I just wanted to know how many people out there actually have more hair AFTER laser hair removal?
me
if you type that into the search engine of this site, you’ll get alot of posts. try that.
plus right on the front page of this forum, there is a post thread titled “My electrolysis after laser triggered growth”. um did you not see it?
good luck.
i did <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
Dear Syrah, Simran, Tom and others who have seen increased hair growth as a result of laser or IPL hair removal;
I began exploring IPL hair removal back in 1997. I saw fine-vellus hairs grow into terminal-course hairs. I was told that this was my imagination. I knew it wasn’t.
Finally, last year at a meeting, a physician stated that approximately 1% of laser hair removal clients had increased hair growth. I suspected that number was higher but felt relieved that a laser hair removal specialist admitted to seeing increased hair growth.
This year, I attended another meeting where Dermatologist Dr. Eric Siegal inferred a much higher number by indicating that hair growth can be stimulated if the laser treatments are not aggressive enough. He explained how settings that are too low can, “tickle” the follicle into producing a hair on certain areas of the face. I just want to clarify that we are referring to facial hair treatments as this is the only area I have witnessed increased growth and Dr. Siegel was also only referring to areas on the face.
Would you folks be kind enough to let me know:
- the areas treated with Laser/IPL
- equipment used - if you know
- name of practitioner
- if you complained to them about increased hair growth
- what they did as a result of your dissatisfaction
If it is something you don’t want to share with everyone, please email me or send me a private message. You can find my phone number and address at this website under New York.
Thank you.
im not in the USA,
anyway
i saw their ads for permanant hair removal, lucky for me i kept those ads. anyway:
initially i went in just for sideburns and the area upbove the eyebrows(this bit i wasnt too worried about it was just finee hairs)
i had the coolglide laser done, which they said was good for darker skins, by the way have sort of olive brown complexion and had black finer hairs to begin with. they said i was a good candidate…the side burns sort of abit more corser but not course course as in male type hairs. i used to do waxing to the area. and i guess that kinda made it abit bad and i wanted something more permanant. and just wanted to make the sideburns abit smaller thats all.
ok now i had 4-5 different people treat me overall…i guess they must have used different settings and i dint like the way some of them did it. they wud shave the area…and sumtimes a wider area shaved then i wud have liked. put ice…sumtimes since it was different ppl they either forgot ice or dint put it long enough to numb the area so it wasnt painful.
a couple of times they even missed areas as well the technician RAN THE LASER OVER AREAS THAT I DINT WANT TEATED EXAMPLE WIDER ON THE CHEEKS, CHIN AND SORT OF NECK AREA and sumtimes EVEN SORT OF NEAR THE MOUTH(LAUGHTER LINE AREA).
i had 11-12 treatments…after my 6th treatment onwards i was worried and asked them questions as i wasnt seeing results, the hairs grew back. all they said to me was ooh i probably need few more treatments and then i would see results. they kept giving me false hope and i was only 18 then what did i no, trusted those people …they did however decreased the price after 6th or so treatment.
so i kept going in for treatments over 6-8 weeks.
after my second last treatment i thought these ppl are just ripping me off and givin me false hope…and one of the techinician in last treatment mentioned oh you should shave yourself 2-3 days before then come here and we do it for you…its better that way…WHEREAS when i went to the consultation in the beginning THE TECHICIAN I TALKED TO SHOWED ME HER QUALIFICATIONS ETC TOLD ME I WOULD NEED 4-5 TREATMENTS 6-8 WEEKS APART, THEY WOULD DO THE SHAVING ETC ETC. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST GONA BE HER TREATING ME.
YET WHEN THE PERSON CHHANGED I WASNT TOLD ABOUT THIS ONLY FOUND OUT WHEN I WENT IT.
also check this a beauty therapist working their warned me you no after my 6th treatment when i went to see her about pigmentation problems, that i wasted so much money, i should be asking questions why or why not its working etc.
so yea i got tired of it on my second last treatment i called the manager, talked to her about the treatments, mentioned the advert and told her about the money back guarantee and she was like yea at first then told me to call back later.
so i did then she changed her tune…but later said ok will give you a free treatment and go from there.
