The Bite Magazine - issue 16

Gina Gill takes us through her experience with the Braun Silk Expert IPL that we’re sure she will be using more often. You’ll also want to ensure the area is completely clean and dry, so remove any make-up and moisturisers before starting. The system is advanced so that there’s no need to use a gel or anything on the skin before you get to work, which makes the process a lot neater. The nozzle has to be in full contact with the skin to work and will flash red if it’s not completely flush to the surface you’re working on.The system is very intuitive, so if something isn’t properly aligned or set up it won’t work, meaning you don’t need to worry about mistakenly using the wrong setting. The darkness of skin is also a factor in how intense a light can be used, as it’s not suitable on very dark skin, but the system cleverly recognises your skin tone and adjusts the energy used accordingly, even letting you know if you’re currently too tanned for it to work. There are two different modes depend- ing on the area of the body you want to treat; the gliding mode is great for treating larger parts of the body, such as the legs or arms and is super fast so you can treat your leg in just eight minutes. For smaller areas, such as the face or underarms you can use the press and release function, where you’re basically pulsing the system on one spot before moving it to another. As I’ve mentioned, the system is much less painful than most in-salon treatments but if you want to pace yourself there is a gentle setting, so you can build yourself up to full intensity as and when you’re ready. The most exciting part of using an at-home treatment was not having to wait 4-6 weeks between treatments and having to deal with regrowth in between session. You can use the Braun Silk Expert IPL once a week for the first 4–12 weeks whilst you’re in the initial removal phase; eventually adjusting to top-up treatments every few months or so once you’re happy with the results. How long it takes can vary from person to person and even from body part to body part, depending on the growth circle of your hair. Within four weekly sessions I saw a significant change to the hairs in my underarms and lower legs, but my arms took until around the eight-week mark so start showing a significant result. Once you’re done with the treatment you’re pretty much good to go. Whilst you should avoid anything with extreme heat, such as a sauna or hot tub for at least 24 hours, you can generally just carry on with your day with no real fuss. Whilst there isn’t a real need to add any gels or creams I did use an aloe vera gel post-treatment, mostly just to add a little pampering to the proceedings and hydrate the skin. If like me you’re a stickler for organi- sation, the Braun Silk Expert IPL has a clever calendar app to help you keep track of your treatments and follow your progress. It’s free to download from the app store and you can input the different areas you’re treating to help keep on top of everything. It has literally never been so easy to get those perfect, smooth, fuzz free limbs you’ve always dreamed of! http://uk.braun.com/en-gb bite beauty