Lasik Eye Surgery

Lasik Eye Surgery

(video blog to be posted)

My advice to you…STOP THINKING AND DO!

This was the most amazing surgery! There is absolutely no pain and the worst you experience is very dry eyes but if you wear contacts you will know the feeling already.

To have the operation your eyes must have been stable for roughly 2 years (mine had only been stable for 1.5 years though but that was long considering I usually changed a whole -1.0 every 6-12 months) and you have to be above 18 years of age minimum. Some doctors and I think quite a few, will only operate on you if you are above 20/21. It is advised to wait until you are older and it is certainly best to do so, however in my case because I had 5% vision and my cornea are thick enough to operate on them twice/do the surgery twice, I chose to do it at age 20. My eyes rejected monthlies and so I had to wear contacts daily. Glasses were not on option for me because I was very sporty and modeled as well. Being so blind meant I literally couldn’t do anything without them, so I couldn’t just take a pair of glasses off while I shot, because I wouldn’t be able to see who was holding the camera and if I was playing water polo, the ball would just hit me in the face. I couldn’t even see the different colour white and blue caps on the player’s heads amongst the water. While I was very grateful to have the invention of contacts, swimming in them and surfing in them was the worst. I could never sleep over at a friend without planning it because then I wouldn’t be able to drive home the next day without “my eyes” (sleeping in them was horrible). Living in windy Cape Town is not pleasant for a contact wearer and dust, makeup and mascara in your eye is quite sore. All in all contacts are great but I did not want to be dealing with it for another 60 odd years.

On the day of the operation, you arrive a little bit early so they can put drops in your eyes to numb them. It is as simple as that! Now, the operation might sound “freaky” but it really isn’t that bad. Yes, you are awake but it is kind of interesting! Haven’t you ever been curious to watch an operation being done? Well now you get to see your own! (Well if you can see at all, I was so blind I could only see 2cm in front of me, but I did manage to see some blurred activity and the doctor did tell me everything he was doing step by step) So, this operation was over a year ago but what I remember was something going on your eye to apply pressure or suck it to make the blood move away from your eye. During this you loose you eye sight for a few quick seconds, so it just goes black like you are falling asleep and then your eyesight come back quickly. I remember seeing the top layer of my eye being lifted, like a thin “flap” protecting my eye, (which to me was more freaky than the black out) and then the machine came down and I was told to stare at the red dot. The machine quickly makes a “zzzzzzzzzz” sound, which is reshaping the cornea so you can see and then its done and you can literally see instantly. They then repeat it on the other eye. It is so quick; men go to the bathroom for longer than the operation takes! Mine was about 15 minutes. I promise you it isn’t as bad as it might sound.

After the operation the doctor said to me I should go home and go straight to sleep as the first couple of hours your eyes are uncomfortably itchy. I followed his advice so I didn’t experience any itchiness and can’t comment on that. For the first day or two you have to leave your see-through eye patch protectors on and from then onwards for the next five nights, you just have to sleep with them on so you don’t scratch your eyes in your sleep. I drove the next day after the surgery, to my check up appointment.

The operation cost just under R20 000. That might sound a lot but I worked out that I had already spent R60 000 in total during the 7 years of wearing contacts and that doesn’t even include all the eye appointments every 6 months, glasses and glass frames. So if I had to keep wearing contacts until the age of 80, imagine how much money I would have spent (including inflation). If I also just wanted to wait a bit longer because I was scared or wanted to be older, so lets say until 27, then I would have wasted another R60 000 plus inflation. So it seems logical to do the operation as soon as you can for R20 000. The only thing that doesn’t make sense, is that medical aid does not pay for this, even though you can see it is cheaper for them to do so but fortunately my blog is not about medical aid, so I won’t go into the frustrations about medical aid. This operation you will just need to save up for.

My vision is now 100% and I am so happy. It has been the best money I’ve ever spent. My life is so much easier and I am ecstatic. My advice, is if you are considering it, don’t waste any more time thinking about it and go and book your appointment now, it really is worth it and you won’t regret it! 

NoNo

NoNo - Home laser hair removal device

(Video blog to be uploaded soon)

“No hair No pain”

What it is:

This is a cute and sexy little device that removes hair on your body instantly. The laser beam, cuts through your hair thus removing it, while it also results in up to 64% less hair regrowth. The NoNo should be used 2-3 times per week for 6-8 weeks for the best results and thereafter as when required. The company offers great guarantees and will give you your money back if you don’t see results, so in other words you have got nothing to loose in trying out this device, but even so, I’m also going to tell you about my experience with the NoNo to help you make up your mind for sure.

Removing the hair:

I found that in terms of removing hair instantly it certainly removes the hair more easily on areas where u have never shaved before. It still does work on areas where you have shaved, but you just have to go over the area quite a few times more and slower. The results are far better than shaving and although it grows faster than waxing in the short run, it is not an issue because you have the device with you and can do it any time, apposed to the mission and effort to go to a salon. However in the long run your hair would grow back less and less and slower and slower and it would be the same result as waxing. The great thing about the NoNo is that you can use it everywhere, besides around you nipple, so areas like between your eyebrows, upper lip, face, feet, garden path/tummy etc. I myself have not done it as frequently as I should have to see the best results and so I would say I have seen about 35% less hair regrowth.

