Has anyone here had laser hair removal? I am considering it for a couple of areas but I am weary. I am curious how bad the pain is because I am allergic to the topical pain killers. So if anyone has had it please let me know what you had, how many sessions it took, and how bearable the pain was.
I, personally, have no hair to remove. I am a Finn and have naturally blonde and fine hair, no facial hair, no hair above my knee and below it, barely...but my hubby does. I would love to hear how the hair removal works on coarse and thick hair.
I had it a few years ago on my underarms and bikini line. It works best on light skin and dark hair. I never found the pain unbearable, and never used any topical numbing creams or anything. But they increase the 'power' with each session, so it hurts more. I've heard it compared to snapping yourself with a rubberband, if that helps.
It really depends on the place and what kind of laser they use. I hear they're getting better....unfortunately, most of my hair has come back, which is really frustrating. I don't see any difference at all under my arms.
two things to note:
~I've heard you have to go back for maintenance sessions every once in a while (once a year or so? not sure)
~I heard that when you get pregnant, your hormones can cause the hair to grow back. Something to consider.
I hope I helped. Let me know if I can answer any other questions!
I recently had it done on my face. I have very light skin, and the hair that was bothering me was very dark ... this made me the ideal candidate (the laser is designed to identify dark spots as hairs, so the more contrast between skin and hair the better). It hurt, but I never found it unbearable. They warned me that I might suffer tenderness or redness shortly after treatment, but I never noticed anything like that. I needed to use sunscreen and avoid the sun during the process, because the treatments leave the skin more sensitive (and again, you want your skin as light as possible).
After six sessions I looked great! For a few months. Since then I have started to get dark hairs again. It's not as many, and they aren't as coarse, but it bothers me that the treatments didn't last longer.
Oh, and I don't think they used anything for pain ... just sunscreen.
tefrey reminded me: after my sessions, my skin was RED. It looked very, very painful (to the point where the technicians would ask if I was okay) but it didn't hurt after the fact. I also bruise pretty easily, so I'm wondering if that's why my skin looked so "angry" after the sessions.
Thanks guys! I am doing laser tat removal and it was described as a snapping rubber band too, it definitely feels like that but I was super surprised how intense it was! It is what is making me nervous about hair removal. Maybe I will start with my underarms and see how it goes (I really want bikini/brazilian area but not if it is as bad as the tatt removal!)
Quiet Ballerina: I also bruise super easy so I was worried (I also burn like crazy, turn into a lobster after 30 seconds of exercise, etc. etc.), but I only got a tiny amount of pinkness that was barely noticeable (it was far less pink than when I blush) and went away within the hour. So who knows why people react the way they do?
pnkrckpixkat: I wouldn't describe it as snapping a rubber band. It's a small electric shock, and that's what it felt like to me. The pain is also cumulative, so the first hit stings, and the second one stings more and so on. But my person said I could raise my hand if it ever got to be too much and she would let me rest (I never needed to though). Some places hurt worse than others (I did my chin and lip which were fine, but it got much more painful around my nose). It can also hurt less on subsequent visits, they turn up the juice but there are fewer hairs to trigger the laser.
I would definitely mention your pain concerns to whoever does it, my gut feeling is that armpits would be super sensitive and the bikini area less so. But they should be able to give you advice on where to start.
Final thought: Another unexpected side effect is that with the hair removal I don't have as many breakouts in that area ... I may not have had any since they worked on me. So another unexpected benefit.
I did my bikini area - it was a little more than the "traditional" bikini, but not Brazilian.
It hurts. A LOT. I used to take a prescription strength pain killer (not kidding) and use arnica montana gel before going (homeopathic that is supposed to help with pain) and I got the topical gel once I got there. I'm not gonna lie, it still hurt.
The only thing that got me through was knowing that it wouldn't take long, but it felt like searing-hot, electric needles. Sorry, just being honest.
I did 6 sessions, each one amped up the laser. About a year later, I have some regrowth, but it is much less than it used to be. Maybe 15% came back. I was just thinking this morning that I need a touch-up session. Just have to psych myself up first!
BTW, even through all the pain, I don't regret doing it. I paid for all 6 sessions up front, so I would've lost a ton of money if I chickened out. I just went on a week-long dive vacation over New Years and it was so nice being able to do a little "touch up" waxing on my own before going, but nothing major.
I've had laser hair removal on: my feet, full legs, bikini line, tummy, under arms, chin & upper lip. (I'm a hairy girl!)
I started about 15 years ago & laser have come along way since then. It used to be that I'd need topic numbing creams, but I've found with the new lasers I don't need it, and I don't get red either. I found that places near bone are more painful, so my toes & knees hurt more than my tummy.
I needed about 8-10 sessions depending on the area. I still have a few hairs on my leg and bikini line but I'd say it was 95% reduction. I used to have to shave my legs everyday, and always had a sort of 5 o'clock shadow on then, 2 or 3 days of not shaving and you could feel the prickles through my pants. I last shaved my legs in November. They could probably do with a quick skim of a razor, but it's not that noticeable.
I've found that hormonal hair (lip, chin & bikini) tends to need more upkeep, so I'm back getting a few treatments in those areas, but for the most part my lip had been good for about 7 or 8 years.
It's been expensive, but the results have been worth it.
Laser Hair Removal
