Hi everyone
Like many on here, I too have wasted time and money on laser hair removal for my face. Turns out the first 5 sessions with Lightsheer diode were at extremely low settings (LAgirl was able to confirm this in my other post) and induced more facial hair. A couple years later, I turned to YAG laser for 6 sessions with very minimal results only to find out afterwards that YAG wasn’t the right laser for my type II skin. I don’t really know what to do anymore. Electrolysis is the only thing I haven’t tried yet.
I seem to have a mixture of course and fine hair on my face. I have fine but black hair growing on my cheeks and neck but my chin has course thick black hair especially along the jawbone. I also have hair on my upper lip and lower lip. My face is a mess now with years of laser and turning to waxing and plucking when laser didn’t work. My last laser session was in 2008 and since then I’ve only been shaving. I have to shave my entire face every morning and by night I can feel and somewhat see the stubbles growing. I’ve gone to the doc and been told that my blood tests are normal.
I’ve been reading this site a lot and I know electrolysis is suggested for facial hair but I’m worried that because the hair on my chin is so course and stubborn that it will take years and years to get rid of these. I don’t know if maybe I should turn to GentleLASE laser for only the chin area and cross my fingers that hopefully it will make the hairs finer (even though the other lasers in the past didn’t have any affect on this area) and do electrolysis for the rest of my face. Or should I say forget laser and not take another chance with it (even though I’ve never tried GentleLASE) and do electrolysis for the whole face from the start? I just need some direction cuz so far I’ve been making all the wrong decisions. I feel like having this much hair cannot be normal even though my blood tests say I’m fine. Also because in the past I did wax and pluck the hairs, will this make electrolysis a harder process now because I’m reading it can distort the follicles. I haven’t waxed/plucked in the past 2 years but I used to back in 2004-2006 before I started Yag laser.
I have already made a list of electrologists in my area but have yet to call for a consultation.
I’m going to post some pictures of what my face looks like when I let the hair grow out for one week after shaving. I’m feeling pretty hesitant about posting these pictures but I feel like it’s the only for you guys to know how bad it is. I promise I am a female though the pictures will make you think otherwise. Please any advice will help.
Hey ella, I think this is totally do-able without a huge time investment! I mean that upper lip could be cleared in no time for starters! Yes, you will have to put in a decent amount of time in the beginning but once you get going (provided your electrologist is skilled) you will be amazed.
Spicegirl479, that’s wonderful news that electrolysis got rid of the hair for you. I’m completely okay with going for 16-18 months but I guess my fear is that face is such a mess and has too much stubborn hair that it will take years and years. Hopefully I’m wrong about this.
I read honey_bunny’s post and that does give me hope! stoppit&tidyup did you remove the course hairs of your sideburns and chin with electrolysis or laser? Also, when those course hairs were removed the first time, did they come back again finer and have to be removed again a second time or were they gone for good after the first time?
Thankfully I found this forum before making my decision and opted not to let laser anywhere near my face. I was already worried as of all the people I knew who had had Laser on their faces, none were successful.
The first year (from April 2008 - Dec 2008) I only had 6 hours of treatment. Mostly 15min appointments every week, then every two weeks and so on. Obviously I could not achieve clearance with these short times. In the beginning it was removal of the long, coarse, unbleached sideburn hairs (and coarser chin hairs) for the first time. Then as the weeks continued it was a combination of continuing to remove more hairs for the first time and also treat the earlier ones when they did come back.
In the beginning, yes I could feel them ‘regrowing’ and coming back; I could feel some stubbly hairs but this didn’t last that long, so I’m guessing after a few hours worth of electro over a couple of months, they started coming back fine enough that I couldn’t feel them.
I did this approach since I have lots of fine hair all over my face and cheeks, which I bleach as well and am not aiming to completely remove.
You hair growth is quite different from mine and I expect you will want to clear it all asap. It’s just a straightforward clearance job starting with the most obvious. My situation is more complicated as I am leaving much of the hair, so what’s treated has to be done in a way to leave the areas looking natural.
For hairs that are visible (a couple of hours). For hair hidden (another couple of hours at most) and end of the first clearance.
What I see is a beautiful skin, in the present and a beautiful skin without hair, in the near future.
