I am up to about session number 15 or 16. Not all of this has been laser with about seven sessions in the middle being IPL. My sessions on laser are now out to about every 3 to 4 months, and that my last electrolysis session I was asked not to have laser on my face or my next upcoming electrolysis session. If I did then there is not enough work left on my top lip for the hour-long session especially if I have had laser treatment on the upper lip. The laser impacts my Electrologist's ability to deal with the dark years if they have been impacted by the laser.
I have to agree that after about the sixth session it appeared that the job was almost done. However like all hair, it needs to complete its three-month cycle in order to be successfully removed. You cannot kill a hair follicle where the hair is already in the dying phase of the hair cycle.
After each laser session, about day 7 to 14 is when I see the majority of the shedding of black hairs. It is important to understand and recognise that not all hair will be killed by each pass of the laser, the hair itself needs to be in its growing phase in order to be killed. The other thing you will find is that as the hair thins out the amount of pain from each that becomes less and less. My last session was relatively pain-free with the exception of a couple of spots that have a distinct area of the year.
You can save yourself a large amount of time money and pain by using laser in conjunction with electrolysis. For example if you have 150 hours to completely clear your face with electrolysis and you are able to reduce the amount of hair by about one third (as an example) then this could potentially save you 50 hours of electrolysis which in my money equates to a saving of around $9000. In my case I think the reduction was closer to 50% thereby saving myself an absolute fortune for the cost of electrolysis.
Unfortunately I received about seven sessions of IPL on my face, which in turn did very little in the long run and the areas that were treated simply re-grew a month or so later. The person who administered the IPL to my face claimed at the time that it was "laser". I guess technically she is right however she was also aware that I was talking a proper laser i.e. like the one used at my laser clinic. So if you do not get the results you are expecting and it may be worthwhile checking to ensure that you are having laser rather than IPL