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Chit Chat
Laser hair removal
Who's done it?
It seems like everyday I see a living social or groupon deal for it and I'm always tempted. My best friend has had it done in several areas and won't stop talking about it. Her goal is to be permanently hairless from her eyebrows down. Seriously.
So when the spa she goes to announces they're running a 75% off laser hair removal services, I contact them for a consultation... for a brazilian! My fried said it's the best money she's ever spent, seeing as though brazilian waxes can cost anywhere from $40-70 where we live. So I'm going Thursday night for a consultation and was hoping someone could tell me what to expect (friend is out of the country and I can't call her). Thanks!!
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Re: Laser hair removal
First off, it's not permanent. At least mine wasn't.
I bought a groupon for 6 sessions at a place in a bigger city near where I lived. The area I did was my full face. (Upper lip, chin, sideburns)
At the end of the 6th session I was thinking ok awesome , I won't have to get waxed anymore! 8 weeks later, I was back in the chair getting my face waxed. I was very disappointed.
Now I get my full face threaded about 2x a year. The hair grows back slower, and I guess that's less trouble, but the whole, your hair will be gone forever is not true.
I had a friend who bought a package for her underarms, and still has to shave.
I've also heard from other people that 6 treatments isn't enough to fully remove the hair permanently, and that you need AT LEAST 8-10 sessions to get the hair gone forever.
That definitely has a lot to do with it I think. Me, for example, I have black hair on my face despite my hair on my head being mousy brown. The hair on my face grows fast, and it's thick.(I hate it) I would think that my hair would be a lot more difficult to remove compared to a blonde with moderate hair growth.
I wish I would have known more about the process before I bought the groupon, because had I known that it probably wouldn't remove all of my hair permanently in 6 treatments, I wouldn't have purchased it.
I did underarms and it was either 4 or 6 sessions (I'm thinking 4). They said for permanent removal it needed to be 8 or 10 or something (so 4 more sessions than I'd purchased whichever it was) and of course the cost would be way higher since I'd bought them on a discount.
They also said that it still isn't really permanent and than hormones can cause a change. So getting pregnant or menopause or anything that can mess with your hormones can basically cause it to grow back. That was one reason I opted not to buy the extra sessions. It's been probably 5 years now since had it and the hair is lighter but it still grows back. I think I have to shave less than before which is nice but certainly isn't all gone.
This is interesting to know, and this is probably one of my issues too, I have issues with hormonal acne, so I'm on medications that control all of that, and I'm sure they're all out of whack because of them.
If you decide to do this, I would just save up and do it from a reputable place with good equipment and certified techs. It's worth it in the long run.
Definitely check the place out first. I initially did a Groupon deal for my 8 treatments on my legs. She did them every 2 weeks. I later learned that hair growth cycle on legs is about 8 weeks, so doing them any more often than that is worthless. It seemed to work great at first, but certainly wasn't permanent. Then they went out of business.
After that I tried again with a more reputable place. I've had about 8 sessions on my legs. The hair is definitely thinned out, but not yet completely gone. Underarms are done (last treatment was about a year ago and no regrowth yet). And about 1/2 way through Brazilian treatments. I love it.
Some tips I learned:
Most areas take 8-12 treatments. If you find a package offering 6-8 treatments, don't expect it to complete the process. It should at least thin out the hair a lot in that timeframe though. But, expect to continue with additional treatments for full permanent hair removal. I think many people do the 6-8 treatment deals then complain that it doesn't work permanently, when they may have just needed more treatments.
Hair growth rates for legs is about 8 weeks, so doing treatments more often than every 8 weeks is a waste of money. Areas on face are recommended every 4 weeks. And other body areas should be treated around 6 weeks. If they want to do them more often than that, it's a waste of money as they new follicles they want to zap haven't grown in yet.
It works best on dark hair. Blond hair is nearly impossible to get removed. My lower legs have dark hair and my upper legs have light colored hair. My tech told me it would be a waste of money for me to do treatments on my upper legs, as it would be difficult to get results on the light colored hair, and suggested I just do lower legs. I love that she was honest with me and not just trying to push more sales. So, if you have light colored hair, don't expect great results.
Legs are relatively painless. Underarms can be sensitive and hurt a bit, but not intolerable and it goes quick. Bikini/Brazilian hurts for me. Sometimes I use lidocaine cream to numb the area first, which helps a lot (put it on about 45 minutes before treatment, then wash it off right before treatment). Also, it will hurt more during or around time of your period, as body is more sensitive then. I usually will schedule treatments (especially the more sensitive areas) around my cycle to limit pain.
"Everything below the eyebrows" is my pipe dream goal too (you know, when I'm a millionaire) but I wouldn't trust anyone on Groupon etc to do it.
I had it done on my bikini line and my underarms - like 10 sessions total I think? This was about 3 years ago.
I still have to shave.