Smootha Complete Beauty Ritual Bundle

A wax every few weeks adds up fast, and you still grow it out prickly before every visit. The Smootha device is a one-off purchase in the same IPL category, with adjustable intensity settings so you start on a low setting and build up. That is the honest mid-tier, for the woman who just cancelled her waxer.

Adjustable intensity settings. You start on a low setting and build up as your skin gets comfortable, rather than a single mystery setting you have to trust. That removes the burnt-fear feeling of a random Amazon flash gun. On top of that you get an Australian warranty and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. You are not chasing an overseas seller if something goes wrong, and it is not another gadget destined for the drawer.

It works by selective photothermolysis. A broad-spectrum flash of light passes into the skin and is absorbed by the pigment in your hair, where it turns into heat. That heat weakens the follicle, so over a course of sessions the hair grows back finer and sparser. This is different from a razor or wax, which only cut or pull the surface. It is the same category of light used in professional and premium home devices.

IPL works best on lighter to medium skin with dark, coarse hair, because the light targets the pigment in the hair. The adjustable settings let you start on a low setting and build up, so you see how your skin responds before going higher. Very light blonde, red, grey or white hair has little pigment for the light to target, so results there may be limited. It is not recommended for very dark skin tones due to burn risk.

Start low and build up. The device has adjustable intensity settings, so you begin on a low setting, see how your skin responds, and step up gradually as you get comfortable. That is exactly what the random flash guns never gave you, a single fixed setting with no way to ease in. Use lower settings for the face, follow the instructions in the box, and you are not left second-guessing yourself.

For the first eight weeks, most people run a session roughly every fortnight on the areas they want treated, timed while the follicles are in their active growth phase. Each full leg session takes around ten minutes for both legs. After the initial course you drop back to occasional top-ups every few weeks, because the hair is already coming through finer. It slots into a Sunday night in front of the TV.