I just started laser hair removal on my face and neck for my facial hair and I was wondering if it is smart to first do laser and then start electrolysis. Any opinions would be appreciated.
I am also curious about this. Will doing laser counteract prior treatment to the hair by electrolysis?
M
For men, laser on the face and then finishing with electrolysis may be a cheaper way to go, but not necessarily faster. With laser, for it to be effective, you need to have a session, wait three months for full hair growth, then go for another session, etc.
This means by the time you are “finishing up” with electrolysis, you may have spent 9 - 12 months starting with laser. With electrolysis, you could conceivably be finished in that 9 -12 month period, assuming you don’t touch the hair before hand for at least a couple of months.
That’s up to you, though.
For women, it’s a little different. They tend not to have as much, or as thick, or as dark, hair on their face and neck. Even when it is closer to male growth, it is nowhere near the “gorilla” status that I think laser really is targeted towards.
For a woman, I would always recommend electrolysis. I had laser on my upper lip and don’t think it really did me any favours. There is also the danger of having stimulated hair growth from the laser, especially if the technician is using lower settings because you request it (silly!) or because they are worried about scarring and pigmentation. With laser, you really need the highest settings your skin can tolerate.
Darker skin also will not respond well to laser. The laser is attracted to the pigment (melanin) and in darker skinned people, they also have a higher level of melanin in their skin. Laser hurts, and it burns.
Goodluck!
The way I see it . . . Laser will likely take out the darker hair. However, not sure if it is a permanent removal. Then you are left with the lighter colored hair. Electrolysis time!
There are a LOT of variables involved. Skin type, machines, ability of the provider, etc., etc.
Ooops . . . My previous post had to do with body hair. I’ve not done anything on the face and will defer to the experts on this topic.
I didnt have good luck with laser. I think most of what I did with laser grew back, only patchier. My experience is that most shedding from laser happens early on. If you do decide to do laser before, it may not be of much use to do more than 2-3 sessions tops.It seems to frequently happen that not much progress per treatment is achieved after that.
Emilily’s point is well taken, you can make more progress in the same time with electrolysis, BUT and it’s a big BUT, that is only if you have the money to spend on it and actually DO frequent regular visits. If you dont keep up with frequent treatment, you wont make progress.
If it were my money, I’d just have electrolysis.
Seana
As someone who did laser and then electrolysis, that to me was the best path for cost-effectiveness. The laser got rid of a lot of the hair, which meant less hours and less cost on the electrolysis table.
I agree, if you’re female, go right to electrolysis.