This Handy Device May Make Your Razor Obsolete

Bikini season is officially over, at least for those who don't spend their winters flitting away to Saint Barths to escape the grey weather. However, hair removal remains an issue, especially when it comes to displaying one's legs in the '60s-inspired mini skirts which are absolutely everywhere this season. If you seek the permanence of in-office laser treatments without the unsettling price tag, Silk'n's Flash & Go may be your solution.

Once a prohibitively expensive in-office treatment, laser hair removal is now available in the form of handheld devices you can use in the convenience and privacy of you own home — and for a fraction of the price. The Silk'n Flash & Go promises to eliminate hair regrowth with consistent use over a period of six months to two years. The device utilizes laser technology to direct pulses of light at individual sections of the skin which contain hair follicles; the intensity of the light combined with Flash & Go's "unique acoustic effect" is designed to inhibits future hair growth and leave you with fuzz-free skin. While the technology behind Flash & Go sounds promising, nothing but an at-home test of the product can truly determine its efficacy. In search of silky, smooth skin unmarred by hair, I decided to give the Flash & Go a whirl.

The device is blessedly simple to set up and use; a cord connecting the Flash & Go to an outlet charges the device, and a conveniently marked button turns the machine on. My first session with the device was clumsy at best when I first plucked the laser from its packaging and attempted to test it on a small area (do not use on areas with even a smattering of stubble unless you enjoy a singed look and acrid scent), but delightfully stress-free once I figured out the method.

Once the Flash & Go was up and running, I selected a section of my upper leg for experimentation. I chose a median energy level for the light pulses, and based on the included instruction manual, I worked in a grid pattern to target individual rectangular sectors of skin — and therefore hair follicles — with each pulse. As the area of skin I chose to target for hair removal was relatively small, the process took mere minutes to finish. Despite laser hair removal's reputation for feeling like a rubber band repeatedly snapping against one's skin, I found that the intense heat was more of a presence than the pain, and neither was particularly unbearable, even when I experimented with the highest energy level.

Let it be stated that impatient consumers looking for quick results won't be pleased with the Flash & Go. Like in-office laser treatments, Flash & Go sessions are meant to be executed periodically over the course of months, during which time results become clearer with each usage. It's best to think of the Flash & Go experience as a marathon instead of a sprint, with the finish line a good eight months or more in the future. That being said, I have conducted three at-home laser sessions over the course of several months with the Flash & Go, and am beginning to see reductions in hair regrowth already. The area I targeted is by no means completely hairless, but I can already see small sectors in which the hair is returning more sparsely than it had formerly grown. I can only imagine after another six months of treatment, the effects will become even more pronounced. Perhaps come summer, a razor won't be the first item I cram into my weekend duffel. And for $199, I call those results a victory.

Image: lulu/Fotolia; Silk'n Flash & Go, $199, silkn.com; Giphy