LHR did not work. What do i do? Help please

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello Everyone
I’m new to this forum but I have been going through a lot concerning laser hair removal over the past 2 years. I’ll share my story and keep it as short as I can, but I would greatly appreciate comments, suggestions, and any sort of help. I’m at a point where I have absolutely no idea what to do and I feel as if I have ruined my life and wish to go back 2 years and never have started any of this  I apologise for the length of this post.
Okay to start off, I’m a 19 year old female. I decided to get LHR in 2008 for sideburns and a bit of chin area. I had visible hairs around sideburns and I felt as though LHR would be the answer. The first 4 treatments (spaced 6 weeks apart) I noticed a considerable difference and was pleased with the results –no hair growth. (but I believe that was just growth being stunned until my next treatment). Also, with each treatment the technician would move up and shave areas in which I hadn’t lasered before. It came to a point where literally my whole face was shaved and zapped. Note: Before I started treatment I had no problem with visible hair on cheeks. I only had light peach fuzz. SO now I was shaving and treating on sideburns, chin, AND cheeks…they also managed to get down to my neck area. Mind you, I had goggles on when they shaved and I didn’t really stop them (wish I did). Okay so come the end of my 7 treatment package, I have increased hair growth on my whole face. Darker, thicker, coarser hair all over my face. The peachfuzz on my cheek right up to even under my eyes became VERY noticeable. I had no idea what to do, so I kept getting additional treatments. Fast forward, I’ve lost track of how many treatments I had but I’d say around 20. End result: more hair, darker, thicker then when I EVER started LHR. This was incredibly distressing to me. All the money went down the drain, and along with it my self-esteem. I took a break from laser for a couple months and started waxing my entire face and neck every week or so. I started getting bad ingrown hairs on my neck! It was horrible. I never had hair on my neck before laser, only veryyyy light sparse hair. And now I feel like a man the hair is SO dark and thick I can’t run my own hand across my neck. So I called the LHR clinic and they kept telling my shaving does not make hair grow back thicker or darker, it’s a myth?! I actually asked her if she would pick up a razor and shave her entire face to prove that lol. I was in desperate need in getting rid of this hair so I had actually purchased another package just for my neck. That was stupid. Im addicted in getting treatments when they DON’T work. Its like a temporary 4 week relief. Well I had my treatment 2 days ago. Guess what. The hair grew back the next day just like a man’s beard. I’ve basically ruined my life. I can’t stop thinking about hair, and my regrets. It literally keeps me up at night and I can’t get up in the morning. I don’t want to go outside. I’m just a mess now. I hate having to wax my face like every 3 days: cheeks, chin, the whole works. NOTE: anyone who is considering LHR for face, especially if they have light hair to begin with. DON’T DO IT! The thing that really gets me is I had not asked to shave/treat my neck or cheeks and this area is the WORST now. I don’t know if I should take this into legal matters because my treatment is documented for sideburns and chin and thats what i signed consent for. Is it even worth it? I have so many mixed feelings right now. I don’t even know if Im more mad at myself or them?

Oh by the way, I went to go see a doctor this week. He put me on spiro and diane-35 I haven’t started the meds. He thinks I might have PCOS or hirsutism , hormonal imbalacement.

Thanks for reading my long post, I hope it wasn’t too boring. If anyone is out there to suggest any sort of solution to my facial hair problem I would greatly appreciate it. I’m so stressed out and at an all time low, I basically cry whenever I look in a mirror and wish to go back 2 years.
PS. Will electrolysis work in my case? I’ve heard waxing the hair prior to treatment would affect permanency because it would alter the hair follicle?
ALSO I personally know someone that did not get good results from electrolysis. They had gone to an accredited electrologist in Canada who has 20+ years experience. They went in to get chin done and hair growth increased even after many treatments. The electrologist had targeted very fine hairs during the process causing darker growth. Individual decided to stop getting treatments as it had just made things worse. Electrolysis was my last hope and this gives my no reason to give it a try. Why did this happen for this individual?? Im sure it would happen to me also. So should I just stick to waxing my face??

How long do i have to wait with no waxing to start electrolysis. How many clearances does it take to reach permanency?

#2

Hi,

Stop waxing or plucking it will give hard time to Electrolysis. I did the same mistake of lasering my face and you can guess the result. I am getting electrolysis on my face for 2 years now. I would say I am almost done. It seems like I got a new life. You may have experience with bad electrologists but that should not discourage you from looking. Look for a good electrologist and I am sure you will find one. Use this forum to find a electrologist in your area. I am positive that you will get one. If you want my before and after pictures just send me a message. I can provide you. Good luck

#3

Thanks for reading my post and replying
I have stopped waxing my face for about 2 weeks now. But I don’t know if i should stop my LHR package on my neck because it is really coarse&dark hair. I am thinking of going for a consultation for electrolysis. But I have no idea how it works. I have seen results from someone and it seems to have made things worse for them. Im so lost. Im really glad it worked out for you and you stopped laser when you did :slight_smile: I should stop laser completely right? I was hoping in getting lighter hair “reduction” on neck just to get things somewhere near back to normal. Also, for electrolysis do you have to wait 6 weeks before next treatments? If i go in and get a full clearance of neck, what happens after? Does the hair grow back again for me to only have to shave again until next treatment? Also, one more question … when you are completely done electrolysis does hair grow back? and if it does… can you wax it off or will that ruin all the treatments you have gotten? Sorry for 101 questions. And sorry if they’re stupid questions. I really appreciate your help! thank you so much

#4

Haha, for the last couple, if you go to an electrologist who doesn’t do their job properly it probably will grow back.

