Has anyone tried ReAura Laser Device from Philips?
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free skin care · Sun Nov 23, 2014 8:19 am

Oppps! Let me correct what I posted. I have the TacGel but it's unopened, I was going to use it when my ReAura gel ran out. Keliu - thanks for letting me know, I'll surely buy some glycerin now. Is there any brand or kind you can recommend? I plan on starting a new round of treatments right after the holidays.

free skin care · Sun Nov 23, 2014 12:24 pm

buy the cheapest drugstore brand - there is also food grade, but they are both cheap cheap cheap!

free skin care · Sun Nov 23, 2014 2:51 pm

mismis wrote:

buy the cheapest drugstore brand - there is also food grade, but they are both cheap cheap cheap p!

I agree, cheapest is fine. Works like a charm.

Tue Nov 25, 2014 6:39 pm

I wish this topic were even more active, I love reading everybody's experiences with the Reaura. This is my very first post, but thanks to you guys I purchased a Reaura over a year ago. Used it four times (LOVE!) But then found out I was pregnant and stopped treatments.

I recently began again, and am on treatment 7. I am in my late thirties with olive skin and freckles + sun damage... and pregnancy made my freckles so much worse. But my kids and husband could see a visible difference after 3 or 4 treatments. I love love love this gadget.

So I'm very disappointed that they have decided to discontinue the Reaura and I'm wondering why. I hope it's not due to any potential health hazards, lol. I wonder how long these lasers are expected to last, too.

I'm almost out of the aftercare cream and wondering what a good replacement would be. Any advice?

Wed Nov 26, 2014 2:57 am

It's been a while since I was last on this thread but I thought I'd drop a line given all the discussion about Philips discontinuing the ReAura. I've been using the ReAura since late 2011. Love it, love it. I've had fab results. Have posted about it here and on my blog many, many times. I spoke to the Philips UK press office yesterday and they gave me the low down on why they made the decision to scrap the ReAura. They also said existing users WILL continue to be supported. I further asked them about the rumoured new version. I've written it all up on my blog - it's a bit long to recite it all here. If anyone is interested the post can be found here http://bit.ly/1yaXk2Q
Also, please DM me if you have any questions. The ReAura may be gone (for now) but I hope the community that loves it so much continues to thrive through its members supporting each other in the way they always have Smile

free skin care · Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:23 am

I owned a Tria and used for 1 round of treatment successfully but, half-way through my next treatment, it died on me so I searched high and low for a Reaura.

Although it was difficult, I managed to find one at John Lewis (Milton Keynes), they had 3 in stock and I believe 1 other of their stores and 1 or 2 in stock but that is the last remaining available. I bought mine 4 weeks ago.

I didn't want to go the Ebay route because it's such an expensive item and, although it's discontinued, buying from John Lewis has given me a 2 year warranty which is reassuring.

I'm so glad I spent the extra money on the Reaura. I've used it now to complete the other half of my treatment round and, in my opinion, it's by far the best laser compared to the Tria.

free skin care · Wed Nov 26, 2014 5:33 pm

I had the opportunity to get a ReAura back in the spring of 2013, but I didn't. Darn. Was going to wait for the Tria.

Still don't have a Tria either and even though it's available now in the States, I've lost my enthusiasm for it. From what I've been reading here and elsewhere, it seems the Tria is not really a good long-term solution.

And now the ReAura is gone. Brick wall

free skin care · Fri Nov 28, 2014 2:00 am

I'm not really surprised that it hasn't sold particularly well, considering that it was so difficult to purchase. It's not available to international buyers and it rarely appears on Ebay. Also if you did manage to get your hands on it you had to go through a whole rigmarole of user agreements - so Philips could protect themselves against user misuse and injury I suppose.

free skin care · Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:15 am

It seems that Phillips never did get FDA approval in the US. That should have opened up a large market for them. I wonder if approval was declined or if they decided not to pursue? I searched, but couldn't find anything one way or the other.

Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:39 am

notthatchristy wrote:

I wish this topic were even more active, I love reading everybody's experiences with the Reaura. This is my very first post, but thanks to you guys I purchased a Reaura over a year ago. Used it four times (LOVE!) But then found out I was pregnant and stopped treatments.

I recently began again, and am on treatment 7. I am in my late thirties with olive skin and freckles + sun damage... and pregnancy made my freckles so much worse. But my kids and husband could see a visible difference after 3 or 4 treatments. I love love love this gadget.

