A few years back, I decided to get some laser treatments to remove unwanted hair from my arms/shoulders/back. I had 2 treatments, and then stopped as I changed my mind.
Unfortunately, the fine hairs on my shoulder actually got thicker! From what I’ve read here, it sounds like this is somewhat of a common occurrence with laser (and I thought I had thoroughly researched it before starting treatments!) I’m fine with all the hair on the rest of my body, but I would really like to get rid of the hair on my shoulders (and a few on my back/neck), and it sounds like electrolysis is the way to go.
Just a few questions…
Will it look natural? I have thick hairs on my shoulders, and some finer hairs on my upper arms…I don’t necessarily want to remove the upper arm hair, but I would like it to look natual.
How would you estimate a session to take should I wish to cover the entire area at once? That’s both shoulders, and some ‘random’ hairs on the back and neck.
Would anyone happen to know of a good practitioner in NYC (Manhattan) or even Northern NJ? I am a male, if that matters at all.
You will look natural, as electrolysis is highly selective, and a good practitioner can make the hair do whatever you want, including write your name on your back
You are right next door to the Gior Family Practice in Great Neck NY, go to www.electrolysisinformation.com and I think all your troubles are solved. They are the fastest electrologists I know and should be able to get you to first clearance the first day if you choose.
yes, this is an occurence that can happen on the shoulder/upper arm area for men. we discuss it a lot here.
electrolysis treats hairs one at a time, so it’s relatively easy to make it look natural.
there are many recommendations here for electrologists in Manhattan. I don’t think you need to go somewhere an hour away. run a search for “new york” and see what you will find here.
You are not alone. I just hope posts like this encourage more men to learn from our mistakes. I have thrown away whatever number you see on my signature from laser induced shoulder and upper arm hair. If I would of just did my stomach and chest with laser, and started with electrology on my upper arms/shoulders/back I’d be done by now.
And to think, 3 years ago everybody called me crazy. I see more of posts like yours everyday. Electrology straight up works, and most people honestly don’t have the patience for it. But it is the only way to complete permanency, and it can take a while.
babokd, you ask, “Would anyone happen to know of a good practitioner in NYC (Manhattan) or even Northern NJ? I am a male, if that matters at all.”
NJ has some of the finest electrologists in the country and so does Manhattan so you don’t have to travel out of the way, to a suburb of New York like Long Island, for treatment.
You noted that you had 2 laser treatments – you know that 2 laser treatments is not enough. You know that 2 electrology treatments will also not be enough to end the unwanted hair. Hair needs about a year to present itself to your practitioner so whatever you decide to do, you will need several treatments over time which is why it is best to find someone located nearby first. If you can’t find someone good enough, then look further away but I say, think global - act local.
Check the American Electrology Association’s website
for locations and interview your prespective permanent hair removal professionals.
If you navigate through this website, you will see that there is lots of information about, “What to look for in choosing a practitioner.”
I realize that 2 treatments is not enough whether it be laser or electrolysis. I stopped because I changed my mind about removing the hair - the only problem is, that the laser treatments appear to have increased my shoulder hair from very fine to significantly thicker (and unsightly)! It sounds like electrolysis is the best way to get rid of the shoulder hair (correct me if I’m wrong please).
I haven’t seen much success with laser hair removal for finer hairs except in the case of upper lip hairs – and this I attribute to how very shallow these are.
