Laser Lights: Part Two

It's now been just over a week since I went in for my first laser hair removal treatment for my underarms. I'm glad I waited before writing any follow-ups because up until yesterday, I was ready to say that my results were FAR less effective than from what I've seen and heard.

The place I decided to go with was Beauty Park Medical Spa in Santa Monica. I tried to look for a deal from Groupon of Living Social, but I was a little wary of the places that offered them, since there weren't many that got good reviews on Yelp. Beauty Park is located not too far from me, they currently have a four-star rating on Yelp, but the biggest draw for me was that on their web site, they mention that use an Alma Soprano Laser. I've heard it is supposed to be painless.

The Alma Soprano XLi Laser

So I went in for my treatment on Friday morning. I ran a couple of minutes late because I wasn't sure where to park (before deciding on metered street parking on Montana, half a block away). As I walked in, I apologized for running late, and I was glad to still be greeted with a smile from the young woman at the reception desk. (Am I too jaded because I expect to be hissed at whenever I'm late for appointments?)

After a bit of paperwork, she brought me back to a room just behind reception and told me that my technician would be with me shortly. The room was small but comfortable, hardly clinical, with a curtain to "close" it off from the hallway. Right next to the bed/table was the black Alma Soprano XLi laser. (Yes!)

After a few minutes, a gal in a white lab coat came in and introduced herself as Kristen. (Or was it Kristin? Kirsten?? I can never tell anymore.) She closed the curtain and asked me if I've ever had hair removal services before. I told her I've gotten waxed before, but I've never had anything done for my underarms. She assured me that the procedure is virtually painless, and that if I've ever experienced waxing before, this is nothing to be afraid of.

I hopped up on the bed and was given a pair of protective glasses.  Kristen generously dolloped on some type of cooling gel on my skin and then started to rub the laser wand back and forth (and all around) the area. For me, yes, I would consider it painless. However, I wouldn't consider saying that I felt nothing at all. I definitely felt something; more like tiny, mild electrical shocks under my skin—rather than snapping rubber bands as some have described it. It was more than bearable, and for what it's worth, I was actually more preoccupied with trying not to laugh because it tickled a little.

Kristen spent a couple of minutes working on each side, so I was in and out of the place in around 30 minutes. They offer package deals where you get 15% off if you buy at least three sessions, so I went ahead and bought three. (From my research, I would probably need at least that many sessions, and if I end up needing more, I can always buy in threes.)

The outcome? So during the first eight days after my treatment, it felt (and looked) like I had a five o'clock shadow on my underarms, and I couldn't get rid of it! I'd shave, and it barely made a dent. I thought to myself, "This is worse than before!" Sometime around day four or five, I was so annoyed that I actually went ahead and tried to pluck a hair out. I had to know whether the follicle was actually destroyed or not; if the hair pulled out easily, then YEAH! If not, then, F*CK!

Thankfully, the few hairs I sampled did pull out easily. (Whew!) Ever since then, I made sure to exfoliate the skin while in the shower, then hoped all the dead hairs would just fall out soon. Yesterday, the ninth day, was the first time I noticed the absence of the stubborn stubble after my shower. And lo and behold, today the skin is just as hair-free as yesterday! I was quite giddy to notice this, since normally the hair is already very noticeable after 24 hours.

Thus far, I am a very satisfied customer, both of the procedure and Beauty Park. I've got my second underarm session already booked, and I'm considering starting my legs or bikini. Kristen joked that it's addicting, and I'm starting to see why!

Health: Starting with myfitnesspal

I was doing well earlier this year. I really was! While I wasn't on any strict diets, I was working out regularly, having found love in Zumba. Then came a two-week trip to New York in June with my son to visit my family, and I just could find time to keep working out. (Rather, I kept finding excuses NOT to work out.)

After returning home from our trip, I just couldn't get back on the wagon. With the daily craziness that goes with rearing my son, plus other personal issues I was (am?) going through, the excuses just kept coming. I'm too tired. It's boring. My son's schedule is just not cooperating. I don't want to.

It's now almost September, and I've just been feeling BLAH. I know how much better I feel, inside and out, when I'm working out regularly. I don't even have that much weigh to lose, but I just need more help with keeping myself motivated to keep going. I was doing a lot of tracking on SparkPeople — and I love how they offer free apps for the iPhone and iPad — but I felt like I needed something new.

Enter myfitnesspal. Yes, it's another web site that lets you track your diet and exercise. What I think drew me into signing up was their iPhone app. What's different about theirs is that it has a built-in bar code scanner — when I ate my favorite low-calorie snack the other night, a pack of roasted seaweed from Trader Joe's, I was shocked that all its info came up when I scanned the bar code. Honestly, the ease of letting me do that with a specific package of food that's not available nation-wide, totally sold me. I almost shop exclusively at Trader Joe's, so being able to scan their items is a definite plus.

Oh, and yes, their service and apps are free! And they have mobile apps for Android, Blackberry, and Windows smart phones as well.

Their service also has some social networking features, where you can connect with friends who are also on there and share feeds & updates. This is also supposed to help motivate you to stay on track, but since I only have one friend on there at this time, I'm not quite getting the advantage of the features just yet.

Now that I'm tracking my food again, it's also time to put my sneakers back on. It's still difficult for me to get to my favorite Zumba class, but I still have the Wii version (which nearly killed me the other day because I've been so out of it). I also managed to get back on the elliptical machine at the gym today while my son took a tumbling class. I do hope to make the Zumba class tomorrow night, but if not, I plan on firing up the Wii at home.

So if you're also looking for an online diet and exercise tracker with a good mobile device companion, check out myfitnesspal. (And feel free to add me as a friend! My username is phoofy.) Also check them out on Twitter and Facebook.