anxious and confused

Hi everyone

I’m new to this log, but a long-time sufferer of excess hair. I’m currently 17 and hair ruined my teenage years. I pretty much said no to every guy who asked me out, and rarely went to parties because I was so ashamed of my physical appearance. I’ve been working for almost two years now, and finally collected enough money to help my problem. Lately I tried removng the thin but very long and dense light brown hair on my chest, stomach, and back, but it did not work. So I’m just wondering if anyone knows a laser that works on thin light hair(they’re not blond).Also, now I decided to focus on the coarse dark brown hair on my legs, underarms, and bikini. My skin colour is very pale with a yellowish tint. I would really appreciate any suggestions on what type of laser would be most affective. Also, I want to do electrolysis on my forehead and chest. I’m just really afraid of spending any more money with no results, because I worked so hard for it. These questions are always on my mind and I’m really anxious to get started with treatments, just because it is summer, and I think this guy likes me who I like. So I’m sorry this post is so long, but I just really needed to let it all out.

If anyone has any suggestions or experiences to share I would be really really thankful.

What method of hair removal did you try before? Was it laser, or something else? Lasers work best on coarse, dark hair and pale skin combos. So you should have good results on legs/underarms/bikini and maybe some reduction on the thin light hairs.

I’ve only had experience with this device:

http://www.aesthetic.lumenis.com/wt/page/lightsheer

…and highly recommend it. Just make sure you have an experienced technician who knows what they’re doing, as a frequency that’s too high can cause burns and one that’s too low won’t kill the hairs (though frequency varies depending on where it’s used - since coarse, dark hair absorbs the laser heat/light best, a low frequency is enough to kill hair in the underarm/pubic area. For finer, lighter hairs, a higher frequency is required. The hair on my arms was thin and light, but also very dense and black in color - for this reason, it worked fairly well. After 2 treatments, I’d say about half the hair is gone).

Thanx for the advice and the link.
As stupid as it is, I’m actually not sure which lasers I used. See, I was like 15-16 when I first tried laser, so I guess I did not think to research lasers, and did not even know that there are more than one lasers in the first place. I think one time the laser used was elos, because the doctor told me it treats light hair with radio frequency. The other I’m not even sure about. That’s why I’m obsessing myself with research now, cuz I don’t want to blow my money away again.

I’m also wondering if anyone has tried Ruby laser, because I read it’s supposed to be good for light hair, and I found a cheap place that uses it.

And I’m also wondering if I can have a large area treated with electrolysis, like a full stomach or back. If anyone has any thoughts on that plz do share…

Also, if anyone knows any good practitioners in laser and electrolysis in the Toronto area that would also be really helpful.

Thanx

Hi,

Please read the FAQs which will answer most of your questions regarding type of laser, cost, etc.

www.hairremovalforum.com/faq.cfm

Also, there are at least 8 active participants from Toronto on that forum. Just use the search feature and you’ll find a bunch of recommendations and people’s experiences.

Electrolysis might be better for light fine hair, but bikini, underarms, and any other coarse dark dense hair can be faster treated with laser. Alexandrite or diode lasers are great for light skin in that case. Most importantl though is finding a good clinic to do this. Have at least 3-4 consutlations and compare.

Thanx. I think I made up my mind to go with lightsheer by diode. I booked consultations for laser with a clinic that works with lightsheer and electrolysis for next week, and hopefully in the week after that I’ll begin my treatments <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />.

I appreciate the help.

Oh, Aries how many treatments did you have already and how long lasting are the results?

The area on which I had the most treatments was my face (8 altogether). I think my last treatment was a little over a month ago. So far, no regrowth. For arms/legs, I’ve had 2 treatments with roughly 33-50% reduction.

One thing that makes it hard to tell, however, is what looks like regrowth may actually be missed spots. So it’s important to keep an eye out for those. And like I said, if the frequency is kept too low, finer hairs won’t be killed. Two reasons the frequency might be set too low to begin with are:

  1. They’re concerned with skin damage
  2. They’re deliberately trying to avoid killing too many hairs thus forcing you to come back for more treatments

Of course, a reputable salon wouldn’t engage in 2) so it’s important to check their references/word-of-mouth. As for 1), if you notice after a number of treatments that finer hair isn’t being killed, you could ask for a patch test at a higher frequency. If you don’t have any adverse effects, I suppose it would be safe to proceed (this is what I did when I noticed diminishing results on the facial treatments, and it seems to have worked out).