so this treatment they put ‘emla’ basically on forehead, above eyebrow area, sideburns neck, chin and and sort of cheeks. AND THE TECHINICIAN DIFFERENT ONE AGAIN , treated me she was new…i dint feel any pain this time…and the manager said if you cant handle pain dont do laser…they tried to make out like i move during treatments (which i dint), put all the blame on me…god i remeber even 2 times something went wrong with their laser equipement. and even on the day of my free treatment so it was like about an hour when they tried to fix it and also treat me and she blamed it on me saying you just had an hour worth of laser thats like over 600 dollars so dont come back for any more free treatments.
i dont like complaining so i thought ok fine they ripped me off but maybe this last treatment may just work. yet 1 month down the track i saw all hair returning back…yet i dint have the guts to go back and complain no more, then i found this wonderful the bestest site eva read about the laser and stuff here and that it may not work…even read on how to get your money back if you get ripped off…i talked to James as well got advice.
so first i got them to give me a list of all the laser reports they had of mine told them i was gona talk to a doctor if something was wrong with me…the manager was very willing then…she even made out somethign was wrong with me, the laser can do nothing like that i even showed her areas told her im getting hairs even where there was none…and she was like no you moved during treatment, no this no that, and made out something was wrong with me so i told her ok il get myself checked out…and which i did
i had tests done, blood tests everything came out normal…i dont even have any symtoms like overwieght etc to even suggest that something was wrong with me.
i mentioned my laser disaster to my doctor he was very supportive and i mentioned the money back advert…he said i shud be able to get my money back if the treatments dint work. i even talked to a consumer advice person, got my test results of my doctor
and next time i took a frend with me…i showed the manager the adverts…she had one of those technicians in their who again tried to put the blame on me…but lucky i had a frend…i mentioned the guarantee, i showed my results…even told her what goes on between doc and me is confidential but told her the results, mentioned my consumer rights to her…in the end she did give my money back. hoewver it was all dodgy about how much i paid and how many treatments…one form was missing the payment was not correct on computer…so i said ok and settlement for 10 treatments done and from what i could remeber about how much i paid for each got that much back.
as for the settings used i saw in my report it was very inconsistent…at one time it was 39, 40(beginning of treatments) but during the last few it was round 36,35,34.
so you can see why and how much i hate laser technicians and never going near a laser again…all the hairs treated grew back and i started geting hairs on chin area side of mouth and cheeks which i dint have before and even neck!.. i could just see the full damage down when i dint have done anything for 5-6 months later…
after which reading here and getting advice finally started electrolysis
thats why im kind of weary of any treatments i get done now and even keep a tab of the electrolysis im currently having done.
so i hope the electrolysis gets me a happy ending…right now m seeing gaps 4 months down and not depresed as i was after the laser problem, so so far its good
sorry for such a long message Arlene.
i just hope people dont be so naive when they get any treatments done and do all their research which is what i should have done before i went in for laser with my eyes closed
My story is very similar. I was treated with the Gentlelase 11 times. I started out with light sideburns and ended up with hair down my neck and across my cheek. After about the 6th treatment I began to get nervous and suspicious. The practitioner assured me I just needed more treatments. She suggested I see an endocrinologist because she claimed to have never seen results like mine without a hormone problem. I was panicked over growing a beard so agreed. After much expensive bloodwork, I am completely normal. The laser technician’s name is Jan Buckley and she is a certified electrologist also, believe it or not! She practices LHR under Dermatology Associates of Atlanta, who are complete scammers, although they claim to be “The Southeast’s Laser Leader.” I absolutely complained about the growth. At first, they recommended that I stop laser as it was just not working for me for some strange reason (Duh! You don’t say. . .) I have since written 2 strongly worded letters demanding a refund. They replied once denying a refund, but claimed that they want to help me “address my concerns.” I am not letting up. They never disclosed this possibility and should refund me! I will report their responses but am prepared to take it to the next level if necessary. I have documentation photos and impeccable records. I spent over $2000 to grow a beard! I am now having electrolysis done every week to get rid of all the new growth. . . and the old which is still there. If you can’t tell, I am furious. Now you see why I am “laserhater.” I hope this can help someone else considering laser on their face. That is why I am disclosing so many details. Don’t trust anyone, do your own research! I sure wish I did.
