Wanna remove my chest & stomach hair w IPL/laser

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I’m a 25 yo guy who consider laser treatment on my chest and stomach.

I’m not very hairy, but I get some long, black hairs on my chest, and a stripe down my stomach and around the belly button. I have epilated my chest now, so its no point in putting up pictures, but I can maybe do it at a later point.

I first tried waxing about 6 months ago, and I really liked to have a smooth chest and stomach.
However, I got alot of acne for about 1-2 weeks after waxing, and by the time it calmed down (I still had a few acnes several weeks later), my hair was well on its way back.

I changed to epilating about 3-4 months ago, but it seems like the acne gets a lot worse from that than from waxing, and now its maybe 3 weeks since I did it the last time, and I still have quite a few acnes on my chest.
I easily get acne, and in my teens, I had a lot of acne on my chest and back, but it got much better after I took a Roaccutane cure.

I would like to reduce the amount of hair on my chest, not be completely hair free, but something like the number 2 guy on this web page:
http://madeinbrazil.typepad.com/madeinbrazil/2007/10/big-brother-b-1.html

My chest before I started waxing was something like this Jessie Metcalfe, only I have a strip of hair all the way down my belly.
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2009/02/01/jesse-metcalfe-chest-hair/comment-page-3/

Would I encounter the same problems with acne from laser removal?

Approx how many treatments would the second mentioned guy have to have before his chest hair is like that of the first guy?

Will the hair be evenly removed, or will I have almost completely hairless patches here and there, and some spots with about the same amount of hair as before? I would like to see pictures of guys who have reduced their chest hair by laser, if possible.

I live in Oslo, Norway, and it seems like most of the clinics use IPL or I2PL. I couldn’t find any info on that in the FAQ section, only the other laser types… The other laser types available here is called diode laser.
Is it possible to say how effective that will be on my skin? I’m very pale, and hardly get any tan, even with regular tanning. I guess that makes me a type 2, maybe borderline type 1. My hairs are mostly black.

Is it a big difference in effectiveness between the I2PL and the IPL?

I hope somebody can help me out with all of these questions.

#2

As far as i can understand I2PL is a new marketing term for IPL (version 2, if there is actually such a thing)
The difference between Diode and IPL is HUGE, i would only consider doing Diode.

The amount of treatments needed depends how coarse and how much color your hair has, usually after 4-6 sessions it will be hard to clear whatever is left, because it will be mostly fine hair with not enough color.

About Acne, you will need to shave the area but every time you won’t have to shave as often so it should be better.

#3

How many times new clients have come to me, had a treatment and said, “Why didn’t I just do this a long time ago?” Or, someone I had seen three years ago, slyly ventures off to what they thought were greener pastures and faster solutions, only to come home with that look of despair and fatigue that they are no better off. They have wasted time and money with Vaniqa, laser, epilating, this do-dah and that do-dah!

It always comes back full circle to one true steady friend, Grand Old Lady Electrolysis.

#4

If your skin tone/type is the same as those pics then you should go for an alexandrite laser or diode if you can’t find any. GentleLASE or Apogee Elite is what you need. As long as the person treating you knows that you want to reduce the hair, then you should be able to achieve this and it will be uniform, but only if they do complete coverage and don’t miss any spots at all. To get those results, I’d say you need 2 at minimum treatments, but more than likely 3 just hard to say.

#5

Thanks for the answers, guys.

edokid: No my skin is probably paler than the second guy, and ALOT paler than the first guy. I have dark blonde hair, and most of my body hair is light. The exeption is on my chest and stomach, and pubes. Since my skin is so pale, it is a huge contrast to the black hairs, thats why I want it removed.

But what is the reason you recommend laser instead of IPL?
It seems like its just diode laser that is to find in Oslo. But it is also more expensive, it seems.

#6

Laser machines cost more than IPL, way more.
They are way more effective too.

#7

IPL is useless next to laser. Utterly. If you’re a candidate, then you want laser, because it’s like saying you qualify for a successful treatment, then voluntarily taking a treatment that’s half as effective. Who would do that?

Only misinformed masses make that mistake because they get lured in by the claims of chain clinics (like American Laser Center, ugh). Consumers only know what the companies tell them, so we’re here to give actual advice which hopefully helps you. :slight_smile:

Do you have a photo of the actual color/coarseness of your hair? That will be easier than guessing from a celeb photo. If your hair is dark brown or black, and very coarse (the texture of leg hair or armpit hair) then you are an ideal candidate with very light skin, and you will want an alex laser (GentleLASE is a good one).

