I was wondering how effective these are for someone with fair skin, a lot of patience, and almost no money. They are probably affordable for me as long as I buy off e-bay. It sucks being a poor college student =)

I googled "Epila" and found a consumer discussion of it...
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=433440
sample quote--

QuoteI bought the Epila off of Ebay a couple weeks ago absolutely thrilled
at the possibility I would not have to deal with the unwanted hair
issue anymore...Well here is my answer to your ????  and the answer is
DO NOT BUY IT! It literally put holes in my skin and DID NOT! kill the
hair follicles! It was even worse on my face! Your hair follicles run
deep this device DOES NOT get down into the skin and zap the follicle
it burns the top of the hair which actually starts a little fire and
stinks to high heaven! on your face or body and burns your skin around
the area of the hair! So you are left with these perfect round scabs
on your face and when the scab comes off there again is the hair. Also
it is WAY to easy to hit the "on" side button which turns the laser on
when holding the device which could result easily in retina damage if
you were not paying attention to where it is directed.I would never
leave this device on around kids either! Don't waste your money
people! go have it done professionally!

Quote from: Morgause on September 19, 2008, 03:38:41 AM
I've done some research on do-it-yourself lasers back when I first considered going that way, and it seems the fairly cheap options are unlikely to do the trick. I went for Tria myself, which uses the same technology as professional epilation as far as I know, except at a lower power level (24J/cm2 on the highest setting). It operates at a wave length of around 810 nm, so it should be safe on your fair skin.

While I'm fairly pleased with the device, it is significantly more expensive than other options (at around £700), and as other lasers, there's no guarantee of actually getting the job done. It is also not recommended for use on the face if you are hairy, though you may be able to pluck some of the hair to make the experience less painful the first few times around (I'm also a wuss when it comes to that sort of 'jolt' pain, so your mileage may vary).

So, I can vouch that DIY lasers can work and be safe, but it may not be cheap enough for you, and I have never seen a second-hand Tria for sale (admittedly, they only came out a few years ago).

Thanks a lot. I may have to start saving. There's never enough money to get what I want =)

At least you're not alone...
I consulted hair removal specialist some time ago and he told me that
the shortest time between 2 session is 4-6 weeks but the longest time
is not limited ie. you can (just like i will) save up for one session and then
have the other when you collect enough money.
At first i didn't know that this was possible and didn't think that your sessions
can be furter apart from 4-6 weeks, but that actually turend out to be minimum...
hope this helps