Seriously, this has been an issue for me since my early teens. I need answers/ results. I am tired of dealing with this issue and something must be available that safely and truly removes hair forever. I am covered in hair and I hate it. I have done electrolysis in the early 90’s for over a year straight and it didn’t work. If it did you can’t tell. $35 a week wasted. I had 2 sessions in 2003 for laser hair removal on my back and it never worked. Wasted over $1,000 for that. I’m tired of dealing with this, I am an outcast and I can’t function with summer activities. I work out and can’t even be proud of my myself. My 6 year old son is freaked out if I have my shirt off. This is terrible. I want to swim, run, etc without the embarrassment of chest, back and shoulder hair. I’m frustrated and angry and want results now. Is there anything possible. I’m fed up with the empty promises and false claims at every angle. Doctors, television, commercials articles, products, testimonials and salons promising results. HOW CAN I MAKE THIS HAPPEN? I WANT TO BE HAIR FREE ON MY BACK, SHOULDERS AND CHEST!
Electrolysis works, the issue is just finding someone who can do the work and you can be confident you will get results with them before investing that time and money.
This may give you hope (first and end pages):
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/95412/1.html
I’ve got 2 hairs growing out of one follicle all over my body. Seriously, it’s bad. much more than that dude. So is it true that that guy will be hair free forever? I am not so much concerned with my chest right now as I am with my back and shoulders/ upper arms. I’m that bad.
Yes that guy will be hair free forever. Perhaps he might need a little touch up here and there for a hair that sprouts up every so often, but as for being that hairy, never again!
If your hair is really dark and course, a competent laser tech could get you a good reduction on you back. If the hair is dark and the density is high, but the hair is fine, then you won’t. It might be more cost effective to do laser to remove a bulk of it, and then follow up with electrolysis afterwards to remove hairs. It’s hard to say without a picture what is best in your case. Depending on your location, someone might have a recommended for an electrologist or laser place they would recommended. The good news is that with enough time, effort, and money… permanent hair removal can be a reality 
It’s still possible, it will just need more time investment. You may also not want to be completely hair free and rather just reduce it.
Every follicle that guy had treated will never produce a hair again. Since he is young, he may develop new hair in some places on his upper body later in life which will need ‘moping up’ but it will be nothing like the original problem.
If you are older and most of your hair already established, that is almost a non-issue.
When I joined this forum, I was looking for Laser hair removal advice. I knew barely a thing about electrolysis. I can’t explain how it has changed my life since in so many ways. It is so amazing that I wish to share this with others and become an electrologist.
You may find this thread informative:
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/99438/Hair_Frames.html#Post99438
Laser on the upper back/shoulders is not generally a good idea I believe! I’m not sure how effective it is and there is a real risk of induced growth.
I think that’s because a lot of people on their upper back/shoulders have finer hair, even if it’s really high density. If I recall correctly, a number of people who had super dark and coarse hair on their back did in fact get a big reduction.
There is always finer hair there that can be stimulated. It is possible to get a reduction though I guess, I just can’t recall any success stories. If you remember any that you can search for, it may be worth linking for information.
RJC2001 seems to have gotten success:
Osh from cosmetic enhancement forum had success:
http://www.cosmeticenhancementsforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3909
Thanks Brenton - my info on male treatments is mostly in passing.
Where are you located clevo? Maybe there are regulars here who can recommend someone competent near you.
You are most certainly welcome! I am a male so I pay more attention to male results ;). You’re right that there aren’t many back success stories. I think that’s a mix of men not having coarse enough hair, and enough laser techs using poor settings. But thank you as well for warning about induced growth on the finer hairs! I just want him to be able to be hair free in the most cost-effective manner.
I definitely used to champion prior LHR before electrolysis sessions. I mean, it’s what I’ve done on body areas myself. Either way, there is no quick solution - you have to do your homework.
If you can find a good Laser clinic, where the techs use settings that actually ‘fully’ treat and recommend proper spacing, you can get a reduction.
Likewise, finding a skilled electrologist who can do the work in a decent time frame and you won’t be spending more than if you hadn’t done Laser first. Josefa explains this point in the Diary thread. My sister has the same situation. She did 3 Laser sessions on her arms (good settings etc) and there was some reduction coupled with the hairs becoming finer. To be hair free, she is switching to electrolysis. You may ask why we didn’t do more Laser sessions - the reason is that I have a pretty good understanding of how coarse the hair needs to be further sessions are unlikely to reduce the hair any more (certainly not worth the cost). The point is, had she started with electrolysis, the total cost would not have be much more than it will be now because the number of follicles to treat isn’t that much less.
