Laser Recovery

[Lydia]

Curious as to people's recovery experience from laser.

Did it leave your skin red/sore?
How long did the redness take to reside?
How noticable was it?

What happens to the zapped hair follicles?
Did they come out?
How soon after and how long did they take to clear up?

[seldom]

Curious as to people's recovery experience from laser.

Did it leave your skin red/sore?
How long did the redness take to reside?
How noticable was it?

What happens to the zapped hair follicles?
Did they come out?
How soon after and how long did they take to clear up?

The redness, if there is any, goes away in a couple of days.  If it looks like anything, it looks like sunburn or razor burn.
Laser bruises, take 3-7 days to disappear.  They do happen.  Again this is barely noticable, it just looks like a beard shadow, and makeup easily covers it.  Either way the damage and redness are not close to being as bad as electro.

The zapped folicles fall out in 1-3 weeks, and gradually.  Laser takes about 10 months to complete, but if you have very dark hair, the results will be dramatic after the first treatment.  Basically large patches of facial hair will fall out in those first three weeks, and loss will be noticable.  But because of hair growth cycles and other factors laser will not get everything the first time round.  10 months for the initial five treatments and some maintance sessions after to clear what remains will probably be required.  Be warned, the removal will be patchy after the first couple of treatments.  Eventually, things even out. 
The zapped folicles did come out though.

If you have dark hair, I will argue laser should be the ONLY thing you consider.  It is cheaper and faster and has more immediate results then electro.  Alexandrite for very fair skin and dark hair, and YAG for anything else.  If you are younger (under 35) laser may be the only thing you need to do. 

Plus it actually IMPROVES your skin (dermatologists use it as a treatment for extreme acne as well).

The one thing, is you have to avoid sun two months prior and during the laser treatment.  It is simply not as effective otherwise. 

[Butterfly]

My experience with laser is minimal because I only needed a few treatments to see that it didn't do anything for me at all.  My skin suffered terribly and facial hair did not stop growing.  My observation is that it doesn't work for some people.

[seldom]

Looking at your hair, it was probably too light for laser to work.  Laser is not for everybody, and it does not work for everybody.  But for those with dark hair (Dark browns, blacks), it works with 99% of those individuals (there is 1% it doesn't work on for some unknown reason). 

[sarahb]

I have had one treatment so far and am amazingly suprised at the results. At first I was nervous because it stayed red and kind of blistery for over a week and it was also impossible to shave. When I tried shaving it was like the hairs were now made of steel and wouldn't budge. After a little over a week though it all changed. It was my 3rd or 4th time trying to shave and it all just came out at that point. Each time I shaved after that, or even just rubbed my face in the shower, hair would fall out. It has been about 6 weeks since my first treatment and about 80% of my face has still not grown any hair on it again. The redness went away and my face is now soft and smooth and, for the most part, hairless. I can't wait for my next appointment to see the results again.

This is probably due to my very light skin and very dark hair. My hair is black in the beard area and I am white as can be. Since that is the desired complexion and hair color it seems to be perfect for laser. So far I am more than happy with just this one treatment and can't believe I still have 5 more to go, plus a 2 year gaurantee where they'll remove any hair that grows back within 2 years. I don't even know if I'll have hair left after the third treatment.

It's just amazing. I spent about $1,500 for over 35 hours of electrolysis and never came close to the results I've had with 1 treatment of laser, and a total cost of $2,300.

[seldom]

I have had one treatment so far and am amazingly suprised at the results. At first I was nervous because it stayed red and kind of blistery for over a week and it was also impossible to shave. When I tried shaving it was like the hairs were now made of steel and wouldn't budge. After a little over a week though it all changed. It was my 3rd or 4th time trying to shave and it all just came out at that point. Each time I shaved after that, or even just rubbed my face in the shower, hair would fall out. It has been about 6 weeks since my first treatment and about 80% of my face has still not grown any hair on it again. The redness went away and my face is now soft and smooth and, for the most part, hairless. I can't wait for my next appointment to see the results again.

This is probably due to my very light skin and very dark hair. My hair is black in the beard area and I am white as can be. Since that is the desired complexion and hair color it seems to be perfect for laser. So far I am more than happy with just this one treatment and can't believe I still have 5 more to go, plus a 2 year gaurantee where they'll remove any hair that grows back within 2 years. I don't even know if I'll have hair left after the third treatment.

It's just amazing. I spent about $1,500 for over 35 hours of electrolysis and never came close to the results I've had with 1 treatment of laser, and a total cost of $2,300.

