If you could permanently eliminate 73 percent of the hair on your chin, cheeks and even your chest in a month would you do it? According to the 2012 Wheeland Report at home DIY lasers like the Tria Hair Removal Laser 4 are doing just that, along with meeting FDA and Health Canada standards. The only catch, lasers aren’t for everyone; your skin type and hair colour have to meet specific criteria.

If your skin tone is a fair to medium hue and your hair colour ranges between light brown and black, you’re the ideal candidate right now. For everyone in between, have patience. The industry is working to create lasers with universal capabilities. The irony, for such a complex device, it’s simple to use. Here’s how it works.

Unlike waxing where the hair follicle is pulled out by the root, lasers target their light at the hair’s pigment (a.k.a: the colour), disabling it to regrow while keeping your skin intact. Over time, the laser’s beam kills the hair follicles and leaves you with baby smooth skin. Nice, right? Your job is to shave the area you want to laser on, turn the handheld device onto its lowest heat setting (you can always amp up later) and then run the laser across your skin. The more heat you apply, the faster you eliminate hair. But go slow, it’s still a laser after all.

Repeat your laser sessions every two weeks until the hair stops growing back, which should take between three to six months with the results lasting up to a year. You will need to do touch-ups from time to time, as hair growth is a cyclical thing meaning it may come back. When you are applying the laser, however, make sure to avoid your entire eye area, ears, tattoos, dark birthmarks or dark freckles and private parts, although the area surrounding your privates is just fine.

Tria Age-Defying Laser is $515, available at www.triabeauty.ca and at Sephora stores across Canada.