My Friend Alice was brave enough to under go The lazer Treatment at Boots and I would like to thank her for letting me publish her Lazer Diary

Laser treatment at Boots. By Alice Tinker First session Monday 16 December 2002. Well I had my first laser session at Boots in Cambridge this morning. I can’t say that theexperience was without pain or considerable discomfort because it wasn’t. Most of the full facial session wasn’t too bad and on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is unbearably painful) I would only rate this as a 4 maximum. Other areas like the cheek and chin areas in my opinion were a 10, as I found the experience in those areas right on my pain threshold. This was due to the thick concentration of hairs directly under the laser. Some people I know find the top lip area to be the most painful, but I found that quite painless. The power level I had was 13 joules at 100th of a millisecond and the whole treatment lasted for just under one hour. This I believe is the third lowest setting. During the session I heard the laser fire and the hairs crackle and burn from the intense heat produced by the laser. In total I had just over six hundred shots from the laser. OUCH!! Once the session was complete my face was very red and sore. The sort of effect you would expect when ones face gets really sunburnt with a light warm burning sensation as well. After a few hours the redness had gone down and my face felt quite normal but still a little tender to touch, whilst the tenderness lasted for a few days. After the session I did have an unusually large amount of acne appear, which was a little unsightly and made applying make up much more difficult. After about ten days the skin settled down and small patches of clear skin started to appear. This was very noticeable after three to four weeks. Others who have had this done may rate the experience much more within their pain limitations, but for me it was how I described. However this was actual laser and not an IPL machine, which may produce a different feeling and pain levels altogether. I don’t want to put anybody off having a laser session because the results are well worth it. Asked whether I would go through it knowing what an uncomfortable time I was going to have then YES I would. I only have a few more sessions to go spread over the next year or so then its done. After reading up on the different machines (laser or IPL) I favoured the actual laser. The cost through boots is £125 per full facial session or you can pay for a course of six up front which works out slightly cheaper. They do a test patch first which is free and so is their initial consultation. I had two test patches done three weeks apart to check for initial adverse reactions. The first test patch did produce two brown marks (like little sun tan patches) under my chin. This was self-inflicted (silly girl that I am) as I always surf the Internet with my chin resting on my hands. This compressed the skin and caused these little bruise marks. Other than that I no reactions at all to any of the test patches. Second session Monday 10th Feb 2003 The results from the first session were surprisingly good given the low power level that was used. I was most happy with the results and could see and feel the difference especially when I shaved. After a month from that treatment I didn’t have to shave as hard and that left my skin a little less red compared to shaving before the first session. I was a little apprehensive just before the second session started because of the pain that I had felt the last time. Again the setting used was 13 Joules at 100th of a millisecond. The whole face was done fairly quickly and without too much discomfort, although there were a couple of area especially around the chin that the pain was a little sharp when the laser was fired at them. Now after four weeks the clear patches of skin are very noticeable and the treatments are working far better than I expected. Shaving is now considerably easier and the chances of cutting myself are now greatly reduced

Third session Monday 7th April 2003 I knew that the power level on this session was going to be higher than the previous two, but I wasn’t sure on exactly what power lever was going to be used. We started off on 15 joules at 100th of a millisecond (two settings higher than last time), which after completeing one cheek, I found that the level of discomfort (pain level) was a little too much for me. I had had some regrowth since the last session and I think that had something to do with the increased discomfort. The rest of the session was at 14 joules at 100th of a millisecond. Even though I still found this level rather uncomfortable I stuck to it, as I knew that without turning the power lever up the level of clearance would be slower. The only problem I have now is that most Boots stores across the country are stopping offering laser treatments, which means that my nearest Boots should I wish to continue with them is either in Peterborough or Crawley, which is rather a long way from Colchester. This section will be updated shortly. I'll let you know the outcome.

Fourth session - Thursday 29th May 2003. As Boots in my area were no longer offering any form of laser treatment, I went to a beauty salon in Felixstowe called ‘Natural Balance’ (01394-271715). Their charges are also the best that I’ve been quoted, which are £114 for a full face and neck. They offer the ‘Soft Light’ system which is rather different from actual laser. For a start the head is much larger (in a rectangular shape covering an area three to four times that of the Lightsheer Unity machine operated by Boots). The feeling was therefore slightly more intense compared to the laser, as one would expect if it covered a larger area to that of laser. The feeling was hard to describe, as it was a combination of feelings compared to laser. Imagine being pricked by some needles and at the same time feeling a flash of heat, it’s hard to really describe but I suppose similar to one of those old fashioned flashguns from yesteryear. I wore some protective goggles over my eyes but I could still see a flash from the machine as it fired against my face. The power settings are slightly different that I can gather and not the same as laser comparing a like for like setting. The setting used today was 13 joules and 12 joules for the upper and lower lip areas. I found the pain rather uncomfortable yet again in some ways more bearable than the laser. The whole face was done in fifteen minutes compared with forty-five for the laser. Now after three weeks the results are more than encouraging as the thickness of the hair has thinned out quite considerably. Whether this was due to the ‘soft light’ system or that the hairs were in the correct phase of their growth cycle or a combination of the two, I’m not sure. The fact remains that there is a noticeable difference when applying make up, as there is no real beard to cover any more. I’ve also had two hours of electrolysis to kill off those white hairs that have become more visible. This is a little uncomfortable but very bearable and no real pain at all. What does it feel like? Well I suppose it’s a bit like having an injection at the dentist I suppose, but again this is a worthwhile exercise. It will be very interesting to see just how many more hairs will disappear after the next laser session. Fifth session - Thursday 3rd July 2003.

Boots details: The centers offering this treatment are listed below. Information (not apparently 100% accurate) is taken from Boots' own brochure. Bolton 01204 382914 Birmingham 0845 121 9006 Bromley 020 8460 3027 Brighton 01273 730866 Cambridge 0845 121 9007 Coventry 02476 520340 Crawley 01293 510584 Croydon 020 8686 5012 Glasgow 0141 353 6426 Greenford, Middlesex 0845 121 9000 Kensington High Street 0845 121 1009 (This is what's published but might be 0845 121 9001) Kingston 020 8546 5372 Leeds 0845 121 9003 Manchester 0845 121 9005 Milton Keynes 0845 121 9002 Nottingham 0845 123 1000 Oxford 0845 121 9008 Oxford Street (Central London) 0845 121 9010 Peterborough 01733 563418 Reading 0845 121 9008 (This is what's published, but either this number or the one for Oxford is wrong) Shrewsbury 01743 362870 Stirling 01786 451907 Swindon 01793 536267 Tunbridge Wells 0845 121 9009 Whetstone (Northeast London) 020 8343 8621 Prices (excluding introductory discount): Treatment Individual Treatment Treatment Plan for 6 Sessions Initial Consultation (includes test patch) usually free. Eyebrows (between eyes) £40 1 facial element £45 2 facial elements £70 3 facial elements £80 4 facial elements £90 Beard £125 Underarms £55 Arms £120 Chest and Abdomen £240 Back (full) £240 Buttocks £120 Bikini Line £80 Lower Legs £160 Upper Legs £200 Whole Legs £240 Prices are a guide only! Prices for other areas not covered here are quoted on a time basis.

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