So I'm very disappointed that they have decided to discontinue the Reaura and I'm wondering why. I hope it's not due to any potential health hazards, lol. I wonder how long these lasers are expected to last, too.

I'm almost out of the aftercare cream and wondering what a good replacement would be. Any advice?

Someone on here advised me to buy this...

Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm is clinically proven to help support the regeneration process of the skin.

When sensitive skin flares up, Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm soothes without irritating.

It supports the skin's own regeneration process, while conditioning and moisturising.

It's £9 from boots. Not tried it yet but looks good.

Thu Dec 11, 2014 3:21 pm

Hi guys
Just wanted to let everyone know that Philips UK contacted me today with details of the alternative skincare that can be used with the ReAura. I've written everything up in a blog post, so that the info is available widely to all ReAura users, including those outside of EDS. If it's of interest the link is: http://bit.ly/1utdHUZ As before, any questions please feel free to DM me. Tracey x

Tue Dec 16, 2014 8:46 am

Hello everyone!

New to this topic, and this board.
I was looking at ReAura back in 2011 but decided to postpone the purchase until I could afford it so the news about it being discontinued came as a shock, only last year they made a huge promotional action in Netherlands.
I am getting my hands on one this week second-hand (though unused) and looking forward to it.

I have a question however about ReAura and BHA and AHA products. I use BHA everyday to help with my clogged pores, do I need to stop (and for how long) before / after ReAura cycle?
What about AHA (I use an AHA body lotion once a week).

Tracey, I can see the UK Philips SkinCare experts are still accessible, do you know if can I contact them by e-mail or is phone the only option?

Thu Dec 18, 2014 11:19 am

Hi TheAlluring

Yes you can still contact the support lines. Philips stressed that it would continue supporting users when they confirmed to me that they were discontinuing the product. They sent me the various links to online support, as well as direct line phone numbers. All the info is in the blog post here: http://bit.ly/1yaXk2Q I hope this helps? Tx

Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:56 am

I have seen some of you proposing pure glycerine as a replacement for the laser gel: this is not the best idea.
From what I have read, gels to use with laser treatment make it the most effective if they have high viscosity to disperse and minimise the heat produced by the laser. It is easy enough to buy professional IPL gels online and still for a fraction of a price of the original gel.
One thing you should look out for is to chose products without perfumes or colorants, which are always at least unnecessary for products one puts on their face.
Personally, I would try to avoid ones with low molecular weight alcohols as well (ethanol) as they are not good for skin either.
This all makes the Tria gel advised by Philips a sub-par choice, truth be told.

I have a question to fellow reAura users: anyone here with history of cold sores? I asked my physician for Acyclovir prescription but she admitted she knew absolutely nothing about dosing it for treatment like ReAura, so maybe someone here can help me out.

free skin care · Tue Dec 23, 2014 3:52 pm

TheAlluring wrote:

I have seen some of you proposing pure glycerine as a replacement for the laser gel: this is not the best idea.
From what I have read, gels to use with laser treatment make it the most effective if they have high viscosity to disperse and minimise the heat produced by the laser. It is easy enough to buy professional IPL gels online and still for a fraction of a price of the original gel.
One thing you should look out for is to chose products without perfumes or colorants, which are always at least unnecessary for products one puts on their face.
Personally, I would try to avoid ones with low molecular weight alcohols as well (ethanol) as they are not good for skin either.
This all makes the Tria gel advised by Philips a sub-par choice, truth be told.

I have a question to fellow reAura users: anyone here with history of cold sores? I asked my physician for Acyclovir prescription but she admitted she knew absolutely nothing about dosing it for treatment like ReAura, so maybe someone here can help me out.

The reasoning for using Glycerin with the ReAura is because the main ingredient in the Philips gel is actually Glycerin. I'm not sure what ingredients are in IPL gel, but I do know that IPL and Fraxel Laser (the ReAura) are two different modalities. Also, the Tria gel recommended by Philips is in place of their after-care product, not the gel to use during treatment. The Tria does not require a treatment gel.

As for the issue of cold sores - when I had a Pearl Laser treatment I was given some medication because I did have a history of cold sores. However, I really don't think this is of concern when using the ReAura.

Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:11 am

Keliu wrote:

The reasoning for using Glycerin with the ReAura is because the main ingredient in the Philips gel is actually Glycerin. I'm not sure what ingredients are in IPL gel, but I do know that IPL and Fraxel Laser (the ReAura) are two different modalities.

