Male Leg hair treatments

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

This is my first post. Am considering laser hair reduction on my legs/thighs. Luckily, the hair is not too bad but really just want to do it and prefer less hair in these areas. I usually trim these areas with pretty good/natural looking results, but looking for a more permanent solution.

Since I am looking for reduction and I don’t really want to be going every 12 weeks for a treatment. Would it be okay to just go say once every six months until I have the reduction that I want? This could also save me money since theoretically I may only need 2-3 treatments.

I think have Type III to Type IV skin with dark hair. The place I am consulting next week has a Coolglide Yag.

Thanks in advance and the info on this forum has been really helpful. Obviously I am going to ask all of these questions at my consultation but I think some people on this forum have great experience and may give a different perspective (as they are not seeking a profit).

#2

The Coolglide Yag is the right type of laser for your skin type.

The timimg for treatment may be okay for the outcome you desire. But with laser, you can’t be specific enough to get a natural reduction. You may have patches of no hair with patches of hair left. I would get properly spaced treatments, but maybe get 2 or 3 sessions instead of the full series of treatments rather than space it out six months. I’m not saying this as an expert, but rather from what I have picked up here over the years from reading about laser.

At least you have done well with choosing a place that has the right laser for your skin color.

Romeo (Chris), what do you think? And Chris, a big thank you for helping us out here while lagirl is in Africa. Keep it coming! We need you!

Dee

#3

Thank you Dee. It is hard to fill lagirl’s shoes.

Jorgen, I would suggest 3 treatments spaced 8-10 weeks apart to give you a good amount of reduction. If you are skin type IV, the Coolglide would be OK but if you are skin type III/IV , then I would suggest something like a Gentleyag, Gentlemax, Apogee Elite.

#4

Romeo-would the treatment you describe avoid patchiness? From what I have read, the biggest problem with getting LHR on male legs for the purpose of reduction is patchiness. If the treatment you describe prevents patchiness, I think alot of men would be interested in getting this done. Could this treatment also be applied to male chest hair?

#5

From my experience, there wasn’t any patchiness. I started LHR with the intent of getting a reduction. After having hairless periods, I found I really, liked the more hairless look. So, I continued with treatments. I think if I would have stopped after about 4 or 5, I would have had a decent reduction. I continued with a few more and the hairs had become more fine and sparse. So, I have been doing electrolysis.

#6

Met:

We have never experienced patchiness on male legs or male chest, whether it was for a significant amount of reduction or for more permanence.

#7

A male person asks for leg hair reduction and gets a treatment. How long do you wait before the next treatment? Would you wait for it to grow back to see how much was reduced with the 1st treatment? Would it be six months, one year?

#8

Depends on amount of permanency you are looking to achieve. For maximum hair reduction, we would suggest 6 sessions, spaced 8 weeks apart. If you are looking for 40% less hair or so, we would suggest 3 sessions, spaced 10-12 weeks apart.

#9

Romeo, I like your answer but Dfahey indicated in her response “with laser, you can’t be specific enough to get a natural reduction. You may have patches of no hair with patches of hair left”. As you can see, the subject matter is confusing. I know some males who are interested in getting reduction but have been warned about the patchiness issue. Does it matter if the equipment used is an IPL or a real laser when it comes to patchiness?

#10

My experience on the legs has been very good. I am type III/IV with dark hair and my legs are about as hairy as they come.

After two treatments, (23 Jul and 6 Sep) about 6 weeks apart, I have something like 40% reduction, which is great. It is now around 16 weeks after the second treatment and my leg hair is now even in terms of growth and looks 100% natural. I think 6 weeks is probably too close together though and a bigger gap would be more effective.

I should point out that after shedding, e.g. 2-4 weeks after the treatment, you get some uneven growth, which looks kinda odd, but this is only temporary. I just shave during this period, until full even growth returns

I found the process incredibly painful, perhaps due to the amount of hair I had. I will probably 1-2 more treatments to get a bit further in terms of reduction. I’ll check what type of laser was used next time I go in as I am not entirely sure.

#11

Met:

I agree with back_hair123’s comments and experience with his leg treatments. You can try IPL for hair reduction but I prefer lasers.

#12

Backhair, your experience explains the matter very well. I understand the process better now. The patchiness that is referred to in many of the posts probably refers to the regrowth occuring at different rates and when the growth catches up at some point in several months the look becomes more natural and less patchy. Thanks for the explanation.

#13

Romeo, thank you and I understand the process better now. The informstion received from these posts is excellent. I know you dont support ipl but is it as effective for reduction purposes? Would the results be equal? Just trying to understand the differences.

#14

For reduction purposes,yes, for permanency, no.

#15

IPL’s are a waste of money - they are not nearly as effective as lasers in my opinion.

I’ve had 2 treatments on my legs (3/08 and 10/08) with GentleLase 16J, 18mm. I waited a long time because I was concerned about patchiness. Legs have a really long cycle. I noticed that I had a 50% reduction (looked great) after 16 weeks but after 20-24 weeks it looked like only a 10% reduction so I went in for another. Every thing came back even for me. Right now, I’m 10 weeks post my 2nd tx and regrowth is very, very light.

#16

Gene2010

Your results sound quite typical. However, I would have shortened the cycle a little. Based on what you are saying, you may need one more treatment in a few weeks to achieve the results you are looking for.

#17

Did something happen to lagirl?

Anywho - I’ve been doing my arms - and next will be my legs (maybe)

My arms were bad, but my legs, sooo bad - I seriously haven’t worn shorts in public since I’ve been 14 - I’m 39 now.

On my last treatment I had a test spot done on my lower leg, just to see if I could take the pain - 6 shots

11 weeks later and barely any hair regrowth. Because of this, my wife has suddenly become very interested in laser ;o)

lagirl has stated in the past that the growth cycle for your legs is different than your upper body - 12 weeks, instead of 8 weeks for anything above your waist.

Is this true? or is it 6-8 weeks over your entire body, neck down?

#18

Lagirl is in Africa until February and then she is re-locating to NYC. We’re doing the best we can to fill her very big shoes.

I would advise you to read lagirl’s laser faq’s page. I believe 10-12 weeks in between appointments is what you are looking for, but do some reading on the faq’s page.

The lower legs respond well to good laser care. Thanks for your positive report!

Dee

#19

Book your sessions like this:

  1. Wait for the hair to fall out - around 10 - 30 days.
  2. Wait for regrowth to occur to make it worthwhile. This could be 8 weeks for arms, 12 weeks for legs/back… it varies.

I made the mistake of doing everything every six weeks and I reckon this is just a waste of money. I’ve waited around 20 weeks to do my legs the third time as now I have full regrowth (significantly reduced from gorilla to normal hairy male). Also for the pain involved, I’m not doing the legs until they are ready!!

#20

I am male with light skin/dark hair and had 2 laser removal treatments with diode laser on both legs. This place closed and now I will have a third treatment on legs with alexdrite laser. It is ten weeks since last treatment. Will using a different laser type at this time affect hair removal results on my legs? So far the hair is coming back more each week but not yet to the point before first treatment 4 months passed.