I was seriously looking into laser. i have light skin/dark hair and am extremely hairy on my chest and stomach. (And it’s spreading to my arms/ shoulders). I was under the impression that laser would be the best option because one can cover larger surface areas in a shorter period of time, but am beginning to reconsider. If one finds a good electrologist, larger surface areas can be treated too - correct? It just takes longer because the hairs are treated individually. It’s also arguably more permanent. Am I on the right track? One more question. Researching where to get this done in New York City can be rather overwhelming. Can anyone please help me out with a recommendation? I would greatly appreciate that. Also any experience people are willing to account with regard to laser and electrolysis would be wonderful. Especially if it is in the nyc area. Laser recommendations are also welcome. Thank you so much.
Hi I might be able to help you a bit on the laser/electrolysis part. I started out with electrolysis and was a bit frustrated because I wanted so much more done…so I did one treatment of laser with the lightsheer diode. Granted one treatment in not enough to see what will eventually happen(you should have about 5 or 6) I was not impressed with the results that I got. At first it looked like it had gotten rid of some hairs but eventually they all grew back. I had done alot of research on the laser hair removal and I couldn’t find enough people that said that they had permanent results from it. Most got results for a while and then the hair grew back finer and then eventually came in the same(coarser). Now from all my experience with electrolysis and research I think that I have come to the conclusion that when it grows back finer that is just natural whether it has been plucked, waxed, or elect. Why I say this is because at first after laser my hair came in fine and then felt coarse after a while. Same with electrolysis if I didnt’ get the same area done at each treatment. So basically I think that the hair is just naturally finer at first because it is a new hair. And once it is there for a while it becomes coarser because it is old. I hope some of this made sense. So in conclusion 
I decided to go back to electrolysis and am very happy that I did because it has been almost one year since the start and I am very close to being done. I had 10 full clearings (had a full clearing each month in 1 or 2 treatments just days apart) and almost quite a couple of months ago but decided to keep going and now see really good results. I’ve gone from 3 hour clearing to 1.5 hour clearing in the last couple of months and i’m sure this next time will even be shorter…Sorry it was so long. I hope it helped.
The previous post is a good one to explain what you need to know. Think of the electrolysis vs laser thing as the tortoise and the hare story. Laser looks like it is really fast, but it never finishes the race. Electrolysis may look slow, but it delivers permanent hair removal that needs no supplimentation from anything else, and would get to the point of no future treatment for most people in a relatively short time. (Ok, short time when compared to how long the results last, that is, the rest of your life)
[ September 13, 2003, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: James W. Walker VII, CPE ]
There are many factors, and Laser does work. Electrolysis claims to be the “only” permanent hair removal method around, and claims to have clients not happy with Laser. However, for those who successful with Laser, they won’t bother with electrolysis.
So, Laser vs Electrolysis…
Laser is a lot faster, and a lot cheaper than electrolysis (based on my personal experience). Satisfactory result. Very short pain.
Electrolysis, very slow you need to waste a lot of hours on that, usually 2-3 hours per week. electrolysis is very painful. Think about 2-3 hour pain each week (for 20+ weeks) compared to 10-40 min every 8 to 10 week (for 6 to 8 times)