Here are the pictures I promised. This is now what I look like after a few days with no shaving.
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UPDATE!!
I just got my 3rd laser session today! I’ll post some picture after a few weeks of shedding. 
Yeah, definitely keep us updated.
I’ve been doing laser hair removal on my beard for close on two years, and during that time I’ve had about ten very intense sessions with an Alex laser. I would say the treatment has been very successful on my neck and cheeks, but less successful on my chin and upper lip.
Brenton - I know you were saying earlier in this thread that a lot of people undertaking beard hair removal would end up doing electrolysis on their upper lip and chin areas if they wanted a relatively full clearance. Surely this must take an incredible amount of time to clear, given the vast numbers of closely packed hairs? And also the pain…
And AnsMu - I have to say, I have tattoos as well, and my beard hair removal was about a hundred times more painful than getting tattoos!!
All those things are relative… it all depends on who you are working with, and what kind of body you are delivering for treatment. Pump it full of caffeine and alcohol and you can have a truly hellish time with anyone in the industry (short of anesthesia). Under the right conditions, with the right practitioner, with the right equipment, it can be relatively easy, little discomfort and competitively priced.
I would say I’m at the upper end of the fitness scale - I hardly drink alcohol, never smoke, work out five times a week and get lots of sleep! I’ve not done electrolysis just yet - I’m waiting for Josefa to open her appointment book again, so that she can treat the smattering of hair I have across my upper shoulders and across the top of my back! There aren’t that many hairs, but it’s not worth doing laser on given I can practically count them. And maybe when I see Josefa I’ll ask her about the upper lip and chin situation.
I would go to you as well James but you’re much further away from me than Malaga!
Brenton - I know you were saying earlier in this thread that a lot of people undertaking beard hair removal would end up doing electrolysis on their upper lip and chin areas if they wanted a relatively full clearance. Surely this must take an incredible amount of time to clear, given the vast numbers of closely packed hairs? And also the pain…
Depends. I should also myself a bit to say that the upper lip can in fact get a good reduction with laser, though you would stll need electrolysis in the end up there.
As for time, this was my chin before electrolysis: http://oi50.tinypic.com/142ehkw.jpg
That took about 3-4 hours for a first clearance (the quality isn’t the best but there’s more hair there than what the camera picked up.)
Some days with the upper lip, I barely feel anything and the next time I can be screaming in my chair. In general, regardless of how much water I drink, I find electrolysis painful. Only with literally one or two practitioners top did I find it with “little discomfort.” I personally find the goal for me is to get to a pain level of “tolerable” than “little discomfort.”
Hair on the chin may be deeper, so would need a Yag laser or electrolysis to reach.
Sorry for the delayed update, I’ve been very busy. Here’s a few pics of what my beard regrowth looks like after a few days now. I’ve had a total of 3 treatments so far.
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Does your laser treatment hurt ?
Just a little, but not too bad. I have a high pain tolerance.
I am also doing a beard laser treatment, and for me, the area of lips is very painful. Shortly I will post my journey of laser treatment with somes pics.
I’ve finally received my 4th laser session today. My technition has changed to a new girl. I think she had settings set too high because I have burns on my face from the laser and this never happened to my face with the other girl. I have taken pictures of the damage done to my face. I’m not happy about it and I hope they don’t leave ugly scares all over my face. Somebody please take a look at my burns and tell me what should I do, because I think my new laser technition may not be too good at her job.
