Laser Hair Removal: 100% temporary!!

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#21

Thank you, LAGirl for pasting this huge mass of information. I don’t think I have a cyst or tumor of the ovary (because I have no ovary) and I don’t take testosterone or testosterone derivatives (which were about half of the medications you pasted). I take two medications, neither of which is on your list, nor which have hair growth as a related side effect. I have had testosterone and various other hormone levels tested, and they were normal. My hair growth is no indication that I am not a healthy person or have an abnormal level of hormones. Some people have a lot more hair than others - but they are healthy.

My amount of body hair was greatly reduced 6 months to a year after laser hair removal, but it kept growing back and getting thicker as the years went by. I believe that my body had reached a level of homeostasis by the time I was 25. I had not seen new hair growth in my early 20s. Years after laser hair removal, my body hair returned to almost EXACTLY the same level - as if it returned to the original homeostasis it had when I was 25.

#22

I am quoting this as I feel it’s a very important post with very good points.

Carpet - To me it sounds like the Laser was effective. But yes, a waste of time since you have experienced new growth. Who could have predicted this?

I first met my husband when he was 21; he had very little hair on his upper body. He is healthy (lives in a country where the food is more ‘natural’ and junk food isn’t common place), very fit and doesn’t take any medication. Now he is almost 27 and has almost double chest hair and has developed some hair on his shoulders. This would have happened regardless of if he had Laser for the hair that was there 6 years ago.
I have noticed the same in my brothers and definitely my father. He is in his 50’s now and is SO hairy compared to when he was younger. Some men (possibly particular ethnicities) seem to develop a more body hair as they age, so this is something that needs to be considered when undertaking hair removal.

I am female and no doubt from what I have seen in my family, when I get pregnant or go through the menopause, new hair will be triggered on my face. I can’t then say it’s because my electrolysis was not effective.

#23

Yeah, it may not be hormonal imbalances. Most men I know have almost doubled their body hair between the late teens (or early twenties) and mid-late twenties. It’s just genetics and growing up.

Also, you may THINK you are seeing exactly the same amount of hair as before, but evidence indicates that unless there is a pretty high percentage of difference in the density of the hair, clients will over-estimate the hair that returns after ANY permanent removal. This is why electrologists recommend taking before and after pictures, because after months of treatment, some people still insist they’ve made no progress reducing the hair, but when you actually count the hairs in the photos there is a significant difference. It’s a pretty common phenomenon.

So my point is, if the laser killed 80% of your hair, and then you developed about 40-50% new hair (totally reasonable for a man your age), then you’d appear to have 70% of the hair you started with (which visually may look the same as where you started, unfortunately).

Also, before you deny the possibility of new growth, all the areas you treated are FAMOUS for experiencing new growth with age. You have no way of knowing if you’d currently have twice the hair without laser or not.

Not trying to be argumentative, I’m just saying there are possible explanations. Since your poor results are fairly rare for well-performed treatments, it is reasonable to at least consider other reasons why you spontaneously grew hair years later.

We’re here hoping that if we figure out the problem, we can help you out. If we can determine that your hair-growth spurt is done, you can remove it now. Though I suggest electrolysis, since you’re probably wary of lasers and the back isn’t a great place to laser anyway.

#24

Carpet, I am sorry that you have experienced regrowth. Please call me at 212-750-2000 to discuss and then come in so that we can see what can be done for you. I certainly do not want anyone to feel that they wasted money.

#25

I’ll also repeat what I said in your other thread: There is no way to tell which hair is “new” and which “regrew” since it all looks the same.

Also, agree with the above posters. First, people overestimate the “regrowth”. We tend to quickly forget what we actually started with once we get used to the new look. I hope Chris’s clinic takes photos, for your sake, if you didn’t.

#26

I hope I’m not hijacking carpet’s thread, but my question is related to new growth and age. I’m 24 now and planning to finally start lasering chest and stomach this summer. New hair growth with aging has been on back of my mind all this time. Does laser at my age means high risk of wasting money? 40-50% of NEW hair growth by late twenties or 30s in same treated areas sounds discouraging. I don’t have hair on my back yet, but I totally expect to develop it in my 30s. I’m just not expecting to see any more new growth on my chest or stomach because I’m as hairy there as my dad is.

#27

It varies by person, but you should expect to potentially need some touchups later. Many clinics offer discounted rates for that. I wouldn’t wait 5 years. If you see some new growth appear 1.5 years after your last treatment and it’s coarse enough, go in for a quick touchup treatment.