Does it hurt?

It doesn’t hurt unless you get some of your skin in the way of the red beam but even so, it isn’t too sore. This never happens on flat surfaces (legs, arms, under arms etc.) and can simply be avoided be pulling your skin tight, if you have loose skin. Areas such as the elbows and knees are quite difficult and I haven’t quite figured out that part yet. Overall if you use the NoNo properly, it doesn’t hurt at all!

The smell:

What you might not like is the smell of burning hair, so I would recommend doing it before you shower so you can get the smell off you but that could just be in my head.

Cost and Waxing:

 Waxing is very sore and lets face it, there are some areas where you never get used to waxing.  It is also expensive and if you were to wax everything you would actually want to every month or two months, you would be spending a lot of money, where as the NoNo is a once of payment. Lets take a look at a popular salons’ price list, which is considered a reasonable/good price:

So let say we just want to wax the most common and important areas:

Full leg R190 + Hollywood R200 + Eyebrows R60 = R450 a month.

Therefore if you take the price of a NoNo, R3000 and divide it by R450, you would have spent the same amount of money on waxing in 6.67 months . However the NoNo will last for many years, if you look after it and from 7 months over, you will be saving your self all that extra money every month for many years. In 7 months you would have paid it off plus be able to do all the other areas you would like to do.                                        

Lets say you wanted to do all the desired/possible areas, so R450 + full arm R140 plus Stomach R85 + Underarm 80 = R755. This shows that if you bought a NoNo, you would have paid for it, in waxes, in just 4 months. (3000/755 =3.97). So as you can see, cost wise and in terms of hair removal for all the desired areas, the NoNo is a lot better.

Convenience:

The thing about waxing is you have to wait until you hair is long enough, and by then, you have been strutting your hair for 2 weeks, highly embarrassed. Then there is also the problem of trying to find an appointment that suits you. Then there is the more often then not situation, where something comes up last minute and you don’t have time to get a wax done or cant get the appointment because it’s fully booked or not open at that time, so you either go out embarrassed, end up shaving which makes you annoyed and sets back the whole waxing process and wastes your money or you end up not going at all (i.e. To the beach). With the NoNo you can remove your hair whenever it suits you and do all the areas you want and for free (after a certain amount of time as demonstrated above).

Shaving and Laser at the salons:

Shaving especially if you have dark hair, is not pretty, the regrowth feels terrible, it looks terrible, it grows back fast, you often cut your self, you have to do shave often and it feels like, and is a never ending on and on process for the rest of your life, that is annoying and frustrating. Going into a salon stops hair growth but if you read my previous blog, you can see why it is not ideal. In short, it is very expensive, a long process involves shaving and is very painful.

Conclusion

The NoNo is the best solution! It is better than waxing, better than shaving and better than salon laser hair removal for so many reasons. It is not a temporary hair removal method like Veet and shaving but one which will allow you to relax more and more as you get to stress less and less about taking the time to remove your hair. It is absolutely worth the price especially in the long term. You can even buy different heads for the device so you and your other family members and friends can use it, saving you all lots of money. The online website offers a delivery service which is incredible and was the best online delivery service I have ever experienced. Their product was sent from Johannesburg to Cape Town, where I am, in less than 24 hours. I’m looking forward to seeing better results (less and less hair on my body) in the future. Even if the NoNo doesn’t stop your hair from growing back completely, I still think it is better than all the other methods and more convenient and so therefore recommend the NoNo as the best way to remove your hair and prevent hair growth!

P.s

- Here is the website if you would like to order a NoNo or find out more, http://www.nono.co.za

- Don’t waste your money buying the NoNo classic, rather buy the NoNo 8800 because if you going to spend that amount of money, you might as well buy the proper one and get your value for your money.

-Look out for specials; Groupon was selling the NoNo for R2000 at one stage.

-At the moment, on the NoNo website, they are selling a special black and leaped print edition  

- NoNo also offers the NONO skin device which claims to offer 84% clearance and

81% skin improvement in 24hours. I would love to here someone's experience with this. Maybe I will try it in the future if I have the budget to do so or get offered to try it out.

Laser Hair Removal

Laser Hair Removal

(Video blog link to be posted soon)

This procedure does not remove your hair instantly but stops regrowth. How it works, is you shave about two days before you go in to the salon because long hair damages the laser machine and some hair (1-2mm) thick that grows back after about two days later after shaving, is preferred. A lady at the salon then “zaps” away. The actual part of the machine that made contact with my skin was about 6cm long and 3cm wide. This was placed on a section of the area being lasered and was repeated until the whole area had been done. On small areas, such as under arms and bikini line, it is super quick as very few “zaps” need to be done.

