Beard Removal: My Experience & Questions w/Photos

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi there,

I’ve been lurking for some time and thought I’d share my recent experience with having laser hair removal done on my face and neck to remove/reduce my beard. I’ve posted some pics to my flickr account for you to check out:

Photo Set 1: Right after shaving prior to my laser hair removal appointment
Photo Set 2: A few days after having laser done
Photo Set 3: After shedding was completed

I’m male and I’m skin type III. The clinic that I went to uses Candela GentleLase. The cost to have face and neck lasered is $200.00 per treatment which I thought seemed reasonable. I’m not sure of the setting on the laser, but the technician was using a 15mm size laser.

My expectations going in: My goal is to reduce the hair on my face and neck to get a shadowless shave. At some point in the future I might consider electrolysis, but for now it’s not something that I’m interested in (can you say pain wimp). I want to see how far laser can take me.

After reading the many experiences posted I couldn’t believe that I thought feeling a ‘hot rubberband’ snapping on my skin would be no big deal. I mean, how painful can it be?! All I can say about that is that it friggin’ hurt. Never underestimate the power of a ‘hot rubberband’ snapping on your skin…Afterwards my face was pretty red and there were a few welts on my neck. The technician said that the reaction my skin was having was pretty normal.

Shedding pretty much happened like clockwork based on the information that they had provided at the clinic and also on HairTell. At this stage it became clear that there were some areas on my neck that were missed (not so awesome). The area on my face was pretty much totally clear - which was great.

Here’s where I have some questions and concerns, and I’m wondering if I need to adjust my expectations.

I’m questioning whether or not to move forward with further treatments. I’d like to get the same clearance that was done on my face done on my neck and chin as well. Was this an issue of the technician not paying attention? Is it a realistic expectation to not have patchy areas - and get really good coverage everywhere by the laser?

Also - when there are areas that are missed when should they be zapped again?

Thanks for listening, and I appreciate your feedback and input…

#2

I’d get the missed patches touched up right away before they go out of the anagen growth phase. That looks like enough to justify a touch-up treatment (no charge, of course).

If they are very nice about agreeing to do a touch up, there’s no harm in giving them another chance. If they give you any arguments, then find someone else. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to wring a touch-up out of a doctor who doesn’t want to give it. grumble

#3

You might be surprised, electrolysis is not necessarily more painful, it may be more or less depending on various factors. It will take longer per treatment of course.

You had pretty good results, at least a bit better than my experience. I had more patchiness than you did after the first treatment, though areas of the patchiness were similar. I don’t know if they didn’t overlap the area or not, but the sides of the chin are pretty tough, the hair there is very dense (and at least for me, curved.)

#4

My clients who have had laser first, tell me laser hurts much more than electrolysis.

#5

Elswhere on the forum today, Ms. MagicalPrincessKitty testified that in her opinion L.A.S.E.R. hurts way more than electrolysis:

Here is a before, and after of one full clearance. This is what the client looked like 4 - 6 weeks after the clearance. During the time immediately after the swelling went down, the skin was just baby smooth with no visible hair.

beforeandafter.jpg799×526

Now let all the wrestling fans say “Woooooooo!”

#6

I HATE the comparison to rubber band snapping on your skin, more like one of those really thick ones stretched as far as it can go after being microwaved for a minute :stuck_out_tongue: Where there’s not much coarse hair then maybe it feels like that, but on the face I’d say it’s more like someone heating up a curling iron, electrifying it so it produces a bit of a shock then snapping that on your face :stuck_out_tongue:

#7

You should ask for a free touchup on any missed areas at the 3 week mark after shedding completes. This will also prevent patchiness.

Can you find out what joules they’re using and why they’re choosing not to go with the largest 18mm spot size?

Results on the neck area should be similar.

#8

I’m dying, doing the laser on my face made me break out soooooo bad. I haven’t had a pimple since I was 16. I feel like I’m back on accutane my face is so dry. I don’t think it’s from the laser since I’ve never had this before but this was also the first time I used lidocane on my face with saran wrap before a treatment so I tihnk it’s from that. I look like I have a rash around my mouth, just want to rip my face off!!! It’s worth it though, just not a good time, my skin is always so clear and smooth so it’s weird showing up at a party tonight full of acne!

#9

Oh and to the OP, i’d go back for a touchup, that’s more than a few missed spots in your after picture.

