Too Good to be True???

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I just had my first bikini laser treatment on October 21st. I hadn’t tweezed for almost a year (although I used to tweeze all the time before that), and I’ve never tanned that area at all. I’d also been growing out my hair for almost a year, and I shaved it the night before the treatment. I have very pale skin and fairly dark brown, coarse hair.

When I went in for the treatment, I was definitely underwhelmed. It was just one guy sitting in a basement that looked like a converted hallway. He had a couple of machines, but one was in the back next to the bathroom, and the other was already set up in the teeny treatment room. After looking at my hair for about 2 1/2 seconds, he proceeded to laser me. I asked him about my hair color, and he said, “It’s a little on the light side, but it should be fine. Do you feel the snap?” I responded yes, because I did feel a surprisingly painful, localized pain that felt like a combo of a rubber band snapping against my skin and my hairs being pulled out.

The whole treatment literally lasted about 2 minutes. Is that normal? I know that treatments are fast, but are they that fast? Afterwards, I pointed to a spot that I thought he’d missed, and he haphazardly changed a setting on the machine and zapped the spot. I’ve read so much on this site about asking for the proper machines, the proper settings, etc… am I doomed? Admittedly I’m getting a killer price on this because I have a crazy coupon, so I won’t be depressed if it doesn’t work out well.

At least, the was my philosophy going in. Now it’s three weeks later, and I can’t figure out why my hair isn’t growing back! This seems silly, but I honestly wasn’t expecting results like this. Only 30% of my hair has grown back so far. I’m used to people being excited about 50% regrowth after 4 treatments! Are my “good results” actually due to hair growth cycles? Or was this strange laser experience somehow magical?

#2

Hi Galore,

2-3 weeks after treatment, the treated hair should shed. This is not ‘result’s’. This is just the shedding of the hairs after a treatment that may be effective. It should pretty much all shed - even the hairs that aren’t in the right growth phase to be killed this time around.

30% growing as normal means that these were missed. You can either ask the clinic for a touch treatment or just wait and get them in another treatment.

After shedding, one should be hair free for anything from 3 weeks post treatment to roughly 6 weeks post treatment (depends on body area). Then the next cycle of hair will start to come through. When it’s more or less fully emerged, you go for your next treatment. It would take at least two treatments before you start seeing results… and a rough indication of reduction would be seen at the time for the next appointment, not straight after. So, just before appointment 3, you could say that 2 treatments have given you roughly 70% reduction or whatever.

#3

Wow, that was a great answer! Thanks!

What does shedding look like? Will I actually see hairs begin to come in and then fall out, or is it an invisible process?

#4

Yes, how does this happen exactly???

#5

I can’t tell you what exactly is happening inside the follicle; I’d just be guessing.

But the hairs are basically ejected from the follicles. Before your appointment, you shave. Then you are treated. The hairs absorb the Laser’s energy and heat is generated in the follicle. The hairs are still inside, they don’t get burnt away or anything.

I’ve forgotten the term now, but the clinics have a word to describe when hairs jump out of the follicles during treatment - they note it as a good sign.

But mostly, the hairs are still in the follicles. Over the next few weeks, they start to emerge. If the treatment has been effective enough for shedding, the hairs are no longer growing as normal. You will note the ‘growth’ is slower. Then you will start seeing clear patches as the hairs have come out without you noticing - in the shower, friction with clothes etc. A lot of people start gently tugging at hairs with their fingers 1 week after treatment, as shedding hairs will just slide out easily.

Hairs that have been missed, or if the settings are too low, will be growing at a normal rate and won’t shed.

If you keep shaving during these 2-3 weeks after treatment, shedding may take a bit longer and you won’t notice at all.

#6

Shedding doesn’t look like anything special, the hair looks like its growing back like normal. Then around day 7-8 if you try to pull one out with your fingers you’ll notice it just slides right out with no resistance at all. Through showering, exfoliation, rubbing on your clothing etc the hair naturally just all falls out. I’m impatient I always after about 12 days use duct tape over the area :stuck_out_tongue: Just because it’s not strong, so it’s not ripping out any hair that wasn’t ready to come out anyway. Like you wouldn’t want to wax as that would remove hairs that were missed and all but I find the duct tape is very gentle, hairs that are ready all come immediately out so just makes the process faster. There’s no benefit to doing this though :slight_smile: