Just a little update on the progress of the underarm hair removal thus far. It has been a week plus since my last treatment which was also the 1st session, I've realised that the growth of the hair is much slower than before and I feel that those areas which have thinner and lesser hairs, would most probably be "cleared" off completely first compared to those thicker ones. 

I've also realised that my underarms are much fairer, whiter and smoother now.

Am very pleased with the results especially since I have only undergone 1 session with BA :)

Hopefully everything would be cleared soon so that I can save the hassle going back again and again.

Next session in mid Sept, so stay tuned :) 

As previously mentioned in my first entry, I'd bought a Groupon voucher for Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment for underarm hair removal, sponsored by this Beauty Salon known as Bare Aesthetics (BA). Unlimited sessions for $88. :)

Before buying, I did my homework, trying to search for reviews on BA but as mentioned, couldn't get any except for one girl who blogged on behalf of her bf's experience with them. However, in the process, I did find out about other beauty salons that provided such services, and actually, there are plenty of them! I think it's kind of an 'in' thing now... More and more ladies (and men) are seeking painless, hassle-free and fast experience on hair removal that only technology can fulfill. 

Some of the results that popped up, such as Musee Platinum Tokyo and Bella Skin (Fann Wong as the spokesperson) appeared, with reviews. I have to first clarify that as I have not personally experienced their services and hence, am in no position to comment on their service quality, but if you'd googled it yourself, Musee has several negative feedback (except for the one by a blogger Silver Ang who replied to her readers that she had no idea of such poor service quality as she was treated with awesome service standards by them and suggested that perhaps it was because she had to write up a sponsored review on them... Hence, the "better treatment".) I must first applaud Silver for her honesty, because most reviews by famous bloggers are somewhat not accurate. They may have to well, tell a lie or the experience they had were offered on a biased note. And for Bella Skin, it was extremely pricey though I do know most permanent hair removal treatments are expensive (ranging from $1.5k to $2k+). 

I know I'm gonna sound a little silly here, but my impression on BA was form based on their location at Raffles Hotel (Somewhat highclass right? Since there's shops for branded and designer stuffs) and the only worrying issue was whether they would try to psycho me to purchase their products/packages, i.e. hard selling. 

Ask anyone on the streets and they would most probably tell you that hard selling doesn't work for them. It's annoying and potential customers are sometimes put off with such desperate acts. 

Reading from the one and only blog on BA reviews (but for men's hair removal) mentioned above, I was really delighted to know that there were no hard selling involved! More importantly, no gimmicks too, for example, in order to be entitled to the treatment, you would need to top up additional $$ to purchase particular products or you are given the lousiest package of all which you would be left with no choice but to sign on for the best package for the most effective results. 

BUT NO! 

I was treated reasonably, though I felt that the specialist who served me was a little hostile. Maybe it's her face, maybe our 8 characters don't really tally? Haha, I don't know. But overall, I am impressed and satisfied with BA. 

I took a half day leave (sniffs) just to attend my 1st session, which had to be redeemed before the expiry date 20th Dec 2012. Do note that the expiry date does not mean that the voucher is deemed to be invalid after that, but simply means that your redemption and 1st session must be redeemed before 20th Dec, a 6 mths validity after you had bought the voucher. 

So, during the 1st session, I was asked to fill some questionnaires on personal particulars such as if I had experienced any other hair removal methods and on which areas, and if I am on any medication or having my period. There are some restrictions which you can't do before and after treatment sessions, such as avoiding suntanning, applying lotions containing vitamin c, applying deodorants etc. You can't pluck and tweeze before and after treatments as well, at least for a few days...

The interval between each session is 2 months, as I was told that this would well, increase it's effectiveness. 

So here's my experience with BA in detail.

After filling up the form and signing the undertaking agreement, I was brought to a room with the usual bed and was asked to remove my top and wrap myself with a towel like tube dress. Then the specialist started to shave my underarms a little more though it was already shaven. After that, she tested the treatment on my left underarm and drew some red markings on it. My eyes were covered with a piece of tissue with googles over it. I guess the light is harmful to the eyes. The sound of the machine scared me a little but when she zapped, it felt like just tiny ants bites, still tolerable. 

After the testing went well, she proceed with full swing on both underarms. 

On a side note, during the treatment, there was alot of drilling going on in the other unit next door and I heard the specialists complaining about it outside during the wait in the room. Guess BA can't be blamed for that right? Haha!

I was informed that the level of pain actually varies from individuals and those with thicker hair would hurt a little more. 

She zapped twice on each underarm and I was then given some cooling pads for me to hold under my underarms. 

Total time taken was less than an hour, rather fast actually. 

Satisfaction level of treatment: 3.5/5 stars (as it's not effective yet, hopefully the level would increase as the sessions go by)
Satisfaction level of service : 3.5/5 stars

Will update on them again when I attend my 2nd session in Sept! :)

I might want to try other services they provide as well if they prove to be satisfactory - IPL on arms/legs and perhaps facials? :)