I am very happy for your sister!! Do understand that there are very few electrologists like josefa in the USA (there might be some but I haven’t read of too many.) A typical back treatment with laser here is around $350 give or take. If his back is worse than the front josefa treated, and it took josefa nearly 20 hours (keeping in mind she’s one of the fastest I’ve seen), we are looking at a few thousand dollars or more for a first clearance, which may be more than a good 6 sessions with laser which could give a tremendous reduction. Even rjc wrote that he was really happy after only 2 treatments. Obviously there are pros and cons to both. If I lived in Europe, I would gladly have gone with josefa. She’s also on the lower end of what electrolysis costs in the USA.
I get what you are saying and I don’t disagree.
All I’m just saying is, if the aim is total hair removal for which the client has to turn to electrolysis in the end, Laser first is often a waste of time and money. Note the key words in your post ‘could give’. I have been through lots of laser and helped others (offline) through it too. The results are just too variable, even when the hair is right, machine is right, tech is right and settings are right.
In my opinion anyone thinking of Laser really needs to get a test patch and wait at least 3 months if not longer to see what that one session does. In my experience, one session is enough to give some reduction, if you are going to get good results overall, within a decent number of treatment without spending a huge sum. So a test patch is a good indicator of what to expect.
20 hrs of electrolysis doesn’t equate to thousands with Josefa… or any other respected electrologists I know of. If there are very few like Jossie in the USA (Mr. Bono would beg to differ I’m sure), there are none in the UK.
Yes, I said laser “could give” because there are a lot of variables. But even clevo wrote that he did electrolysis for over a year without result. Honestly, most of the bad results from laser I’ve seen people posting are from incompetent techs (not all, but most I’ve seen.)
As for the test patch, I agree with you. In fact, Mr. Bono and I also discussed that people need to do that for electrolysis as well.
You know as well as I do that Josefa is very fast, so no, 20 hours won’t be thousands with Josefa. However, 20 hours with Josefa could easily be 30+ with another electrologist that may not be as fast, and then we’re starting to get into the thousands. I haven’t heard of many electrologists in the US getting 50%+ reduction in only 1 clearance. I never said they don’t exist, and the US definitely has good electrologists for sure.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that laser is often a waste of time and money. It very well could be and I could be wrong, but I’ve been too a number of electrologists here who suggest doing laser to knock out a lot of hair and then finish up with electrolysis. I’ve come across a number of transgendered people on various forums saying that that’s the best way to go as well. Even this electrologist who did her own study said she felt electrolysis/laser combo “could” be more effective (Obviously, everyone’s case is different.)
http://www.transalliancesociety.org/education/documents/02gcservices.pdf
Truthfully, I don’t think there’s been enough people who have actively compared the cost of laser/electro combo and electro only. I think it really comes down to what one’s goals are and to how much hair is there. Frankly, I think the fact that rjc got 70% reduction with 2 treatments… that sounds very cost and time effective to me. Of course, not everyone is going to have results like that.
Also consider this guy with his legs:
I have a hard time believing that straight electrolysis would be just as cost-effective as laser. It very well could be, but 50-70 hours for a first clearance… that’s way into the thousands, whereas I am doing laser on legs for $350/session. I feel laser would be way more cost effective in this case, so I think it really depends upon the situation
Well I won’t deny that I am now quite heavily biased towards electrolysis. I also got about 80-90% reduction on my lower legs in 3 LHR sessions. Even considering this if I could turn back the clock, I’d rather have electrolysis for a number of reasons.
Anyway, I don’t want to turn this into a which is better debate. As you say, it depends on the goals of the client.
Agreed.
As an aside, if we are considering the legs in that first photo alone then I would not want to suggest laser in the first place… because they could be my husband’s legs (the hair and skin colour is almost identical) and I would never advise him to go for Laser. The hair is dark brown, not black and not actually as coarse or as dense as it seems - this kind of hair is fluffy, long and grows curly making it look worse than it is.
Oh I agree with you. I do think this little “debate” however will make OP more informed about what decision to best make for himself. I will admit that I am more biased towards laser ;), but maybe because I’ve had good experience with it. Anyways, I enjoyed very much chatting with you. I have the utmost respect for you :). Whatever OP chooses, it is good to know that he can be well on his way to being hairfree!