The battle to keep my legs hair and rash free is making me consider laser hair removal. Shaving gives me an awful rash. Waxing is better…I only have the rash for a day and hair free for a longer time, but I do get itchy and a bit bumpy when the hair starts to grow back…and…you have to let the hair get long enough to wax again…big negatives!
I have tried exfoliating daily, cortisone cream, you name it, but the battle continues without a good solution.
Has anyone had success with laser hair removal?
It works well, it’s relatively painless, and it’s becoming increasingly affordable. Don’t expect instant results. Each treatment is only about 1/3 effective, which translates to the following table:
- % remaining
1 - 67%
2 - 45%
3 - 30%
4 - 20%
5 - 13%
6 - 9%
7 - 6%
8 - 4%
9 - 2.6%
10 - 1.7%
11 - 1.2%
12 - 0.8%
I was completely satisfied after about 10 treatments, and haven’t had any noticeable regrowth.
Remember that it only works (generally speaking) if you have dark hair that contrasts with your skin. Blonde or white hair, no. And a lot of people I know who’ve had it done say that they’ve gotten regrowth eventually, although others remain satisfied.
Laser hair removal will end up permanently reducing the hair growing back, the quality of the lasers has improved quite a bit over the past 15 years or so, and people do see significant reduction in the amount of hair they have growing back, and it is finer. It may be worth a shot, often there are coupons on places like groupon to get for example the legs done, so you may want to take advantage of something like that to see how you react. It takes a number of sessions to get the legs clear, but it also will last a lot longer than waxing would. It takes a number of treatments because not all the follicles are active at the same time. a lot of the time they offer a package to get X treatments to clear the legs, for example, that would be cheaper than getting individual sessions, and if you want to go ahead and do this, it may be worth it. I would do a sample session, maybe get them to clear a part of your legs, to see how you react, your skin reacts and to see how well it works, before signing on to a long term plan like that, you may not like the results, you may not like the place, so do an initial session, if you are pleased with the results, then think about committing to something more long term. The amount of reduction varies from person to person, lasers are still not technically classified as permanent hair removal as far as I know, only needle electrolysis is certified as such.
The key thing is to check around, look at reviews and so forth, in the local area, to see what people have experienced. If done wrong, as with anything else, it can cause issues like burning and such, I would be leery of a place that suddenly pops up saying “cheap laser hair removal”, I would want someplace that has been around a while, and they should be under the guidance of a dermatologist. I am no expert, but a lot of the success depends on your skin color and the color of the hair, dark hair with lighter contrast skin generally works better, if you are fair and have fair colored hair, it may be less effective (or dark skin and dark hair, for that matter). There are different kinds of lasers that make this a lot less of a problem then it used to be, but the best results still tend to happen with people with the greater contrast between skin color and hair color.
I would love to try it on my face, but have heard that for us fair skinned Scandinavians the tendency to permanently scar is greater. I suppose with all of the advances in technology that I should reconsider.
@kajon:
scarring is a possibility with both laser and needle electroysis, the skin can get burned if too much is done at once, and it is why it is important to find someone who is experienced and try out a small sample to see how your skin reacts. The type of laser and the settings are critical, and some places these days spring up and I wonder how good they are. Depending on how much hair you want to have removed, you may want to consider using needle electrolysis (specifically flash thermolysis), if you have relatively little hair you want to get rid of (as versus a man wanting to get rid of his beard and such) it could be more cost effective and faster, because the needle method is truly permanent, whereas laser is permanent reduction.
I had it done on my chin after DS1. While I was pregnant with DS3 I had some hair grow back. I think it was the hormones. I had it redone a couple years later which was over 10 years ago. So far so good. I have thought about having my legs done but It’s kind of expensive.
Different question–anyone used that Sally Hansen hair removal for uh, upper lip? “Asking for a friend.”
@sherpa --glad to hear from someone who has had laser hair removal and is happy with it! I dont know anyone personally that has tried it…
I am fair haired and only have darker hair on the bottom 1/2 of my lower leg so it sounds like that is the only area that laser may be effective on…but even that would be worth it I think!
Garland, there is a choice between the SH hair removal and the bleach. Personally, I prefer the latter. My skin is sensitive.
Have been using it for the last 4 months. Have definitely noticed much less hair on my legs. ( My test area) I mainly bought it for my face , however.
So I have had this fear of ending up in the hospital for a lengthy stay. My hair is died, so I would begin to look like a skunk( pretty much all grey). I also have hair growth on my chin and upper lip. I figured I would be pretty scary looking.
So I bought the laser hair removal. It seems to be working. If hair reappears in the future, I will use it again. Also plan to go natural hair when I retire in 4 (?) years.
I did it about fifteen years ago. I get a touchup for the underarms every two years of so. Absolutely fantastic the way I got rid of bumps and infected follicles. Underarms and legs were a complete and total win.
However:
- I have pale skin and dark hair…or at least I used to. The ideal combination.
- I went to a place run by a doctor. It was a drive, so I tried several local places that sprung up nearby, often with Groupons, and found the results to be close to useless. They were a lot less aggressive with the power levels, or didn’t have machines that were as good.
I can only say that I saw small home laser machines at Costco. You could try it out, even for months, and return it if it wasn’t working for you.
Yes…on my bikini area, about 7 years ago. It really worked and I put on my bathing suit without a second thought know. I don’t know anyone who has had it done on their legs. It only really works on dark hair, and work even better the lighter skinned you are. It will take about 8 sessions minimum, so don’t be fooled into thinking it will happen with just 6 or under. It is kind of painful, so not sure about the legs…that’s a lot of area. I’m also not sure how it works on silkier hair like leg hair. It’s great to have no more bumps or redness.
Garland, I use Oil of Olay Duo for upper lip. I have very sensitive skin and waxing is torture for me. Duo works great. http://www.amazon.com/Olay-Smooth-Finish-Facial-Removal/dp/B0058AGBYG
Thanks, mamom!
@Garland, I use the SH stuff every month or so. It works well.