Customer Reviews

TRIA Hair Removal Laser

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(64)

 

 

The primary difference I have found so far is the size of the treatment head. The tria has a very small treatment head (maybe a 1/4 inch circle). This is fine for small areas, but a bit tedious for larger areas. I have been getting laser hair removal at medical spas for years and I am familiar with the technology behind tria. It is a pulsed diode laser (superior to pulsed light i.e. "silk-n"). It does work for hair removal on pale skin and black (or near black) hair. If your hair is not black, it won't work as well. If your skin is not pale, it won't work as well and will be more painful. Dark melanin absorbs near-infrared radiation from the laser and creates heat. This is how Tria works. It flashes near-infrared radiation into your skin, the black hairs absorb the light and heat up, frying the follicle. A rash-type effect means the laser is working (but not everyone experiences the bumps). Little red bumps that form immediately after zapping is normal and they should subside within a few hours. A couple weeks later, the dead hairs shafts fall out (or are easily pulled out with tweezers). The laser diode technology has been in use for years and years and it is effective on black hair/ pale skin. For best results, I use the highest power I can tolerate (not the highest power that is "comfortable"). The highest fluence that the Tria is capable of is 22 with a wavelength of 810nm. This is a fairly low fluence compared to the med-spa quality machines which can go into the 40's, but is somewhat compensated by the small size of the head and the treatment instructions that direct you to overlap the pulses. In my experience, if it is working, it will hurt. You can chase it with an ice pack or use some numbing cream before hand if it is too much for you. Tria is not approved for use on the face by the FDA, but it is the same technology that is being used on the faces of people all over the country (for years). Never laser around your eyes! Eyes contain melanin! I have used Tria *everywhere* (more or less) and am seeing the same results I have gotten from the bigger med-spa machines.

I have black hair and pale skin. I use Tria on 5 power (highest) and the sensation is very similar to what I have experienced with LHR in numerous medical spas. However, I find the Tria more tolerable simply because of the smaller treatment head. Less hairs getting zapped means less pain per zap. This was a pleasant surprise. However, the smaller treatment head means less area covered per treatment. I find it lasts for about 10-15 minutes of use at 5 power. This is enough to do about half of one lower leg. This is okay for me because I prefer doing short sessions in the mornings before I start my day (however, it would be nice to have the option of going longer if I wanted to). Also, ladies, LHR is more painful just prior to and during menstruation. I can do it, but it really isn't worth all the extra pain, so I usually wait until the hormones are stable again before resuming.

For those of you that have never been for laser hair removal in a derm or med spa, it can be a bit of a harrowing experience. The powerful equipment they use is not as fool-proof as the Tria is. The possibility of burns is very real and ensuring that your laser tech has been properly trained can be a bit difficult (there is no training required by law in any state, some states (not most) require that the spa simply must have a "doctor" that has agreed to put his name behind it... and doctors do not get LHR training in med school). Getting a laser tech that is competent, experienced, hygienic and makes you feel comfortable during treatment can be challenging. I have found several good techs over the years, but I would always end up moving out of the area and losing my money, treatments, favorite tech, etc. Having the Tria means I can have LHR anywhere I go and for as long as I want.

A couple points about hair growth and LHR. There really is no such thing as permanent hair removal because hair follicle formation is stimulated by (genetics and) hormones. As long as you have hormones, new hair follicles will continue to form on your body (the location will change depending on which hormones are in control). This is why "permanent hair reduction" is more accurate and more realistic for all forms of LHR.

One last point about LHR (of any kind). The only hairs that are actually killed are the ones that are zapped in the growth phase. Just because a hair falls out doesn't mean the follicle is dead. Getting hairs to fall out and actually killing them are two different things. This is why the repeated treatments are necessary. Not all the hairs you zap are in the "growth phase". You will have to go over the same areas several times over the course of months to eventually catch all of the hairs in their growth phase. And of course, as you are zapping away, it is likely that your hormones are working against you and sprouting new follicles. This is one more reason why I like the Tria as a concept. I anticipate the Tria is going to save me lots of time and lots of money.

