Desi_BeauTii, laser is not pain free and the device physically touches your skin. It hurts, especially if there is a bone underneath. On fleshy areas, it is ok, but bone .... heck, it hurts like anything (i.e. your elbow).
Electrolysis is also not that expensive. You pay $1 per minute and the results are permanent, unlike Laser.
Ira, I know ... I wish someone told me about laser and pregnancy hormones BEFORE. That's why I try and warn everybody now.
It's your choice. Go for a consultation ... but I personally would never laser my face.
Mehnaz, I have already gone for a consultation and i had a swatch test. My concern is finding the best laser to get the best results.
With Electrolysis don't you have to treat one folicle at a time? That could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, and i have heard it hurts more than laser.
I think it all depends on your pain threshold/endurance. I was ok with the Electrolysis pain (no tylenol or numbing creams needed), but I know others who need to take something beforehand ....
ok i have reallllly white skin and realllly dark, coarse, thick, black hair. i got laser first on my face almost 6 yrs ago. since my hair were really stubborn, i knew it was gonna take the maximal amt of treatments to get any results. i had 8 treatments done using the yag thing and after that they just recommend "touch ups" for like 20 bucks. initially this thing worked great...i had gotten it done on my face after graduating highschool cuz i knew waxing my face in a college dorm was next to impossible. well....it worked in the sense that my thick hair disappeared, the fine ones did comeback but i didn't care too much abt them eventho they are a bit visible. touch ups always worked great because i'd get it right before my trips to pakistan in summers and be waxing or threading free for 3-4 months.
right before getting married, i got one treatment done almost on my entire body, legs, arms, underarms, etc etc. i didn't have enough money to get numerous treatments all over but that one session ensured that the first 2-3 months of marriage/ honeymoon were spent worry free. now that i'm in a different state, have no idea where to go for "touch ups", it feels like 50% of the facial hair and 100% body hair are back but not as thick as i remember them. sooo...i consider laser a type of waxing alternative. for girls with hair as stubborn as mine, waxing did not even last one week! so laser is just a more expenive, longer lasting form of hair removal. its definitely not permanent but its a lifesaver if your hair are ridiculously thick and dark and you have light skin like me :) thank god my mom was open to the idea. it made college a lot easier for me. i would say its not worth investing in if you can get the same results just waxing :)
You don't need numbing creams for good electrolysis. Laser hurts way more (and it should, if it's not hurting the settings aren't high enough). Electrolysis can be painful in some areas but on the whole, it's more discomfort.
Hormonal changes will cause new follicles to appear. Personally I don't see the need for waiting unless you plan to have children soon. You can just go back to treat the new follicles after the baby. Overall, it will be the same amount treated.
Any good Laser or electrolysis clinic will tell to have your hormones tested first if you have excessive facial hair. If you have a hormonal imbalance it needs to be taken care of first otherwise the treatment won't work and hair will keep coming back.
DesiB- The laser has a spot size (typically 12mm for YAG) and the the follicles are destroyed by a heating process. Follicles nearby will also be heated to some extent, hence the stimulation.
Sweetmoi - 2 years is a very long time. Did she finish recently? If laser is working properly, you will see results after the very first session.
Anyway, it seems like you made your mind up so I have no advice to give. I could tell you about machines etc but I don't advocate Laser for the face so no point.
pkgrl000 - This is a point most people overlook. It is not supposed to an alternative to waxing. Laser that works will destroy follicles permanently but it can't do this for ALL hairs. For example, I have 80-90% permanent reduction on the legs after 3/4 treatments (3 on the lower, 4 on the upper) I could keep going back for the 'touch ups' for the finer hairs but they cannot be destroyed, hence they will keep coming back!!
If anyone wants to finish off and be completely hair free, you need electrolysis e.g. after 6 laser treatments on my underarms, I had bout 85-90% reduction, what was left was fine with a couple medium-coarse ones mixed in. I had electrolysis to finish this off - it cost less than having a 7th laser treatment and actually worked, whereas laser would not have.
I'm confused. Stoppit ur the one who recommended I go for the YAG but now ur saying the YAG is especially bad for ur skin out of all the lasers???
I've been using the YAG for over a year now, but I wasn't continuous with my treatments so didn't really notice a difference to only recently. hair growth has reduced and some areas the hair has stopped growing all together.
