hi,
im into bodybuilding quite seriousely and unfortunately ive got quite hairy legs, i had them treated with alexandrite laser and that helped a lot, the hair is lighter and not so thick (was Very thick b4), however there is still the same amount of it giving a somewhat bushy appearance. Has anyone ever got electrolysis don on there legs just to reduce hair?? i dont wanna shave my legs for bodybuilding mostly because im scared that if i do then it will regrow at the same thickness as it was b4 i got laser treatment!!? can anyone shed some light on these questions?? -thanks -jimmy
Electrolysis can be done anywhere. It is perfect for reducing the amount of hair in any area. Because it is done hair by hair, we can select every second or third hair to reduce the appearance of having so much hair in an area or we can take every hair away - permanently. A skilled microflash or flash electrologist is what you want. This will speed the process along for the paying client who wants the hair off fast.
Dee
Shaving does not make hair grow any darker or thicker. It just looks thicker because you cut it off at the darkest, thickest spot.
I think electrolysis would do a great job, but I also wanted to mention waxing. Thats what they do here in my neck of the woods so all of the hair is gone to better show the defined muscles. Then if you ever decide that hair=masculinity it is all there.
I’ll repeat at well. Shaving doesn’t do anything to the structure of the hair. It’s an illusion. You can run a search here to learn more and find the studies. It’s been proven many times.
I am wondering how many laser treatments you had. Did you go through the full 6-8 treamtents? I’m not sure that electrolysis is the right way to go yet for you if that is not the case. Electrolysis treats hair one by one and you have a large area to cover. You may still benefit from additional laser treatments. How many did you have?
And as far as temporary methods, you can always shave or wax, though waxing such a large area every couple months is not cheap at a salon, so permanent removal may make sense if you are spending that much money anyway.
thanks for the replies everyone!
i had the laser done 5 times , but when i went each time some areas werent done because my hair grew back at different rates, it usally grew back very light and thin and after a week or so you could see it change darker . so each time i went back the areas that were darker were done. it has come out ‘quite’ even in the end, (still waiting for it to grow back from my final session at the very start of this month) its kinda hard to explain but for eg when i went back the last time i only had 20 or so blasts total on the darker areas (not my whole leg was done each visit because the hair was blond alotta the time, but not now lol)
at the moment there is still the same quantity of hairs, just they are mostly lighter and the main thin anooying me is that in a patch of say 20 hairs there would be 1 almost black one ! i was wanting to get electrolysis mainly to get rid of most of the dark hairs within the lighter ones because there are quite a few over my entire leg.
‘dfahey’ have you ever had a guy wanting electrolysis on his legs?? its ounds like you are an electrolysis so i thought id ask?
also i was looking up those do-it-yourslef ones and there was a 50/50 response about them???
I have done legs on men who were swimmers, and bicyclists
thanks for the input james, how long did it take most of the guys that you treated? like a couple of months or so?? do you remeber how much it costed approx for everything??and did the cylists get all the hair removed or just some?
Surly electrolysis on a mans legs is not practical…Because of the sheer amount of hairs.
You could use it to target those few dark hairs that are bothering you though.
Im suprised you haven’t had a reduction with the laser. What colour was you leg hair?
It really depends on the person. I can usually get full clearance on the lower legs in 3 to 6 hours, and the upper legs are hard to say about as they vary so wildly.
Most people care more about full clearance on the lower legs than the upper legs.
In any case, if you are doing full clearances, it can be done in 6 to 10 clearances that are done at most 12 weeks apart.
im not looking for full clearance , just about half what it is now. in reply to morissey my leg hair was very dark brown, its now mostly light-mid brown, still same amount but lighter texture .
wo 12 weeks apart?! if thatts the most time between each session , whats the norm??and how many ‘zaps’ does it usually take to permently kill each hair??
jimmy, i think you really need to consider how much of an investment electrolysis will be for you, both in terms of time and money. i don’t know if that’s something that you’re looking for judging from your posts. electrolysis involves treating EACH hair individually, and some hairs will need 2-3 zaps. you also need to come in as soon as you see new hair come in usually, because you have to kill the hair when it first comes out and it’s weak. this makes it difficult in your case as well because it will be hard to tell which hairs just grew in if you’re only getting a reduction. you would probably have to get full clearance a few times first. i just don’t think it’s practical for you.
however, if you can describe in more detail your laser treatments, we can help you figure out how to achieve the results you want with laser. it is definitely doable. i suspect that you were treating at somewhat low settings and that you had your treatments too close together. also, 5 treatments is not enough, especially for such a large area (plus, it sounds like you didn’t wait long enough for the hair to grow in before you went for another treatment and only treated areas selectively after that, so technically you didn’t have 5 effective treatments and not on the entire area). you should be able to get the results you want with another 4 treatments with laser or so, BUT this time at proper intervals (for legs, 12-16 weeks) and at high settings. it would be more cost-effective and would take a lot less of your time than going with electrolysis at this point.