If you don't follow the protocol, you won't get satisfactory results. There is no cheating or shortcuts that will cause this device to magically work. Follow the protocol and you will get results.

Improvements I would like to see in future Tria:
-larger treatment head
-longer battery life
-lighter weight
-less "bulk" around treatment tip so it is easier to see exactly where you are zapping

Some people have asked if I am associated with Tria or was given the product for free or paid to write this review, but I purchased my Tria on Amazon and have not been given any incentive, payment or free product. This is a genuine review based on my first hand experience with the Tria and my accumulated knowledge of LHR. I hope this review is helpful for folks looking for at-home laser hair removal.

Is this review helpful? Let me know, please vote!

I've been using the Tria for almost a year now, and it's exceeded my expectations. I have polycystic ovaries, and, therefore, dark hair where girls aren't 'supposed to.' I shave my face, chest and arms every day. This used to be completely traumatic- painful and time-consuming. I still shave after a year of use, but the hair is so greatly reduced that it's no longer a huge deal.

So am I lasering the same hairs, or new hairs- is the Tria killing hairs or just weakening them? I don't know, and frankly, I don't really care. I used the laser a few times per week for the first 3 or 4 months- I have so many areas to manage, I would just use it as I watched TV. I have used it on my face once per week for 11 months. My use on the rest of my body got more infrequent as time went on, but there's a huge reduction in hair on all areas mentioned- 80-90%, I would say.

If you don't have 'problem hair'- you just don't ever feel like shaving your legs again- and you're complaining this isn't working after a month or two, I have very little sympathy for you. Yes, the laser head is small, and the charge only lasts 30 minutes- for $500, that's the technology you get. (I haven't had to replace any parts at this point). Use the laser as recommended, and keep doing it, and eventually you will have very little hair.

I have had to 'manage' embarassing hair since I was 15, and I assume I'll have to do so for the rest of my life. I've done YEARS of electrolysis, years of professional laser hair removal(SO expensive), plucking, shaving- it never ends. If you're a girl like me who is a little too hairy for society's liking, this is a fabulous investment. So what if you have to laser yourself again every 6 months? WORTH it! Buy with confidence, in my opinion.

I purchased this system in Feb 2010 and did not want to write a review until I had thoroughly used it. The purpose for which I purchased it was to remove hair in the bikini line and underarm area. I have been faithfully using it every 2 weeks from Feb 2010 until the end of Nov 2010. The instructions for the machine tell you to use it every 2 weeks for the first 3 months and only once a month afteward up to 8 months for maximum results. I wanted to be sure that I got the best results so I used it every 2 weeks the whole 9 months. I have to say that I am impressed with the product overall. I am a prime candidate for laser hair removal with light skin and dark, course hair. I still have some very minor fine hair in the bikini area and a little hair in the underarms. I am still using the product to get rid of these last stubborn areas, but the overall result is very nice and trouble free. The biggest complaint I have is against the quality of the product. My first laser I bought had a bad battery. Tria cheerfully replaced the product in 2 weeks for mail time with free shipping both ways. I used the second laser for a while then in June 2010, the laser malfunctioned. Again, Tria cheerfully replaced the product and send me another brand new unit. So far I haven't had anymore problems and the battery on my third unit lasts longer than the other two. The only other complaint I have about the product is I wish you could use the unit when the cord is plugged in. It is a pain to only be able to use it for 20 min on full power and have to wait another 3 hours for it to charge.

