Time to introduce myself and share my story! :)

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hello everyone. I first would like to say how truly wonderful this board is. It’s been a wonderful resource to me.

I’ve been lurking around here for a considerable amount of time. I am a 20 year old female with excess body hair. The area that bothers me the most is my face. At about age 11 I began to notice that I had more hair on my face than other girls my age (it was a very fine, downy sort of hair, that was darkish in color but I don’t think it was THAT noticeable)and I became slightly self concious about it. It wasn’t too bad until one day a classmate made a comment of how I needed to shave. That hurt me deeply and I began trying to remove the hair. It began with tweezing, then I tried nair, and eventually ended up shaving at age 15. It’s definitely consumed every aspect of my life. I’ve allowed it to hold me back from MANY things. It’s always in the back of my mind if I have a shadow (funny thing is it’s side burns, chin, under chin, and neck. I have maybe 1 or 2 stray hairs on my cheeks and a few here and there on upper lip, so I’m not so sure it’s a hormonal problem), if I missed a spot, if I need to reapply my makeup. I have shaved my face EVERY day (and sometimes twice a day which is incredibly hard on my skin) since I was 15 and I have worn makeup as much as well. I shave so very close that you really can’t see the hairs but my skin is always red and inflamed. :angry:

I have some excess hair on my stomach and thighs as well but it doesn’t bother me as much as the face does.

Anyway, I’ve been on a search for a form of more permanant removal for as long as I’ve been dealing with this problem. I’ve been researching laser hair removal on and off for quite a few years and I’m proud to say that I’ve FINALLY decided to just give it a try. This forum has helped me reach that decision by providing such wonderful information. I also have to pay some respect to my wonderful boyfriend who loves me regardless of my freakish hair, tells me I’m beautiful every day, and is going to help me get my laser treatments.

I’ve always said I was going to do it but would say I’ll do it next fall, and I never got around to it, so I’m finally going to do it, and do it now, I hope! I am a little aprehensive because I’ve read a lot of negative, but I’m not going to let that stop me. It’s something that I have wanted to do for a very long time and I’m hoping that I’ll have a positive experience with it that I can come back and share with all of you who are going thru the same thing that I am!

Now, my only problem is figuring out where to go. I live in a small, rural area, and will have to travel to a larger area to have this done. I’ll be going to Madison, WI. I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations of any place in that area? My guess is probably not, but thought I’d ask. I have a few places picked out and each one uses different lasers. I think I’m going to go to this place http://www.facialplastics.com/ I’ve heard many good things about this doctor and his training sounds absolutly outstanding. I do believe I’m going to call tomorrow to get a consultation set up.

In any case, I wanted to introduce myself, share my story, thank many of you for posting your stories, and ask if anyone had any thing to offer me as far as advice or encouragement. I would certainly appreciate it!
Thank you again everyone.
Sincerely,
Savannah

#2

Hi Savannah!
I’m pretty new to this board, but just wanted to say hello and welcome!
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your story. We all know how hard it is to talk about this problem and how frustrating and depressing it can be.

I’m glad you have decided to look into other ways to remove your excess hair. I’m pretty far from Wisconsin, so I can’t help you find a good place (I live in Kentucky), but I encourage you to go in for a consultation and talk with the doctor about their lasers, the costs, their credentials and what they think they can do for you. If you can get a few opinions from different places, that would be great! Or at least, after your consultation, come on back here and let everyone know what the doctor said. Then we can give you our opinions! hee hee! :smile:

I am also happy to hear that you have such a supportive boyfriend. My husband is very supportive of me, and I don’t think I would have made it through this part of my life without him.

So, anyway, let us know how your consult goes and if you make a decision to go ahead with treatment.

Good luck and take care and keep in touch!

#3

Thanks for the reply! Your posts have certainly been very positive for me!

I was afraid to do it for the longest time, and then I’d psych myself up, and hear more negative and chicken out again. I finally made up my mind and logged on today to find more negative and almost gave up again. Something is driving me this time though. I guess I figure I won’t know unless I try! Soooo I called and set up a consultation for next wednesday. They will be alloting some time after the consultation so I can go ahead with the procedure if I wish to, but I certainly do not have to if I need time to think about it. I think that’s great. They were VERY nice over the phone, which to me is important. I was give an estimated price which will probably be a little higher but it really sounds rather reasonable to me. A full chin is $90 per treatment and will need 4-6 treatments probably. I will be having more than full chin but I found that reasonable compared to some I’ve seen. From what I’ve heard about the doctor he is very credible and highly skilled. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see when I meet with him, but as you can tell from my rambling, i’m excited to get it going.

If anyone is interested, I am going to this place http://www.facialplastics.com/
He recieved his initial schooling in Madison (where I’m going) and even spent some time working in Beverly Hills…that’s gotta mean something I do believe! :smile:
Just thought I’d keep everyone updated!
Thanks again for such a wonderful forum!
Savannah

#4

Hi sav,

I know what you mean about reading negative information and almost giving up. I too lurked here for a year before finally taking the plunge with laser.
One thought made me push through - even if laser doesn’t work at all, you can go back to shaving, waxing, electrolysis … whatever you choose. Apart from the cost which I think you have to write off, at least you will have tried, and the wondering will stop.
When I weighed up the negative posts to positive re,laser on this forum I reaslied even a 50% chance of some hair reduction was worth the risk and money to me.
Happily I am one of those for whom laser seems to have worked especially on my upper lip. I wish I’d done this years ago!!

I think as long as you don’t expect immediate and full results, which I don’t think you do, you can’t go wrong.

Your laser center sonds great, you have great information.

Good luck ,let us know how it goes.

#5

Sav, I feel like I’m reading my own story, except that I’m double your age and have been dealing with this problem twice as long.

Like CalGal, even if this doesn’t work for me, I will have at least tried. The deciding factor for me was that I could continue to shave inbetween treatments if it was noticeable to me.

I had my first treatment last Thursday to my face (jawline, chin & chin-extended). I’m interested to hear from others that have had treatments to the same area. While my skin doesn’t seem irritated, I have a considerable amount of stubble that I’ve been shaving every day since the treatment. While I understand that it may take a few weeks for the hair to fall out, I can’t seem to get a smooth shave in the meantime. I currently shave in the shower in the morning with a Mach III blade & Skintimate Shave Gel. Any suggestions? But I have noticed that the “growth” is much slower than prior to my treatment. I guess I’m trying to get feedback from others to see if they’ve had the same experience.

#6

I am sooooo glad that there are people here that relate to what I’m going thru. For the longest time I thought I was the ONLY one in the world with this problem because I have yet to ever see anyone in my area with a noticeable hair problem (tho I’ve come to realize maybe they just hide it REALLLLY well!).

I, too, shave every morning in the shower (and gosh do my showers take FOREVER because of this). I’ve always just used my sensor excel because the thought of using a mens razor just made me feel even worse about myself. It’s almost like if I use a woman’s razor it just isn’t as bad (funny how we try to justify things huh?).

Here is what I do. I usualy start my shower by washing my hair and body to allow the hair ample time to get wet and ready to shave. Then I use apricot scrub on my face to exfoliate. Then I take a nice rough wash cloth and rub that over the stubble (and you can really get it to stand up so you get a closer shave). Then I use noxzema (well, technically a cheaper form of noxzema) as a shaving cream (it makes my skin really soft) and then I get what I can with the razor and noxzema and then I wash that off and shave under the water because that seems to allow me to get closer and find spots I missed.

It’s a helluva process that I want to go away that’s for sure!! I’m sort of starting to reconsider the laser choice and maybe just start going for electrolysis. The more I read about laser the more scared I become. I’m absolutly scared to death of being burned and even more terrified that I’ll be one of the few whom experience MORE growth from the laser. I’m just so desperate at this point I’m willing to do just about anything.

There are a few places closer to me than laser that offer electrolysis(about 45 minutes vs 1hr 15mns) and I’m contemplating going and getting consultations there before I do the laser consult. Just get an idea of how long and how much it would be. I’d rather invest my money in something that truly IS permanent for damn near everyone!

I’m truly confused and anxious and depressed right now. I’m just soooo glad that I have found this bored!

Thanks for everything everyone!
Savannah

#7

I forgot to mention that I put on a good moisturizer immediately out of the shower. I use St. Ives as it doesn’t burn or irritate my sensitive, freshly shaved skin. I then let that dry and apply a foundation over the shaved area. I shave so close you really cannot see the hairs, however, my face is often VERY red and somewhat razor burned :frowning: Any suggestions with that?

[ June 04, 2004, 12:43 PM: Message edited by: Sav ]

#8

Hi Savanah!
Hope all is going well. When you go for your laser consult maybe you can ask them to do a test spot for you somewhere.

What I actually did was test LHR by having my underarms and abdomen done first before I let them touch my face. After my first treatment, I took good notes of everything and decided at my next treatment after 6 weeks to go ahead with my face since everything went just fine.

I had to spend a lot more money on all of this, but underarms and abdomen were areas I had excess dark, coarse, hair also, so I figure it’s just a bonus and money I would have ended up spending anyway. These areas are not as visible as the face, so I fugured I could cover them up if anything went wrong.

Now, after session 2 and 3 (2 for face, 3 for underarms/abdomen) which consists of being treated 10 different times with the laser, I am happy to say that everything has been fine.

Of course, while the hair is coming out, it’s not the easiest to shave, so it’s a bit hard to cover for a few weeks. I did get a few pimples on the hair follicles, but not many. Some small areas on my chin were a bit swollen and had a slightly darker color the first day or two after treatment, but that’s about it.

Have you read up on electrolysis risks? After this LHR, I will probably go for electrolysis to hit any areas missed, but I will start again with areas that are not as visible as the face. Just be careful because you can also get scarred with electrolysis. If you don’t get a good technician, that could cause problems.

Anyway, good luck to you and everyone here! Keep us posted!

#9

</font><blockquote><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>quote:</font><hr /><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>Originally posted by Sav:
<strong> I shave so close you really cannot see the hairs, however, my face is often VERY red and somewhat razor burned :frowning: </blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>try a product called tend skin. it stings for a minute, but then the redness disappears very quickly. it’s good for ingrown hairs as well.