#10

When I had laser, the pain was far worse than electrolysis (it was over in 15-20 minutes, which was good, but didn’t give me a large, permanent reduction which defeated the purpose.)

If one has had electrolysis, the best comparison I have found to describe laser is 25-50 shots of thermolysis (!) all at once for each laser blast (obviously, this will vary from person to person.)

#11

Edokid, it sounds to me like you needed to use a good Aloe-Cortisone cream during your after treatment. After a few L.A.S.E.R. test patches at trade shows, I needed to apply Aloe Cortisone every 15 minutes or suffer horrible pain. The frequency of reapplication reduced, but I was doing this for more than a day.

#12

Great I can try that thanks! I think its from the lidocaine since I don’t get that anywhere else, and first beard treatment I did I didn’t use any numbing cream and didn’t get that reaction. The lidocaine she used she didn’t have to wipe off, she puts it on then put the ultrasound gel over top of it after the 30 minutes and then did the laser, wiped it off with a wet towel and then put whatever cream on it. When I got home I put my good mositurizer complex 15 on it which my dermatologist told me to use when I was on accutane years ago, but I never actually washed my face until later that night. It’s not painful it just broke out with a bunch of pimples around my mouth, they’re almost gone today, it’s been 4 days and my face feels much better. I think next time too I just need to make sure when I get home I wash anything off my face with a good soap like the brands again I have when I was on accutane, just to get rid of any residue from anything with the treatment. I’m pretty positive though its from the lidocane, since it was almost greasy like polysporin, then having it wrapped tight to your face with saran wrap, that’s just a recipe for breakout!

#13

Icing also helps a lot.

#14

Hi there,

Thanks so much for your responses and input. I did contact the clinic and they’ve said that they do touch-ups for free - so that was great to hear. They’ve also offered to draw a grid on my face at the next full treatment. I’m also thinking I won’t have that iced tall latte before my treatment as well since I’ve read that caffeine sensitizes the skin - and maybe pop a few advil.

LAGirl - I’ll find out what joules they’re using and ask about using the 18mm spot size.

#15

I’ve got another question for you guys. When the hair that was ‘resting’ goes into an anagen phase after laser hair removal - what does that growth look like?

Is it as full as the hair that was lasered or is it more sparse?

Thanks!

#16

On your face it looks pretty much like normal growth, at least it did for me. After 1 treatment when hair grew back it mostly looked the same, but I was patchy because my tech sucked and missed spots. On other areas like my underarms though it grew back thinner and finer. Face has around twice as much hair per square CM than the rest of your body, so it almost takes twice as much treatments before it looks as sparse.

#17

It all looks the same. Hair constantly cycles.

#18

Hi there,

I wanted to give y’all an update, and I have a question for the more experiences laser peeps out there.

This past weekend (Saturday) I went in for my second laser hair removal session on my face and neck. My plan was to have a touch up done on the patchiness I posted about, but I waited too long. I was way past the three week mark and it was closer to the seven week point when I posted my experience. Me procrastinate?

They drew a grid on my face and neck this time to ensure that the entire area would be covered. I thought the pain was more manageable this time (i.e. I told her to just keep on going unless I told her to stop). I think a big part of that was the advil I took prior and also that I knew what to expect.

Something that was different was how my skin reacted. She was using a 15mm spot size and 18 joules (I totally forgot to ask about the use of an 18mm spot size that LA Girl asked about). During my first treatment my skin became mildly red/irritated and that was pretty much gone by the next day. This time my skin was really inflammed and also swollen. It looked pretty bad. Most of the redness was gone by the end of the next day although there are still some splotches that are a little pink/red. I think today is the first day that I don’t have any swelling. It also really dried out my skin and I’ve got some crusty bits here and there.

Is it normal to have such a completely different reaction??

Thanks in advance for your input!

#19

Some irritation and redness is normal for a few days on an area with really dense hair. If it lasts a week or longer, then you would need to be worried.

Crusty parts may mean a slight burn from treating hair that’s not shaved clean, i.e. laser burns that hair that’s above the skin’s surface, which burns your skin a bit. It’s superficial and should go away pretty quickly. I would use pure clear aloe vera.

If they use 18mm spot size, there will also be less chance for patchiness since it’s a larger head piece.

#20

I’m indian with a thick black beard. I was prescribed Vicodin for the pain. I took two instead of one. Didn’t help one bit…I almost cried.