LADY@LXG: HAIR BE GONE - SOPRANO PART 5

I know that many of you have been wondering what happened to my underarm hair after my last session with Dr. Pang. Well, I wanted to wait a few months to see if my hair grew back before I wrote my review, so here goes:

To understand how our hair grows, its important to have a quick biology lesson. Hair growth has three distinct phases: anagen, catagen and telogen. Each phase has specific characteristics that determine the length of the hair and all three phases occur simultaneously. Therefore, one strand of hair may be in the anagen phase, while another is in the telogen phase.

Because I had been epilating my underarm hair for several years, five session, done over a period of five months, was not enough to catch the hairs in the catagen and telogen phases (see, the quick biology lesson was helpful wasn’t it?) My advice, if you are looking at having your hair permanently removed - go for it, its totally worth the money, but opt for 6-8 sessions, which should catch your hair in whatever growth phase its in.

Although my hair has grown back, its much less than it was before and I can still get away with shaving about twice a month. 

For more information about the procedure, check out my first post where I get a bit technical, explaining how laser hair removal and IPL differ.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call Dr. Aaron Pang at The Sainte Chapelle Clinic, #B1-10, Marina Square. 6 Raffles Boulevard, S039594. Tel: 63363128. http://stchapelleclinic.com/

 

LADY@LXG: HAIR BE GONE - SOPRANO PART 4

I had my fourth session of Soprano this August and although I only had to shave once during that month, I noticed that I had a few fine hairs growing in the area. 

I figured this was because since I have been epilating (for those of your who are not aware what epilating is, its similar to waxing, in that it rips the hair off at the root - the difference is that instead of using a wax or sugar paste, I use a handy little gadget that does the deed for me. Fuss-free but as painful as waxing and with the definite risk of ingrown hairs) which is why I am so thrilled to be able to have hair-free armpits thanks to Dr. Pang! 

When I spoke to Dr Pang about it, he confirmed that the new, albeit fine and sparse growth was due to the fact that because I used to epilate, not all the hairs re-grew at the same time which is why the laser was unable to kill them, so fingers crossed that after my fifth and final session this coming week, I will truly be permanently hair-free in my under-arm area.

The procedure was very fast, around 10-minutes or less and completely painless. Because Dr. Pang increased the intensity (he usually does this as the patient progresses in the treatment) I felt more heat, but it was not painful - uncomfortable, but bearable. If it gets too hot, all you need to do is let Dr. Pang know and he will stop, apply more cooling gel and reduce the intensity, easy as pie. 

After each session the nurses will clean the gel and apply a gentle moisturizer to the area and you are ready to go. There is no down-time, no pain, no mess, its simple and you can have it done during your coffee break or lunch hour and no one would be the wiser :) 

I seriously love this machine - as you can see the results after just one session - and it is pain-free, fuss-free, and best of all - permanent! I really do hope that the fifth session next week can kill off the remaining hair follicles so my under arms can look flawless and hair-free!

For more information about the procedure, check out my first post where I get a bit technical, explaining how laser hair removal and IPL differ. 

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call Dr. Aaron Pang at The Sainte Chapelle Clinic, #B1-10, Marina Square. 6 Raffles Boulevard, S039594. Tel: 63363128. http://stchapelleclinic.com/

LADY@LXG: Hair Be Gone - Soprano Part 3!

A big hello! For those of you following my quest for hairless underarms, you will be happy to know that I had my third session of Soprano in July! 

And just like I raved to Dr. Pang, I was thrilled as I only had to shave once that entire month, and this is only because since I used to epilate (even though I stopped a few weeks prior to my first session) I had a few very fine, almost invisible, baby hairs growing, so Dr. Pang, increased the intensity of the machine and zapped them all away! 

I seriously love this machine! Its fast, painless and fuss-free and at the end of just five sessions, I will walk away not ever having to worry about having to shave again. Its such a relief to be able to just don on a sleeveless top without ever having to worry if I need to shave or epilate. 

The procedure is very fast, only around 10-minutes or less and completely painless. Just expect to feel some mild heat in the treated area. Remember to stop waxing or epilating about a month prior to your treatment as the laser needs to kill the hair at the root (hence the sprouting of baby hairs for me) and shave before you go, but if your shave isn’t close enough, the nurses will give you a brief dry shave so don’t worry, they will then apply some cooling gel and the doctor will begin the treatment.

Dr. Pang is really helpful, so if you have any concerns or would like more information, feel free to talk to him.

 

For more information about the procedure, check out my first post where I get a bit scientific, explaining how laser hair removal and IPL differ.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call Dr. Aaron Pang at The Sainte Chapelle Clinic, #B1-10, Marina Square. 6 Raffles Boulevard, S039594. Tel: 63363128. http://stchapelleclinic.com/

My next session is coming up during the first week of August so stay tuned for more updates!

LADY@LXG: Hair Be Gone!!!

Hair, hair everywhere, except where I would rather have it be...

There is nothing more off-putting than a hairy woman. As sexist as it may sound, I do believe that if a woman wants to wear short skirts and sleeveless tops, she should ensure that she is hair-free in those areas, simply for hygienic, if not aesthetic reasons. 

I usually resort to shaving and epilating my underarms, but I wanted to find a permanent solution for my unwanted hair. I really didn’t like how my underarms looked darker after shaving and how I couldn’t apply deodorant directly after, and that’s how I came across SopranoXL. 

  

 SopranoXL is completely painless and safe for even those with tanned or darker skin tones, unlike IPL which can cause burns. This is because IPL devices emit non‑coherent polychromatic light and although the wavelength can be adjusted with filters, the spectrum is too broad and they don’t offer sufficient precision. While laser hair removal on the other hand uses “selective photothermolysis” through a device that makes light converge into a narrow beam with a single wavelength - making it more stable, measured and focussed. 

Here’s some basic science to explain how they both work to kill unwanted hair: lasers and IPL use photoepilation to kill unwanted hair follicles by converting light rays to heat in order to “burn” the hair follicle without injuring the skin. The rays target the melanin that pigments the hair. Unlike those of us with fair skin, those with darker skin contain melanin in both their hair and skin -  this means, darker skinned folk require high‑precision devices that can distinguish between melanin in the hair and melanin in the skin, or they could get burned.

For this experiment, I will be having five sessions of Soprano at The Sainte Chapelle Clinic with Aesthetic Doctor Aaron Pang, to see if all the hype about this machine is well deserved. I had my first session on the 14^th of May and two weeks later, my underarm hair growth has reduced tremendously. I only have to shave once a week and it remains perfectly hair-free for the whole week or more. 

If you are interested in ridding your hair from problem areas, seven sessions of SopranoXL for the underarms at The Sainte Chapelle Clinic is priced at $2300 (before GST), although the doctor usually recommends an eighth complimentary touch-up session to ensure permanent hairless-ness.

I will be undergoing a session every month from May till September 2013 and will post an update after each session to give you an idea on what to expect, how it feels and if its worth the investment. Today’s post is a bit wordy and scientific, only because I want you to understand why I chose SopranoXL over the more common and much cheaper IPL and why you should perhaps consider doing so too. In my next post, I will take you through the procedure and give you tips on what you should and should not do before the procedure.

For more information, contact Dr. Pang or his very helpful staff at The Sainte Chapelle Clinic, #B1-10, Marina Square. 6 Raffles Boulevard, S039594. Tel: 63363128. http://stchapelleclinic.com/