My wife and I have both been going in for electrolysis (me for my hands, feet, back, ears, nape and underarms) and recently signed up on a Groupon deal to do legs and bikini area by laser. We're only three sessions in on the laser, but it seems to be thinning things out. It's very fast, we're in and out in less than an hour, but then waiting for 6 weeks between sessions, so it's hard to see what progress looks like at first.
Electrolysis, on the other hand, is much more satisfying in terms of visible results quickly, and it's more effective long term, I understand. Both are pretty pricey though. The laser deal for everything below the waist was almost $2k ea, if I remember correctly, And our electrolysis runs about $160/hr or so, and we're probably at 20 weeks in or so, averaging an hour a week, maybe 1 1/2.
Before we started, we researched the home laser machines, and weren't too optimistic, deciding to go with professionals. I'm fairly confident that we would not have gotten anywhere near the same level of results at home, but we're also in a location that's pretty rife with both laser and electrolysis providers, and we're in a position to be able to handle this level of treatment financially.
I haven't had any facial treatments, other than a few test hairs just out of curiosity so far. I'm not sure if I'll ever pursue that, but based upon my limited experience to date, I would lean toward laser for large areas (Back, chest, arms, legs) and electrolysis for smaller areas (hands, face, neck), at least as much as allowable given financial constraints.