You can search for nearby GentleLASE machines through candela’s website. Even if you have to drive a few hours each way, it’s way better than IPL.

#8

Oh, like Odi said: The reason IPL is cheaper is because the machines are so much cheaper for clinics to buy. They don’t have to mortgage their houses for these things like they do with lasers. :stuck_out_tongue:

#9

If the hair is coarse, laser will work. Agree with above. As FAQs point out, ONLY consider a diode. IPLs don’t work as well.

But the important part if finding a clinic who knows what they’re doing. They could be using a diode, but not effectively. Settings matter. Test spots could be done.

Please read the FAQs in detail. As it says, you’ll need 6-8 treatments spaced 2 months apart. Hair will shed after each treatment.

Some of what you describe may be acne, but a lot of it is likely ingrown hair too. Waxing can be done without this issue too if done properly with proper aftercare. A lot of it has to do with sweating afterwards for example and not keeping the area dry and clean. You’ll have to do this after laser treatments too.

Laser can only target dark coarse hair. At a point, you’ll be left with some sparse fine hair which you can remove with electrolysis if you want to.

If treatments are done correctly with good overlapping and areas are not missed, you’ll have an even natural looking reduction. If it’s not done properly, then patchiness is possible which can be resolved with more treatments and electrolysis. Once again, technique is important.

#10

Like I mentioned in my first post, I have epilated my chest a couple of weeks ago, so my chest hair hasnt really come out yet. So posting a picture of my current amount of chest hair will be pretty misleading now.

And do I really need 6-8 treatments to just REDUCE my hair by maybe 60-80%? If thats the case, I think I’ll just skip it, because the price is just waaaaaay too high. I probably have to pay something like 500 dollars each time.

#11

On many body parts 80% would mean a success, the coarser and darker the hair is, the higher the percentage will be.
i.e woman’s underarm can probably get 95%+

#12

My concern is that you said your hair is dark blonde. This won’t work with laser it has to be black or dark brown. If you have black type hairs mixed in with blonde then you may be in luk for your reduction. Reason being, those dark coarse hairs will be gone in 1-2 sessions where the blonde ones won’t even have any effect. So you’d basically remove just those pesky visible ones.

$500 is too much. My full front is $85 bit average I’d say is 200$. Also do not use IPL it’s not a laser and not very effective. I’m writing this on my phone but I’ll post a quick review of my experiences with IPL when I get up soon if you like.

#13

What?? 85 dollars is LESS than a chest and stomach WAXING would cost here!
Norway is the country with 15 dollar subway sandwiches, 40 dollar pizzas and 8-9 dollar pr gallon gasoline…

Yes most of my body hair is light. I have dark blonde hair on my head. I think it will turn darker eventually plus I’ll get more hair, because my dads hair is alot darker, and he has more hair than me.
I have also noticed increased body hair over the last years. At what age can I assume my body hair will stop increasing? I hit puberty neither late or early, and I stopped growing about when I was 15-16 years old.

#14

$85 is cheap like I said $200-300 I’d say is probably the average for full front though. Not sure when hair stops, probably in your 20s but your body may always produce a bit here and there.

The thing is the hair has to be dark and coarse, light hair or blonde hair will not work at all you’d need electrolysis. If you’re sure it’s a bit darker, then I’d look for an alexandrite laser as it can target even finer hairs, but if not you need diode. IPL you definitely don’t want, it can’t target anything but the really dark dark coarse hair.

#15

You may want to consider traveling somewhere to get cheaper treatments.

Laser only works on hair that’s dark and coarse. I assumed the hair you want to treat is dark since you mentioned that in your first post. Is that not the case?

You will likely be developing hair late into your 20s.

#16

I’ll just post here instead of a new topic. I have mixed feelings on IPL. I went from loving it, to hating it, to loving it then hating it again to now having mixed feelings! I always had hair on my abdomen, normal hair but under my belly button down the trail there it was dark and coarse. The kind where if you shaved, you could see the black dots and it looked like you shaved. I knew my friend worked at a clinic that does laser so I went in as she gave me a great price. IPL is completely different though. You get covered in ultrasound gel, then they glide the unit across, pausing to fire it, then glide to the next spot. Nice thing with it is that it has a large spot size.