Why did you even bother with electrolysis first?
This is beyond me how mis-informed people are on the laser issue.  If you have dark hair do laser first.  End of story.  Electro is only for clean up. 

[sarahb]

Why did you even bother with electrolysis first?
This is beyond me how mis-informed people are on the laser issue.  If you have dark hair do laser first.  End of story.  Electro is only for clean up. 

After reading up on both I initially was skeptical about laser since I read that it wasn't permanent. After I stopped electrolysis I noticed that it didn't really do much anyways, even with how much I did. It seemed to all grow back. That's why this time I decided to give laser a try. I'm glad I did. I completely agree with you in that if you have dark hair and light skin, or fairly light skin, then definately do laser first.

[Renae.Lupini]

If you find a good laser technician they will give you a free consultation to see if it is right for you. It has worked wonders for me. I had my latest treatment almost two months ago and i am still getting hairs that fall out. laser does not have immediate results and many people feel discouraged at what they see. I have been doing it for almost a year now and it has eliminated almost all of the hair on my neck and face.

The cost usually given is for a set amount of treatments, usually five. After that the treatments are at a reduced price and this is referred to as the maintenance phase. Everyone needs maintenance. The hairs may not always fall out on their own either. I use a peel-off masque that helps get a good portion of them a week or so after getting a treatment.

My upper-lip has been the most difficult place to treat. I still have a slight shadow but as the hairs slowly emerge, they pull right out of the follicle with a slight tug with tweezers. It is important that you let your hair completely cycle between treatments. This means that you have hair growing in that does not fall out but is still very much attached at the root of the follicle. Hair grows in cycles of roughly eight weeks. If you keep getting treatments mid-cycle the hair won't ever reach the surface and you will be left with the resulting shadow of the hairs still growing below the surface of the skin.

The discoloration from laser usually results from UV exposure afterwards. Tanning, either in the backyard or in a tanning bed, is off limits to most people afterwards. Laser can be a great thing but it is not an overnight cure all.

[Lydia]

Thanks for the info everyone

[Kate]

Each time I shaved after that, or even just rubbed my face in the shower, hair would fall out....

Oh, I remember that day... the first time it fell out like that (11 days after my first session). I cried like a baby, I was SO overjoyed and relieved. I HATED my beard. I hate my beard with the same passion some hate their genitals.

For what it's worth, I've had eleven session now - but the last ones (8+ or so) have been simply cleanup to go after the last few stubborn hairs around the mouth. I started just over a year ago, and haven't seen any regrowth. And this last session a few days ago appears to have finally killed the remaining stubborn hairs.

I was very bruised (small red circular patches) after my first few sessions, which would last a week or so. It looked awful, but eventually healed fine. Once we got to sessions 5+ or so, I stopped bruising entirely, and would just be a bit red for an hour. It seems the less hair you have, the less (temporary) damage there is.

I also get an occasional nick here and there, almost like shaving cuts. It's sorta as if some hairs kinda explode when lasered, and hurt the skin a bit... but it heals fine within a few days.

Bottom line is I'm absolutely *thrilled* with the results.

~Kate~

[Renae.Lupini]

It seems the less hair you have, the less (temporary) damage there is.

~Kate~

Great point. the more hair there is the more the laser treatment is going to hurt like a MF'r. Now my skin is soft from the Premarin so it stings a bit more than it used to. For me getting laser is like getting a tattoo. It hurts like hell and looks like crap at first but it is all worth it when it heals. maybe I am just a sadist at heart? lol

[Keira]

Just to tell you how I hated my beard, I tweezed it away for 5 years!!!!
That's dedication and HATE.
Laser did not really exist as an option when I started so
I did it all with electro. Finished it in 2001.
Once a year I clear up some random regrowth on my neck,
maybe 10-15 sparse hair (during the year, I cut them short with a eyebrow cissor). I stopped doing electro on the neck a bit too early, but eventually I will get them all.

Only place where my skin is not as smooth as I'd want to, may or may not have been cause my electro, is my upper lip where my pores haven't changed much in a year (elsewhere, I can barely see them anymore except for my lower forehead where they still show). If the pores are still there nest year I may try fraxel or whatever to try to reduce them.

[Renae.Lupini]

Before I made the choice to go with laser I used an epilator on my face and neck. It was great that it kept my skin smooth but it hurt worse than almost anything I have ever gone through. If anyone does go this route be advised you must wait at least six weeks before getting any pother treatments. this goes back to the whole hair growth cycles point from earlier.