Being an ingredient of something =/= being able to perform all functions of something.
The purpose of laser performance gel is three-fold: provide viscosity, disperse the heat create by laser and increase ease of application of treatment. Pure glycerin fulfills the last one, but to achieve the other two you need a mixture with proper physical properties. These physical properties are all provided by IPL gels because they are all developed especially to have high viscosity and disperse the heat. Again, glycerin might be an ingredient of them too, but it is not providing all the desired characteristics on its own.
Fraxel and IPL gels are basically the same, google for Fraxel / IPL gel and you will find plenty of products used in professional salons, not to mention that ...

Keliu wrote:

Also, the Tria gel recommended by Philips is in place of their after-care product, not the gel to use during treatment. The Tria does not require a treatment gel.

nope, Philips actually recommends this Tria IPL gel as substitute for Laser Performance gel (see quote from Tracey's blog, plus I asked Philips Customer support and got the same anwser). I think what got you confused here is that the gel is meant for laser hair removal Tria rather than the Age-Defying one, since the Age-Defying one indeed does not require a gel.
So basically, Philips is recommending an IPL gel themselves, however one they do recommend has plenty of ingredients that do nothing to enhance treatment but can be irritating to skin (colorants, perfume, alcohol).

tracey parkes wrote:

In place of the ReAura Laser Performance Gel, Philips recommends using Tria Beauty’s Smoothstart Calming Gel, from the latter’s laser hair removal range.

Keliu wrote:

As for the issue of cold sores - when I had a Pearl Laser treatment I was given some medication because I did have a history of cold sores. However, I really don't think this is of concern when using the ReAura.

I also think not, however what gets me a bit confused is the dosing.
I know that with salon resurfacing, they give you antiviral treatment from a week before to a few weeks after treatment.
With ReAura treatment period of 8 weeks, that would accumulate to 10+weeks on antiviral medication: I doubt many family doctors would prescribe that!

free skin care · Thu Dec 25, 2014 3:35 am

TheAlluring wrote:

Keliu wrote:

The reasoning for using Glycerin with the ReAura is because the main ingredient in the Philips gel is actually Glycerin. I'm not sure what ingredients are in IPL gel, but I do know that IPL and Fraxel Laser (the ReAura) are two different modalities.

Being an ingredient of something =/= being able to perform all functions of something.
The purpose of laser performance gel is three-fold: provide viscosity, disperse the heat create by laser and increase ease of application of treatment. Pure glycerin fulfills the last one, but to achieve the other two you need a mixture with proper physical properties. These physical properties are all provided by IPL gels because they are all developed especially to have high viscosity and disperse the heat. Again, glycerin might be an ingredient of them too, but it is not providing all the desired characteristics on its own.
Fraxel and IPL gels are basically the same, google for Fraxel / IPL gel and you will find plenty of products used in professional salons, not to mention that ...

Keliu wrote:

Also, the Tria gel recommended by Philips is in place of their after-care product, not the gel to use during treatment. The Tria does not require a treatment gel.

nope, Philips actually recommends this Tria IPL gel as substitute for Laser Performance gel (see quote from Tracey's blog, plus I asked Philips Customer support and got the same anwser). I think what got you confused here is that the gel is meant for laser hair removal Tria rather than the Age-Defying one, since the Age-Defying one indeed does not require a gel.
So basically, Philips is recommending an IPL gel themselves, however one they do recommend has plenty of ingredients that do nothing to enhance treatment but can be irritating to skin (colorants, perfume, alcohol).

tracey parkes wrote:

In place of the ReAura Laser Performance Gel, Philips recommends using Tria Beauty’s Smoothstart Calming Gel, from the latter’s laser hair removal range.

Keliu wrote:

As for the issue of cold sores - when I had a Pearl Laser treatment I was given some medication because I did have a history of cold sores. However, I really don't think this is of concern when using the ReAura.

I also think not, however what gets me a bit confused is the dosing.
I know that with salon resurfacing, they give you antiviral treatment from a week before to a few weeks after treatment.
With ReAura treatment period of 8 weeks, that would accumulate to 10+weeks on antiviral medication: I doubt many family doctors would prescribe that!

Here are the ingredients for the ReAura Laser Gel:
CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, DICAPRYLYL CARBONATE, GLYCERIN, AQUA (WATER; EAU), BUTYLENE GLYCOL, SUCROSE STEARATE, HYPERICUM PERFORATUM FLOWER/LEAF/STEM EXTRACT, LEONTOPODIUM ALPINUM FLOWER/LEAF/STEM EXTRACT, COLA NITIDA SEED EXTRACT, PAULLINIA CUPANA SEED EXTRACT, ILEX PARAGUARIENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, SUCROSE LAURATE, MENTHYL PCA, ETHYL MENTHANE CARBOXAMIDE, ALCOHOL, BENZYL ALCOHOL.