It’s not a waste of money since you’re killing the current hair. If you do nothing now, you’ll have this current hair AND new hair to treat.

#28

It’s not a waste to start now, because the touch ups won’t really be too bad. If you wait, then you will have all the current hair, PLUS the new hair (as LAgirl said), so why not kill what’s there now? That way, when the new hair comes in, you can touch it up with a small cheap electrolysis treatment or two (for small amounts of growth like that, electrolysis would be cheaper and probably more effective than paying for a big laser session designed for thick, dense hair).

So doing laser now, and a tiny bit of electrolysis for clean up will only be marginally more expensive than waiting five years and doing just laser. You’ll have a whole five years of hairlessness in the meantime, so TOTALLY worth it. Besides, you’ll have to touch up with electrolysis after the laser anyway to get the thinner hairs.

So I say go for it!

#29

OK, thanks for the tips. I was just worried that if new growth happens after laser treatments, it won’t be dense enough for the laser to be effective again. I have nothing against electrolysis, and I’m doing it now on my shoulders, but boy is it a slow and tedious process from start to finish that I want to forget and never need after my shoulders are done. :slight_smile:

#30

Hey another dude. Look, coming from another guy your age… don’t expect 40-50% of new hair growth by the time you are 30. Expect at least 90%. Seriously… Listen to stories from other guys in their 30s who had it in their mid 20s.

#31

MagicalPrincessKitty: Why should I try electrolysis? How does electrolysis destroy dormant follicles that are normally activated by hormones (which you think I had)? I fail to see why you think electrolysis would be (theoretically) better in my case.

#32

Carpet you need to be banned or something now you’re just starting to talk stupid.

To anotherdude, that’s complete bs what carpet is saying, they’re just bitter that laser didn’t work for them or that they had new growth. Your body isn’t going to go psycho and product all the hair it lost back again that’s ridiculous. When we talk about new growth, we’re talking a bit of hair here and there (if at all) where you can just run in have one quick session and be done with it again. It wouldn’t require multiple treatments. If anything the new growth would be fine, so doing electrolysis on it would be beneficial since it’s quick and gets rid of those fine hairs and you’re done again. You should be able to evaluate what new growth would be. Take a look at yourself over the past few years, compared to a couple years ago, do you have 50% more hair now? I had literally NO change in the amount of my body hair from the time I was 20-22 to my current age 27. I started laser when I was 26. So unless you can look at your history and actually say that year over year you had 10% more hair, then there’s no reason that 6 years from now when you’re 30 you would have 90% more hair! It’s MUCH more of an issue for guys that are say 18-22 or so. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

To carpet, I think MagicalPrincessKitty is suggesting electrolysis since you’re clearly not a candidate for laser, if it didn’t work at all for you. If you have the ideal skin and hair type and the hair all came back, then the answer is that you were treated with too low of settings and it wasn’t effective or permanent. It only stunned the hair and now it’s back. If you’re not a candidate for laser, then you are for electrolysis since everyone is a candidate for electrolysis. At least electrolysis can guarantee 100% removal.

Don’t come on here replying to peoples posts saying laser doesn’t work and trash talking it just because of your bad example and because it didn’t work for you. There’s many people who have had great results and are happy with it.

#33

Carpet, all hair removal methods do the same thing - they remove hair that’s presently actively growing. If you’re looking for something that will prevent any new growth, it doesn’t exist. You can be unhappy about this fact, you can go pressure scientists to look for methods to do this, etc. But bitching about it really isn’t going to help you.

#34

Everyone should get a voice here, but I fear that I AM going be banned for speaking out and explaining my experience. This place seems to be ruled by laser hair removal promoters and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the success stories here are fictivous. Please listen to me, I had many many laser hair removal treatments from a reputable center. I’m sick of people here suggesting that I have some strange hormone levels or a strange medical condition. The worst claim I heard here was that it was all in my head. Well it isn’t. Hair grew back on my treated areas to almost the same extent that it was before and by that I really do mean over ninty percent.

#35

Carpet, you’re making it very easy for yourself. If you’re confident that it’s not a hormone or medical condition that caused your hair to grow back, then you’ve just explained it! YOUR TREATMENTS DID NOT WORK! Either you are NOT a candidate for laser, or you were treated at low settings. If it grew back the same way it was before, then I don’t know how many times myself or others have to say it, the treatments DID NOT WORK!

