Laser Hair removal on arms to get tattoos

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

So, next up for me is laser hair removal on my forearms. I’m looking to get full sleeve tattoos on both arms, but first wanted to be hair-free - or something close to it - before I get inked. My main concern is that the hairs would just return back to its normal stage somewhere in the future (I constantly shave my arms as it is) and then I’ll just have tattoos with hairy arms.

I was wondering if doing LHR for however many treatments (my guess is that this would probably take a year) to then get tattoos would be worth the time? Given my LHR experience with my face, it makes me wonder if the hairs will just grow back to the same coarseness and density (my forearm hairs are thick and relatively spikey if left unshaven).

Obviously, money-wise, electrolysis is out of the picture, but my electrolysis strongly recommended that I first do waxing and then laser(?) Is this a more effective approach?

#2

Hard to say how many treatments it requires - that’s very individual. I’ve just had 4 (at 2-monthly intervals) and it’s early days yet, but I think that might be enough for me. But it all depends on your hormones, etc.

I know the theory of waxing first. I’ve never bothered, and my practitioner didn’t think it necessary. His example was of a forest with a lot of dead trees in it. Waxing clears all the tree, including the dead ones, so that subsequent laser treatments only have the live trees that have regrown. However, since laser only targets hairs that are in the active growing phase anyway, it wont make any difference whether the dead ones are still sitting there or not.

#3

This.

Aitaronz,

I wrote a thread not too long ago about twenty-summon treatments (and still going) with two large, thick patches on each side of my chin. Well, it turns out I may have a possible hormonal imbalance. Me being young and gullible gave into the fancy laser tech centers with their ‘lifetime guarantees’. I wish I had done these tests before, but let’s see if that’s what plays a role in my side. If in indeed my blood tests do show that it does hinder my treatments, that I do have too much testosterone, then the doctors can proscribe supplements and/or medication so I can finally get considerate results.

But yeah, before I spend my hard earned money on my arms, I have to figure out why I grow hair extemely fast and so closely together (my chin feels like sandpaper) - the only theory I have thus far is genetics: I am Mediterranean.

I guess that’s a start.

:joy:

#4

If it’s an obvious patch, that really doesn’t sound like it’s hormones at fault. That would mean the laser cleared all the hairs, killing all the hair follicles in the area, then your excessive testosterone levels caused new hair follicles to regrow instantly (and densely) - but only in those particular patches.

That seem pretty unlikely to me. It sounds more like an excuse used by a laser tech who is out of his/her depth.

In your other topic, you mentioned what I suspect would be the real reason - that the tech is unwilling to increase the power/wavelength necessary to target your stubborn hairs. I don’t know about the Candela laser you’ve been treated with, but for tanned skin and dark hair, you should be using a Nd:Yag machine.

For example, for my arms, we started out with a diode laser which was able to pick up the lighter hairs. Then, after we’d pushed up the settings as high as my skin type would allow on the diode, we moved to a ND:Yag laser. Because the ND:Yag only targets very dark pigment, that allowed us to crank the settings up much higher still without burning my skin. The tradeoff is that it no longer worked so well on the lighter hairs - but that’s probably not a concern for you.

#5

Yeah, but when I first started LHR, my whole face was intensely dense, so those specific chin hairs that are patchy and dense didn’t regrow, they’ve been there all along - and they just simply won’t go away. My next procedure is next month and at this point even the technician is clueless, except for the “stay away from the sun” tip. And I try hard but in south Florida it’s not easy.

What we are planning to do next, and hopefully there’s a miracle, is putting me on their Candela for darker skin pigmentation, and at a really high setting. I’m curious if that does anything, but I’m with you: I have a gut-feeling it has to do with the settings - they aren’t using the highest settings for fear of burning me, etc.

Anyway, so you think blood tests are unnecessary? I wouldn’t doubt it, considering there’s an uprise and revolution in businesses down here just trying to make a quick profit. It’s hard to find honest and experience - it looks like those types are in the Midwest and small-town American regions.