Eva Caiden tests out the Verseo ePen to find out if it really works…on one leg only!
If you could banish one thing from your daily beauty regime, what would it be? Moisturising? Cleansing? Or the never-ending cycle of plucking, waxing and shaving that comes with being a woman these days. The time, the pain, the redness. The fact you’ve paid a stranger to pour hot wax on your lady-garden and rip it off. The realisation that you’ll do the same in five weeks time.
The lowdown on electrolysis
For many people, waxing or shaving works just fine. For me, it doesn’t. I’ve flirted with IPL which has had fantastic results, but it’s not permanent. Electrolysis is the only clinically proven method of permanent hair removal. However, as a result of this, it is pricey, and, so I’m told, painful.
This is where the ePen comes in. It claims to be as effective as needle electrolysis without the pain (yippee!), needles (double yippee!) or cost (you get the idea). It can be used on the face, upper lip, legs, bikini line, back and eyebrows.
Now for the science bit: the ePen passes a small electrical current through the hair follicle to stop growth. This process stops the germative cells, which form the growth centre at the base of the hair follicle, from growing more hair. Hair will fall out slowly in the days after treatment. The frequency of treatment depends on the area, but it’s no more than three times a week maximum. Treatment times can be from 20 seconds for the upper lip to ten minutes for the legs (repeated until the whole area has been covered). After 90 days (and 14 sessions), trials found 39 per cent of hairs were permanently removed.
But er, does it actually work in real life? I’m going to be trying it out over the next few months to see. And – in the interests of science, you understand – I’m only going to be trying it on one leg, to assess the effectiveness of the product.
Session One
My housemate is eyeing me nervously. My freshly shaven right leg has been prepped with a special cleanser provided in the kit. I’ve put two batteries into the pen and my leg has three plaster-like pads on it: two are rectangular and have conductive gel on the back. These are the areas which will be treated when the ePen is turned on. They are linked back to the ePen via a series of small wires.
I switch the ePen to the ‘body’ function and the green light flashes. Immediately, I sense a strange prickling feeling in my legs. It’s not painful, or even uncomfortable really, just a warm fizzing feeling.
It whirrs away for five minutes, before resting for a minute (you leave the pads on for this part) and then resuming for another five minutes, after which I turn it off. You then repeat this until all areas of the leg have been covered. It took around an hour and it’s simple to do this while you’re watching TV.
The verdict so far…
It’s far too early to say, but, after struggling with a confusing instruction booklet, I was pleased to find the actual process simple and pain-free. I’m going to be repeating it once a week and reporting on my progress. Here’s to a fuzz-free future – at least for my right leg!
The ePen costs £119.95 from www.jdharris.co.uk.
Eva Caiden is a freelance journalist with a special interest in health and well-being and (we might as well be honest about it) g&t. You can follow Eva on Twitter: @evacaiden
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