So what did it cost you?

nohairplease · July 8, 2002, 9:02pm

I’m a male, 26 years old, and extremely hairy. I got electrolysis treatments on my upper back for several months, spending approximately $1600. Though I was happy to have that area clearer, it barely made a dent in the amount I wanted removed. Also, I could not afford to continue.

It’s been two years since then, and I saw a snapshot of my body just a few weeks ago when I started a workout program and wanted a good “before” picture. I need hair removal bad.

I want to do the laser treatment, because I have dark coarse hairs and light skin, so I think I would be a good candidate. I want to get my shoulders, upper arms, and entire back treated. I know that one treatment won’t be enough, but I see some posts of people who say they have gone 8-10 times! How much are you paying for this?

I’m really curious because I’m really serious. I can only trust the clinics that offer laser treatment so much, because I think they are downplaying the number of treatments(3!) to sell it to me.

So if you all do not mind me asking, how many sessions did you go for, and for how much?

-NHPlease

Teen · July 8, 2002, 10:20pm

Good topic.
I wanted to ask the same question. =|;-)

qrashid · July 9, 2002, 2:56am

I think it probably depends. I’ve been going for a while now, and have probably had 8-10 treatments. The back/shoulder area is actually pretty clear now, to the point that you probably wouldn’t notice the hair at all more than a few feet away, and this is 3 months after the last session.

FWIW, I had what seemed to be 0% improvement until the last few treatments, and then it just seemed to get a lot better. Perhaps it was getting better the whole time, perhaps I was fighting my body’s attempt to get even hairier during that time – who knows?

I’ve gotten epitouch (alexandrite) laser for almost all of the treatments, for about $350 - $700 per treatment (back, shoulders, upper arms, for a total of around 2 hrs). It’s been cheaper lately because the lady that zaps me is starting to feel guilty about all the money I’ve spent, I think.

RJC2001 · July 9, 2002, 3:42am

My initial cost was $1,400 to have my chest back and upperarms done. That included the first treatment and one follow-up treatment for each area.

After that the cost was based on a descending scale. I had some treatments at $225 then $125. Most of my treatments this year were in the $55-65 range for an hour long session.

I haven’t really counted the number of treatments for each area but I may very well could have had 8-19 treatments. My practitioner said my progress has been very good, with just about the number of expected treatments. I had the most dramatic results within the first 3-4 treatments (alexandrite) and then a period of noticeably better results after switching to the Lightsheer ET diode laser this year. I got about 4 Lightsheer treatments in under the old Apogee (alex) rates before the rates were increased substantially to cover the cost of the Lightsheer. I still will get a discount though.

The hair that’s left (5-10% of what I started out with) is much finer and grows more slowly. That is excluding the few white hairs that did not respond to the laser. They grow rather fast. I may have them zapped with electrolysis. I want all the hair gone forever so that’s why I continue to get lasered and am considering electrolysis for the little bit that is left.

As your hair goes away you tend to notice more the little bit that is left and you want all the more to have it gone too.

RJC2001

qrashid · July 9, 2002, 3:46am

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by RJC2001:
As your hair goes away you tend to notice more the little bit that is left and you want all the more to have it gone too.
RJC2001<hr /></blockquote>Ain’t that the truth!

nohairplease · July 9, 2002, 4:45am

Ok, thanks for the figures for those who contributed. For those just reading this thread for the first time, I’d like to hear exactly how much you have spent to date as well.

So, RJC, you said you may have had up to 19 treatments??? My word! How effective is the treatment if you have to go 19 times? Is this 19 times on the same area? It seems to me I could shave my chest once a month for 19 months and we would have the same results 19 months later, only I’d be $4,000 richer! Am I expecting too much? Did you go once a week, once a month, or how often? For you other readers out there, Is this the number of times you have gone / are going too?

I do see that people say they have better results after switching to Lightsheer. I find this interesting, especially since one of the ads in my yellow pages for hair removal states “We use Lightsheer - the most effective laser” (not actual words).

So, you think if I start with the Lightsheer laser, I might not have to go quite that many times?

I find it odd that someone will charge $1400 for the first two sessions, then back it down to $100-200 for every session after that. What is done on the first two sessions that were not done on the others? I guess every treatment center has their own way of billing. I’ve yet to check how this guy from yellow pages ad works his fees. I’ll let you know when I do.

I hope that as demand increases for this type of treatment, so will competition, helping the price to go down!

Thank you for your replies. I look forward to seeing more on this post.

-NHPlease

qrashid · July 9, 2002, 4:59am

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> It seems to me I could shave my chest once a month for 19 months and we would have the same results 19 months later, only I’d be $4,000 richer! <hr /></blockquote>Not at all. After 19 treatments you’d quite possibly find the regrowth to be much more sparse and fine then originally. The $4k thing is sadly true, though.

The other benefits are the lack of hair stubble after treatments (although see my topic on “hair dots”) and convenience. You can get away with shaving the chest 1/month, but a back will prolly look pretty hairy 2 weeks after shaving.

I would think that most people getting the laser have a love-hate relationship with it. After the first treatment (and short-term things like redness fade) they think it’s great. When most of the hair regrows 2 months later, they think it stinks. Repeat this a few more times, until you start to realize that there really is a long-term reduction in regrowth. Of course, I still don’t know if it’s really permanent.

As for billing, I’ve found that my center actually raised prices recently.

RJC2001 · July 10, 2002, 1:08am

Maybe I wasn’t clear enough. I have not had any more than 8 treatments for any one body part. I cannot get my chest, back, and arms done in one session, so I had to break it up into separate sessions for the chest and back. When I had time left I would get my arms done. I only go in the winter and spring months and I would wait 4-6 weeks between treatments for a given area. I average between 2 and 3 treatments per area per year.

My chest was so hairy that, before laser, I had to shave every day. It was like wearing a wool sweater under my shirt if I didn’t. Fortunately my back wasn’t quite so hairy but it was hairy enough I wanted to get rid of it.

The results from shaving don’t compare to the results from laser. If I ran out of money after 3 or 4 treatments I still would have been more than happy with the results.

The hairier you are, the more you will bnefit from the laser as long as you have dark hair.

RJC2001

nohairplease · July 10, 2002, 4:00am

Ok, thanks for clarifying. I appreciate the follow-ups from both of you on this (and I did read the entry on hair dots. As long as they go away eventually, that would be part of the plan).

I know that I’m going to do it. Emotionally, I’m committed. It’s the financial committment that is the problem.

I know that I can’t just get one treatment now and 1 treatment a year from now and gradually wear it down. I know I’ll have to have some upfront money ( = credit card) to use up and just pay it off. My fear is that even as I tackle the initial huge sum, the repeat visits will just keep me from getting out of a money pit.

Well, I hope a year from now I can say sincerely that it was worth it.

Andrea · July 11, 2002, 3:18pm

nohairplease, it’s very hard to estimate costs, especially based on others’ experiences. There are just too many variables.

Plan on a large outlay up front, followed by smaller payments at regular intervals set up by your practitioner.

A good practitioner can give you a good sense of what to expect to olay over a year for the areas you want treated, but you’ll need to get that estamate done in person. Then they can evaluate you the right way and give you a more accurate estimate.