Is my local practitioner trying to scam me?

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I went in for a consultation today for laser hair removal on my face. I’m a woman with PCOS (controlled with birth control pills and metformin) and have a coarse, dark, thick beard that started growing when most boys my age were rocking the pubestache. That, coupled with my pasty-white-can’t-ever-tan skin makes me a fantastic candidate for LHR, especially with the Alexandrite laser that she has. I know this all to be true from the research I did before even making the appointment. She’s the only laser technician within a 45 minute drive and, according to an old post from another forum, trained the other two closest techs. She’s been doing electrolysis for 25 years and laser since it came out, apparently. I’d rather not say her name before I make up my mind on this for fear of (prematurely) damaging her name and/or her googling herself but I will say that she is the immediate past president of the society for clinical and medical hair removal as found here

However, when I got there she told me that, in the case of hormone induced growth such as with PCOS, you need treatments every 4 weeks instead of 8-12; she also assured me that, even done every 4 weeks, 6 treatments would be all I need. I asked her if I’d want to come in every 4 weeks even if I hadn’t experienced any regrowth following my shedding and she said “absolutely, even if you can’t see it the hair is growing under the skin and that’s exactly when you want to target it.”

All of that ^ made me uneasy, but then she told me her prices. $300 per treatment or $667 for a package of 6 treatments. Bells started ringing in my head - $667 for 6 treatments, $111 per treatment. I left without scheduling an appointment because of my concerns with the information she gave me re: frequency but now I’m second guessing myself. If I were to do treatments elsewhere at the 8 week mark, $222 per treatment wouldn’t be all that bad… So even though I’m feeling somewhat scammy about all this, I’m starting to think that maybe it isn’t such a bad scam.

I guess I also have the option of buying the package deal and just scheduling appointments every 8 weeks against her wishes. I’m not sure how well that would go down with her though. That’s why I’m seeking advice here - I don’t want to end up confronting her about it at some point only to end up looking like an idiot… and if I buy a package from her… well, I don’t really want someone who’s zapping my face with a laser to be ticked off at me.

My other concern is that, in the fall, I’ll be going to school in Kalamazoo which is an hour and a half away from my current city. Obviously, if I get the package deal I’ll still have sessions left when I leave in August… so that’s a factor in all of this too. I’d be willing to make the drive (and she will be open on weekends, when I don’t have school) if this is a good idea but gas prices etc will have to factor in to my ultimate decision as well. What do you all think?

#2

Every four weeks is definitely odd if you don’t have hair yet. My laser tech says the same thing to me for my bikini line (she ends each session with “See you in 4 weeks!”), but I don’t schedule with her technically, I schedule with the front office, so I just come in every 8-10 weeks and she doesn’t notice the difference. She’s too busy to remember each patient’s schedule off the top of her head.

However, if I was unhappy with my results and tried to blame her, she may look at my chart and say it’s my own fault for not sticking to the “schedule” and thus would not take responsibility for failed results.

#3

I think it can depend on the area. My tech always says 4 weeks for the first few sessions when I do laser on my face. I find on my face, I’ll do a full session, then 2-3 weeks later, probably 60-70% of the hair has shed (evenly as well not patchy). I then go back at the 4 week point, do another full face treatment and then 2-3 weeks later that puts me into the hair free period. Other areas of my body only need 1. So it really depends I think! As long as it’s not every 4 weeks due to low settings then I think it’s fine.

#4

What she said about the hair not being visible but still being under the skin, and that being the best time to target it, is very true. Less energy then gets wasted above the skin, and the hair is treated thoroughly.
However, the reason most people still advise to go once the hair is visible, is because there will be even MORE hair, both visible, and under the skin.

#5

You’re right that you don’t want to waste energy on hair above the skin (that’s a given). The solution to this is simply to shave the area.

You see, the hair doesn’t just need to be dark for laser, it needs to be VERY COARSE AND THICK. New baby hairs are simply NOT coarse or thick enough, especially while their tips are still under the skin. So yeah, if you can’t SEE any hair at all yet, you are truly wasting a laser treatment.

#6

We would treat facial hair of someone with PCOS every 4-5 weeks.

#7

Face has shortest hair cycles, so treating every 6 weeks or so may be necessary. That said, you don’t need to argue with the clinic over timing. Just make an appt whenever you want to go in again, i.e. when you feel you have hair to treat. They can’t force you to come in any sooner or later than you want to and there is no need to get into that argument in the first place. Things can “come up”. Who knows? Maybe you went out of town, got sick, etc.

What would be most concerned with is settings they’re using and getting full shedding every time without too many missed areas.