laser removal for back at 24/25 yrs old?

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

About three years ago (it may have started growing earlier) I noticed hair growing on my back, shoulder and similar looking hair on my upper arms. It’s grown longer and thicker since then, and it seems in the last four or so months it’s grown even longer, I think.

Anyway, shaving it pretty much doesn’t work, and waxing doesn’t last long at all and causes ingrown hairs/zits. It really affects my life as I completely avoid taking my shirt off in front of anybody or in public (pool, waterpark, etc) when there’s hair on my back, and I want to get rid of it. So I have some newb questions:

  1. My skin is fairly light, and the hair is dark and somewhat thick, although the hairs themselves are somewhat dispersed compared to my chest hair. It’s still very noticeable. How much would treatments likely cost me, and how many treatments until it’s almost or completely gone? How long between treatments usually?

  2. I’ve seen some ‘before and after’ pictures, and sometimes the skin in the after picture looks bumpy or like it has stubble or something. Is the skin supposed to look perfectly smooth after a treatment? It seems really soon after I get a wax, like a few days or so, it already looks and especially feels bumpy where the hairs were pulled out.

  3. I’ve read that guys my age shouldn’t bother with laser hair removal because it’ll most likely grow back in a matter of months. Is this true?

  4. Oh, and are there different kinds of laser treatments, some more expensive/effective than others?

  5. How much would electrolysis be compared to laser hair removal?

  6. Any studies into the health effects of shooting a laser at your hairs?

Thanks.

#2

please read teh FAQs. I answer most of your questions there

www.hairremovalforum.com/faq.cfm

to answer the few that aren’t:

  1. with normal treatment, the skin will look smooth and great, no bumps or anything you didn’t have before the treatment. the hair will just fall out.

  2. it’s more difficult and sometimes takes more treatments and works best on dark coarse somewhat dense hair. i wouldn’t expect to be done in 4-5 treatments. count on at least 8, and most likely touchups later with either laser or electrolysis for complete removal.

  3. there are hair removal lasers and IPL machines used for same purpose. true hair removal lasers are generally more effective. a few IPLs like Harmony have shown some good results on light skin as reported by some on these forums. otherwise, i would recommend going with a true laser, alex or diode for light skin.

  4. it’s impossible to tell you that without knowing how much hair you’re talking about exactly AND how well your hair would react to electrolysis.

  5. no

#3

I don’t think I would be too concerned about laser at your age. By 24-25 years old, you are getting closer to an age where your body is not producing as much hair as it had been. Also, the hairs that are permanently destroyed, are permanetly destroyed (i.e. they won’t grow back). This translates into less hair than you would have if you hadn’t any laser treatments.

As far as electroysis goes, it can be more expensive when you have a large area with thick hair. A good electrolygist could get rid of 5-6 hairs per minute. A large area could have hundreds of hairs, which would take a long time to clear. If you’ve got light skin and dark hair, laser is definately more economical for those large areas with lots and lots of hair.

I started with laser which really reduced the amount of hair. Also, the remaining hair became lighter and thinner, which makes it more difficult for laser. So, to get more clearance, I’ve had electrolysis treatments which works, too.

#4

you also have to remember, that with even a good electrologist, a lot of hair will take 2-3 zaps to remove with electrolysis just so you have a fair idea of how long it would take.

#5

Thanks.

Damn, it could take at least 8 treatments at $300-400 each? How could electrolysis be more expensive than that?

Oh, another question: what would the difference be after just one or two or three treatments? Would it be thinner and lighter at all? I’ve heard of people who no longer have in-grown hair problems after laser treatments… is that typical?

#6

A skilled electrologist with decent speed can do A LOT of electrolysis over a large area for $2,400. You just have to see him/her more times in the beginning, but once you get a first clearance, appointments are spaced out to grab the new hairs that pop forth to the surface,same with laser. Permanent hair removal with electrolysis will be permanent in the long run. Reduction with LASER is not as easy as the magazine glossy’s hype about, but can get you started and get you somewhat to a point where you feel much better. Either method used takes work, money and commitment, but it is worth every penny spent for the years to come.

Dee

#7

Yes, it can easily take that much money with either method. this is not a cheap or quick and painless venture no matter what you choose. but you should get results if you’re committed and do your research before you start. electrolysis averages $60-70/hr and removes hair one by one, with (very approximately and depends on a lot of factors) maybe 25-30% killed the first time around IF the hair is in anagen first growth phase. The suggested method for dark coarse hair and light skin is starting out with laser and finishing with electrolysis when hair gets too fine for laser. Yes, you can have a few treatments, I would say you’ll need at least 2-3 or so for a general reduction of the hair on an area and thinner finer growth, if you don’t want to commit to complete removal with laser.

#8

Just a thought on electrolysis. My opinion is you must really be prepared for a long treatment process. Maybe months to years with LOTS of treatments. Laser has only a fraction of treatments over similar time period.
Both can work but prepare for a longer process with electolysis, don’t quit when progress seems to not yield results as quickly as you hoped for.

side note-Why do MD’s know everything about everything…can you answer that LAgirl? Md’s knew viox was the answer to arthritis until it started killing people…ever heard the story of the MD who did knee surgery on the wrong knee?