How long should I wait after I stop tweezing?

[bossgirl]

Hi. I am considering laser treatment and need help understanding how to prepare to get the best out if it.

I am white with very dark, coarse facial/neck hair and have been tweezing for years and years. From reading other posts, it sounds like I should stop this for a considerable time before scheduling a laser session. Does this sound right/wrong? How long would you suggest waiting before treatment after I switch to shaving? Is the switch from tweezing also necessary for electrolysis?

Is it necessary that hairs actually be visible at the time of laser treatment in order to be affected? In other words, will I need to stop shaving for some time period prior to treatment?

I tried shaving in the past but was always unhappy with the results, not only because the hair regrew so quickly (I could feel stubble before the end of the work day), but because my skin broke out. Any suggestions? Are cream depilatories an acceptable alternative and are there some that work better than others? Any other good options? Bleaching is not an option for me - the hair is too coarse and dark.

Finally, I am trying to get pregnant. What are people’s experience with pregnancy and unwanted hair/treatments? Should I expect a change while pregnant? (I tried Vaniqa for a while and it helped a bit, but am now off it because trying to get pregnant.)

Thanks!

(Sorry if you’ve seen this before - I posted this message at the end of a previous chain, but I think it might have gotten “lost” there.)

[polki]

Hello there bossgirl!

First, let me tell you, I know how you feel. I used to pluck every day for at least thirty minutes, but usually it would take an hour.

You have a few questions; let me start with last one. If you are trying to get pregnant, I would not start laser treatments now. There is no data on how Laser might affect the fetus. And to most of us, expectant and existing mothers, the risk of harming an unborn child is just too much to take. My gynecologist discouraged me from electrolysis, even, since, once again there is no data on how it will affect the fetus.

If you are planning to undergo Laser treatments after you give birth, the best hair removal method for you would be shaving, or depilatories creams. However, even though I know that shaving is better then plucking, I would never be able to do it without getting Laser treatments. The first time I shaved before the laser treatment, I had a shadow, and stubble right away, the skin did not look good at all. So, regardless of what I know, I would still pluck if I could not do Laser treatments.

The reason why I am encouraging you to start laser treatments after you give birth is that once you start the treatments you should not pluck the hairs at all. Every time you pluck the hair out of the root, there is more blood supplied to the follicle, and the follicle gets stronger, hence harder to kill when you start with some sort of permanent method of removing hair. So it seems to me that it will be a waist of resources to start the treatments, and then to get back to plucking once you are pregnant, causing the follicle that have been weakened by the laser to get stronger.

I have a one year old, so I went through the pregnancy thing (first one) relatively recently. Did I have more facial hair while pregnant? Hard to say. I thought I had more hair once I gave birth, but that wasn’t true, I just could not afford to spend an hour a day plucking the hairs that I have had, and it started to be more noticeable. So I started the laser treatments when my son was three months old, I was still breastfeeding. There is no data on how Laser affects breastfeeding moms or their milk either, but I took that risk. Since I was pumping anyway, I would throw away breast milk during 24 hour period following the Laser treatment, and feed my son the frozen milk. For me laser worked out great, I can’t imagine spending an hour a day plucking, I just don’t have the time now!!! Shaving in between the laser treatments is not bad at all, there is no shadow, and it leaves my skin smooth. See my other posts describing this experience in more detail.

How long you should not pluck before starting Laser? The longer the better, I was told on this Forum, that it might take up to a year for a plucked hair to grow back. But hey, for me it wasn’t realistic to shave for a year, so I waited a week.

Hope I was some help to you. Good luck getting pregnant!

Take care, polki.

[Jennifer_Collins]

I would not attempt to use laser techniques during pregnancy. The pigment of your skin can change and darken in patches on your face - this is called the mask of pregnancy and can also occur on hormonal birth control methods (pill, patch) or hormone replacement therapy as well. The more you are in the sun also, the more likely this is to happen to you. It resolves when the pregnancy ends and/or you stop taking hormones. Pregnancy probably will not effect the amount of hair that you grow on your face.