First, I have only been using the Tria for about 1 1/2 months. I bought this for my legs and other areas because I have very dark hair that grows at a lightning speed and I also get razor burn with more frequent shaving no matter how much I spend on quality razors and shaving gel. Anyways, I couldn't afford to get my legs done in a center so after doing a lot of research I decided to invest in a Tria. According to the instructions, you aren't supposed to see any results until at least the second month. To my surprise, I believe I am already seeing results. The hair seems to be growing in less dense and slower already. However it definitely is no where close to being hair-free yet. Tria instructions do state you wont see visible reduction until after 3 months and that you wont see permanent results until 8 months. So I am happy that after only 1 1/2 months I am noticing some improvement. So far, the pros are the amazingly low cost compared to going to a center (it would be thousands of dollars to get this done at a center) and it seems to be working so far. It is less painful to me than laser in an office. I immediately started using Tria on the highest setting on my legs. It is moderately painful for me, but for anyone who has done waxing, electrolysis, or laser already, it really isn't that bad. The negative side is that it really is time consuming for large areas like the legs. If you overlap like you're supposed to, it would take 3 charges to do 1 lower leg (sometimes I cheat and get 1 lower leg done in 2 charges). What happens is that after so many pulses the battery needs to be recharged. So because you have to treat the area every other week for the 1st three months, if you do a large area of your body, like the legs, expect to need to stick around home on those weekends and invest a lot of time into doing the Tria. It really takes the whole weekend plus say monday and tuesday after work to get my full legs and bikini done. However, its not like you're spending this entire amount of time doing tria. It takes about 20-30 minutes for each treatment and then 3 hours in between treatments to charge the battery. The other pro is that it is REALLY easy to use. It is pretty much fool proof. So far I am impressed, but unfortunately won't know 100% for sure until probably a few more months if the Tria really does provide permanent hair removal. However, because its been recommended by Good Housekeeping and countless other magazines, I am fairly confident that it will be worth it.

UPDATE: 3/17/12:
Well my Tria (first generation) died the other day. I had stopped using it for about a year because I got so tired of it. I tried using it for my legs, and although I did see some improvement, the laser head is just too small to do large areas. And the battery only lasted about 20 minutes of use on highest setting (which you need to do to make a difference) and then I had to charge it for 2-3 hours before I could use it again. So just doing my lower legs was a full weekend project. I ended up just getting so tired of it that I stopped using it for a year. Then I just recently started using it again for chin area, and the other day it died. I was hoping for at least one part of my body to be hair free from buying this thing (paid about $600 for it at the time) but no such luck. Although there are patches that are less hairy on my legs, I still have to shave just as much. I have purchased a Remington i-light pro because I could not deal anymore with using something that needs to be charged after 20 minutes of use. So far using the Remington is a lot easier because you can use it for like an hour at a time (at least!) but I don't know what the results will be yet. I would only advise getting a Tria for use on face, but for that price, you can probably get treatments at a salon, so overall probably not worth it. I downgraded my review to 2 stars, b/c it does work somewhat, but overall if it is just for use on really small areas, then I think it may not be financially worth it especially with all the pro laser hair removal deals I've seen on Groupon and Living Social (if you live in a major city). It is not really great obviously for your full body like they try to make you believe. Obviously the thing has died before I could even attempt getting rid of all leg hair with it, and I got so fed up with how time consuming it is for legs that I stopped using it for a while. Overall I'm really disapointed in the $$$ we spent on this, as well as the COUNTLESS hours of time I wasted. Hoping the Remington product I purchased will be better.

I bought Tria Laser hair removal in hope to get rid of my hair on legs and underarms. I have read all the reviews in their webpage and consulted with their reps. Everything looked favourable towards a purchase. Plus I have a light skin and dark hair so the results were supposed to be amazing.
I had great hopes for it so decided to spend that amount of money. But after doing 12 procedures according to the schedule that they recommend nothing dissapeared. After spending so much money and not seeing result I'm just aggravated!!! I tried to get a hold of customer service and wrote emails to them but they never got back to me!

