Compare Laser Hair Removal Gadgets:
Tria, Rio, Silk'n, NoNo & Boots Smooth Skin Review

On the market now there are a lot of new home laser hair removal gadgets, all of different shapes and sizes, and all using different technology and costing across a massive range of prices. This is a home laser hair removal review and guide to help you understand what your options are. We directly compare the Tria, the NoNo, compare the silk'n and Rio, and of course we review the Smooth Skin from Boots.

Comparison Chart:

Permanence
1. Unsurprisingly Tria wins on permanence hands down - probably because it’s the only unit which uses the same laser technology used by doctors and dermatologists. It has clinical trials that back up our permanence ratings & it’s the only one that has an FDA approval. You are paying a good sum of money for this, but you get technology that will definitely deliver results.
  
  £675.00
2. The Silk’n is a home pulsed light and not actual laser hair removal, but it seems to be the most effective out of our runners up. It’s not permanent but it’s a lot better than razors.
  
  £379.99
3. With a similar setup to the Silk’n, the Smooth skin by boots is quite good. A safe middle ground, however you will find yourself having to come back and use it regularly, and certain areas of hair return quicker than others.
  
  £249.99
4. If you can get the RIO to work it should last for a little while, but the only reason that this is not in the last place is because the No No is somehow worse.
  
  £159.99
5. The No No is basically only a little better than shaving. Since it works by buring the hair they will return very quickly. Not quite as quickly as shaving, but in terms of permanance this is a clear looser.
  
  £138.95
Ease Of Use
1. There is no confusion on how to use the No No, it is very easy. It requires a lot of effort, and it hurts. It’s not a quick fix and it is in no way permanant (see permanence), but it is easy to understand how to use.
  
  £138.95
2. The Tria is very easy to understand how to use. Once charged the free standing gun-like-unit just needs to be pointed at the correct part of the skin. This is second place as the NoNo beats it on size - the Tria technology requires a much larger unit - it is still very simple to use though.
  
  £675.00
3. Again, another nice simple unit. The hand unit is quite small and through a kind of hose it attaches to the base unit which is a little more cumbersome - hence 3rd place. The head unit is quite small and it is easy to aim appropriately.
  
  £249.99
4. The Silk’n is a bit clunkier with a larger head and similar base unit to the So Smooth that the head bolts into. It is not unusable by far, but neither is it the best.
  
  £379.99
5. The RIO got a lot of complaints when it comes to usability. The main complaint was the plastic head was too big, making it hard to accurately target the areas which you want to remove hair from.
  
  £159.99
Pain
1. The RIO wins in this category as it is practically pain less. This is a device which while not permanent, is going to be very easy to use on a regular basis.
  
  £159.99
2. Even on the highest setting the Tria just makes a small pinging when used. It is pretty much painless, though there is some sensation. There are three sensors attached to the unit to make sure that it is making a good connection to the skin before you can activate it. These sensors ensure that you can not activate it unless good contact is made, meaning there is very little chance that you cause yourself any pain unless you actively try to. you can
  
  £675.00
3. The Silk’n Home Pulsed Light is pretty light on the skin. This is not the best in this category, there can be some stronger feeling as you use it, but you can still easily do this whilst watching the telly with little discomfort.
  
  £379.99
4. Again this is a very tightly faught battle, there is not much difference between this and the Silk'n home pulsed laser. The Smooth skin is a pretty smooth operator too.
  
  £249.99
5. It burns. It burns. It really burns. The No No has to be our most painful, since it works by burning the hair off you. If you slip you can end up with some lines of burns which can be felt up to a week later. It is in no way life threatening, and if you are careful you can keep the burns to a minimum, but this is easily enough to put the No No in 5th place for pain.
  
  £138.95
Value for Money
1. In this category the No No wins out purely because of its low price tag. The No No does the job, and for the least amount of money. It requires a lot more work and is far from painless, with reports of the burns being felt a week later (see pain), but it is very cheap.
  
  £138.95
2. At £675 this may seem an odd choice for second place seeing as it’s the most expensive. The reason we choose this is because the Tria uses actual Laser Hair removal technology. In the long term, it easily offers the best life time value, and when you compare this to the price of going to a clinic for laser removal it works out very favourable. As it has a high permanance rating you could potentially sell it on afterwards.
  
  £675.00
3. The RIO has a good price tag, and they place themselves well in the market in terms of affordability. The effectiveness of it is in question, but it is definitely well priced.
  
  £159.99
4. Much the same as the RIO price wise, but slightly better built and slightly more powerful. Same as the Rio, this doesn’t kill the hair growth so does not offer much permanence.
  
  £249.99
5. Even though it is slightly more effective than the RIO, since it does not offer a treatment which is comparative to salon laser hair removal, the extra cost does not reflect the increase in value. Whilst it does do well in terms of effectiveness, it has suffered here due to expensive price tag being far over the increase in technology.
  
  £379.99

Value for Money
Permanence
Ease of Use
Pain
Price £675.00

Product

TRIA from TRIA Beauty

Technology

Diode Laser

Safety

FDA approved, eye safe, patented optical diffuser technology that transforms the Class IV diode laser into a Class I laser that is safe for use at home without any protective safety goggles.

Ease of use

Instructions easy to follow, Rechargeable battery pack built into the device with 3 hour charge time. Hair needs to be shaved prior to use, no additional cooling gels or creams needed. It takes approx five minutes to treat an underarm area.

Pain

Minimal. TRIA System has three energy levels: 1 (low), 2 (medium), 3 (high). Simply select the level that is most comfortable and increase the level as your tolerance increases

How many treatments

6-8 treatments, once a month over 6-8 months

Where on the body

Legs, underarms, bikini line, back, chest, abdomen, arms, hands, or feet

Contraindications

TRIA cannot be used on dark skin, or under 18’s

Portability

Lightweight

Permanence

TRIA's clinical results show that with less than one-quarter of the recommended treatment cycle completed, patients achieved and maintained a 33% reduction in hair growth for 12 months (1 year) after the last treatment.