11. There were bright-red blisters all over my neck, chin, and lips
“My stomach was churning as the beauty therapist slowly lifted the mirror. My face was stinging badly and I could see she was upset. But nothing could have prepared me for what I was to see next. There were bright-red blisters all over my neck, chin, and lips. The searing pain I had felt as she ran the laser hair-removal tool over my skin and the revolting burning stench I could smell afterwards suddenly made sense….
It was a few months later, after my third treatment, that I found myself standing on a busy Auckland street, wincing from the pain caused by my weeping blisters. People were staring at me. I felt like a leper. I had started to feel a sharp pain as the therapist was running the laser tool over my face. It felt like a hot iron.”
—Gyll