thanks so much stoppit for the useful info!!! is electrolysis much more expensive than laser???
you can't really make a direct comparison as their main uses are for different areas.
electrolysis depends on the area to be treated, hair density etc.
with laser, you would have the whole area treated in one session and look at about 4-8 sessions in total with a separation of 6-12 weeks depending on body area.
electrolysis using the traditional methods can treat about 5-10 hairs per minute (the newer methods are micro and pico flash with an Apilus machine and are MUCH faster). you have to invest a lot of time and go regularly, like once a week.
it's ideal for small areas - upper lip, sideburns, chin, eyebrows.
for fine, downy hairs, it's the only option.
i have had a lot of laser on the rest of my body, too. they both have their uses. for example, i had 6 laser treatments on my underarms. after that the hair remaining was a mixture of a few coarser hairs and some more finer ones. the laser was not going to effect the finer ones at this stage. rather than £69 on a 7th laser appointment just for the coarse hairs, it was more cost effective to have the remaining dealt with via electrolysis. which would remove the coarse and the fine hairs. i spent about 30mins of electrolysis to remove all remaining hairs. some may come back and require further treatment in the coming months but in total (inc the 30mins already), i won't need more than 1.5hrs worth of electro on this area; total cost for this = £78 (including follicles that laser can't damage).
for total face clearance using electrolysis, you are looking at a few thousand pounds though.