Laser and electrolysis (light/dark and gray hairs)

[Dana Lane]

Hi Ladies,

I am currently undergoing laser hair removal for the nasty hair on my face. This laser gets the light hairs as well as the darks but doesn't get the grays (as some of us know!). I am scheduling laser every 5 weeks and have 4 more sessions to go. I was then planning on starting electrolysis after the last session to get the grays. What I was thinking was to find an electrologist and setup a schedule for 3 weeks after each laser session. I honestly don't want to wait over a year to get this hair off my face. 2 weeks should give my burnt to a crisp hairs to fall out then a week of growing out my grays for the electrocutioner.

What are your thoughts on this? Thank you!

[Pippa]

Laser hair removal fits into your natural hair growth cycle.   Basically you're hair has three positions, growing, dieing and dormant.   The laser requires the hair to be in growth mode to work.   This is when the hair follicle is at its most active and can therefore be destroyed.   The usual cycle for hairs is about six weeks.

As the laser will only destroy growing hairs, you should not get treatment more frequently as you are only putting yourself through pain for no result.   You also risk destroying skin pigmentation.  I have had five sessions and have one to go.   It has taken nearly 2/3 rds of a year to virtually destroy the hair on my face.   You just need to be patient.  As with hormones RLT et al, you need to be patient.

Also, it is not grey hair that is generally the problem.  Some grey hairs can be treated as they still have pigment.  It is the clear hairs that you have to worry about.   

I would speak to your technician to see if both electrolysis and LHR can be carried out at the same time.

[Muffin]

Sounds like a load of painful fun hhmmmm.... I've almost finished IPL one session to go next week then it's electro. Between you an me I'm petrified of electro.. I should of started it weeks ago but I keep putting it off >_<
I've been going 5 weeks apart for IPL mostly and I"ve had good results 9 sessions in, I'm so over face hair though rrrrrrraaarrrrr. Sounds like a good plan though
Did someone say pain killers? *bliss*.

[Dana Lane]

Thanks! Going to talk to him at my next visit and see what he says.

[Virginia]

I've had 11 laser sessions so far and started using Meladine to help with the gray about three sessions ago. The progress is slow and steady. Half hour laser sessions once a month sure beat all the time in a chair for electro. I have a three year unlimited session package from American Laser and am going to go as far as I can before I switch.

[Janet_Girl]

I would rather go through 4000 hours of electrolysis than have any more dark hairs on the beautiful face.  Once the darks are gone the grey will be easier to live with till gone.

[FairyGirl]

I did 7 sessions of laser over 6 months and it completely got rid of all the dark hairs during that time. 3 months after I stopped they all came back again. Not dormant ones, the same ones. It seems to work short term but long term is debatable. I am now currently undergoing weekly 6 hour marathon electro sessions with 32 probes at a time. I'm usually in tears by the time it's over and my face feels like I've been to a Russian slap fest for a couple days afterwards, but those little suckers are going away fast and this time they won't be back.

[placeholdername]

I've had 2 electro appointments so far and I don't get what everyone says about the pain.  I take 3 tylenol before hand.  It hurts more when she plucks the hair out after zapping in than the zapping itself does.  And both of those are minimal pain -- last time I was on the verge of falling asleep.

Haven't gotten to the chin/lip area yet obviously, so that could potentially be a whole different story.

[vlmitchell]

You've got hair that's around the same shade as mine in your picture. Is that natural? What I'm really asking is: You have red hair and that works? I kinda was told that red needed to be electro because IPL won't get them.

[K8]

I've been going to laser for the dark hairs and electro for the white ones.  I went about once a month for laser and weekly for the electro.  After a while I started scheduling them the same day, one after the other, so that I wouldn't have to make the three-hour round-trip more than once a week.  My face would be sore and the skin would look irritated, but I would still always stop in my favorite coffee shop for something to sip on the way home.  So I didn't look too awful.

In my experience (YMMV) the laser is less painful as the dark hairs are cleared.  The electro is the same each week, more or less.  I probably have another year of weekly electro to go to finish up - the result of waiting until my sixties to get this done.  Oh well.  Whatever I have to do to have a smooth face will be worth it.

- Kate

[FairyGirl]

Oh well.  Whatever I have to do to have a smooth face will be worth it.

That's what I keep telling myself when I'm laying there with the electric current surging through 32 probes stuck in my upper lip...

(and we won't even talk about the genital electrolysis...  )

[Jasmine.m]

(and we won't even talk about the genital electrolysis...  )

OMG! I nearly fainted when I read this!

I have my consultation for laser this Saturday. I'm hoping it goes really well. I'm sure I'll be here asking a ton questions afterwards!