#83851 - 03/04/11 06:24 PM
Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
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Contributor
Registered: 03/04/11
Posts: 24
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Hello, I am new here. Female, pale skin, dark and what I consider to be very coarse/dark facial hair (like a man's, doesn't shave closely and leaves a shadow). I have been doing a lot of research and had a consult yesterday for LHR on my chin and lip. Everything I've read online from clinics and dermatologists have indicated that LHR is a great option for facial hair and I'm a super swell candidate. The technician I spoke with yesterday also said I was a great candidate, said she's had tons of long term success with treating facial hair, even on PCOS/hormonal cases during the past 12 years she's been a laser tech.
However, I have yet to see one positive long term success story online! My sister had LHR on her face as well and it all came back. What is the deal? I am starting to wonder if it's a scam, although the consult I had yesterday was at the dermo office of my regular clinic (they have aesthetic services as well).
Has anyone out there had success with facial hair removal via laser? Are they just not talking about it?
I also have a consult w/ a highly regarded electrolysis tomorrow so I haven't put my eggs in any baskets yet.
I'm just really frustrated by the vast difference between what the clinics/doctors say and the vast amount of anecdotal experience found online. It's hard to sort through!
Thanks for any thoughts you might have and appreciate all the insight and wisdom on this board!
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#83852 - 03/04/11 06:42 PM
Re: Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
[Re: ms2001]
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Major Contributor
Registered: 09/21/09
Posts: 57
Loc: Sommerset, UK
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Personally I would go for the permanent removal with electrolysis at the hands of a competent therapist if possible, rather than what seems to be uncertain results with laser.
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#83853 - 03/04/11 07:09 PM
Re: Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
[Re: Bluebottle]
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Contributor
Registered: 03/04/11
Posts: 24
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That is where I am leaning, but I am going to wait until my consultation before making any decisions. This may sound ridiculous but I am terrified of both needles and electricity so the idea of electrolysis is a total nightmare for me. But I might be just that desperate. Eeep!
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#83863 - 03/04/11 10:46 PM
Re: Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
[Re: ms2001]
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Member
Registered: 02/05/11
Posts: 8
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A few years ago, I had 4 sessions on the face and 2 on the arms, with the same machine (sorry...don't recall the name of it). My mom went with me and had quite a few sessions on the face. We both have light skin and dark hair, though I'm a bit tanner than she is.
We did cheeks, upper lip, chin, and I even did eyebrows. NOTHING was removed for either of us. This was 5 years ago though. Maybe the dermatologist was afraid to use a high setting on the face. Maybe the machine wasn't good. I'm not sure. Though, on the arms, I had great results.
We stopped going to that dermatologist, because we were paying $300 for the face each time with 0 results, but 5 years later, the hair that she removed on the arms is permanently gone. It grows back in spots...so I am finishing up my arms now.
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#83870 - 03/05/11 01:47 AM
Re: Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
[Re: LAgirl]
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Contributor
Registered: 03/04/11
Posts: 24
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I skimmed the success stories thread and did not see much in the way of long term success stories for facial hair specifically, which is my main concern. Did I just miss it?
The one clinic I spoke to thus far uses a Lightsheer laser though I do not know the settings.
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#83891 - 03/05/11 10:02 AM
Re: Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
[Re: ms2001]
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Top 10 Contributor
Registered: 05/04/08
Posts: 1810
Loc: London, UK
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I think that's what LAgirl is getting at.
People have great results on the body but it's rare that anyone comes forward to say "I have had great results on my face".
I've been interested in Laser for about 10 years, although I only amassed the courage to start about 3 years ago after coming across this forum. I straight away realised that whilst Laser would be great for some body areas, I'd be taking a risk on my face. So I started electrolysis there instead.
During these 10 years, I have not really heard of any successful LHR on the face stories. I'm on another general forum where majority of the posters are from the same ethnic background as myself. Women from my part of the world commonly face excess hair problems so lots of them have tried Laser. As have some of my relatives. Still no proper success stories. There have been one or two cases where women who didn't experience induced growth managed to make it a bit sparser and finer but they still admit they'd need electrolysis if they wanted to be hair free. In which case, they could have gone with electrolysis from the start and the Laser money could have gone towards that instead.
Other stories I often hear are from women saying "Laser is great!! I'm having it done on my face and it works!" Then I probe them and it turns out they are going every 4-6 weeks as soon as the hair free period is over and have generally been going for more than a year, sometimes two years. They actually have no idea what would happen if they waited a bit longer and if all the hair would come back or not. They aren't even waiting long enough before their next treatments, and if they were, they may find that after a year of treatments, there is little difference.