This procedure however is literally shockingly painful, so what I did was buy a numbing cream, which you do not need a script for, and apply this before I went. The numbing cream made a huge difference and all I felt was a quick shock of heat and a slight zap, but it wasn’t sore. I must admit that having laser under my arms without numbing cream was actually quite tolerable, so I would have to say that it is the most sore on the same areas that are most sore to wax, so the generally sensitive areas. To elaborate more on the cream, although it did help, it was awkward because you had to apply it about 45-60minutes before and then cling wrap the area (Yes, you read correctly, CLING WRAP) so that your cloths wouldn’t absorb it/rub it off and prevent the area form absorbing it…If you are imagining walking around with certain parts of your body cling wrapped, I am pretty sure you are laughing aloud right now and if you weren’t imagining it, I’m sure you are now!

What I didn’t like and still don’t like about laser hair removal, is that you can never go back to waxing because it counteracts the process and stimulates hair growth. So during the treatment you have to shave in between and after the treatments you still have to shave and to me, personally, shaving can look terrible, especially in some areas. I also don’t like that you can’t be tanned (doesn’t work as well), so you are advised to do it in winter but then in summer you must shave in between and that isn’t ideal appearance wise. The laser procedure takes a long time to complete the full stopping of hair growth and so you have to deal with shaving problems the whole time until you have stopped most hair growth.

The cost to doing this is very expensive! It costs you a couple of thousand rands even on specials. I paid around R6000 for a special that included 2 areas for the price of one, if I paid for it up front at once. The procedure promised very high results, which was stopping most hair growth and just having to come back for a maintenance package, which you had to pay more money for, but at a cheap price, to remove the last few hairs. I didn’t quite see these exact results

When I was finished my package (which took about 7 months), the first few 2-3 months after it looked as if 60% of the hair had stop growing and although it was not as much as was promised, I was still very pleased with the results. However after about 3 months, with shaving in between, it went down to about 40% less hair only. I am certainly convinced that laser hair removal works but am I sold on it…I don’t think so.

Although I am still happy with the results and I could continue with the maintenance program, I feel it is far to expensive to carry on with, it would also probably take another year and I really don’t like what shaving does. Do not be sad though because I have the solution!

Check out my next blog to see what!

Aquaflosser

Aquaflosser

(Video Blog to be posted soon)

My experience with the Aquaflosser has been incredible.

I remember being told when I was younger by some dentists, visiting my junior school, that you can floss once every few days or once a week but after a few painful and expensive route canals, I have learnt and been informed by many dentists now, that you must floss every night before you go to bed.  When you don’t floss at night before you go to bed, the food sits in between your gums and not only can it lead to holes or route canal but during the night it sits there and irritates you gums and makes them bleed, this leads to BAD BREATH!

(FYI, brushing you teeth once in the morning often doesn’t quite get rid of the smell…so now you know why some days you still have bad breath even though you brushed you teeth)

Flossing for me is the worst!

1. It is TIME Consuming
2. It’s the last thing I want to do at the end of the day. I’m tired and I’d rather go to bed an extra 5-10minutes sooner.
3.  It’s sore
4.  My gums always bleed and it tastes gross
5. It hurts my fingers
6.   It sometimes even smells a bit
7.  My mouth and lips gets dry while flossing
8. It’s awkward to floss and difficult with all the odd angles
9.  I DON’T LIKE TO FLOSS
10. I REALLY DON’T LIKE TO FLOSS

The Aquaflosser has changed my life…and my dentistry bill!

This contraption squirts water between you teeth at a high pressure, removing plaque-causing food particles from between, in and around braces, bridges, implants and crowns ensuring healthier, cleaner teeth and gums. All you do is hold the tip of the device in your mouth, close your mouth and slowly move the device across your mouth so the water can go between each tooth. While you do this, you tilt your head so that the water can run out from the corner or your mouth.

Here are the reasons why I LOVE the Aquaflosser:

1.  It DOESN’T HURT
2.  It’s A LOT quicker!!!!!!!!!!!
3. Once off payment (Might seem a little costly but it is worth it and face it, we spend that money on buying a T-shirt or 2 dinners…I won’t even try compare it to a months cost of airtime or actually going to the dentist for tooth ache)
4. Easier to floss with!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Reaches where traditional floss and brushing can't. Which therefor you can assume is BETTER!
6. Rechargable
7. Mouth and lips don’t get dry
8. Helps stop BAD BREATH
9. MAKES FLOSSING FUN AND NOT THAT BAD 

Flossing for me has gone from being something I dread to something I really don’t mind doing at all anymore. Flossing is vital and now with the Aquaflosser, it is easier. The Aquaflosser makes it even a bit fun, plus you can avoid painful, expensive route canals and BAD BREATH! I’m so glad I bought the Aquaflosser and don’t have to use the old stringy floss anymore. I don’t avoid flossing now at night and haven’t needed to go to the dentist since. I highly recommend buying the Aquaflosser!

I will definitely never go back to the old way of flossing!

P.s Here is the link to the Aquaflosser website as well as a link to a YouTube video which shows you how the Aquaflosser works.

http://www.aquaflosser.co.za

http://youtu.be/gnUZ1t5OfpY