Tria Laser Hair Removal Review
Using the TRIA laser hair removal system takes some getting used to. Don’t get me wrong, it’ s not difficult by any means, but it does take practice. Especially over large areas. The laser window is actually quite small, about the size of a dime. And you want to make sure you cover the entire area you are treating, including some overlapping.
Once I have the TRIA laser fully charged, unlocked, and set to the level I want, I place the handpiece so that the laser window sits flat against my skin. You don’t need to press very hard, pretty much the weight of the handpiece will do the work for you. Once all three sides of the triangle surrounding the laser window are touching your skin, the handpiece will beep once and immediately emit the laser. There is no start or activate button — it fires automatically. Once the laser pulse is complete, the handpiece will beep a second time telling you that the pulse is complete. Make sure you don’t move or lift the handpiece until you get that second “done” beep.
If you hear a buzzing kind of noise, that means the laser’s contact with the skin wasn’t right or you moved it too fast. Repeat the same location to make sure you get full coverage.
Once you hear the end beep and know the laser fired correctly, it’s time to move the headpiece to anew location. Lift the laser from your skin and move the headpiece a very small distance. You want to move it less than 1/4 of an inch. (Yes, that’s all!) Once again, when all three sides of the triangle surrounding the laser window are touching your skin, the handpiece will beep once and immediately emit the laser. Now repeat, OVER AND OVER!
You want about 1/2 the laser window to overlap the spot you just treated to be sure all of hair follicles are treated. Based on the side of the window, you’ll need to apply approximately 25 laser pulses per square inch. Does that sound like a lot or pulses to cover an area like your legs or even under arms? Well, IT IS!
The advantage of the TRIA laser hair removal system is that you can do the treatments on your own time and at your own pace. It would be much faster to have this done in a salon because the laser window on their machines is much larger and therefore fewer laser pulses to cover an area. But I like the convenience of in-home use and am willing to spend the time.
Some tips? Come up with a pattern for treatment that works for you. Sometime I work in a vertical line over the treatment area, moving left to right. Sometime I work horizontally. Sometimes I work in small blocks. the hardest part is keeping your place, I think. I’ve used painters tape to keep my place and a white pencil to mark blocks or lines on the treatment area. Whatever works for you!
Next I’ll talk about treatment frequency and then what to expect after treatment from the TRIA laser hair removal system.