I have been using Tria laser in the past 3 weeks. It seems like it is working and the results are OK. One problem that Tria has is that you have to charge it for 3 hours but it only works for 15 to 20 minutes. This is a big problem because you can never finish a leg or arm in one day and basically the machine dies when you just started the process. You can finish both underarms in one session but that is about it

After emailing and talking on the phone with a customer service rep. they couldnt help me. My batteries dead and I am out of warenty. It is sad that they don't stand behind there product. They don't even sell repacement parts. Bottom line is it breaks after one year and they just tell you to buy a new one from them. Give them more money when they don't stand behind there product, no thankyou. It is designed to fail. Why else is it battery powered instead of just plugging it into a wall outlet. The results on my legs where patchy. I am a perfect canidate. I have gone to salons in the past and had my underarm hair removed with 100% effectiveness. The surface area of the tria device is too small. I have since bought a silk'n at costco. It is easier to use, faster and more effective. It plugs into the wall, you don't have to wait for it to recharge and you have an unlimited treatment time (unlike tria's 20 minute treatment time). This is important as after waiting hours for the tria to charge up again you lose your place. I dont mind buying silkn bulbs as the speed and ease of using the silkn is worth it.

I began using the Tria in March of 2010. I have seen good results, and was recommending it to my friends....until 3 weeks ago when it stopped charging. It will charge for 10 seconds and give me the all charged signal. It now only works for 3 pulses, then dies. I spoke with a customer rep last Mon. and was told it sounded like a manufacturer defect. She said she would call me back...she did not. I called back on Wed. and left a message, as no one answered...no call back. I called again the next Mon. and was told that since it is past the one year warranty...no offer of repair or even a discount towards a new one. Tria's product would be great if the warranty was longer than 1 year (especially since I paid the $700 retail price in 2010), and they actually had helpful customer service. I am retracting my recommendation to my friends...this will cost Tria more than it would to repair my device or at least offer me a discount towards a new one.

Regretting My Purchase,
Scott

Not powerful enough to permanently disable hair follicles. If you have black, course hair, proper use of this device will indeed cause your hair to shed. However, this is temporary, and the hairs that shed are not gone forever. Your hair will probably grow back slightly finer/less course if you stick to the treatment schedule and use the highest setting, overlapping pulses as per the instructions. However, true removal will never happen, because this device simply is not powerful enough.

I will, however, say that I used this on my bikini line and the pain was very tolerable. Certainly better than waxing. One could theoretically use this device as a temporary hair removal method, constantly treating about once a month to keep the hair shedding over and over again. Personally, I do not think this type of temporary hair removal solution is worth 500 dollars, and so my Tria is currently on its way back to Amazon and 500 dollars is on its way back to my bank account, which I will then put towards professional laser hair removal.

Oh, and since you pretty much have to put elaborate marks and grids on your skin in order to keep track of which areas you have treated and which ones you haven't, just thought I'd mention that you should never use black marker/pen/etc for this purpose. The black pigment will absorb the energy of the laser and your skin will be burned. Use red or white!

I bought this for my mom for Christmas in 2010. I couldn't resist trying it out before wrapping it up for her. It's easy to get it activated with the skin test sensor (so only 'appropriate' skin types can use the machine...darker skin types could burn) once you call the company to turn activate the unit for the first use. I've had professional laser hair removal before so I have a basis for comparison. Though the Tria is obviously less intense, I definitely felt the snap of the laser and could smell the hair burning, which means it was doing something.

It's a nice size, it covers more area than typical at-home lasers for hair removal. It feels strong. And it seems solidly built.

However, it's only 8 months later and my mom has said the product no longer works. It is still under warranty BUT the company somehow cannot find us in the system and will not return it until they do (curious since you have to call the company to activate when you receive it. How could we not be in their system?). They've been giving my mom the run around for 4 weeks now. I found the receipt from Amazon and hopefully that will fix this problem. However, the store claims that we need the box itself to get an exchange. This box is HUGE! There is no way the typical person is going to keep that box around! Basically, I question the professionalism of the store. Their product was defective and they aren't (so far) honoring their warranty.

My mom says that after 8 months of use, her hair is thinner, but certainly not gone. If you are interested in completely (or almost completely) eradicating the hair, you will be disappointed in this product. I would advise finding a professional laser hair removal place. In my mom's case, however, this is a 'hobby' of hers and I think she enjoys doing the laser herself. :)