_________________________
31/F/UK Laser for reduction on Underarms, Bikini, Full Legs & 3/4 Arms. Skin type IV Electrolysis - Further details in: My sister's electrolysis diary[27hrs of Blend, April 2008-Dec 2010 in UK, for coarse hair on lower sideburns, coarse chin hair, completed upper lip, shaped eyebrows] [Sept 2011 to date, once yearly sessions with Josefa. Completed reduction of facial/neck fuzz in approx 27 hrs TTT]
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#83897 - 03/05/11 01:16 PM
Re: Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
[Re: stoppit&tidyup]
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Top 10 Contributor
Registered: 06/03/02
Posts: 8055
Loc: Buffalo NY, & Traveling the US...
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Many electrolysis professionals came to the conclusion that LASER had little to no value based on what they had seen from work on faces and upper body. It turns out that these are the worst places to judge the Electrolysis vs LASER question... if you are pro LASER anyway. If one is going head to head Electrolysis VS LASER on face and upper body, and you have a great electrolysis worker, the electrolysis side will be ahead of the LASER side no later than the 3 month mark. The electrolysis side will also finish at a time when the LASER side is still in need of work.
We even have a poster here on the site, who drew a line down his body, and did LASER on one side and electrolysis on the other. He came to the same conclusion. He finished the electrolysis side, and it had been looking more clear than the LASER side for months, and then discontinued LASER entirely, and finished with electrolysis. His conclusion, he might have gotten more bang for his bucks had he done electrolysis all the the way through.
I had a situation where two friends competed with their hair removal, the person with the heavier beard was working with me, and the person with the lighter one went for LASER, My client was in easy maintenance when the friend was out of money, and hairy. Worse yet, that person's body reacted to the LASER treatment by shingling the skin over the follicles, so that when we got around to doing electrolysis on the hair, it was more difficult to do, than had we done it before the LASER treatments had cause this mutation. In this one person's case, use of LASER caused the total hair removal job to take 4 times as long, and cost at least 3 times as much as if I had done the entire job from virgin skin to full, final (executive) clearance. That person's bare face is now on display as one of my models on my web site.
Another of my clients said that after having LASER on the face and coming to me to "finish up" she wishes she had started with electrolysis in the first place. She is in the video on my web page.
Electrolysis professionals are unimpressed with the good results LASER has on Legs as that area often loses hair as you age, even if you do nothing to them.
For face and upper body, electrolysis would be most advisable. We have not even talked about LASER stimulated growth on face and upper body, post treatment. I have a client who started trying to get rid of a small area around her ears, and got stimulated growth that eventually wrapped around her face, and sent her to me to undo that nightmare.
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#83941 - 03/06/11 03:30 PM
Re: Straight answer on LHR for face--does it work?
[Re: LAgirl]
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Contributor
Registered: 01/10/11
Posts: 45
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I did laser on my face and the back of my neck about 12 years ago...it was one of the worst things I ever did! I spent a small fortune, went to 3 appointments, it was VERY painful and I didn't think the results were that good...needless to say, I didn't continue with the entire package...as the years went on, the hair regrowth became worse than before I was treated...I started tweezing the hair on my face and let the hair on the back of my neck go...finally, this winter I had enough...I called an electrologist...it was the BEST decision I ever made!! I wish I made it sooner, and I wish I never did laser (I would do laser on other parts of my body, but never my face...I have read that it actually induces hair growth on your face, and I 100% believe it after my experience!)
I started in January, and I go weekly...I know this is going to be a long journey, but I can DEFINITELY tell it is better. Before I went, the thought of a needle and just the word ELECTROLYSIS made me wince, and I was kind of squeamish...I am not "afraid" of needles, but I am somewhat of a wimp...my first question on this board was "how painful is it??"...I think they should change the name (it is not NEARLY as painful as the name implies!)...laser was more painful, and quite frankly, waxing is more painful! It really isn't bad at all...I take 2 tylenol before I go and the sides of my face don't bother me...every now and then, I might feel a little something, but if it was bad, I can ASSURE you, I would have quit by now! I have her put a numbing cream on the back of my neck and cover it with plastic while we work on my face...I find that area is a bit more sensitive...after the numbing cream, I barely feel anything...
If you still have doubt, I am already thinking of doing my upper lip when this is done as well as bikini (I am thinking of starting laser on my bikini in the fall, then clearing any remaining with electrolysis...I want to do a brazilian, but that isn't the kind of thing I would do with electrolysis)...again, I can ASSURE you - if this was REMOTELY unpleasant, I would simply be counting down my appointments and counting the days until I was done...not planning other areas of my body to cover!
Message me if you have any questions!
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