Has anybody had Laser Hair Removal?

RoxRoxBling

Has anybody had Laser Hair Removal?

What are your thoughts? And were the results as expected? And how long ago did you have treatment?

sweaty_betty

I had it done about 12 years ago (it was fairly new then).

It worked at the time, but my hair growth must be linked to hormones as the moment I came off the pill it all grew back (and has continued to do so!).

Everyone is different though

curlygirl1971

Yes, I have it done on my face.

I started approx 3 years ago (although just had a break of 10 months) having appointments every 6-8 weeks apart. I was seeing very good results but due to a few things going on in life I let a couple of appointments slip and although the hair growth is not at the level it was before, it was becoming worse. I've just restarted.

It's a diode laser (soprano) and I go to a Transform clinic - I can recommend them. They often have offers on ie 50% off and also a loyalty scheme.

I have an ideal skin type for laser, being dark haired and fair skinned. Bearing in mind that my problem is very bad, I have been very pleasantly surprised by its effectiveness. However I do expect to always need treatments although they might only become necessary at 6 monthly or if I'm really lucky, 12 monthly intervals....'maintenance treatments'. This was explained to me and agrees to what I have read up on it. It has never been sold to me as a 100% cure - it's a permenant hair reduction. During each treatment a number of hair follicles are killed but there are always follicles that survive and also new ones become active over time.

I was previously very cynical about LHR but I became really desperate following NHS funding withdrawal resulting in me no longer being able to have Vaniqa - at the time I was was seeing a Endocrinologist about my problem and he thought that laser treatments were a very good idea - his experience being that the right type administered by qualified people is effective. He didn't think IPL would be as effective. This gave me a lot more confidence to spend the money on it and overall I'm very happy I took the plunge!

The down points for me are having to shave the area before treatment (this is necessary because of the way the laser works) and as some one with a very low pain threshold I have at times found it painful - although over time this has got better and now I would describe it as uncomfortable. Having said that though my technician tells me that most patients just find it uncomfortable rather than painful.

In terms of cost I honestly couldn't tell you how much but it hasn't been half as expensive as I thought it was going to be.

So I take it you've already chosen Laser over IPL?, perhaps next you need to look into what types of laser (although your skin type might determine that) and choose that and then choose who to go to. Whatever you do - best of luck.

cherryblossomzel

Yes, I had it done on my legs, underarms and bikini line. I'm an ideal candidate: pale skin and dark hair. It worked quite well for me, but you should be aware that it will not remove every single hair (blonde and grey hairs are not affected). So I do still have some hair in those areas, but much less. I still shave my legs once every week or two, but if I didn't it wouldn't be noticeable. I hardly ever shave my underarms. Some regrowth in my bikini line (I had that done about 4 years ago, I think), but I can still put on a swimsuit without looking like the amazon woman. I don't ever shave there as I get terrible ingrown hairs.

It is not permanent and you do have to get top ups every few years. I think legally speaking they have to call it "permanent hair reduction" (ie not permanent hair removal), because you will get some regrowth.

I've gone to both an expensive private clinic and one of the Pro Skin clinics in Superdrug. Both were good, and I would definitely recommend my local Pro Skin. Well priced and the girls are all lovely.

I can't tell you how much I've spent on this, it would be several hunderd pounds by now, but it was absolutely worth it for me.

RoxRoxBling

Thank you all for your replies.

sweaty_betty wrote: »

It worked at the time, but my hair growth must be linked to hormones as the moment I came off the pill it all grew back (and has continued to do so!).

Everyone is different though

I know hair growth is somewhat linked to hormones. And I sometimes think if I have laser or something similar now, when I decide to have children in the future, I sort of don't want laser treatment to be a waste! (I don't have that kind of money!!) and all my hair to come back as before!

curlygirl1971 wrote: »

Yes, I have it done on my face.

I started approx 3 years ago (although just had a break of 10 months) having appointments every 6-8 weeks apart. I was seeing very good results but due to a few things going on in life I let a couple of appointments slip and although the hair growth is not at the level it was before, it was becoming worse. I've just restarted.

It's a diode laser (soprano) and I go to a Transform clinic - I can recommend them. They often have offers on ie 50% off and also a loyalty scheme.

I have an ideal skin type for laser, being dark haired and fair skinned. Bearing in mind that my problem is very bad, I have been very pleasantly surprised by its effectiveness. However I do expect to always need treatments although they might only become necessary at 6 monthly or if I'm really lucky, 12 monthly intervals....'maintenance treatments'. This was explained to me and agrees to what I have read up on it. It has never been sold to me as a 100% cure - it's a permenant hair reduction. During each treatment a number of hair follicles are killed but there are always follicles that survive and also new ones become active over time.

I was previously very cynical about LHR but I became really desperate following NHS funding withdrawal resulting in me no longer being able to have Vaniqa - at the time I was was seeing a Endocrinologist about my problem and he thought that laser treatments were a very good idea - his experience being that the right type administered by qualified people is effective. He didn't think IPL would be as effective. This gave me a lot more confidence to spend the money on it and overall I'm very happy I took the plunge!

The down points for me are having to shave the area before treatment (this is necessary because of the way the laser works) and as some one with a very low pain threshold I have at times found it painful - although over time this has got better and now I would describe it as uncomfortable. Having said that though my technician tells me that most patients just find it uncomfortable rather than painful.

In terms of cost I honestly couldn't tell you how much but it hasn't been half as expensive as I thought it was going to be.

So I take it you've already chosen Laser over IPL?, perhaps next you need to look into what types of laser (although your skin type might determine that) and choose that and then choose who to go to. Whatever you do - best of luck.

