Braun IPL at Home Laser Hair Removal for Women and Men, Silk Expert Pro 5 PL5137 with Venus Swirl Razor, Long-Lasting Reduction in Hair Regrowth for Body & Face, Corded, PL5137

One-year product review! I always used to have "strawberry" legs (visible stubble under the skin despite shaving) and lots of irritation. This product made my skin physically and visually smooth, like I always wanted. I started on the highest level. As long as you shave well before (no missed hairs) and avoid moles, it is a 0/10 or 1/10 pain for me most of the time. Tip-- use white eyeliner to color over the moles so the flash doesn't zap them because that will sting (think rubber band snap). The only area that felt painful to the point of needing rest breaks was my armpits, because I can't shave close there. After about 2-3 sessions, more than half the hair was already gone, so there is increasingly less poorly shaven hair to get zapped and sting. It's not as painful as waxing.You will not see the results from a session until several days or a week later. You are wasting your flashes if you do more than once a week because your hair grows in cycles, and a portion of the follicles rest in between cycles over several weeks. I saw amazing results in just 3 sessions, I barely had to shave. I have the ideal black hair on light skin. Be patient, you must commit to 12 weeks of 1x/wk treatment. I do maintenance once every two months. I spend about 15 minutes per leg because, in my experience, going fast on auto-flash skips too many hairs, and the results look patchy, which people then blame on the machine instead of the lack of thoroughness of their treatment. The large flash window is pretty small after all.You do NOT need to buy eye protection for at-home IPL like you do with laser treatments done by professionals. The "eye protection" included in cheaper kits is cheap trash meant to sell the product. Most "eye protection" products on Amazon are similar junk and not at a professional level, which should cost over $300 and have clinical backing claims on the box. This product will not flash unless fully connected to the skin. That said, I advise not staring directly at the flashes too much. You don't need to anyway when you've got the hang of it.I used it before and after workouts/ showers/ outdoor activities in the sun/ alcoholic drinks with no problems.IMPORTANT! Clean inside the detachable heads with a dry (never wet) microfiber towel or soft Q-tip after *every* use. Better yet, clean halfway during a session if you smell burnt hair. Any hairs you didn't shave will be fried onto the mirror parts, and they can be very difficult to clean off once they cool down. If you don't do this, the heads will get dirty quickly, and the unit will not work as well (think: a dirty window you cannot see out of).Final thoughts-- If you are like me and hate shaving and waxing, this is worth the money.

As a guy who "trims", I have been using the Philips Powergroomer for over a decade. It's fast and effective, but I needed to do it at least twice a week, always had a slight stubble and replacing the blades every 4 months adds up in cost. I stopped shaving eons ago because I get razor burns badly. I have used this device once/week (EVERYWHERE) for a month. The results are AMAZING! I actually shaved today for my weekly "zap session", but almost all of the hair is already gone. I only shaved because I am ready to be done with the weekly process and want each session to be as effective as possible. I had almost zero chest, arm, and leg hair before shaving today. The pubes still need a little more time, but hairs have reduced by about 80% already. This device works on men! I have an average Florida tan (for a white guy) and black hair. I do have a few gray chest hairs. This does not work on gray hair at all.For my first session, I did the Philips "trim" instead of shaving. The entire process smelled like burning hair. The zapping is not pleasant, it gets very hot. I had to take a few breaks before completing the session. After a week I noticed a little improvement, but nothing spectacular. For the second session, I used the Venus razor shipped with the device. Ugh, I knew I was going to get razor burn, but wanted to give this a real try. So, I did a little research on "women's shaving" before hitting the razor. I took a hot 10-minute bath before I started the shave, dried off well, then used the Braun for the second time. The heat from the zapping was more tolerable this time. Immediately after the zapping, I applied cortisone cream where I always get razor burns, then used a good collagen body lotion. I developed only VERY MINIMAL razor burn the next day, applied more cortisone, and everything was fine.So, my weekly process is to shave, zap, cortisone, and moisturize. After 5 sessions (once/week) I am extremely pleased with the results. I'll probably continue this process for 2 more sessions, then do it only once every 3 - 4 weeks, or as needed. I have no ingrown hairs, and I doubt I'll get any razor burn after this session. This bad boy works well on men!The instructions say to avoid the sun for at least a week after use. I went to the beach the day after a session and experienced no issues. But the device does work best on lighter skin. So, as a rule, I plan to avoid the sun until I get as "hairless" as possible. The lighter your skin tone, the more powerful and effective the laser will be.I think "the process" is important. Soak, shave, zap, cortisone, then moisturize. The heat gets tolerable (everywhere) with time, but I still take a break and let the device cool down a few times each session. The instructions say it should take about 10 minutes. That is BS! Plan on 30 minutes of zapping. The device is fantastic in that you don't have to keep pressing the button to zap. But it has to be fully flat against your skin. Then you just glide it over your body. Once in a while, the glide and zap function stops working. Just unplug it for a minute, then it works fine again. If you are working on an area where it is difficult to get it flat against your skin (like your knees or shins), just start it up on an easier part of your body like your thighs and it will start working well again. There is a smaller "laser head" for difficult areas, but I can get everywhere with the larger head now after practice.Do not get discouraged after the first use. If you have dark hair, this will work great! I wish I discovered this a decade ago! One of my best Amazon purchases EVER!

Absolutely one of the best products I've ever spent my money on, well worth every penny. I have gone to many costly laser hair appointments and have completed the recommended treatments over the past twenty years. Although my facial hair and bikini line have drastically been reduced, I still have hair growing in patches here and there. I did a lot of research in search of the best "do-it-yourself" laser hair device and have found this to be just as effective if not more-so than the professional lasers. After just 3 weeks (once a week/3 treatments) the hair in my underarm, bikini area, legs & face have drastically reduced and have almost stopped growing all together. I'm so incredibly impressed by this device, it even feels just like the professional devices, slightly burning in areas where the hair is course and thicker. It definitely helps to shave right before use, this prevents the increase burn and smell of burnt hair. I'm so happy to forever be hair free, I'm hoping at the end of the year I will no longer have to purchase razors.