I don't see anything in there that's for disposing heat (but I'm not a chemist). It mostly seems to be herbal based with the main ingredient being Glycerin. I can say that after using the device for over 18 months with Glycerin it has worked perfectly well for me. Plus, many on this forum are also using Glycerin in place of the original STOP gel with that device.

Here are the ingredients for one IPL gel I found:
Purified Water, Glycerin, Stabilize, Poviderm, Triethanolamine, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate (preservatives) Most appear to be emulsifiers and preservatives - I don't know that there's anything special there which relates to the control of heat by lasers. But, as I said, I'm no chemist and everyone should use what they feel is appropriate for them. It has always confused me as to why the Tria device requires no gel at all.

Yes, I did misunderstand your recommendation of the Tria gel - I didn't realise that you were referring to the hair removal device.

As to the cold sore medication - I also think it would be overkill (not to mention possibly harmful) to be using this medication long term. When I took it, it was for one very invasive laser treatment. The ReAura is used over a period of 16 weeks and can't be considered invasive so I also wouldn't be comfortable taking that medication for so long.

Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:28 am

Okay, so I've just done my first ReAura treatment and I need some advice: I knew I should expect redness, but is my reaction normal? Kind of worried if I should continue with treatments.. This is what my face looks like using setting 1, first treatment

(this is a shortened link to Microsoft OneDrive)

1drv.ms/1y6wonM

Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:55 am

Hey, just looked at your photo and this is what I look like after a treatment although this is on level 3. Please don't panic, it will calm in a couple of hours, please make sure you use some kind of calming treatment and some people use ice packs.

TheAlluring wrote:

Okay, so I've just done my first ReAura treatment and I need some advice: I knew I should expect redness, but is my reaction normal? Kind of worried if I should continue with treatments.. This is what my face looks like using setting 1, first treatment

(this is a shortened link to Microsoft OneDrive)

1drv.ms/1y6wonM

Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:58 am

*not panicking, not panicking*
Thanks a lot!

I have Paula's Choice Redness remedy I bought for that purpose, but I did not expect to look THIS red on setting 1...

On the plus side, it took me < 30 min to do my first treatment Very Happy

Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:09 am

That's really fast, yay! Honestly, I do look this red and it calms really quickly. Just have faith and take it easy to begin with, maybe stick to level 1 until your skin gets used to it x

TheAlluring wrote:

*not panicking, not panicking*
Thanks a lot!

I have Paula's Choice Redness remedy I bought for that purpose, but I did not expect to look THIS red on setting 1...

On the plus side, it took me < 30 min to do my first treatment Very Happy

free skin care · Thu Jan 01, 2015 7:38 am

My face always get red and stays red the next morning. Then I get the brown specks all over my face a day or so later (that's on level 2). So I think it's normal for some of us.

free skin care · Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:07 am

Some redness has to be expected from a laser treatment. If you were to have a professional salon treatment your face would feel like you had a hot iron placed on the skin and it would take up to a week to settle. Home lasers are much milder, but the concept is still to "injure" the skin to stimulate the production of collagen. If there is no redness, then you aren't achieving anything.

Also, Level 1 is merely the "training" level - to achieve results you should be using levels 2 or 3. This is from the Philips manual:

4.2 Use setting 2 or 3
The device has three intensity settings. The higher
the setting, the deeper the laser goes into the skin,
the better results will be. A higher setting also
comes with higher discomfort (heat sensation and
redness). Setting 1 is only intended for practising and should only be used the very first time. Usingsetting 1 will not deliver results. To achieve resultsuse setting 2 (medium treatment setting) andpreferably setting 3 (high treatment setting).

http://download.p4c.philips.com/files/s/sc5000_00/sc5000_00_dfu_eng.pdf

Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:46 am

Today I had Session 2 scheduled but again I am worried:
I put the intensity on 2. During the session, when light would flash red and green, I would also hear a crackling noise, like electric current; something that did not occur during my Session 1. I can't find mention about such noise anywhere when I google for ReAura and cracking.

So... does your reAura make a cracking nose while treatment?

Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:16 am

To be more precise, my question is:
Does ReAura sound any different when used on setting 1 vs setting 2?
When I move my device set to 2 across my skin, I can hear a crackle, something I do not hear on setting 1.

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