A Laser Hair Removal Odyssey

[marissa]

I''ld been looking through the forum and finally decided to go ahead with laser hair removal for my legs and bikini area. I didn't get the whole brazilian Shebang done - apoligies to its ardent advocates here


I've got the typically dark olive complexion skin of the southern Italians and I'ld thought I'ld chronicle how the whole experience went here. There seems to be a lot of anxiety from the darker europeans here on the forum.

My first session was great. The doc talked me through the side effects and likely outcomes nice and slowly. For some reason its so much clearer when its explained by someone in person than when you just read about it on the internet. She explained to me that because of my skin shade she would start at really low power settings and as I kept coming back she would gradually up the power until we found the ideal setting for me.

One thing she was really adament about was that I stay completely out of the sun for 4 weeks before and after the treatment and to use 30+ sunscreen everyday even if I was only driving the car to work. She said non-compiance with this was the main cause of hyperpigmentation.

I was a bit concerned that at the end of all of this I was still required to sign a consent form. Basically I consented to all possible consequences. I was reassured by the fact she said she hadn't had a bad outcome yet. Still at the end of it all I still took responsibility for all possible consequences good or bad.

The laser hair removal process was a snap. It took about 40 minutes all up. The pain wasn't that bad. Certainly nothing like as bad as some of the boys on the forum have said. It like getting flicked with a rubber band.

One thing no one mentions on the forum. The smell! Each zap must burn a bit of hair. It smells a bit like a bad BBQ. Not unpleasant but a bit offputting.

They did have a zimmer cooling machine which helped a lot with the pain and supposedly cools and protects the skin and reduces the chance of damaging the healthy skin whilst allowing the hair follicle to get destroyed.

After the treatment the skin was mildly red. Its still red tonight but isn't uncomfortable. I can shower without pain.


I'll keep writing to keep people informed about how my skin and hairs react to this first session. I'll keep a running log all the way to my 5th session in 40 weeks time! It should be nice for everyone on the forum to read.


Fingers crossed I don't develop any of that nasty hyperpigmentation!

[mrgym]

Hope things work out well for you marissa! It sounds like it will your doctor was really really (obsessively) comprehensive.


And on a side note. Us guys are not wimps when it comes to laser hair removal!

['rilla Man]

I too take issue with that below the belt shot at guys not been able to take the pain!


I hope you get a good result marissa. Keep us informed

[Kally.G]

This is great Marissa,

I've been waiting for someone to chronicle their laser hair removal sessions for ages.

We had ones on botox, restylane and lipodissolve. Its about time we had one on laser hair removal.

How is the pain 24 hours after the procedure?

[marissa]

Thanks for support everybody.

Almost 48 hours after the session I am beginning to see results.

Most of the redness has faded and there is no pain or sensitivity at all.

A lot of the hairs are already falling out. I've taking to plucking them out personally.

There are some small blister things forming around some of my hairs. I was told this was to be expected so I'm not too concerned. I can start going back to the gym today and have to keep applying the sunblock for 2 weeks. I'll write back at the end of the two week period.

Thanks everyone

[marissa]

Hmmmmm,


My first laser hair removal issue.

I have several freckles on my legs. Straight afterwards I thought the freckles got darker but dismissed this as been a hypochondriac.

Today they are definitely darker and they have started to crust over a bit. I'm a bit stressed. I'm going to ring my doctor tomorrow about this.

[marissa]

I rang my doctor this morning in a mild panic. She was really helpful and I feel much better now.

Apparently this is quite normal. The freckles have a high concentration of melanin just like my hairs. They are targetted by the laser and can be destroyed by it. It can be perefectly normal for them to get darker and then flake off after about 5 days.

Supposedly after the flaking process they are faded and the colour isn much more even. My Doctor says they use a slightly different laser to deliberately fade spots like this and photorejuvenate the skin.

It should be interesting. I'm looking forward to these crusty things to fall off. I will let everyone know how its goes in 3 or so days.

[t_wylie]

I wouldn't stress too much Marissa. This exact same thing happened to me. The scab, crusty loking thing fell off after 4 days and my skin looked great afterwards.

[marissa]

Didn't get time to post over the weekend so my apologies about the lateness of the post this time round.

Its 10 days since I gott he laser hair removal. The scabby things have all fallen off and all of you on the forum were right!


