For people with pale skin and dark hair laser if often the quickest and cheapest form of hair removal. I've had 6 laser sessions and I now have no beard shadow at all. There's a few stray dark hairs on my upper lip, that I might finish off with one more laser session, but I have zero dark hairs anywhere else on my face or neck. I have a few white hairs that the laser can't remove on my chin and upper lip that will have to be finished off with electrolysis. If I had started with electrolysis I would have spent far more by now and have made nowhere near as much progress. That being said only electrolysis is 100% guaranteed to remove hair permanently so YMMV. It can depend on how dark your hairs are at the root and how strongly that contrasts with your skin. Plus I've heard rumours that after years and years the hairs removed by lasers can slowly start to return for some people. This wasn't a concern for me, personally, as I wanted results FAST as I wanted to go full-time very soon after deciding to transition. I'd probably just use electrolysis to kill any strays that may (but probably won't) emerge years from now.
I spent a while researching all the local laser and electrolysis clinics nearby and read reviews/ testimonials. I found out what type of equipment they have and how highly rated that equipment is by professionals online. I found out that a clinic that was an hour further away from me than the downtown clinics had one of the best laser machines in the world for pale skin/ dark hair so I went the extra distance each time to ensure good results. I also had a practise session where they just blasted my face once so I could see if it'd work before I made an investment... and it was quite a big investment of $1200 for 6 sessions. I think it takes about 4 to 10 sessions to remove all the dark hairs generally, depending on the patient's skin, hair, the skill of the technician and the quality of the equipment. I highly recommend that you research the local clinics as thoroughly as possible. Or at the very least make sure you get a real laser not IPL if you decide to go down that route. If you have a lot of pale hairs then electrolysis might make more sense though... but I found starting with laser and finishing my few pale ones with electrolysis to be the quickest and cheapest method for me.
I kinda rambled there more than I intended but I hope it helps. Having no beard shadow is really great. Good luck!
Btw in my experience laser hair removal is VERY painful. If it's working it should be at least.