Having said that, of course this forum is ruled by laser promoters, it’s a hair removal forum and you’re posting regarding laser not working! No one is going to ban you for having an opinion, the issue is when you tell people NOT to do laser just because it didn’t work on you. You’re now taking business away from people, and also causing people to be depressed by thinking laser won’t work just because of your experience.

Laser hair removal WORKS on the right person, if new hair grows then it’s due to hormones or medical conditions. You’re saying you have neither, then again for the last time you are not a candidate for laser or you were treated improperly!

It’s also incredibly insulting when you come on here saying people are making up their results to promote laser. We are consumers on here, we have no financial interest in LHR, we come on here to HELP other people. We spend our own time answering questions and helping other people so that they know what to look for when going for treatments and so that they don’t get ripped off. When you come on here saying we’re making stuff up, it’s VERY insulting and rude.

#36

No one said you have a “strange” condition. What was said is that you had all that hair to treat to begin with. Whatever it was that caused THAT hair to grow is likely causing the new hair to grow. Just because you disabled the follicles that were producing hair doesn’t mean that your body stopped developping new hair from other follicles. The body has thousands of dormant hair follicles.

I’ve been on this forum for 5 years. You can see the number of my posts and my laser and electrolysis experienced outlined in detail. I stick around to help people get results. I get nothing out of it. I have no stake in laser or anything else. All I try to do is be fair. You’re angry and refuse to consider other possibilities. And believe us, there are plenty of people here who post thinking they have “regrowth” and then compare to their original photos and “remember” what they actually started with. I’m not saying this is the case with you, necessarily, but I am saying that it’s a pretty common effect.

Everyone here helps out at the expense of their time for free. They help people get GOOD treatments because so many clinics there undertreat or overpromise. It’s incredibly presumptuous of you to come in and judge everyone on the forum jsut because they bring up other factors that may play a role in your lack of results.

You also cannot say with any sort of certainty which hair is new and which hair regrew on your body. It all looks the same. Just refusing to believe thhe former possibility doesn’t make this fact any less true.

#37

Carpet, I wasn’t recommending electrolysis for any reason other than you were SURE that the laser didn’t work. So if you are correct (and that the hair was never killed in the first place, which is unusual but I was taking you at your word), then electrolysis is your option.

If you are wrong, and you are just growing new hair (for many normal reasons), then electrolysis would kill the current hair and you’d have to deal with the future hair in the future.

I was only trying to be helpful and see both sides of things, sheesh.

By the way, you won’t get banned over anything you’ve said so far, from what I can tell. A difference of opinion is fine, but you may be warned by mods not to make blanket statements that are clearly false (such as “Laser is always 100% temporary”). It is more fair to say that for whatever reason, laser did not work for YOU.

Also, we only have one or two active members on this website who provide laser treatments. Everyone who has spoken to you so far is not a laser promoter, we are just consumers who have done the research (for our own treatments), and are trying to communicate what we’ve learned to you. Please remember we have no financial reason to say these things, we are genuinely trying to help (even if you don’t believe it).

#38

Just a note to say that I have had my own electrolysis clinic for 15 years and have been treating clients who have spent 1000’s on laser with no results. The hair may be stunted for a while longer than if you wax, but it doesn’t give permanent results and I have the Mayo Clinic backing that claim!

#39

Sure you do Kathy, welcome to the forum thanks for your spam! Are you going to give your clinic name now for people to go to you instead? I don’t know why it’s so difficult for some people to grasp. Laser is an industry and a business. How many people in the world have DARK COARSE hair on them? Definitely a higher percentage of men do, but for women, how many actually have that type of hair? Laser is a business to make money, if you actually restricted your clients to only those 100% good for laser, then the client base would go far down. You look like an idiot when you JUST join this form, and post your first message with such a stupid statement like that with nothing to back it up. It’s honestly getting to the point on here that I don’t really care if laser works for people, it’s working for me and has for others. It’s really tiring having to constantly defend laser, like as if not doing so would mean something bad would happen. If laser works for someone great, if it doesn’t then big deal. We spend time on here helping people so that they get effective treatments, since SO many clinics will treat anyone, regardless of hair type. I’d say 80% of clinics you search for that do laser are using IPL which isn’t permanent yet they still call it laser. Don’t come on here throwing out stupid statements without anything further.

Carpet I have one question for you, what did it feel like when you had laser done? Did it hurt, like were you biting your lip waiting for it to be over because of the pain from it? Or did you only feel slight pain or nothing at all?

#40

For the record, Kathy did not say that she does LASER, she said that she does electrolysis and that she does a tidy business working on people who were looking for more than their Light Based treatments got them.