran to the subway in my pink private-eye trench coat, flouncy cowgirl skirt, obnoxious golf umbrella, and a bag full of books to keep me occupied during my impending torture at the laser center. A German tourist sought shelter in the subway entrance and thought his young good looks would make that ok, but I trounced him and hurried down the stairs to catch the train.

A few stops later, I jumped out of the train, made it to the pavement and dashed to the appointment on Central Park South, running past a group of tourists with bodega plastic bags on their heads, a carraige horse parked next to a steaming sewer plate, and Gene Hackman who was looking for a limo before making it to the my appointment.

The place was quiet. It was just me and the esthetician. I signed a bunch of papers, learned not to wax, pluck, put scented lotion on, give sun exposure to the freshly lasered area, etc. An alian buzzing came from near the machine I came to know as The Laser, which was just the static from the jazz radio station that wouldn't work when it rained outside.

I lay on the bed, armed with Fast Food Nation (with Narnia as a backup), as the esthetician smeared super cold jel they use for sonograms over where she was about to apply the laser, the size of which, was about one square inch encased in an oval plastic head with a trigger on it. I tried not to tense, but I braced and curled my toes in preparation. She counted down...1...2...beep! A little hard lick came out of the beep and left a warm sensation. It was like pushing the top of a mechanical lead pencil to make the lead come out into your skin, like when you did magic tricks to make the lead look like it was disappearing into your skin during math class instead of taking notes. She did it again...1...2...beep! Where was the pain? It was just this odd sensation of a little frog grabbing a hair follicle instead of a fly. Waxing is way worse!

On and on this went. The few times I winced was when it hit a particularly stubby little family of hair on the same place of each thigh (oddly). The laser looks for pigment, and with my light skin and dark hair, I guess it had a field day of direct hits. It took about an hour to cover my upper legs and bikini, and when we were through, I was covered in remnants of the gross jelly, which was the worst part! The laser, comprised of light and heat, leaves behind heat under your skin, so you need to apply the lotion to cool and hydrate the area. I'm following directions and putting special hydrating lotion on 4 times a day for 3 days (well, I forgot to bring it to work, so I'll apply as soon as I get home). So far, so good!

Honestly, if this doesn't become the next norm, next to getting braces! The cumulative hours and money spent shaving, plucking, squeezing, creaming, all in secret privacy during selected beauty hours. What a waste! Everyone should get laser hair removal. If this all works, I just might be making more investments...anything that is plucked or creamed gets the Laser's Kiss! My next appointment is in September...

Click here for a Mayo Clinic article on laser hair removal

Laser Progress Reports

Laser Hair Reomval :: Appointment #6 laser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5.5 for Bikini laser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5 laser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #4 laser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #3.5 laser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: The Second Zap laser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Followuplaser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Zaplaser hair removal
Laser Hair Removal :: War of My Legs Part 1 laser hair removal


Disclaimer: FashionMista, nor its author, are qualified to give medical advice and cannot be held responsible for anything that may occur. Should you have a medical concern, please consult your physician.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never been so glued to a blog in my life.  So it didn't hurt?

Unknown said...

No, it really didn't hurt, much to my surprise. A few zapps made me wince more than others, but honestly, it was the thought of them that made anything worse. And by wince, I do not mean the kind of wince like when she rips a wax strip off ya. The ones that caused me to wince just felt like they went deeper than the others.

They say the after part feels like a sunburn and is sensative to hot water, which it is, slightly. But it's not red and seems pretty normal. I'm curious to see how it grows back, or what.

Anonymous said...

hi kot
sounds good. you're right.. if you're doing $30 bikini's every month and $8-10 eye brows you're spending a lottttt

good luck! it sounds good... did you actually get reading done? or were you distracted?

Love, kw

Unknown said...

I actually chatted a lot with the esthetician most of the time. I forgot to mention about the green sunglasses we had to wear when the laser was in use. The green tint actually relaxed me...quite not the reaction I was expecting!

Anonymous said...

now that it has been a week or so, what is it like?

how long did it take the hair to shed?

has any come back or will you be smooth for weeks?

Unknown said...

Good question. I do have a progress report coming, but I've been writing so many posts lately, it got moved down the blogitorial calendar. Report to soon!