Tried my Tria 4X for the First Time!

Okay, so you guys know I have a Tria 4X, and I finally tried it out. I was a little worried it would be complicated, but it really isn’t! I read the instruction book and it wasn’t as long as I thought it would be.

First things first. You charge the Tria, unplug it, turn it on, then hold the sensor (on the bottom) to the area you want to treat (which should be shaved, clean, dry and ready to go). That lets the Tria know what your skintone is, and if it’s appropriate for laser hair removal. If it’s all good (pale to light brown skintones with medium to dark hair are the best for this sort of laser), it will unlock. The laser won’t work on blonde, grey or red hair (but if you have that, why are you worried about lasering it anyway? You’re lucky – you don’t need it!).

Once it unlocks, you can choose how strong a pulse you would like. I would advise starting with the lowest first to see what you get. I chose to do my arms first, and I couldn’t even feel the 1st level. I put it all the way up (to five), and then started lasering away. If you feel any sensitivity, you can use the gel to numb the area.

All you have to do is hold the laser down for a second on the area to be treated, wait until you hear two beeps, and then move to an area that slightly overlaps the first area. If you hear a sound that sounds like you just failed to win on a game show (annhhh!), it means you didn’t hold it down long enough or you’re on a bony area that the laser can’t treat.

There’s a battery indicator, so you know how much charge you have left (you might need more if you’re doing full legs), and a pulse counter to show how many pulses you have done. The guide gives you an idea of how many you will need for each area. I think I did fewer pulses than I should have (oops). It says to do about 25 on your upper lip (which takes 2-3 minutes), upper leg – 600 per side (25-30 minutes per side), and 100 per side for underarms (4-5 minutes). It doesn’t say how many pulses for forearms, but if you need 100 for underarms, I don’t think I did enough on my arms. Totally my fault for not paying attention to the guide! I guess I needed to overlap a bit more. Next time I will do more.

I did my arms, a few spots on legs that had been lasered several times in the past, but were missed, and a few areas on my face. I was able to use level 5 for all areas. The places that had thicker or darker hair were more painful, but nothing I couldn’t deal with (and I have a very low pain tolerance!).

Also a tip – you need to pay attention while you do this so you don’t miss any spots (not a huge deal, because you can always get them later), but also don’t go shining the laser in anyone’s eyes. Pay attention!

You shouldn’t go over an area more than once, or you could over-do it. Also stay away from eyebrows, around the eyes, and sensitive areas I won’t mention (bikini line is okay). The instructions say to use it every two weeks for up to 3 months or until you’re happy with the results.

Also – don’t expect to see a visible difference right away. You are basically deactivating the hair follicle, and it won’t grow back. The hairs will eventually fall out on their own, but not grow back. Hair grows in three cycles, so hence waiting 2 weeks, to get the next growth cycle.

The price may seem steep for this device, but compared to traditional laser hair removal, it’s well worth it. Plus, you can touch up spots that grow back (there will always be a few here and there).

I’ll keep you posted on results as I use it!