To Laser or Not To Laser

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Okay all,

First let me say thanks for all the info and advice from everyone so far.

Here is my question: I plan to go in for either electrolysis or laser as soon as I have the time and money to devote to a permanent treatment. Permanent removal is my goal, although I wouldn’t necessary require 100% removal, I just want vast reduction (Permanent reduction!). I have light skin, dark coarse hair (type II skin I think), I am male, early 20s. I have a lot of hair to remove, from chest, shoulders, abdomen, back and I’d probably do something on my face to eliminate the “shadow” problem, although I’m not asking for permanent beard removal altogtether.

So here’s the dilemma: Laser would be quicker I know, but I have heard a lot of horror stories where it doesn’t work, or it all grows back after a few months, or in some cases the hair comes back worse. I know it’s also worked for some, but how can you tell before you go in if it will work? I really don’t want to pay all that for something that won’t work. If it works, I certainly don’t mind paying for it, but like anyone I don’t have money to burn on treatments that won’t work.

I’ve also considered electrolysis. I know it would take a very long time, but the results are more certain. Even paying per hour it might turn out to be cheaper as I would get what I’m paying for.

Which should I choose (assuming I can find a qualified practitioner of each) and that cost doesn’t matter so long as I’m getting results. Also, remember my goal is vast permanent reduction.

Thank you all for your advice.

#2

About your post:

“Laser would be quicker I know, but I have heard a lot of horror stories where it doesn’t work, or it all grows back after a few months,”

…The truth is that the hairs on your body are all growing on different cycles. If you shave for a treatment, the active cycle hairs are targeted, the others will grow back as they come into their own growth cycles. So Hair growing back after a treatment isn’t failure, it’s just a stage that leads to the next round of cycle elimination. And, you want to eliminate follicals, and new ones become active after a laser session, chances are they would have sprang up on you anyway over time as they were dormant, and the next rounds of lasering will just hasten their deaths. You have to get four to six sessions on a particular body part spaced at 6 weeks or so to see benefits. Getting one treatment then getting disappointed over growth is not really understanding the process. And be wary of horror stories, more than a few stories have appeared here that were completely baseless, and without merit. The people that have had laser know it works.

And about electrolysis, you wrote:
“I know it would take a very long time, but the results are more certain. Even paying per hour it might turn out to be cheaper as I would get what I’m paying for.”

…Yes, it will take an exceedingly, very long time. Years. And when you go to an electrologist, and they target a hair, they also have no idea what cycle that hair is in either, so if it was dormant, you’ll get regrowth their as well.

…So the best thing to do is to take the benefits of both and draw up your own plan. And look to different options within those two disciplines. You can mix laser types and you can mix electrologists and machines. A laser session is only an hour. If you get two sessions and knock out a good number of hairs, then you’ve already made an electrologists job quicker to do. Better to spend two hours getting blasted than to never know if laser would have or would have not benefitted. See, it takes awhile to get hairless no matter which option you chose. You’ll have plenty of time to fully evaluate your chosen options along the way, and to change your course if it’s not working. So don’t look at it as one big, one time leap. You’ll do plenty of leaping around as time goes on.

…Me? I’m past the point of really worrying over hair. I shave, and at weekly intervals I get lasered. So I just kind of keep getting more hairless as time goes by. I don’t spend too much brain energy on it, I just automatically do it. I go in again for another blast in four days. At some point the laser visits will stop and I’ll start on the electrolysis. I could probably do that now, but actually like the laser visits. I like watching hairs shed. This is my course now, but it may change.

Mantaray

#3

Mantaray is absolutely right! Start with laser and finish with electrolysis. You have the right skin and hair color in your favor. Why not target the hairs you can with laser and get rid of more of them more quickly? And lasers work very well on coarse hair.

RJC2001

#4

Thanks for the input. Good to know something works for some people.

I don’t mean to put down the process of laser, and I don’t expect all the hairs to be killed in one shot. I hear a lot of mixed advice and don’t know who to believe.

Just so I’m clear: can laser actually prevent regrowth the way electrolysis does? How long have you been going for laser treatments? How often between treatments? I’m just trying to get some idea of what I’m in for. Also, if you don’t mind my asking, how much have you spent so far, and will you eventually reach a point where you won’t require regular treatments anymore?

Thanks for the advice. Nice to know you speak from experience.

#5

if the laser beam kills the follicle, the hair won’t come back. basically, same idea as with electrolysis. the difference is that laser targets the dark pigment, so the dark coarse hair will be killed much easier. you will get good results on those. electrolysis works the other way around. it takes longer to kill the strong coarse hairs. so by starting with laser and finishing with electrolysis you will get the best of both worlds and the most effective, cost-efficient treatment.

