LHR is giving me a lot of anxiety

[ssneha23]

Well it has been two days since my first laser session for my face.  I am not sure if the treatment has worked or not.  Well I have really thick facial hair and usually have to shave everyday. I was hoping that hair growth would at least slowdown and begin to shed by now. . Nothing as such... and The doctor's asked me not to shave for at least 3 days. The thickening hair is fueling my dysphoria to an extent that i am finding it difficult to function. . Please help .. Are my expectations from Lhr unrealistic ?

[Cindy]

It takes months!

It took 18 months to clear my face

[Jenny07]

It takes about 2 weeks for the zapped hair to shed after each session.
The face takes about 4-5 days to recover from the session and the hairs look coarser for this time while the follicle dies.

It will take about 4-5 sessions before you see significant results as the first few sessions will remove some and might be a bit patchy in results.

Hang in there and be patient and you will see results shortly.

Jen

[Hayley]

It takes time. I have had 3 sessions so far and my 4th is today actually. I had super thick and fast growing facial hair. I am super pale with dark hair so in believe that helped with LHR. Between the 3 sessions and 3 months of hrt there is a noticeable difference in thickness, coverage and growth speed. It is still there and all but quite patchy and not as thick basically.

[E-Brennan]

Heathrow gives me a lot of anxiety too - it's a really busy airport with crazy uptight security screeners, slow passport officers, and it's always a pain in the ass to traverse when I'm in a rush.

Oh, the other LHR...

Sorry, I guess I spend too much time in airports.  Good luck with the hair removal - I'm sure it'll go just fine if you give the treatment a chance to work.  Just like we can't grow a pretty pair of tits in a few days, we can't remove beards quickly either.  Patience is your friend (and something I need to make friends with myself - I know how hard it is to just live life while working on transitioning.)

[ssneha23]

The face takes about 4-5 days to recover from the session and the hairs look coarser for this time while the follicle dies.

Jen, I think you got this spot on. Today - day 3 after my first treatment, my beard looks wayyy thicker. Where I could at least cover the shadow to some extent, now looks like it will be near impossible to achieve.

I just hope all this hair comes off soon .. I am going nuts over it ... and my anxiety levels are simply sky rocketing...

[Jenny07]

Just keep calm as it will settle down and start shedding. Once you have experienced the cycle of Laser it is much easier to cope with.
Trust me, I know a doctor.
Week 2 you will feel much better after things have settled down and you start seeing results.
I know exactly how you feel but just give it time as nothing happens overnight when it comes to hair removal.

Jen

[ErinM]

I had the same experience. I went in for my first treatment on Dec 12 last year. It seemed like there was no change or that it was even worse.

Then like clockwork on the 26th I could see a whole bunch of little dead stubs coming off the razor like a late Christmas present.

[MiaOhMya!]

I am very experienced with laser and I still get anxious when I go in. It hurts, but it's worth it!

So what happens is your hairs are zapped and fried the day you have laser, however it takes the body some time to push those fried hairs out. One reason for this is that shaving so closely prior to laser means there is nothing to grab onto those dead follicles for a while to pull them out. Eventually daily activities, sleeping, shaving etc will get them all. They lasered hair only APPEARS to grow...really they just get pushed out (and you can even push them back in....its just a little tube of hair in a hole at that point there is no bulb at the end as that is toast).

To speed my reults I usually let my hair grown out a few mm, then I epilate by taking a little duck strip and putting it over my face. I pat it then lightly pull and only the dead hairs come out while the unaffected hair stays put. It doesn't hurt one bit...and I love seeing all the fried hair come out with ease and stuck to the tape!

You will eventually learn to distinguish the hairs that were cooked from the ones that made it through the process, and thus which ones are growing vs. just being pushed out. The tell-tale sign for me is that a hair will fall out if it has a tiny scabby sort of skin around it...AND basically the hair just looks funky, cooked, and sad. Those are the winners!

I had a really dense, dark beard and I'd say I agree that 18 months is what it will take, though now my appointments are 6 weeks apart. In the days following a session your beard may appear worse, and that is due to the heat-wilted tip of the hair which is more prominent than the usually nicely cut blunt end of the hair.

Laser is absolutely worth it. I just look on groupons and double take deals for coupons like "6 laser sessions for $150." I have had about 97% of my previously dark horrible beard removed for probably less than $1000 including numbing cream. Check for deals and stick with it.


Oh yes...keep your face very clean immediately after laser (NO MAKEUP!) otherwise you risk some super painful pimples.