Jimmy07,
You definitely do not want to try even thinning with laser. That’s a complete and total job for electrolysis. With laser, even with multiple treatments, you could end up very patchy, like a ‘mange’ look. You don’t want to look mangey. I had that very process: Laser on the legs, and it provided completely unreliable and unpredictable results. Take my advice, go with elctrology. They can very carefully thin out the hair, very aesthetically with a human touch. You’ll look good. There’s a very definite art to thinning out hair.
Mantaray
Laser thinned my hair very well on my stomach. It’s not patchy. But after 22 treatments, I would of expected it to be all gone.
So what you are saying is, you wanted Permanent Removal of All Hairs Visible at a Conversational Distance, not just Long Term Reduction, or “Permanent Reduction”? 
laggirl,
i understand what your saying but i would honestly prefer electrolysis, i dont really like having my legs bald for weeks after the laser. i am quite good at sticking to my goals as well so im sure ill figure it out. (i took a flight once a month on my off day at work for the appointments) The main problem i can see would be what you said about having to go back as soon as the hairs start to regrow, when im on college holdiays i might not be in the same country. i will take it into consideration tho!thanks!
Mantaray,
whew, your post gave me some hope !lol did you end up getting electrolysis after your laser treatments??
also does anyone know of any good electrolysists in the Long island NY area??
thanks again for all the help,you guys are really appreciated im sure! by me anyway lol
of course. it’s your choice. as long as you have complete unbiased info and correct expectations, you can decide what the best option for you is.
do keep in mind biased responses from people who had ineffective laser treatments with much less than optimal clinics and machines. I’ve had both laser and electrolysis done on various areas btw.
Yeah I did have/having electrolysis done after the laser attempts. Electrologists can remove the hair selectively from the tops of the thigh, the backs, the muscle bellys, and outer edges of the calves so it looks clean, catches the light well and you can still have hair in all the right places. Bring in photos to your electrologist and have them marked where you want the most thinning and they’ll do a better job.
BTW abs are a must with electro. They’ll clean that area up well as well as upper arms.
My old bodybuilding mantra: Eat right, sleep right, and don’t give a d*mn how much others are lifting. …And stay away from gym gossip.
Mantaray
thanks guys!
i have another question lol, when i had laser the area would kinda be bumpy red for a day or 2 aftre each treatment (mosturiser brought it down pretty quick), is it similiar in electrolysis?? or would it look different and for longer/less period of time?
oh and i asked this b4 but didnt get a response yet lol sorry to be pestering, any recommended electrolysists near long island Ny? and do most electrolysysts also do laser or is it usually 1 or the other??
Depending on the practitioner and perhaps, how well they use their equipment, your after skin reaction could vary. Your own healing powers come into play as well. So, you will most probably have some red bumps. For how long? That could vary as well. You could have a twenty minute treatment done and see what happens in your case. Witch hazel, clear aloe vera gel would be good aftercare choices during the day, followed by tea tree oil at night.
You are very lucky to live where you live. I hear the Gior’s are a fantastic bunch for electrolysis care.
http://www.electrolysisinformation.com/
Many electrologists do both laser and electrolysis in my locale, but I find that the ones who do both, hardly do electrolysis anymore. If they do, it is for the eyebrow area. This is what I have been told by my clients who come to me to finish up the job when laser has done all it can do for a body. So I’m thinking that the reason these combination specialists don’t do electrolysis as much is because perhaps it is technically more difficult and they really don’t want to be bothered anymore??? One of the local electrologist/laser people in my city actually charges $108 per hour for electrolysis, a figure way, way above what the rest of us charge. She may purposely do this to discourage clients from asking her for electrolysis services. She’s very good at the laser part and I refer clients to her, when appropriate.
I would go to someone that does electrolysis day in and day out as they have most likely have mastered the skill and love what they do. That’s my short answer.
Good luck with your decision.
Dee
You make a good point, the most expensive “electrologist” in my area charges $150 per hour, yet uses an Instantron Elite (not even the Elite Spectrum) and need I say that I am faster than her? Oh, but she will sell you a LASER package faster than light!
It is almost like a bait and switch. People come in looking for electrolysis, she hard sells LASER, and then tries to convince people that LASER will be more comfortable and less expensive.
Of course, I can’t argue with this person, after all, wich one of us would not choose to alway take the path to making as much as $300 per hour, over the path to making $150 while doing more work?