I had a handheld IPL device for hair removal. It was only marginally longer lasting than shaving and it died after about 20 uses. I also tried it on my skin and never noticed any change.
I later had professional hair removal and it worked, seems to be permanent.
One issue with home devices, provided one can achieve the settings required for improvement without lasting damage, is maintenance. I am skeptical that they last long, and without the pricey maintenance contract that practitioners take on, we can’t expect much use out of them.
What we really need are lower prices. These procedures are dirt cheap in South Korea.
I bought an IPL device for hair removal on Amazon for $64 in January and I’m happy with the results.
It’s not 100% hair removal but it achieved a significant reduction. IPL hair removal works best for dark hair/light skin combination and is not as effective for other hair/skin color combinations.
Note that even laser does not guarantee 100% or permanent hair removal - some hair can still come back in the future. The only permanent hair removal method is electrolysis.
In terms of cost, the reason why in-office procedures are expensive is because one’s paying for the clinicians’ labor.
That’s why Bryan Johnson’s protocol costs $2 million a year because he has ~30 people working for him - he’s gotta pay all of them. He has people doing everything for him, including preparing meals and putting supplements in little tins, and etc. etc.
Rich people have very high overhead because they hire people to do everything for them. And a lot of them go broke because they make a lot of money but also spend a lot of money.
Anyways, I think most of the folks here are DIY-type and we can save our $ and still achieve good results.
Absolutely - that is really my key goal in this site. Cutting edge therapeutic approaches, good science, and the lowest cost approaches that many, if not most, health enthusiasts can afford.
I think rapamycin is a great example of this; you can go to a concierge longevity clinic and get a prescription and testing for thousands per month, or read all the information here about it and find a place that will sell the same drug to you for $40 a month…
Have been actually looking into buying the emsculpt machine (that is, well, a cheaper duplicate? ) these days he is using : on AliExpress there is one fairly cheap but I have no experience whatsoever with buying there and wonder if customs to Spain may hold unpleasant surprises as well …
The one I saw seems to do more or less same as the one I have done ( only 2 handles instead of 4; a 4 handles machine would take me up too much space anyway ) and would be 850 USD and, according to them , costs for me entering in Spain would be estimated on 280 USD . So total in Euro around 1000 EURO … Now I paid 600 euros for 15 treatments ( with 4 handles so actually 30 treatments of a machine with only 2 handles) but doing it at home I could do it more often and combine with other stuff such as reading while not losing the time to go there and back … )
The machine would have a lifespan of 10 000 treatments…
Anyone experience with buying on AliExpress ? ( I also saw they have cheap red infrared panels as well but maybe too delicate to trust unknown sellers… ? Anyway am still studying the Emsculpt option for the moment:sweat_smile:) .
Considering I did one cycle of 15 treatments (with 4 handles) last year and this year already two (thus at a total cost of 1.800 Euros, for 45 treatments with 4 handles or the equivalent of 90 treatments with 2 handles), I may have been saving some money already by now if I had had the machine at home …) IF I can trust seller and machine sold through AliExpress . Any advice anyone ?
I buy a ton of AliExpress and haven’t had any problems. My stuff gets shipped to the US so customs isn’t an issue, therefore I can’t speak for what it’s like to receive the goods in Spain. Something to keep in mind for extra protection is to use PayPal as your payment method for the additional insurance.
No idea of the specifics in your case, but if you’ve bought the handheld device on Amazon, or any traditional mainstream market, chances are it wasn’t a powerful model. I notice the most powerful devices on Ali rarely trickle into North American markets and I believe it’s probably due to liability issues. Or there can be marketability restrictions from the FDA or other regulatory bodies. In Asia there seems to be a caveat emptor attitude so anything goes.
My handheld IPL device does a pretty good job at hair removal. It’s not permanent but dramatically slows it down.
Also something that costs $50 but maybe lasts you a year vs something that performs the same function but costs 20x and maybe lasts forever… put a reasonable discount rate to get the net present cost of each and almost always the expensive device is the loser.
I like the idea of finding less expensive alternatives… Lets start a new thread on just this topic and see what people can find in the way of high quality, but cost-effective alternatives!
One of the issues with the Chinese / Aliexpress type of equipment that isn’t authorized for sale in the US or Europe (officially) is that they frequently lack the UL or FCC safety and testing certification.
