Hi- I am posting this in case it might help someone who’s confused by all the mixed messages about laser. Around 3 years ago, I went for laser for face (lip, chin and sideburns) and I noticed that the hair grew back thicker and patchier and affected the quality of my skin. I stopped after 2 treatments and started electrolysis. Three years later, I am thrilled to say that I have a practically bare face. Every now and then I go in for maintenanace for a few hairs.
Now, this is not to say that laser is ineffective because the same dr. who did my face also did my upper legs, and I got good results! Go figure. Also, now I am doing my arms with laser and I am really happy with the results. So maybe the face is difficult because of the hormonal connection.
Hope this helped!
I’m am looking to do some work on the hair on my face. I have had alot of mixed opinions. My hair is very blonde and fine just extremely noticable because there is so much. Any advice? What kind of electrolysis are you doing? I was going to try shorwave.
I would defnitely go with electrolysis on face- I wouldn’t let anyone put a laser near my face!
I honestly don’t know what kind of electrolysis my elec. uses, but I pesonally knew one woman who went to her and had very satisfying results. I would say- ask around and try t find an elec. who can give you references of happy customers. Also- there shouldn’t be any scarring or pitting on the face, even short-term, so make sure you find someone who does work without scabbing or scarring- this would be a very difficult thing emotionally, I think.
Good luck!
you mean that electrolysis took 3 years to completely remove hair from those areas or that it’s been 3 years since you finished electrolysis?
affected the quality of my skin
How exactly? I’m VERY interested in this because it’s been 5 years (23 y/o now) since I did 8 Laser Hair Removal treatments on my face.
My skin has aged terribly. I lead a pretty healthy lifestyle.
1.) Don’t smoke
2.) Don’t drink
3.) Usually stay indoors
4.) Eat very healthy
5.) Work out 6 times per week
etc…
Hi- To answer the questions above:
1- it did not take 3 years to finish elec. on my face. I’d say it ook about five half-hour treatments until I was satisfied and then monthly half hour apts/ Since the,. I g around once a month for 15-20 minutes, and sometimes not even that much-a small price to pay for skin w/o shadows!
2- how did the laser affect my face? I think my skin got a little rougher and perhaps some acne. I can’t imagine it ages you though- 23 is about the age when your sksin starts ti show its age, so perhaps that’s it? My acn and skin tone was much helped by a retinoid use called Tazorac. Look at the people in yiur family- did heir skin also start to age in their 20’s? Don;t beat yourself up about doing laser . . . I am sure it is simply your genetics that affected your skin. It is not your fault.
My sister is 25 years old and she has very little aging on her face. In fact, she takes worse care of her body than I do.
I started seeing the signs of aging at 22. At 23, the signs of aging accelerated like crazy. It’s still going.
Every day I look in the mirror and see new places aging, especially under my eyes.
I’m doing everything I can to stop the aging:
1.) Avoid pollution and cigarettes.
2.) Avoid the sun like the plague.
3.) Apply Oil of Olay SPF15 Moisturizer everyday before going outside.
4.) Eat a wide array of fresh vegetables and fruits and consume soy & chicken protein. I almost never eat outside.
5.) Sleep at least 8 hours a day.
6.) Sleep on my back (hurts my back, but I don’t crease my face by sleeping on it)
7.) Apply some generic moisturizer cream under my eyes at night before going to bed.
8.) Apply MiN Solution2 to prone areas to avoid razor bumps and Folliculitis Barbae (ingrown hairs), thus preventing any possible skin scarring.
9.) Apply Walgreens 8% concentration 70% solution Alpha Hydroxy Acid cream before going to bed.
10.) Taking Oil of Olay “Beauty and Wellness” multivitamin for skin and general health.
11.) Wash my skin twice per day with a mild soap in the shower.
12.) Exercise 6 times per week (3-4 times cardio, 3 times lifting weights)
- Microdermabrasion kit for home is on its way
- Also ordered Philosophy Vitamin C peel kit and Microdermabrasion by hand kit. (Both of these products got raving reviews).
It’s unbelievable how much we take advantage of our skin in our youth.
If you or anyone else have any tips for improving my skin, I’m all ears.
At 25-26, I’m thinking about going on Retin-A at its mildest concentration (.0025% or whatever) and then gradually increasing the dosage with the assistance of a health professional.
hi nancyk. how long has it been since your last laser treatment on the face? just to compare skin side effects with what equivox says. i have had 4-5 laser treatments on my face about one year ago, but i havent noticed any aging signs, only that it stimulated more hair growth. equivox’s experience has scared me very much. i have read other people’s experiences in some other hair removal forums. they have seen their skin sagging and they are all in their early twenties.
oh sorry nancy, you have already said it’s been 3 years. i try to advise all my friends and people i know to never try laser hair removal on their face or any other part of their body.it is better to be hairy than to have serious health problems because of that. i cant say i am happy with electrolysis either. i cant stand it seeing my skin look red and wounded.it is a very difficult thing to deal with.
they have seen their skin sagging and they are all in their early twenties.
