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Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

So here’s the deal, I’m a 18year old male. About a year ago I freaked out about some fine black hairs on my back. So I started doing some IPL treatments at a local center. Mistake?

I had treatments on my upper back :frowning: and the back of my neck (I had two side extensions of my hair that went to the neck that bothered me). After 8 treatments I can’t really decide on the results. On my neck the results are great those hairs there are almost completely gone, however I can’t really decide on my upper back. There are definetly some spots that are hair free, two spots have still some hair (I can’t remeber if they’re thinner or coarser than before) and then I have these really really tiny hairs and when I stretch the skin I see hair follicules. I’m kinda worried because I guess I should never have started if the hairs on my back were so thinner (or weren’t they? I really don’t remember…)

So I’m planning on doing two more sessions to clear those two spots on my upper back and to end with what’s left of those hairs on my neck but I’m worried if I could have compromised myself on doing all these treatments. I’m afraid all the hair will come back coarser in the next couple of years… as i’ve seen in some posts around here.

I’m totally not worried about having hair, I just can’t stand hair on my back. I was wondering if you could give me some advice on what to do, or what to expect. Thanks

#2

I would stop treatments immediately. It doesn’t sound like any of the hair is coarse and dense enough for laser or IPL. You’re risking stimulating MORE growth which can happen when you do it on this type of hair on this area.

How long has it been since your last treatment? You can’t tell what’s truly gone for good until you give it at least 6 months.

Also, IPLs are not great for hair removal in the first place, even on areas that can be treated.

Can you post some photos?

It sounds to me like you need electrolysis, not laser or IPL.

You may also want to wait in general because you’ll still be developing NEW hair into your late 20s.

#3

I can try and post some photos. But I don’t even think they will be able to show hair, especially now.

I had my last treatment on 8 February… They advice to go there like once every four weeks… Does that time even allow to see results? I’m seeing them, especially on my neck. I’m worried on long term effects… realy worried… I stopped treatments during last summer and I think I saw some results, again on my neck area, on my back i’m not sure because I forget how they used to be.

I’ve been thinking on Electrolysis, but I’m worried about prices and the area I’m going to treat (quite big) and time. I know it is the best, however I live in a very small country (portugal) where that method is very rare, I actually found a place where they use it. There are two things that bother me about that place and those are that they claim the tecnhique is only used to treat small areas with sparse hairs and hair colors that cannot be treated with laser.

And then there’s the age factor which I certainly will think about. But I don’t understand… no one on my family has hairs on their back and I get like these tiny black hairs almost everywhere on my body, I think I also thought about the possibility of these being any indicators of what there’s to come. Thank you so much for replying.

#4

Every 4 weeks is useless regardless of how good the treatments are, but I doubt they’re good or effective because with effective treatments, there is nothing to treat at 4 weeks. Hair doesn’t grow that fast. At 3 weeks, all treated hair should have shed and it takes weeks to grow more hair after that.

Some clinics just have you come in often and don’t tell you about shedding, so like you, customers don’t really see whether they’re even getting any results. You’re coming in too early to judge. Wait 10 weeks from your last treatment at this point to judge things. Take a photo at 10 weeks and post here.

Once again, your hair doesn’t sound coarse enough for laser or IPL, and IPLs are not great for hair removal in the first place.

Electrolysis is the only method that can be used on hair that laser can’t target. Laser can ONLY treat hair that’s coarse and dense. So electrolysis is the ONLY option for all other types of hair if you want permanent removal.

There is a great electrologist from southern Spain on this forum - see the electrolysis part of this forum. If you can get there once every 6 weeks or so to clear the area, you can be done in a year.

And yes, you’ll likely develop MORE hair in the future. You’re still young and hair develops into late 20s.

#5

LAgirl, thank you for paying attention to my problem. I’ll wait to check the results and I’ll post some photos, although I don’t know how to. I’ll learn.

I’ve also contacted a center that does electrolysis. I will inform myself first. They’re prices vary with time from 5minutes to 2hours. And they seem to charge the needle, is that normal? Also two hours cost 70€ while I’m paying 60 with IPL on only two areas… So I guess it pays off…

Can I ask you two questions? If performed correctly will the needle eliminate the hair right away, or will it weaken little by little? Also, is there any way to predict how hairy will I be? Are black vellus hairs indicators of anything? Specially since no one on my family seems to have them, maybe they disappear with age?

#6

You can upload your photos to a site like www.photobucket.com and post the HTML links here.

You shouldn’t really be comparing prices between laser and electrolysis like that. The hair you’ll treat with electrolysis can’t be affected by laser anyway, so it’s not like you have an option.

Most clinics charge per hour and most don’t charge extra for needles, but include them.

There are 3 types of electrolysis methods and various machines. Please post and read the Electrolysis section of this forum for more help with that. You should sample 3-5 electrologists - fee consultations/sample treatments.

Good electrolysis kills hair on the first try. But it has to be in the right phase of growth too. That’s why it’s important to get a clearance right away and then go in once every 3-4 to get clearances each time and leave hairless, instead of retreating hair each time.