For a few hours after treatment, every hair that was zapped was a red dot. I found IPL feels like you’re getting an electric shock almost, like it feels like your skin is tightening the way it does when you touch a live wire or something like that.

I would go for treatment every 6 weeks, but I never really noticed any shedding. What I mean is I definitely did shed but it just wasn’t as obvious as when I’ve done other lasers. Instead it just seemed like it fell out over night. I was ready for another treatment in 6 weeks so I’d go again.

The thing I noticed was that really dark coarse hair it really fried away and was completely gone. I found this site before my 4th session and realized what IPL was. I always thought I was being treated with LightSheer but turns out it was the IPL module on the Lumenis One machine so I stopped going after session 4.

It’s hard to say how much hair was treated, because I never let it fully grow back, I’d always shave it, and didn’t treat the area for 6+ months. Now, what I did notice though was that for those 6 months, I never had that dark black stubble like I did before, so I was convinced that it had worked. Even if some fine hair came back, it was super easy to shave the area quick in the shower, and then I literally could go a month before doing it again so I was really happy with the results.

After 6 months or so I had tried GentleLASE and Apogee and was being treated in other areas with that. While at a session I asked what it would be for my stomach with Apogee and was told $65 so I told my tech to just do it, since I knew I only had 4 sessions before and knew that it usually takes more than that. My stomach felt great and smooth after any hair had shed and I was happy.

Before I knew what laser it was I was really happy with the results. When I found out it was IPL that turned me off and that’s why I switched clinics. Now for those 6 months I was happy again though and if anyone remembers, my signature on here used to say (Abdomen Lumenis One IPL - Working amazing!)

That changed though a few months after my session with Apogee. I noticed just on the sides of my abdomen hair was coming back. It was thin fine hair, but it felt really stiff, like if I ran my hand over my stomach, it felt almost harder than it did before. At the same time though I seemed to have a bit more finer hair on my pecs and chest, so may have been hormones, not too sure. Either way it was really upsetting since I had thought things were working so well, so I went and did another Apogee session.

Now I know that doesn’t really give you an answer about how well IPL works or not, since I haven’t completely stopped shaving the area for 6+ months. However, I do know what it looked like while shaving and it has never looked that way since. Even when I would shave my entire front (to get rid of the finer hairs), you could clearly after a few weeks see the line where the IPL had stopped and where I wasn’t treated, just above my belly button. So that’s why I’m pretty sure it did work, it was just the results on the side that were concerning.

The other thing that may have effected it though is that it only seemed to be on the one side, and I have a tattoo right there. I got it after 1 IPL session only. So I’m thinking it may be more too that the tech’s just stayed clear of the tattoo and that’s why there was more hair there that came back.

My conclusion is that if they know what they’re doing, and IPL is the only option, then I wouldn’t NOT get it just because it’s IPL. However, if you have other options then I’d definitely go for them before IPL, and only would choose IPL if you were able to get some amazing deal on it like half the price of other places or something.

#17

IPL works. It just usually takes more treatments to get results and often the hair is not heated up enough to cause permanent damage to the hair, so people often complain of hair coming back or hair only getting finer and not gone altogether after 6 months of no treatments. It also only works on very light skin as it’s hard to use effective settings on the IPL to cause permanent damage on anyone darker than a type II-III.

edokid, it’s really impossible to judge by your experience since you’ve never had a full set of treatments with either machine and you never stopped treatments for 6+ months. It’s impossible to tell what would have grown in if you haven’t done anything at all after those 4 treatments or if you finished a complete set of 6-8 IPL treatments and spaced them at 8-12 weeks as recommended.

#18

Ok, I’ll be going to Costa Rica and Panama for a couple of months this fall. Is it possible to do it there?

I found a place that says they use the Alexandrite laser here in Oslo, but its crazy expensive…:frowning: Just a consultation without any treatment is about 130 dollars…

#19

Well, you’ll need 6-8 treatments spaced 2 months apart. So you can do one or two treatments there, yes. But you’ll need more when you get back. There are clinics around Europe. Several threads on this forum discuss various clinics in London for example. Run a search.

Consultations are mostly free.

I’m sure there are clinics in Costa Rica. I would look around online.

#20

Ok, I’m back, my hair is back, and I have taken a picture of my chest and stomach so you can see how much hair I’m talking about.

I’m very uncertain how good of a candidate I am, since more than I could remember is light, and I have also read that if its very sparse, you can trigger hair growth where its not so much by laser removal.

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