Hey just read the first post. Thanks for it stoppit. Will read the rest of the thread but with 17 pages will take time. I am going for LHR on my face. Due to pcos I have a lot of very thick hair. Proper beard like. I can’t manage them with Waxing/ threading anymore. My tech said that electrolysis takes a long time and since I have a lot of hair it would be better to go for LHR. She advised me to book every 4 weeks! Didn’t mention about the over stimulation at all. Will ask her all this at my first appt. thanks for the thread
stoppit as someone with pcos and very very dark thick hair bring reasonably fair skinned what should my top questions be?
overstimulations is my top question now but what else should I bear in mind thanks
Do read the rest of the posts. I personally would not advise for LHR on the female face as it can be costly with no/little results, or end up causing induced growth.
If you do ask her about induced growth, she will either deny it happens (excuses like it only happens with poor settings) or say that any induced growth can be treated by further sessions (this is incorrect).
Furthermore, every four weeks is way too soon between sessions. If you read through the posts, you should find one containing an explanation as to why. The tech will never accept the reasoning though, since they (a) want you to be under the illusion that it’s working since you will look ‘hair free’ most of the time and (b) you are paying them for almost twice the amount of sessions you actually need.
Electrolysis is a slower process but providing you find a good electrologist who is actually killing follicles, overall it will be more effective and you can get rid of all of your troublesome hair permanently.
I would also say that you probably currently don’t have a good idea of the amount of hair you actually have if thread/wax. It takes 3 months of no hair removal (or shaving) for your maximum growth to present itself. On the face, this is about 70% of the total active follicles having hair in them. If you were to go for electrolysis, both as a client or the person treating you, I’d want to know the true extent of your hair growth.
Oh yea, I forgot to mention that your PCOS makes you more vulnerable to induced growth or generally just ineffective treatments (i.e. when your stop LHR it will all come back).
my sister just started getting laser hair removal on her face and neck. she is fair but has alot of hair on her face and it gave darker shade to her face especially chin area.
after first session she did not even feel anything…no redness. she is told after 7-8 sessions she will be not have any hair on her face than will need one or 2 per year.
my SIL is going too after a week. she has alot really alot of hair on her face. she waxes her face every 2nd week. i will update on her experience.
sis had 2 sessions on the face and neck and SIL had 1, cousin had 2 on face and neck and no side effect.
they even bought lotions i think laser aid? and no need to use. they are happy as less hair on face and their face looks bright
It’s not the same with electrolysis.. in that if you have a follicle treated fully (i.e. killed for good), it will never produce a hair again PCOS client or otherwise. So a PCOS sufferer who has excess hair and has all that excess hair treated properly they will be rid of all that hair for good. BUT if the PCOS is not addressed and the hormones are still playing havoc with hair growth this means that inactive follicles can be stimulated to produce hairs (these are new hairs) or tiny hairs that were not removed can be stimulated to produce thicker hairs down the line. So some women may fine the odd additional treatment required to sort these out down the line… this is true for any hormonal change like pregnancy or menopause though. Electrolysis can only target the hairs that are currently there. I do not have PCOS but my electrologist did a lot more work that I thought was required on my chin, removing even the tiniest hairs. As she explained, if left alone, pregnancy would likely cause them to become coarse dark hairs since the chin is a hormonally sensitive area, so it was a preventative measure. In all my experience when properly performed electrolysis, PCOS clients who start treatment with a lot of hair that has already come through find that once treatment is complete that’s usually it. They don’t find themselves having to go back every year or anything like that.
This is different from LHR because with LHR no one can be certain whether the follicle has been destroyed or just stunted. The hairs usually do shed after treatment, but the same hairs come back when treatment is stopped because the follicles were never destroyed. And unlike electrolysis the laser often stimulates finer hairs in the surrounding areas to become thicker and this is more common where the woman has hormonal issues.
I should say though that finding a good electrologist isn’t that easy and what a lot end up doing is blaming the PCOS for their ineffective work. Having PCOS does not make the treatment to have the existing hairs any more difficult than if there were no hormonal issues. All it means is that the client needs to be aware that they have a condition that may make them produce new hairs to be treated in the future.
@stoppit: I know the key to is to find a skilled electrologist. Does your Spain-based electrologist have any recommendations/referrals for someone in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or even Pennsylvania)?
@stoppit: do you know of any good at-home electrolysis kit? I remember Sally Beauty Supply used to sell one; at that time I didn’t know what electrolysis was so didn’t go for a second look. They don’t sell it anymore.
@Sehrysh - I will ask my US contacts for you and let you know. @GLITTER_BOMB - No, these don’t work. You can only perform electrolysis with a professional machine and it’s something that requires years of years of training to perform properly.
I had 4 sessions of laser 6-8 weeks apart but then I got pregnant. And 4 months later ALL the hair is back. And I mean each and every pesky little bugger. So disappointed.
^^ how is that possible? laser destroys the follicle to stop hair from growing back … maybe the machine your technician wasn’t good.
I have had that happen actually, where in the past (I went to 2 different spas, and had full sessions, hair still came back in patches), it seemed like it didn’t work. So I decided it was time for another round.. either that, or my hair is just impossible to get rid of..
Now, I am getting laser done with a different type of machine with a new spa, and I have seen results within the past year more than I ever have in the past combined !
The other places also used the same type of machine, so I’m partially convinced the machine did the trick !
That’s not a given or an absolute. The expectation is that the energy will heat the follicle up enough to damage it beyond repair, so that includes all the stem cells. No one can know for sure going in, even if the machine and settings are optimal, whether that will definitely happen or not. For example, fine hair doesn’t respond very well as the hairs cannot absorb enough energy to heat the follicle sufficiently.
However, the Soprano is a Diode Laser and the feedback for it is pretty bad. I think I mention good machines in the first post. You need an Nd:Yag Laser if you are Type IV and above.