BUT, if you can give us your location there might be people on this forum who can help with recommendations for electrologists who are great at their job and can help you be hair free. You shouldn’t have to wax after successful electrolysis treatment. What happens is, you work towards a “full clearance” - this means that all visible hair is treated. You then go back periodically to kill new hair growth which take a lot less time than clearance, since it’s just any new hairs that have grown. Eventually, you should be able to stop electrolysis. All hairs that have been properly treated will never grow back, BUT over time new hair growth may develop from dormant follicles. Again, this is just a case of having another electrolysis session to deal with the new hair.

I wouldn’t continue with laser treatments right now. You’ve probably had laser stimulated hair growth and I’m sure you don’t want more of it.

#5

Please stop your Laser on your face immediately. This will only make it worse. When my facial hair were simulated by Laser they were growing like crazy. You need to find a good electrologist girl. I am sure they day you will find her you will be a happy girl from that day on. You have to get every visible hair off your face. If you find a good electrologist who works fast and causes minimum pain you could sit for longer hours and get cleared as soon as possible. Then you need to come back to take care of regrowth. In initial phases you need to come back frequently but the spacing will increase and regrowth will decrease with every treatment. NO you can NOT pluck at all. You can use a small scissor to trim between treatments. If you are plucking stop plucking already because it will only make more stubborn and electrolysis will take longer for those hair. So start it as soon as possible. Don’t delay at all. This forum can definitely help you find a good one in your area.

#6

Electrolysis CAN’T make hair worse. Worst case scenario the hair stays the same if the electrologist is totally terrible. But if your friend’s hair got WORSE, then something other than the electrolysis caused it. I promise you 100%, okay?

Also, your clinic is totally right. Shaving does not make hair worse at all (scientifically proven, it’s an old wive’s tale, don’t fall for it, waxing/plucking might make hair worse though and I recommend stopping ASAP if you get electrolysis).

Your hair was stimulated by laser (and only laser, not shaving). It is pretty common in this area, and the best way to fix it is electrolysis. Laser is great, I’m a big fan, but don’t EVER let a laser touch hairs that are not coarse or it can stimulate them, especially on the face! The female face and male shoulders/back are the two most common areas for induced growth. Laser is meant for underarms, bikini line, lower legs, etc… Places with dense COARSE dark growth. Men can treat their faces, but unless you have a male-type beard, you can’t.

Of course, clinics won’t tell you that laser is not appropriate for fine hair. That’s why you need to research the heck out of these things before you trust those places. This is unfortunately a very common issue around here.

Electrolysis will fix it if you do RESEARCH first and make sure you pick a good electrologist.

#7

Shaving didn’t make things worse. Laser CAN make the hair worse when treating fine sparse hair, especially on a woman’s face. That’s what happened. In addition, you’re at an age when you’re still developing NEW hair. So that likely played a part too. But I’m guessing the majority was laser stimulation.

Electrolysis is the only option for you and any finer hair. Can you post a photo? I doubt even the current hair is coarse enough for more laser treatments. Also, you don’t mention the type of laser or settings being used. So it’s hard to know whether they’re undertreating you, which can make things even worse.

Electrolysis removes one hair at a time. A good one removes 5-10 hairs per minute. You should start looking for a good one in your area and go for free consultations and sample treamtents.

Also, mention your location. There may be past recommendations on the forum.

Laser should be used only dark coarse dense growth, like bikini and underarms.

#8

Thanks for replies. Yeah the hairs on my my face were fine from the start so laser was not a good idea at all. If I only knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have induced hair growth. The laser I was being treated on is lightsheer and im not quite sure what setting. But the my last treatment on my neck I’m sure i was undertreated because the hair grew back within a couple days. I’m going to stop getting laser treatments.
I have been looking around for an electrologist. How do I know an electrologist knows what they’re doing/is doing the procedure right. What should I watch out for? Also is it possible to induce hair growth if an electrologist targets a hairs i wasn’t concered about? One last thing, I know you can’t pull out hairs (wax,tweeze,etc) once you started electrolysis but can you bleach hairs?

#9

Electrolysis won’t induce growth. If you have an incompetent electrologist you will either get minimal results or no results. You may even get scars if they overtreat you (pretty rare).

The best way to judge is to get small treatments (like a consultation) and see if you feel plucking. If the hair slides out with NO plucking, it was treated properly. Then make sure the area heals well and is not too irritated. Of course you can also search out someone with good technology (like an Apilus) to cut down on pain and make things faster, but this isn’t strictly necessary.

#10

If the electrologist is doing it right then it can not stimulate growth. If she is plucking then yes growth can be stimulated. My electrologist killed the most noticeable hair and always kept catching the regrowth. After one year when regrowth was sparse and slow then she attacked on light hair. I didn’t intend to get those hair treated but I am glad she caught them too.

Yes you can bleach but after your skin is completely healed from electrolysis. But I stopped bleaching because I didn’t want my electrologist to miss a single hair because its bleached. But at the same time if bleached hair is black near the root then it will be become easier for her to get it. So, don’t bleach a day before your appointment.

You need to find a very very good electrologist who is recommended by many. You may demand to talk to her other customers. You should not feel plucking sensation when she works on you. Neither should you feel unbearable pain. You should be very comfortable while she works on. You may be uncomfortable on upper lips area but not other parts of the face. So, the real challenge is to find someone who is doing it for decades atleast and very much recommended by others. Some electrologists just plucks and charge you for electrolysis. They just make hair more stubborn.

You should add your geographical location in your profile so that people can recommend you a good one. You have no reason to be hopeless at all. You will find many success stories on this forum.