The freckles and dark spots are much more pale now. Its really good. The hairs have started falling out a lot and I've taken to plucking them out individually to speed the process. The hairs are really loose and I can pull them out with my fingers alone.


So far so good. I'll keep my fingers crossed

[marissa]

A quick update.

Its 15 days since I got my first laser hair removal treatment and virtually all of the hairs have fallen out. Its almost like an expensive, less painful version of waxing.

I'll tell you all how I go in 6 weeks time. Hopefully not too much hair grows back

[marissa]

Yes its a bit late I know.

But I've booked in to get my second session done by my doctor next tuesday night.

I'm just about ready to shave down again.


Luckily there was none of that skin darkening or lightening my doctor warned me about. Ditto for no scarring.

The hair removal result was quite nice. It has definitely been thinned out significantly. Though I'm not quite sure if its the full 30% thinning.

I am going to ask my doctor to turn up the power levels for the 2nd treatment just to see if it things out a bit more.


He did say he would start low then gradually work his way up. My skin is relatively dark (italian) and the legs can be tanned.


But overall I'm very happy with the first treatment. I just hope the higher power levels make a bit of a difference.

[Heidi42]

Hey Marissa, Nice to see you haven't forgotten about us. Make sure you keep us all up to date as you get multiple sessions done

[marissa]

Hmmm I was a bit late putting up this followup to my laser hair removal.

I couldn't find the forum for almost a week! Thanks for the warning guys (sarcasm)



Well its been a bit more than a week since my 2nd session. The doctor used the exact same settings. I had redness for about 1 day again and then it all resolved

After the 1st treatment practically all of my hair fell out. This time round it seems to be slightly less effective. Maybe 75% of the hair has fallen out.

For the 3rd session I might ask the doctor to increase the power levels.


The big decision I have to make now is whether I can squeeze in one more session before I hit the beach in my new bikini :)


Of course that is dependent on whether I shed my winter coat with the 3 months of personal training I bought last week :)

[Elias]

I was in a similar situation too marissa.

I think its just hard to find the exact right power setting to get the most hair removal. I noticed on some sessions the doctor would keep the power levels the same and then on other sessions we'ld hike up the power by 10% or so to try to get more hair out.

LHR really is a 5 or so session procedure

[Bruce the Robert]

Just because there's been a lot of comment about the pain of the procedure in the men's forum.


How did you find the pain 2nd time round marissa? Is it tolerable?

[mrgym]

I think the slightly worse result can happen marissa.

Over my course some sessions would result in more hair loss than others. I think it had a little bit to do with what time of year it was and the amount of tan I had. Around summer I tried to avoid the sun but couldn't help getting a little bit darker.


I think my doctor turned down the power settings when he noticed this. Or maybe it was the tan interfering with the laser. I never did ask which it was :(

[marissa]

Just because there's been a lot of comment about the pain of the procedure in the men's forum.


How did you find the pain 2nd time round marissa? Is it tolerable?

I think the slightly worse result can happen marissa.

Over my course some sessions would result in more hair loss than others. I think it had a little bit to do with what time of year it was and the amount of tan I had. Around summer I tried to avoid the sun but couldn't help getting a little bit darker.


I think my doctor turned down the power settings when he noticed this. Or maybe it was the tan interfering with the laser. I never did ask which it was :(


The pain?


Boys are such wimps :)


Not that bad. Certainly nothing like waxing. I really don't see what all the fuss is about pain in the guys forum.

[marissa]

OK after a long absence I thought I would update the crew.

Its been 1 month since my 5th session. The bikini line results have been amazing. There's practically no hair there. Fantastic.


For my 5th session I ended up not doing my upper legs ie the part above the knee. I only did the hairs below the knee. There never was a lot of hair on my thighs in the first place and both myself and my doctor agreed not to push on with this. The hair on the lower leg is a lot better too. Probably not quite good enough to hit the beach without shaving first but almost. I think I will elect for 2 or 2 more sessions on the legs. But I can stop now on the bikini line. There is no more hair to remove!


I recommend laser hair removal to anyone on the forum

['mealia]

Sounds like a good result marissa. Where did you get your laser hair removal done?

[mrgym]

Sounds like a good result marissa. Congratulations. I noticed you said a doctor did it. Did they do it all the way through or just initially consult you?