Hey There! First off, I want to thank you for a wonderful sight. It has helped me tremendously. I am 24 years old and have always had a problem with facial hair (upper lip & chin). Until recently I could get away with shaving my lip every other day or so, but now I’ve started to notice the dreaded shadow and only if I’m hibernating can I get away with not shaving twice a day. I tweeze my chin but even that’s starting to shadow. Here’s the thing, in about 2 months I am leaving to travel across country for a few months. My boyfriend and I are going to be camping most of the time and while I love being a mountain-woman I certainly don’t want to look like a mountain-man 
. I don’t even mind having to shave or pluck every once in a while but how embarrassing if it’s more often than he does. I have read all the topics on this site and hairfacts completely. I have scheduled hormone tests (I told my doc that I felt like I was growing hair like a chia-pet) and I am considering Vaniqa. I have also tried to contact certified electrologists in my area to no avail. This afternoon I went to a skin center (highly reccomended dermatologist, friendly, thorough, clean) for a consultation on laser removal which they offer there. It is the alexandrite laser, Gentlelase. The technician answered all of my questions (which I pulled from your list) and the price was very cheap when compared to what I have read on this site. ($125 each for lip and chin the first session, and each session after that decreases by $25. After 6 treatments it is only $10 per.) I told the tech my situation (leaving in 2 months) and she told me that while I might be able to squeeze in two sessions it would be a waste of $ because she would basically have to start all over when I returned. Now here’s my question (FINALLY!) I understand that I will not get permanent results, but, if I decide to go through with only 2 treatments of laser will it diminish the shadow? And (even though I know it only works on 58% of women who try it) would it be a good idea to follow up those two lone treatments with vaniqua?
Any other suggestions on what I should do would be wonderful. Thanks for reading!
wishing all of you luv, light, and luck 
christamoon*
im not very knowlegeable, but my impression so far has been that laser can be very effective depending on what kind of skin and hair you have… if your hair is very dark and your skin quite fair, then 2 treatments may work wonders…
im not sure about what percentage of regrowth you will expect…
also vaniqa may work, but im not sure how long it takes to notice an effect… also if it makes your hair thinner… it may be harder for the laser to target…
im sorry i couldnt be much help, someone else is bound to respond, dont worry…
good luck with your hair removal.
I’m not sure how to advise you, I can only tell you about my own experience. I had facial hair growth along my chin, jawline, and neck. I’d been plucking for years, getting scars, ingrown hairs, etc., and finally decided to try the laser hair removal. The place I went uses the LightSheer Diode laser, which they say is the only FDA approved method for permanent hair reduction (note they are careful not to claim elimination). Luckily, I am the ideal type: although I tan easily, I am basically very fair skinned (northern European descent) and had dark thick hairs. When I went for my consultation I was told it could take up to 7 treatments for the chin/jaw/neck area. However, by my second treatment, I had almost no hair regrowth. My technician said she’d never had someone respond so well to the treatments. I was so pleased I made my next appointment for underarm hair removal (OUCH) and she did a touch up on the chin/jaw/neck, where a few (maybe 5) hairs had sprouted. I just had my second underarm treatment (again, almost no regrowth after the first treatment) and she did a touchup of jaw/neck/chin because I had four hairs growing. Before I started this process I would guess I had at least 200. Now, some are clearly growing back, but they are not the same. They are not thick and coarse, like beard hair, they are more similar to the fine hairs that cover our bodies. I plan to go back for a third underarm treatment, though based on my past experience I don’t really expect much if any regrowth, and will have another touchup of the chin/neck/jaw. So I will have had a total of 5 treatments, but only two of them full treatments and 3 touchups. I’m so pleased with the way this has gone that after I finish the underarms I’m moving on to the bikini line.
Thank you both for your advice! I have an appointment tomorrow to start the laser treatment.
Hopefully all will go well.
Much luv,
christamoon*
Thanks to the readers who responded to christamoon while I was away-- good luck, and let us know how it goes!