#6

I pretty much have the same perameters: Light skin with dark, course hair. I live in Los Angeles. I was hoping someone could recommend a good laser treatment place here in LA. One that has been tried and true and trusted. Any thoughts?

MrJoshua

#7

Thanks for the input. Good to know something works for some people.

I don’t mean to put down the process of laser, and I don’t expect all the hairs to be killed in one shot. I hear a lot of mixed advice and don’t know who to believe.

Just so I’m clear: can laser actually prevent regrowth the way electrolysis does? How long have you been going for laser treatments? How often between treatments? I’m just trying to get some idea of what I’m in for. Also, if you don’t mind my asking, how much have you spent so far, and will you eventually reach a point where you won’t require regular treatments anymore?

Thanks for the advice. Nice to know you speak from experience.

The difference between permanent hair reduction and permanent hair removal is that removal means every single hair in the treated area is gone. Reduction means that some of the hair was removed, which can mean anything from 99% to 0% so take that definition for what it is worth. As you get hairs lasered, some will grow back lighter and finer and you have diminishing returns. This will vary from person to person. Once the remaining hairs get fine and light enough, you will have to get those with electrolysis. That does not mean that laser does not work or that all the hair is going to grow back.

The first laser treatment on my chest removed 50% of the hair and it never grew back. It would have taken 8-12 months of weekly treatments to remove that much hair with electrolysis. Electrolysis is slower, that is why I got all the hair I could get with laser first, which was about 90% of it. My first two laser treatments for combined back and chest was $1400. After that the rates decreased to $55 per hour long session. But with the addition of new lasers their rates increased to $55. Total amount spent on laser was probably about $5000 and includes arms and legs.

I have stopped laser on the chest and back. It has done it’s job. After some finishing work with electrolysis, I have about 3 hairs left on my chest right now. So technically I have not achieved “permanent removal” even with electrolysis. But I’m pretty damn happy with the results of both methods!

Start with laser finish with electrolysis.

Hope this helps.

RJC2001

#8

Check out my past postings. I am in Los Angeles and tried 2 places, one with LightSheer and one with GentleLASE. There are many other options here in LA as well, so make sure to get a few consultations before you settle. The price differences I found are amazing. $189 vs $500 for a back treatment for example.

#9

Is the hair reduction by the laser permanent hair reduction. In other words, with the hair ever become thicker or grow back? Also if you have an area lasered, such as the legs, if you shave what hair you have left or the more thinner find hair, will it become thicker and coarser again?

#10

LAgirl…thanks. I will check out some of your past postings.

RJC2001…you probably don’t remember me but you have been helpful to me in the past on other related questions. Thanks as always. Can you tell me the place you went to for laser with such great success?

Mr Joshua

#11

shaving doesn’t make the hair thicker. it’s an old wive’s tale. laser also doesn’t make hair thicker. it either removes it altogether or weakens the follicle which makes the hair thinner. an effective treatment will kill and remove the hair altogether. if you want a slight reduction and want to continue shaving after that, you can do that by having fewer treatments than necessary. basically, since hair grows in 3 cycles, you will only be killing whatever is there in the first cycle by only having 1 treatment etc. the hair that was dormant during that treatment will surface later. for a cleaner removal, you will need several treatments to kill hair in all phases of growth.

#12

I live in Los Angeles. I was hoping someone could recommend a good laser treatment place here in LA. One that has been tried and true and trusted. Any thoughts?

I got excellent results at Epione in Beverly Hills. My treatments were so long ago, I couldn’t tell you what they charge now, but you can find out.

My back has a few scattered hairs left and my legs are virtually hairless (hence the name). Every once in a while, a white hair will pop up on my legs and I get them taken care of with electrolysis, but other than that, they have remained hair free for years now.

#13

hairlessinla…thanks for the information. I’ll check them out.

Joshua

#14

here are all the places I have heard of in Los Angeles with reputable lasers. I tried 2 of them, the ones with *.

–AesthetiCure (has 2 locations in LA) (GentleLASE Plus)
–Advanced Laser Clinic (chain) (LightSheer)
–Laser & Dermatology Center (for darker skins) (Lyra nd-YAG)
–Celebre Medical Center (in Torrance) (LightSheer, Sciton: Yag)
–Dr Brandeis Medical Center (LightSheer) *
–Dr Babapour (GentleLASE) *
–Epione (not sure on type of laser)

There are many others as well, just haven’t heard much about them.

check the manufacturer’s websites for practitioner searches. Candela (GentleLASE and GentleYAg) has one on their website as well as Cutera (Coolglide Yag)