I'm so excited to share this journey because it has always been something I was "branded with". I started smoking a few years after I began my journey in the corporate world. I was working in the BPO industry then and didn't know a lot about handling my own stress. It started with a stick and rapidly--a pack. I've been a heavy smoker ever since. I could easily consumer 3 sticks on my 15 minute break, that's how stressful the job was. It didn't help that my team of trainers loved frequenting Starbucks during lunch and we'd waste away an entire hour just smoking and drinking coffee. That didn't stop after I left the office. When I'd go out drinking, I'd smoke more because it just felt right the perfect combination for me. To be honest, I wasn't very sensitive of the non-smokers around me. I mean yes I'd distance myself, but it was until I stopped smoking that I realized simply distancing myself doesn't really do the job. 

So, that's my story. Fast forward to 9yrs later and on a whim, I finally decided to quit. Yes it was a conscious decision but it wasn't planned at all. Prior to making the decision,  I was drinking from 11AM until the wee hours of the night. I had smoked 3 packs of cigarettes and bought one more before going home because I always feared running out of something to smoke. When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't hung over but my mouth felt all sore from all the smoking I did prior. It was a long weekend and I decided to just stay at home for 4 days which concurrently led to me not smoking for 4 days too. I thought, this was a great start and proceeded to do so until today--my 6th month as a non-smoker. I won't bore you with text details since I'm attaching a video of my journey anyway. But in a nutshell, food was my recluse while I was trying to cope with the oral fixation. I've put in a lot of information on this video and I hope it does help you if you're planning on quitting smoking. The journey was extremely difficult but I made it! And you can too. Hope this video helps. 

I vividly remember the first time I started growing armpit hair, lol what a start. It was in high school but it never really bothered me that much since my sibling, Kat, had relatively more hair than I did, haha. I started worrying about it when I was in college because I was active with a lot of dance orgs and the pep squad. Most of our uniforms were sleeveless tops and I felt insecure having to do steps that involved showing my armpit hair. That's when I started plucking. My roommate then taught me, with just a pair of tweezers and her sharp eyes, I had my armpit hair plucked. Eventually I learned to do it myself, but since I was lazy, I moved on to shaving since it's easier and can be done anytime of the day. When I started working and had a little money for self-care, I opted for waxing since I've read several times that plucking, shaving and using deodorant can darken your underarms and "chicken skin". 

WHY DIODE?

Fast forward to 2019, I've decided to go for laser hair removal after much prodding from my sister who swears by the procedure. I initially wanted to go for IPL but I discovered Diode through one of SkinStation's sponsored promos. For only P5000 you get 8+1 Diode Laser Hair Removal sessions. I did my research ad found out that Diode is apparently painless and more convenient than IPL. I won't bore you with the details but you can go their website for more info. Aside from the price, I was lured by the promise of it being painless. I have pretty low pain tolerance when it comes to things like this so that was a plus for me. I went to the nearest SkinStation branch from my office and had my procedure done. 

THE PROCEDURE

There weren't a lot of people during my visit. I went on a weekday afternoon and I was assisted immediately. Before the procedure, you're not supposed to wax your ars 3-5 days prior. Once you get in, that's when they'll shave it. After shaving, they then proceed to clean your underarms and on you go with the procedure. Before the actual laser procedure, they lather a thick amount of gel on your underarms. It feels cold and numbing, I was also given a pair of glasses for my eyes. The entire procedure took about 15 minutes for both underarms, And it is true, it was indeed painless. I just felt 2 bouts of tiny tiny pinches on my left underarm but that was it; didn't even bother me. It felt like an underarm massage and had it been longer, I would've fallen asleep. 

THE AFTERMATH

I was told I can't take a bath for 12hrs and I was also offered a bunch of products. Of all the things I've experienced with Skinstation, this is the part that I hated the most. They were hard-selling products to me under the premised that I needed them. They even gave me 2 whitening products and when I asked why, they told me it targets 2 separate areas--whitening and the texture. That already felt like bull to me but since it's my first time, I wanted to listen to what they were suggesting. But after the procedure, I asked my friends on IG stories if they were sold the same products. And I was in shock because I was told everything I was offered were practically "add-ons". Not necessary but nice to have. Uhm, maybe not for me because I just spend P5000 on the treatment alone, I didn't want to go on spending an additional P2000+ for products I don't really need. 

But anyway, that's done. I am still using the products and I can say I don't see any relevant changes when it comes to whitening. But if you were to have the procedure, please watch this video first as I discuss the claims of the products that were sold to me. All in all, I think it was a pretty pleasant experience sans the hard-selling towards the end and making me feel like I needed the products. I might go for Brazilian Diode next time but I'll see how this one goes first.