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- Visit the clinic and ask them
- Visit a doctor if you need to
In all honesty you’re probably wasting your time and money, that comes from my extensive experience with beard removal. I started it years ago at my main clinic that uses Apogee Elite. She knows I can handle high settings and really pushes it with me. I’d do a full treatment with the alex (can’t remember settings now, we’re talking about 3 years ago maybe 4). Was at least 18-20 on 15mm if not more, was near the high end I know. After 2 weeks or so about 50% of the hair would shed, so I’d go back and she would do the entire face again and then 2 weeks later it would be all gone. My facial hair looked similar to yours. You mentioned in your first post pain about 3 out of 10. For me it was more like 12 out of 10 and that was with lots of EMLA numbing cream. I had maybe 8+ sessions every 6-8 weeks or so, but the results were always similar. I’d get full shedding except chin and upper lip, they would barely shed. So we would use the Yag on those areas since it penetrates deeper. The hair would shed after using the Yag so I used that for awhile on full face as well. I definitely noticed a huge reduction on cheeks and neck, but chin and upper lip really never changed. I probably did 12 sessions or so, then stopped, maybe 6 months later did a couple more. About maybe 6 months ago I noticed it seemed like most of the hair was coming back on the cheek/neck. Still not as much as I had before, so I went for another session, but no real change. That could be hormones or new growth I know, but my point is it is next to impossible to treat chin/upper lip with laser as it’s just too deep. Electrolysis is the best way to go here if you really want results, but it’s painful and an expensive/long venture but worth it if you are really serious. I’ve had so much laser that I’ve lost count, but whether it’s due to hormone changes or not I’m not sure, but I feel like most of the hair is back or at least just finer. Ironically the absolute best results I seemed to get were from the Lumenis One IPL but I wouldn’t go for that again. I just did a session today with LightSheer duet on my legs as I had a package for it so figured I’d use it, but I’m pretty much over laser. I’m not saying that it doesn’t work, but I had treatments all over with the alex on near highest settings and it makes me cringe when I think of how much I spent vs the results I have. It’s hard to say though like how much hair I’d have had I never done laser, as I definitely did get a reduction. But I think it’s really true when they say laser only works on very dark coarse hair, as that’s exactly what was removed. I’m left with the finer lighter hair. But like most people if you look at an area of the body, there’s very few places where the hair is actually that coarse, other than maybe pubic hair etc.
Hey edokid, it’s good to see you back!
Your post is really interesting, especially because it seems to echo my own experience with Laser. I did have good results through careful selection of body areas but I certainly agree with your feelings on cost vs results. That’s largely why we didn’t bother continuing to pursue the Laser route for my sister.
Also, it did some wacky stuff to the length of hair cycles of the hair left behind. Those hairs grow crazy long if I leave them alone for months. I was going to post about this after a couple of weeks when I’m due to see Josefa so that I can show her. Have you noticed anything like that?
I know you really wanted it to work and tried to do as much as you could to make that happen, so I feel for you.
I don’t want this to be a Laser bashing… but as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t hold a candle to electrolysis.
Thanks! Nice to be back I don’t find that it made the hairs longer that I can tell, but I do find that laser changes the hair in other ways. Like for example before I did laser on my forearms, the hair was almost curly or wavy. However now the hair that does appear on my arms is more straight, no curl or anything to it.
It’s too bad because I just find with laser there’s too many variables. Like I did a bunch of sessions on my underarms, just to reduce the hair but mostly because any time I’d try out a new clinic, I found that underarms were a great “test” spot since they are inexpensive, and if it works fine if not no biggie. So I’ve done a bunch of sessions on my underarms, and when I look at the hair there now, to me it looks like it always did or like any other guys. Hormones or not I feel like it just didn’t work, since assuming it DID work and this is new growth, then had I not done laser I’d have TONS of hair there which I know wouldn’t be the case.
The thing I find so interesting is that I started laser on my stomach as that was the only place I had hair that bugged me. The line under my belly button down was more dark and coarse where if I shaved it you’d see black dots as stubble. The first 2 sessions with laser, maybe 3 I did were actually Lumenis One IPL which I found out later and stopped doing after discovering this forum. I then did maybe 5-6 sessions in total after that with Apogee Alex on the stomach area. The thing that’s interesting though is that while I still definitely have hair there (it’s not a lot, take a photo of me shirtless and you’d think I have no hair), but there’s literally never ANY hair in that area anymore. So I’ll have finer hair on the sides etc, but a good inch wide from below my belly button down, it’s totally hair free. That’s where the hair was the darkest and coarsest. So that’s where I just really feel that it has to be really dark and coarse.
I’m not bashing laser but I feel there’s too much involved. It’s very easy for people on here to say “Tell them to use higher settings” etc, but try actually doing that. Going to a clinic of someone that’s been doing it for years, and telling them they are doing their job right. It’s rare anyone will say oh you’re right, sure lets crank the settings. So that to me is the reason laser is so iffy.