I will look into Transform Clinic, just found there's one a decent drive away from me. Thing is with me, is it's just a confidence thing, and I hate having regrowth. But then I don't know if I could afford laser maintenance treatments as well. But then am I better (financial) to just suck it up and stick to waxing.

I haven't looked into IPL, but just naturally thought that laser would be more effective. Not fussed about the pain, waxing hurts anyway!

cherryblossomzel wrote: »

Yes, I had it done on my legs, underarms and bikini line. I'm an ideal candidate: pale skin and dark hair. It worked quite well for me, but you should be aware that it will not remove every single hair (blonde and grey hairs are not affected). So I do still have some hair in those areas, but much less. I still shave my legs once every week or two, but if I didn't it wouldn't be noticeable. I hardly ever shave my underarms. Some regrowth in my bikini line (I had that done about 4 years ago, I think), but I can still put on a swimsuit without looking like the amazon woman. I don't ever shave there as I get terrible ingrown hairs.

It is not permanent and you do have to get top ups every few years. I think legally speaking they have to call it "permanent hair reduction" (ie not permanent hair removal), because you will get some regrowth.

I've gone to both an expensive private clinic and one of the Pro Skin clinics in Superdrug. Both were good, and I would definitely recommend my local Pro Skin. Well priced and the girls are all lovely.

I can't tell you how much I've spent on this, it would be several hunderd pounds by now, but it was absolutely worth it for me.

So not permanent but hair reduction.. hmmm... I have black hair, so that should be ideal for laser. I suppose you never know the results until you do it. But then black is more noticeable than anything

After the laser treatments, does the hair come back soft and unnoticeable? or prickly like you've shaved it?

curlygirl1971

The price depends on the size of the area you want treating - I've just checked Transform and for lip it's £320 for 6 sessions, lower leg is £1200. They seem to do a 50% off offer twice a year.

The hair doesn't fall out on the treatment date. Some follicles absorb enough energy from the laser during that treatment session and will subsequently die off. I was told that I would notice some hairs falling out on their own about 2 weeks after the treatment and sure enough that's what I can see close up in mirror. Then as you have further treatments more hair falls out. As you have to shave the hair then I would say no it doesn't seem softer or finer. Everyone is different though and like I say my problem is quite bad and not what you would consider normal

Another down point I should mention is that you can not expose your skin to UV or any fake take / tan enhancer products for several weeks before or after a treatment - you risk pigmentation damage. This is a nuisance and esp in summer. I have to keep slapping on the factor 50 every couple of hours or so.

cherryblossomzel

The laser only affects hair that is in a certain phase of growth (hairs don't grow 100% of the time, sometimes they become inactive for a bit, I believe it's the actively growing hair that is affected). The airs that grow back will grow as they did before (so thick hair will feel more prickly than thin ones), however, every time you have a treatment tere will be less and less hair to regrow. I also believe that the thicker, coarser hair absorbs the most energy from the laser, which means that they are the ones more likely to be removed.

So yes, I find that after a few sessions the regrowth did feel much softer than before, because there were fewer hair and the ones that are left over tend to be thin or blonde.

psychopathbabble

Hi ladies apologies for the thread hijack but I'm just looking for some advice...
I had 6 IPL hair reduction treatments and saw a noticeable difference in hair. I then got a groupon deal for laser hair removal so have had 6 sessions of that now and can't see a difference now! They also changed the laser machine for my last 2 sessions.
So now I've had 12 sessions in total and should not be having to shave every 2-3 days! I keep thinking I should inform the salon and make a complaint... But not sure what to do! I don't want to keep paying money when it's not working! (I saw a noticeable difference in the first 6 sessions so I would have thought it would almost be gone after 12)

city_girl_258

I'm currently having laser hair removal at Sk:n clinics. I've been so impressed both with the service and the results.
I'm on my 4th session for 'hollywood' and I couldn't be happier with the results. The hair is hardly growing back for me at all and boy did it used to grow!
It cost £600 and that was on a 30% off deal (i believe they have this deal on for this month as well) and I would wholeheartedly recommend it, it's been the best thing confidence wise.
They have clinics around the country, I'm using the Nottingham one and have been very happy. It is uncomfortable bordering on painful but I wouldn't say it was any more painful than having a wax!
Like curlygirl1971 says, you do have to avoid the sun though and fake tan products as it changes the skin pigment but we didn't go on a sun holiday this year so it didn't make a difference for me.
Obviously if you're having LHR on your face this is much more tricky to avoid!

cherryblossomzel

psychopathbabble wrote: »

Hi ladies apologies for the thread hijack but I'm just looking for some advice...
I had 6 IPL hair reduction treatments and saw a noticeable difference in hair. I then got a groupon deal for laser hair removal so have had 6 sessions of that now and can't see a difference now! They also changed the laser machine for my last 2 sessions.
So now I've had 12 sessions in total and should not be having to shave every 2-3 days! I keep thinking I should inform the salon and make a complaint... But not sure what to do! I don't want to keep paying money when it's not working! (I saw a noticeable difference in the first 6 sessions so I would have thought it would almost be gone after 12)

Hmmm, not sure how to complain, but I can go easily 1 and with a push 2 weeks without shaving now after 4 sessions on my legs (I think, or maybe it was 5). Is the hair black or blonde? Blonde hair won't be affected. Is your skin quite dark or pale?

BabyBoots

It's really important to have your treatments at exactly 6 weeks apart, to capture hair at the right growth stage. If you can't commit to the exact dates (due to work or holiday etc) it's just not as effective.

As others have said, it works best on thicker darker hair on paler skin. Fine hair does not disappear.