Simple living in the country - back to basics

joedenise

rtandon27 said:

Everyday is a school day chez Cheery - I had to g00gle that one!

Never used one of them, but I swear by my epilator. Over the years I've gone from using it every other day to once every 4 to 6 weeks! Smooth extremities make getting ready so much quicker every  day!

Me too - never heard of them!

Merlin's_Beard

Cheery_Daff said:

Merlin's_Beard said:

I have to admit, I thought I was being frivolous getting an IPL machine but I absolutely love it.

Ooh, do tell. How long have you been doing it? Are you finding it effective? I've been going since just before Christmas, but mostly just once a week. My legs are starting to get a bit patchy in places but it does feel like it's taking a while! 

I bought mine in either the black friday sales in 2018 or the January sales of 2019 so I've had it for ages. Definitely used it around every 2 weeks throughout 2019 (I have a Ph1l1ps Lum3a and that's the most it says is effective due to hair growth cycles etc).

It's definitely worth pointing out that on my legs I have very pale skin and very dark hair so I'm the ideal candidate - I also tried to use it on the chin hairs and it was not effective at all (while some of them look dark there's enough ginger in the beard that neither IPL nor laser worked - I've ended up with electrolysis for that which IS working because it doesn't rely on pigment)

It definitely takes time to work! I would say that I was happy by the end of November 2019 with the results for definite, because I went on a massive adventure holiday to Central America and for the first time in forever I wasn't looking at timing things like beaches and swimming around how often I could get away with shaving without making my legs raw and sore, and that was such a freeing revelation. I can't remember how far through 2019 I got before I started noticing a big difference.

I probably use it every 3 months or so now, possibly a bit more in the summer, and you can definitely tell which bits I find fiddly because there's more hair growth there (knees, ankles!). I probably have achieved the 95% reduction that it advertises (but again, ideal candidate in terms of skin/hair colour), and the 5% that's left is definitely finer and less noticeable. I never managed to make it work on my underarms, either (again, looks dark but has a fair amount of ginger)

What I would say is definitely take notice of the warnings to use extra sun protection immediately after using it once spring/summer hits because it WILL make you more sensitive to burning.

EssexHebridean

I'm another epilator fan here - never tried IPL although I confess I've been tempted. the price scares me off though - even a decent epilator these days is bad enough! There's no question that even repeated use of the epilator definitely slows hair growth over time, although it would be a darned sight better if I didn't do the same thing EVERY year and stop using it pretty much right through the winter....sigh! 

Cheery_Daff

I was using an epilator before too, and it was definitely better than shaving, but I still had to do it pretty regularly, and while I could handle the pain, I didn't really like it 😂

EssexHebridean

It's behind the knees and round the ankles - OWWWWWW! (never mind the contortions you need to perform to actually get to those areas!) 

Cheery_Daff

Ow indeed! That's the main thing that puts me off the epilator! I paid £99 for mine I think, and finally got £2.80 cashback this week 😂😂 Couldn't bring myself to pay hundreds for a fancy one, but mine does at least have unlimited flashes, and an auto flash thing so you don't have to press the button each time. And it came with a little pair of folding sunglasses- utterly ridiculous wearing them while contortions into strange positions, but at least it's quiet enough that I can listen to an audio book or watch a film while I do it. 

Usually takes me about an hour to do all of both legs, so don't believe the 'it only takes 20 minutes!' nonsense. It might if you only have really tiny legs I suppose! 😂

Merlin's_Beard

EssexHebridean said:

I'm another epilator fan here - never tried IPL although I confess I've been tempted. the price scares me off though - even a decent epilator these days is bad enough! There's no question that even repeated use of the epilator definitely slows hair growth over time, although it would be a darned sight better if I didn't do the same thing EVERY year and stop using it pretty much right through the winter....sigh! 

As someone prone to ingrown hairs, when I tried the epilator, I had to either commit to a daily routine of exfoliation that could have turned a cliff face to sand, or look like I had the dreaded pox!

Cheery_Daff

Evening MSE chums, long time no see! 

I have had a busy few days, and rather spendy 🙄 But all good 😊

I had a work event on Thursday, and went out on Wednesday night with some visitors. £27 spent and a jolly time had - I don't think I can claim as I wasn't actually travelling (and they'll claim their own expenses separately) but I might try anyway. 

Stayed overnight with a friend, then event on Thursday, followed by a repeat but online, and then brought a colleague back here and spent Friday plotting and scheming. Will swap my supposedly non-working Friday with Monday.

Went to see neighbours for tea last night, very nice, but gosh I was exhausted. Quite jealous of their house - they moved in 18 months after us and our houses have been in companionable states of disrepair so far,but theirs is now finished inside 😠😂 It's giving me a boot up the bum! 😂

And today, a text exchange with my sister somehow ended with me driving a 3 hour round trip to meet her and my mum for a late breakfast, in lieu of mothers day. Very nice, sister bought lunch, I bought tea and cake, £15 spent plus diesel. 

Tomorrow we're off to see Mr Cheery's dad, and Monday I'm hoping for some kind of day off 😂

Another bank switch done for each of us 😊 Should be £400 between us if we meet the conditions. Switch is in progress, need to shuffle money in and out when it's done.

Almost felt sunny and spring-like on the drive home today! 



Sadly by the time I got back the sun had gone in, the wind picked up, and while we did have a cuppa on the swing seat in the garden, it was rather nippy and we didn't sit out for long.

A nice gentle evening reminding poor neglected Mr Cheery that I exist is in order, I think 😂

Cheery_Daff

OK, I threatened a new diary:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6512047/cheerys-path-to-fulfilment-finishing-the-diy-looking-after-myself-appreciating-the-garden/p1?new=1

😊😊😊