A little less than two years ago I briefly looked into laser hair removal for dark hairs on my abdomen and lighter but denser hairs on my back. I went to 3 clinics that coincidentally had 3 different types of lasers, two of which I immediately ruled out based on the impression the technicians left with me. At one clinic the woman doing the “consultation” told me I should worry more about totally unrelated services for my face which honestly left me feeling pretty lousy. At another place, the tech was very visibly uncomfortable with me and wouldn’t give me a quote in writing. One of these was the only clinic near me that I could find that used an alexandrite, the other was a yag which I don’t think is appropriate for my skin anyway.
The third place I had a consult with finally left me with a positive impression. They were extremely accommodating and sensitive to my needs, they aren’t a franchise, and laser hair removal is the only thing they do. Ok, less rambling, long story short it was a good experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to sign up for a bunch of sessions there. But…
The woman who did my consult encouraged me to wait for the medication I was just beginning to work to see if it will reduce my hair to the point of not needing laser. The medication was one reason, but also because I have some (dark) red hairs mixed in with lighter and darker blonde. She cautioned me that I may not see results on some hairs and I was ok with that because getting rid of some is better than getting rid of none. Losing all of the darker non-red hairs would leave about 25% of the hairs left.
I’ve now been on spironolactone for over a year and have seen some reduction (approx 60% of what it was at first), but, and maybe I’m just impatient, it isn’t enough. Shaving, waxing, or using the epilator works, but when that decides to cause a breakout of bright red bumps it’s worse than the hair itself. So now I’m looking into laser again, but I’m wondering if the hair is no longer coarse enough for treatment. My hairs have become finer as well as sparser.
I took a picture of the target area I would like cleared first and would appreciate any feedback anyone has. It was taken in indirect natural light and I cropped it to cover a 1.5 square inch area with ~3-4mm of growth (blown up about 2.5X). I have very light skin with freckles, but was told by everyone I saw that I was more of a type 2. Based on the image, does it make sense to pursue laser at this point? I will be getting quotes from several clinics before making a decision, the clinic that I had a good experience with uses a diode laser (Lightsheer-something if I recall) but should I look for an alexandrite instead?
Thanks for looking!
Kelly