[Kate]

Before I made the choice to go with laser I used an epilator on my face and neck. It was great that it kept my skin smooth but it hurt worse than almost anything I have ever gone through.

Me too! I've never felt physical pain like that before... omg... and yet I was so ANGRY at those hairs, I took a kind of sadistic pleasure in that pain, like I was hurting THEM. Take THAT you nasty whiskers! Think you're gonna stop me from doing this? HA!

I'd get an occasional ingrown hair thought from it, plus it irritated my skin pretty badly... so I eventually gave up on it.

~Kate~

[Renae.Lupini]

Before I made the choice to go with laser I used an epilator on my face and neck. It was great that it kept my skin smooth but it hurt worse than almost anything I have ever gone through.

Me too! I've never felt physical pain like that before... omg... and yet I was so ANGRY at those hairs, I took a kind of sadistic pleasure in that pain, like I was hurting THEM. Take THAT you nasty whiskers! Think you're gonna stop me from doing this? HA!

I'd get an occasional ingrown hair thought from it, plus it irritated my skin pretty badly... so I eventually gave up on it.

~Kate~

At least I am not the only batsh!t crazy bitch in here then. lol

[Keira]

I never tried the epilator, there's no way it would have worked, my hair was too dense when I started to rip them off (about 22, I had a dense growth of moustache on my upper lip by 17!!!); it was packed solid side by side. I would have ripped my face off if I had tried the epilator I'm sure (I cannot even imagine the pain of that, though running the epilator under my arm the first time before HRT (when it was stronger and coarser) was plenty painfull).

Its funny that I had such a dense beard and moustache when I have almost no other body hair.

Yeah, ingrown hair, got plenty of those tweezing them. Eventually I had to got do electro because I had 6-7 hair growing sideways at all times right under the skin like snakes and the irritation drove me bonkers!!! (and it was ugly too!)

[Renae.Lupini]

Once a week I sit down with a magnifying mirror and tweeze all the little hairs that are growing in and ready to fall out
it is tedious but it keeps my face looking smooth.

The worst place, that i still dread, to use the epilator is the back of my thigh right where the leg meets the butt. that area is so damn sensitive. I can actually do my bikini area with it now. It hurts at first but you get used to it.

[melissa90299]

Once a week I sit down with a magnifying mirror and tweeze all the little hairs that are growing in and ready to fall out
it is tedious but it keeps my face looking smooth.

The worst place, that i still dread, to use the epilator is the back of my thigh right where the leg meets the butt. that area is so damn sensitive. I can actually do my bikini area with it now. It hurts at first but you get used to it.

What epilator do you use?

[Renae.Lupini]

http://www.braun.com/na/products/beautycare/ladyshavingepilation/epilation/xelle/models/5270.html

I love it!

[sarahb]

. . . I completely agree with you in that if you have dark hair and light skin, or fairly light skin, then definately do laser first.

Hi ladies,  "sorry to quote you only Sarah"

These days has been stated about skin tone being important is an erroneous statement.   The newer lasers (LightSheer and CoolGlide) have computers that are smart enough to ignore pigmentation and focus more on the hair color. 

So, whenever I see someone infer "skin color is important to successful hair removal w/laser" it's like I hear 90s music start playing in my head because a statement like that may have been true back then, but not now.  Help stop the spread of mis-information by doing your part not to say this anymore.

I am far from light skinned and I started laser (CoolGlide) in 2003 and haven't shaved since 2005.  Occasionally I do have a light or fine hair that pops up that laser can't see and I go under the needle when those pop up, but still, no shaving for almost 3 years.  

Here's the thing about skin with color.  The more pigmentation your skin has the easier it is for the skin to get hot faster.  So the laserologist has to use a lower setting, but it's still just as effective.   There are so many hot colors of skin out there and it's great that laser doesn't discriminate.

I think you made the right decision walking away from electrolysis if you have darker hair.  As an early adopter of the newer lasers I took quite a few kicks in the box for advocating it in 2003.  I was told I was wasting my money, it would grow back, I was a fool for believing it could be permanent, and that if it did work, there was no way it would work on my skin tone.  lol... 

I was told by someone who spent 25k that there's no way it would ever be that cheap, even if it was true.  It was a show.  Thankfully the word got out and now electrolysis, which I still consider to be a GREAT thing, is there for lighter hairs or those who just don't want to use laser.

Good luck to you!!! 

Good to know Thanks for the information.