Dear Simran,
Great that you saved their laser ads making false promises and at least got some of your money back. Most awful is that they used the, “Blame the Victim” intimidation strategy. Bravo for your fortitude and resilience not giving up the fight for what is right.
Laser business people seem to have a lot of money to spend on advertising. Unfortunately, electrologists only charge about $60 or so an hour and much of that goes to overhead costs and taxes. I spend thousands of dollars each year trying reaching out to my community to educate them about electrolysis. Unfortunately, the technology of electrolysis does not have the glamour appeal of laser.
I have heard similar stories to yours; mostly from my darker skinned clients, who turned to electrolysis as their last resort and finally found a permanent solution to their unwanted hair problem. I am glad you finally found electrolysis and are seeing the results you were looking for.
How is your skin now? What of your hyperpigmentation?
As you are happy with your electrologist, please post her name and location at this website.
All the best,
Arlene,
Thanks for responding.
I purchased a package at Sona Laser Center. I informed the consultant that I had coarse hair on my arms, legs, bikini, underarms and sideburns. I told them I had very fine hair on the rest of my body. The consultant encouraged me to get a whole body package ($4400 for 5 treatments on every body part). She didn’t disclose that laser usually doesn’t work on fine hair. She also didn’t tell me that I might have increased hair growth.
I was treated with a YAG laser by many different practitoners. I belive they are all RNs. By the third treatment I noticed that the coarse hair was somewhat reduced, but there was no change in the fine hair. I mentioned it to the nurses and they told me laser often does not work on fine hair because the laser can’t “see” the hair. They suggested that they do treatments on the Apogee laser for the fine hair on my body, but not my face (they didn’t want to risk burning my face).
By the fifth round of treatments I noticed that the fine hairs on my body increased in density and length. Where I used to have short, barely visible fine hair, I now have very long and visible fine hair. I also have a lot more hair in places I had very little to none (my neck, cheeks, shoulders).
I mentioned to one of the nurses that my hair growth was increasing. She just laughed it off and said “That’s not possible. Hair growth can only increase due to hormonal fluctuations”. I didn’t say anything for a while, but then decided to tell another nurse. She suggested that I speak to a consultant. I told the consultant about the increased hair growth. She didn’t offer any solutions for that, but instead said that they will treat me more aggressively in the areas that showed some reduction.
I tried electrolysis, but had a very hard time withstanding the pain. I also feel like my situation is somewhat hopeless because I have SO MUCH HAIR. I think it will take YEARS to see a reduction by electrolysis. I also had some hyperpigmentation as a result of the 2-3 treatments of electrolysis, so I’m not sure I want to risk having dark spots all over my face.Currently, I’m bleaching and clipping my hair.
Any advice would be welcome.
Syrah,
My advice is “Keep Shopping for a Good Electrologist!” I am in the same boat as you and refuse to settle for a lifetime laser-induced beard! There ARE good electrologists out there. I know sometimes it seems like the only ones who know anything are posting on this board and live too far away. Where are you located and maybe somebody can help with a recommendation? Electrolysis is a process that you have to commit to for a long, sometimes painful time. It helps me to approach the situation with the attitude that I got myself into this, now I will slowly but surely get myself out. I still have moments of panic and doubt even though I finally found a good electrologist, but I am very early on in the process. I wish you luck! Don’t give up on electrolysis yet!
syrah it seems you had no problem to begin with, everybody has fine fine hair on body you should never have been talked into doing anything on these in the first place!! and going and doing laser on these finer hairs is like saying ‘hello, make me a gorila plz’ … you do realise that now you have a bigger problem then you started out with before laser. you should try and get your money back from those scammers and use this money into some worth while electrolysis as from what i have read this is the only known permanant removal method and i dont think iv read anywhere yet of anyone being worse off after starting electrolysis!!
Dear Syrah,
When laser hair removal is not administered properly, it can actually stimulate growth on certain areas.
If you find a good electrologist, you will begin an end to your unwanted hair problem. Make sure he/she is board certified. Although that is no assurance of great skill, it certainly indicates that the electrologist is making an attempt to continue learning.
Oh, gosh, hyperpigmentation? Is that all that is keeping you from electrolysis? There are wonderful products with ingredients like kojic acid plus licorice that should help with that problem.
Feel free to email me.
All the best,