Just wondering, what level of clearance did people get after about 5 treatments with laser? Did shaving last several days, just thinner overall, etc.? I'm wondering because I'll have 5 done by the time I go to NY this summer, and would very much like to go full time there if shaving isn't an issue. Unfortunately, I do have a thick beard so know I'm looking a bit longer further out than usual regardless (laser lady confirmed it, extremely thick).

Mine was patchy and embarrassing after five sessions to be honest. Shaving didn't really last any longer either since my hair is really dark and my complexion is pretty fair.

I went full time after eight and just learned to use dermablend and color correction.

Six laser treatments took care of most of the dark hairs on my face. Now I have just the white ones left for my electrologist.

Hi, Ellie

I'm pretty sure the results depend on the individual, machine and energy settings.

In my case the clinic used a Lightsheer XC. The fifth treatment energy setting was 21 joules/cm for the upper lip and chin, and 21 for the cheeks and neck area. The hair shed in about two weeks, and I remained pretty much clear for the next three or four weeks.

The hair that started to sprout after that was thin and sparse enough that I didn't have to shave every day until my sixth treatment six weeks later.

I had an initial 8 sessions of laser, 8 hours of electro, and I just fished another 6 laser sessions. The dark hair on my face is basically gone (a few under my nose).
I have some 'chunky' white hairs remaining so I'll finish up with electro from here. X

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Guess I'll have to wait and see. 

Having to have patience sucks!

Laser lady said the obvious striations after one treatment were good sign of high effectiveness, so that makes me hopeful, but then just having super thick beard makes me less so. Laser lady said expect probably closer to 12 for full clearance given beard heaviness. Which, not cool.  But full clearance is nice, I can get by with just severely reduced for meanwhile. (Fortunately it doesn't look like I'll need electro, or at least exceedingly little, she also said she didn't see any lighter hairs at all.)

Yes not needing electro is a wonderful "problem" to have. I had nine sessions of laser in before I hit the point where later wasn't really doing any more for me. Electro is awful.

But if you're getting patchy already that is a great sign.

So I am 4 weeks past my 5th laser and I'm 90%+ clear of pigmented hair everywhere except the goatee area. Chin is ok, lip is darkest/most dense. I still use color corrector on these areas.

I still shave daily though it takes maybe thirty seconds and is mostly to get the white hairs which was 5-10% of the total beard when I started. I have 12 sessions planned and was advised I probably should get 3 more when they go on sale next.

I have had 5 laser sessions and I am at about 40 hours electro atm. , I still have one approved laser thru treatment thru Kaiser insurance but I have decided not to finish it and just complete the hair removal with electro.

I had about 50/50 peppered beard the laser to this point has taken care of probably about 70% of the dark hair.

  The first 4 laser treatments they set the laser on the lowest setting but this last treatment they turned up the settings alot. After i returned home i always wash the my face with a warm cloth and apply antibiotic ointment.
When i looked in the mirror i saw what appeared to be really dark dark red areas figured they would go away by the morning.

Looked in the morning and the laser had burned me in five places , now these were bloody spots about the  half size of a pea. There was no skin there now. Over week and half they actually healed but one of them right in the middle of my ckeek has left a scar.
i had two on one sideburn and one on the other sideburn and one small one under the chin. Except for the ckeek the other ones should be ok, i can still see them  as healed areas but i think they will go away

The electro hurts alot more and is very expensive i figure it will cost me around 20k by the time im done. But it does not damage my skin and im sure not going thru all this pain to have scars all over myface

Seems to me that the older you are the longer it takes to remove facial hair, i may be wrong but from what i noticed from the posts here at susan's the laser works better when your younger, or maybe its has to do with how long someone has been on hormones

So sorry to hear about those burns, that gives me a bit of pause in pushing to increase power. I did have one pretty bad blister after last session, but I can't say for sure it was related (or at least not caused by, as I think I had an ingrown hair in that spot that was maybe getting infected a little because it was already starting to bump up, but then after the laser it just ballooned the skin and did that whole gross blister ... ugh... "pop"... thing). It has been the only  side effect so far though.

According to my notes, the setting for all areas for my last treatment was 39 joules/cm (pulse width: 20 milliseconds) and I had no damage. The main points to safe practice as explained by the doctor in charge were:

• Shave just before treatment
• Use a chilled tip (-5℃）
• Use gel to ensure good heat transfer
• Press the tip against the skin hard enough to make the hair under the skin lie down and take the blast from the side to maximize energy absorption and to ensure that the surface of the skin remains well chilled. (Bruising is preferable to burns.)
• Inspect the tip after each pulse and clean it if there's even the tiniest amount of debris or dirt on it.

I hope this is of some help...