Boots Smooth Skin - First Impressions

Blogging has given me many opportunities and experiences I really enjoy, such as meeting other people who are as obsessed with makeup/skincare etc as I am, and trying new products I might not otherwise have tried. Every so often, something comes along that really gets me excited. The Boots Smooth Skin is one such product - it's one of those products that promises to solve a life long beauty issue. 

Basically, if this works, I could be permanantly free of the curse that is body hair... I've mentioned in several other posts that I feel at times that I am fighting a loosing battle with the stuff. This is a product that I've been interested in for a long time, but the £325 price tag as well as the fact that I hadn't heard a great deal about it from many people, meant I was a little unsure. 

The Smooth Skin System works using intense pulsed light - the light gets absorbed into the pigmentation in the hair, and disables the follicle, preventing regrowth, and also potentially producing permanant hair removal. The fact that it works this way, means that the system will only work on certain skin types - it won't for example work on dark skin (the light will be absorbed into the skin, and will potentially cause damage to the skin), and likewise will not work on blonde hair - it needs to be dark to absorb the light. Find out if you are a suitable candidate HERE. (NB - Don't use it on fake tanned skin!)

The system comes in white vanity case style pack, and contains the following;

You get the base unit, a power lead, the actual light pulse device, and a tube of Smooth Skin Applicator gel. 

The handset/pulsing device has a "life" of 10 000 flashes or "pulses", and following needs to be replaced at a cost of £160. In theory though, this shouldn't be necessary unless you use the divice on larger areas such as your legs. 

The activator gel is said to transmit the pulses to the hair efectively, and Boots state that this is the only gel of this type that is suitable to use with the device. When set up, the system looks like this;

When the device is turned on, you select the setting indicated for your skintype - fair is the strongest intensity of light, and dark the lowest - the skin test linked above will tell you which setting to use. You then press the button that looks like a bolt of lightening, and when the top light turns red, its ready to use.

The actual light transmitter looks like this;

As you can see, the light window is small (Approx 1 inch long, and 1/2 an inch wide). There are four contacts at each corner of the light - these have to be in contact with the skin and the gel for the light to pulse. When the light is ready to pulse, this is indicated by the button on the back of the handset turning red - you press this and the light flashes and then move along to the next piece of skin. 

The Leaflet that comes with the Smooth Skin is really useful too - it contains loads of hints and tips on using the device on different areas of the body. 

When the Smooth Skin was first produced, it couldn't be used on the skin - however this second model can, which is fab - I am so hoping this works and I can permanently be free of facial hair!

I've used the system a couple of times now, and I've been focusing on using it on smaller areas of skin - armpits, around the ankles and feet, and on the upper lip. It takes 6-12 weeks to give results, because the hairs have to be zapped at a certain phase of the growth cycle.

The "zapping" itself is not painful - at its most intense it feels like an elastic band is being twanged against the skin, and the area can get a little bit hot. It soon dies down though, and I haven't noticed any side effects. The device seems simple enough to use as well - the gel is a little messy, but nothing to get stressed about. Obviously large areas of skin will take a long time to zap - Boots estimate both calves will take an hour...

The section of the Boots website dedicated to the Smooth Skin and can be found HERE.