First I have to say that after spending hours lurking here over the past few weeks I am thrilled this forum exists! Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and especially the “Top Ten” posting team
However, like so many others, I’m confused by all the info that appear conflicting. Every time I read through a different set of search results, the picture appears to shift slightly. Plus, I can never be sure how the info applies to South Asian skin. (I’ve been pegged as between a III and IV skin color type.)
After a decade of removing unwanted facial hair (upper lip, cheeks, chin) I am considering shelling out the $ for a permanent solution since I’m growing more concerned about the scarring from ingrowns. I had two treatments 4 years ago with a Lightsheer device that worked well temporarily (no pigmentation) for about 3 months after which hair along my jawline started growing back much more thickly. I now have to epilate there weekly (I use a rotary device) whereas the upper lip hairs seem slightly finer if not the same as before.
So far, I’ve found a licensed esthetician at the local hospital clinic with 3 years’ experience who’ll use a Cutera Nd:YAG on me. She said she’s treated South Asian skin before, but that it takes twice as long (6 - 8 sessions) to treat than Caucasian or African-American skin. Her philosophy is to start carefully on low settings and to work her way up. The $200/hr price tag sounds better than other places I’ve considered (I’m a graduate student).
However, I’ve recently been reading posts against lasering the face, probably because of increased hair growth there for women. Since I’ve already undergone laser with increased growth, should I just go ahead with laser regardless? Do you guys think that her experience of doubling the number of sessions to get the same results is due to encouraging hair to become more coarse so that the LHR technique eventually becomes more effective?
I would also love to hear from other South Asian women with LHR experience!
Please give us an idea of how much hair you have and how coarse it is. From what you describe already, you are prone to getting induced growth, and getting treated at low settings to start will almost guarantee that on your skin type. If you have under 400-500 hairs, I would probably go for electrolysis right away if I were you.
Well, it’s been about 10 days since I last epilated and in my jaw area about 60 coarse hairs have grown in my jaw area. I’ve been trimming it daily (so hard to resist plucking them!) as they are quite prominent. I also want to remove my cheek hairs (or at least reduce them) which are much more fine, most of them requiring a trim-down only every 5-6 days. My cheek hairs and chin hairs are quite numerous though fine.
I am slowly coming to the realization that I will have to seriously consider electrolysis…I did a quick search but could not find an electrolysis FAQ.
I was thinking that maybe for my jaw area which is already coarse I could get it lasered (hoping it won’t get even thicker!) and have electrolysis done on my cheeks? I think I read somewhere that growth was not induced by using a laser on women’s upper lips?
induced hair is usually on the cheeks and neck area, not upper lip. and it’s usually when hair is not coarse. your skin is not the best for laser and 60 hairs is not a lot of hairs for electrolysis. you should be able to find enough information by reading www.electrology.com and the electrolysis section of the forum here. if you indicate your location and run a search for your city or state, you should find some previous recommendations too. it sounds like you should just go for electrolysis and get rid of everything right away.
btw, shaving is fine too if clipping is not as clean for coarse hairs.
Thanks again for your response. Do you know much about treating forehead hair? That is, whether hair growth there is more likely to be induced by laser just like the neck area? I’m pretty furry there too
yes, on your skin type, i wouldn’t attemp treating the forehead either. anywhere where you are “furry”, instead of thick coarse growth, you are basically risking it. plus, it’s hard to be that precise and that area really needs precision if you want it to look natural. electrolysis is best for hairline shaping.
I’m also south asian, and was considering getting my face done - I’ve always been so self conscious about it. I went for my first consultation yesterday, and she recommended that I not do it since my hair is really fine. However, I have had several south asian friends go through the treatments successfully and have not had the problem of increased growth. What are the chances of this happening, and is there any way that a small area can be tested, to see the reaction?
what kind of hair did your friends really have? i would talk to them about the details to make sure that you’re actually in the same situation. there is a high chance with your skin type of increased growth on a woman’s face. you won’t find any success stories on this board from people with darker skin and fine hair.
My friends have a variety of skin/hair types - and I’m actually really fair for being south asian, in fact, my skin tends to burn the first time I’m in the sun if I’m outside for an extended time.
i mean i would ask each one for details on their skin type, hair coarseness and color, hair location, how much they had, what machine was used, what settings etc. it doesn’t sound like you have enough information to know for sure where and how they got results.
either way, you can try it of course. i’m just warning you of possibly side effects, so that you’re aware. if i were you, i wouldn’t have laser done on those areas of your face on that type of hair. there are NO success stories with that combination of factors. for areas other than your face and coarse hair, it’s a different story.