I agree with Josefa, that this is not a big problem. Your growth is not dense, so clearance will be easy, in skilled hands. The most crucial issue is finding a competent skilled practitioner. Be prepared to sample a few, as recomended by this forum, unless you are fortunate, to receive a recomendation from a reliable source. I too, see beautiful hairless skin soon.
Your hair is relatively sparse. Electrolysis will be able to tackle it very easily. Expect to have longer treatments up front, probably 1-2 hours the first couple of times, and then come in only for touchups every few weeks. You’ll be done in no time (about 12 months of consistent treatments according to the above schedule).
Btw, my story is on here as well. I had electrolysis done on upper lip, eyebrows, areolas, and entire abdomen. I also finished the remaining 3-5% of the finer hairs on my underarms after laser with electrolysis. It’s been 1-2 years since I’ve stopped treatments depending on the area.
Everyone else here has already given good advice. I just wanted to add some words of encouragement. I am also a 25 yr old female - that is why I clicked on your post! Dark facial hair can seem like the worse thing in the world, especially because so many hair removal methods don’t do what they promise… However, electrolysis DOES work. You just have to find a good practictioner and STICK with it. You will get results.
Best wishes to you!
Too bad you are not visiting the Falls, and I am not visiting Fisherman’s Warf. We would meet in the morning, get to first clearance, and go for lunch.
{{hugs}} I feel you! I did laser on my face for YEARS (on low settings, this was about 9 years ago when lasers weren’t so advanced) which induced more hair growth. I now have coarse hairs in the oddest places!
Like you, when I shave…by night time I can feel and see the hair coming through. Sometimes I had to shave twice a day!! Unlike you though, my facial hair is very dense so it should be easy to clear you with electrolysis. I started with electrolysis about 2 months ago and honestly the hair is already finer! Even though the hair is still there, it’s finer and when I shave… my skin stays smooth for days. I really enjoy the weeks I have in-between treatments. This is a huge motivation for me, I now look forward to my treatments. Please do not treat your face with laser. G’luck
hi again everyone,
Thank you so much to everyone who replied to my post. I have to admit, I’m surprised by everyone’s comments but in a GOOD way. I posted those pictures thinking that I have a very bad case of facial hair and I thought I will hear that my face will be a challenge for electrolysis but instead I’m hearing the opposite which is wonderful news and has me smiling! I agree the hair is sparse and will hopefully be easy to see and target each individual hair. After reading all your comments I’m not even going to consider laser ever again and go straight for electrolysis. This has been a problem that I’ve been dealing with since at a very young age and I can’t stand having to shave my face every time I want to leave the house and then worry if I missed a hair or if the stubbles are visible to others who get close to me. It really kills my confidence and I’m sure a lot of you understand that feeling.
To Spicegirl,stoppit&tidyup, LAgirl, Giles, Roma18 & Desperate, reading your stories & reading how happy you are with your electrolysis results really encourages me to go in the same direction. Thank you for that & helping me feel like I’m not alone in this.
Just a few questions I have and want to make sure I understand correctly:
The laser specialist that I used to go to told me a couple times that the jawbone area is very stubborn area and that seems to be where I have the most strongest,thickest hair so I am wondering if what she said is true and I will have a hard time for the hair in this area?
Does electrolysis work on only anagen hair or does it work on telogen hair as well?
Should I be looking into only thermolysis method?
To reach first clearance on my entire face, it sounds like it will take 4-5 hours. Is that about right? And should I make appointments for 1 hour once a week in the beginning to reach this clearance or should I go more?
Are finer hairs easier to treat than the thick coarse ones? Does electrolysis have to be repeated over and over again on the same coarse hairs to make them finer and finer or does it work the first time? I’m asking so that I won’t be surprised and think it’s not working if I see the same coarse hairs growing out again after the first clearance.
Long distance hug right back at ya =) That is so encouraging to hear that someone with similar hair problem as me is getting results with electrolysis. I would love to not have to shave everyday (like you) or pull away every time my boyfriend touches my face or wear my hair down when it’s sunny outside. All that stuff can be a real downer & get in the way of just enjoying life. I will never go near laser again for my face, thanks for the advice and good luck with your progress!
