In the salon

Soprano XL “When laser hair removal was first introduced, it could only treat a millimetre at a time, which made it a very slow and painful procedure,” says Dr Patrick Bowler, medical director of Courthouse Clinics. “Instead of emitting one pulse to heat the hair follicles, the Soprano XL fires out high-speed pulses at a lower energy. It can still heat the hair to the required level, but because it fires so rapidly it is pretty much pain-free.” And what about those brave enough to undergo the treatment? “The last time I tried laser hair removal, on my bikini line in 2003, I fainted from the shock of the pain and the swelling,” says Fleur Britten, who recently signed up for the treatment. “With the Soprano, if anything, it felt cold — that was the cooling agent.” Soprano XL also works incredibly fast, and can even be used on darker skin tones — a first for laser hair removal.

Sessions from £50; 0845 170 7788, painfreehairfree.co.uk