I’ve worked in the Silicon Valley on hardware and software products my entire life and the equipment that comes from China that isn’t UL or FCC certified (or CE in Europe) can frequently cause all kinds of issues - electronic interference with other devices in your home, safety risks that would be unacceptable in any US or European-designed and sold product, etc.
Just something to be aware of and be careful about:
You’re absolutely right about the certification issue of Chinese equipment. Here’s something to consider: many of the devices from AliExpress are aimed primarily at a domestic market and that includes all the hand held devices which you don’t see on Amazon. There’s stuff like laser blood irradiation, for example, that you can’t even begin to properly market here without a ton of headaches and restrictions and liability issues.
But… pretty much all the “domestic” FCC certified electronics used, say, at an American medspa, like the EMS sculpt in the Byrdie article, ALSO came from China, indirectly that is. Some US distributor bought them in bulk on AliBaba and slapped his logo on them, and had them undergo whatever processes they need to be FCC certified and not cause problems here. Once that product undergoes that process the chinese manufacturer applies the same safety standards to all the the units they produce which they plan to sell in America. And anyone can buy these units direct from the manufacturer on AliBaba. The Minimum Order Quantity depending on the price of the product can be as little as ONE — obviously if you buy a single unit you get quoted a higher price per unit than it you buy in bulk. Then you have to pay for shipping but it’s still much cheaper than buying them from the retailer aka the US middleman, who needs high margins to make his whole enterprise worth it.
I’ll try to see if I can find that device for illustrative purposes.
I find this whole thread ridiculous. Do you actually think that building a few more ounces of ab muscles will give you some abs to brag about? You already have abs. You can’t see them because of the body fat covering them. Even if you haven’t devoted much time to building ab muscles you will look pretty good if you just get rid of excess body fat. To really look good you need to get down to 10% or less body fat. That is what bodybuilders who compete do. They go on a temporary diet to get “shredded” which means they get down to less than 10% body fat which is probably not healthy.
So, what is the actual point of the machine? To lose body fat or to build muscles?
If you want to see your abs, and they will be more impressive than you think, just go on a stricter diet and lose the abdominal fat.
These devices to lose belly fat have been around for many decades in one form or another. People have always looked for solutions that don’t involve any work on their part.
And that folks is the end of today’s rant.
It’s kinda absurd that Bryan is using one of those infomercial machines for toning his abs, when as you say, there is no spot fat removal and that requires a 10% BF.
I don’t have a TV so I have no idea if the Emsculpt type devices are on infomercials, and you are right to be skeptical, as I feel skepticism with any product or drug is always warranted.
Or even using an electric toothbrush vs. manual toothbrush.
In all these cases it would seem to make the process / time investment of something that you need to do, more productive. If a device such as an Emscuplt, if cheap enough, can replace a portion of my existing weight lifting or resistance exercise routine with something more productive, then I’m interested in it (as weight lifting and resistance exercise is probably my least enjoyable activity (I’d much rather be out mountain bike riding, kayaking, rock climbing, etc.).
The reviews and ratings by people seem to suggest it is effective at doing what it claims; providing some significant workout of certain sets of muscles. But, i’ve not read any independent research on these types of devices or the processes / mechanisms by which they work, but will definitely do so as part of the review process.
My spider senses suggest to me it is a scam, the wikipedia article is weird, and all the reddit posts are just to the brand’s subreddit. You should see a lot of people discussing it on fitness subreddits if it was actually good. Electric toothbrushes seem to be better and take the same time. Blood flow restriction training is legit afaik. You could probably find a way to do a very small amount of training that will be good for your goals. It’s also possible to simply use steroids or other exogenous compounds which will increase muscle growth…with its risks.
First, there is no reason to have ab muscles beyond what is needed for basic core strength and posture except for vanity. Ordinary abs will make other people envious and people will think you have really done some exercises when all you really did was lose some belly fat.
“Everyone has abdominal muscles, but they are only visible when body fat is low enough.”
Interesting compilation of facts applied historical human conditions.
But not taking into account that scientific advancements are in any ways increasingly exponential in nature and “longevity escape velocity” is basically whether once’s on health/state will still be ok enough to intercept those future advances.
So shifting ones “biological age” by a decade or two or even just a few years could really make all the difference.
) .
?