Vanessa80,
Who else has had similar behavior? I would like to talk to them.
Vanessa,
If you take care of your skin well after treatment it should not look “red and wounded.” It may be for a day or so but it won’t last forever.
Vanessa,
If you take care of your skin well after treatment it should not look “red and wounded.” It may be for a day or so but it won’t last forever.
What in blazes are you talking about?
My skin took 3-4 days before I could even bare the thought of people seeing my face.
I had 10 laser treatments on my face and it stimulated massive hair growth. I stopped and just started electrolysis.
Recently, I found a wrinkle on the side of my mouth and the skin under my eyes does not look so great. My skin is certainly not sagging though. I just turned 29 y/o though, so i figured that’s why. I have always been told that I look really young. When I have my hair in a ponytail and no make-up, people think I’m like 18 y/o. I am not sure how much my aging is attributed to laser.
Electrolysis is great. If it leaves marks on your face then you just haven’t found a skilled person. Equinox, I noticed you are in NYC. You might want to try Maria Vega. That is who I go to and she is very good…does not leave any marks on my face. Check out her website at www.MariaVega.com.
Isabel,
How long has it been since the treatments? it’s been 5 years since my LHR sessions.
Do you have email?
Equinox I was referring to electrolysis. Even then it should take 3-4 days to completely heal but there’s no way it will look like someone took an ax to you. I had laser done before, last summer through last fall, and my skin looked burnt and scabbed after treatment. It was on my chest so nobody saw it. It was usually gone by the end of the second day and on the third day after treatment you could barely tell anything was done. I don’t have the “aging” signs you have but I didn’t end up with the results others had.
With you being in NYC you are in a good spot to get electrolysis done by some really good people if you were interested.
Equinox,
My last laser treatment was this past January. I was treated over a period of a year and half.
My wrinkle is probably more because of my age than laser. I have told friends about it and they laugh at me because they say they don’t see it. So, maybe I’m exaggerating.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day it is “discovered” that laser does cause aging or some other side effect. I certainly experienced one side-effect, which is stimulation of hair growth. Most people say it is impossible for laser to stimulate hair growth, but there is no doubt in my mind it could…A LOT (in my case). I am part Arab/part Hispanic so I am ethnically hairy but my face never looked like it does now. So, if there are no warnings out there about laser stimulating hair growth - why would there be a warning about it causing aging.
I was offered free laser treatments and one of the reasons I turned them down is because I realized that too many laser treatments may not be good for the skin. Also, because I just looked hairier each time.
I did do laser on my bikini area and had excellent results there.
If you still have hair on your face, I totally recommend electrolysis. That is what I am doing now.
i can’t remember where i read this post, sorry.i did a google search about laser side-effects and came across the post of that girl. she said that she had laser treatments to erase some spider veins on her cheeks. she saw no results and in addition to that her cheeks looked sagged and she considered having collagen fillings to correct the problem. she is only 20 years old.
Equivox, i discovered another forum with people who experienced sagged skin after laser treatments to erase acna scars. i am really horrified. it’s been a year since i had laser hair removal and i still see no such side-effects but who knows what happens in the next few years. here is the link http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.p…mp;#entry487799
i believe you are right to suspect lasers caused aging in your skin because this is the second forum i’ve been to and young people do say they’ve seen their skin deteriorating. so i guess it cannot be normal aging process.
Good God. That’s bloody scary.
I should’ve never went through with this procedure. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Equinox, this link i sent you is about “thermage” some procedure used for non-surgical removal of wrinkles that operates with radio-frequencies. some people who had ipl for the same purpose experienced similar side-effects. but the damage could already be seen after a few months and we are talking about major fat loss. you said that to you it happened 4-5 years later and mainly under the eye area. i can tell you that my under eye skin is so thin and fragile and prone to puffs and bags that i have started applying creams since the age of 18. that is years before i had any laser. i only suggested that link as an example of how lasers can penetrate deep into skin possbly damaging other skin structures apart from follicles. i didnt mean to scare you. i really want to believe laser hair removal is not that harmful. i dont see any alarming aging signs 7 months after my last laser treatments but i can certainly say that my skin is not what it used be. it is drier and i feel it very fragile. i used to have very oily skin. just imagine that a few minutes after applying my hydrating cream my skin got all greasy. now, it gets dry. maybe sebaceous glands are damaged or fat cells. i can’t say for sure. none of the people who post here have reported anything about skin premature aging caused by laser. yet, there are no people here posting years after having had LHR.