Im getting my legs done soon so hopefully will be able to tell more of a difference
I'm confused. Stoppit ur the one who recommended I go for the YAG but now ur saying the YAG is especially bad for ur skin out of all the lasers???
I've been using the YAG for over a year now, but I wasn't continuous with my treatments so didn't really notice a difference to only recently. hair growth has reduced and some areas the hair has stopped growing all together.
Im getting my legs done soon so hopefully will be able to tell more of a difference
CE, if you remember our conversations I wasn't in favour of it. But you had been having IPL done already (before you met me) and didn't experience induced growth. Hence that wasn't an issue for you. I recommend you to the only place I would recommend anyone for their face; those sorts of places aren't everywhere. I think if you look back, even around that time I recommended that people do electrolysis instead of Laser for the face as it's much less risky.
You said yourself some time ago that you felt you had reached the limit of what Laser could offer and you will finish up with electrolysis.
YAG is not very effective on finer hairs, that's a fact. Not that it is bad for skin. It is the only type desi skin tones can be treated with anyway.
Also you are a very fair type IV meaning they could push the settings up to the max of what the YAG is capable of without burning you.
You're happy with your results but there are many more women I know that aren't. I just wouldn't advise anyone to take that risk. Again, you were already on the path before we first spoke and had been for a long time.
Since then, I have also come across soooo many women with induced growth that now I really am almost completely against Laser for the face. Why take the risk?
Sweetmoi - 2 years is a very long time. Did she finish recently? If laser is working properly, you will see results after the very first session.
No, stoppit. She didnt finish yet. Actually when she started in her first appointment they told her she would need around 10 treatments and then she should have been done with it. The clinic also provided 2 yrs gurantee. But as the hair didnt disappear after the 10th treatment she is now having free treatment for almost 1,5 yr I think. I noticed that the growth is def. decreased on her neck area, some of the cheek area as well, but still appearing in patches. She mentioned once that the doc told her she has slightly increased male hormon, do you think that could be the cause?
Personally I am too scared to try on my face. I think legs and arms would be a good place to do it.
I think people are getting confused between machines and Laser crystals.
Alexandrite crystals are for types I-III
Diode Laser for Type I-IV (mostly used by those between III and IV that would be burnt with an Alex but are on the fairer side for Nd:YAG)
Nd:Yag for type IV-VI
There are various different machines that contain these crystals, some are better than others.
Any skin tone type IV or over must be treated with a YAG Crystal containing machine, regardless of whether it will be effective or not on the type of hair being treated.
No, stoppit. She didnt finish yet. Actually when she started in her first appointment they told her she would need around 10 treatments and then she should have been done with it. The clinic also provided 2 yrs gurantee. But as the hair didnt disappear after the 10th treatment she is now having free treatment for almost 1,5 yr I think. I noticed that the growth is def. decreased on her neck area, some of the cheek area as well, but still appearing in patches. She mentioned once that the doc told her she has slightly increased male hormon, do you think that could be the cause?
Personally I am too scared to try on my face. I think legs and arms would be a good place to do it.
Yea, I didn't expect that she would have finished. When it goes on this long, people usually give up and a lot of the hair comes back in the months after.
10 treatments is too much imo but then most clinics advise you to go back at lesser intervals than you really need/should (to get more money out of you).
If they had their way, I would have needed 6-8 for legs but I did it in 3/4.
I don't think her issue is hormones. Most desi girls with excess facial hair have it due to excess male hormones.
It's just not working on those finer hairs. They probably shed as is typical (hence she thinks it's working) but the follicles aren't destroyed hence the hairs come back.
You only need multiple treatments to catch all the hairs in the different cycles. So somewhere like the legs, where most of the hair is the same, only needs a few treatments to catch all those hairs. Where it is a mix, it needs more coz the first few treatments target the thicker hairs with lower settings and then subsequent treatments target finer hairs with higher settings.
No u wasn't in favour of laser, u recommended I go for electrolysis. but at tht time my hair was at its worst becoz of the IPL And I didn't want Electrolysis at tht time. thts when u recommended I go for the YAG. all in all it has helped me, not sure about any other lasers but I would definitely recommend it over the IPL
I am planning on stopping my laser after another few treatments and then move on to Electrolysis. atm there is too much hair to cover and I couldn't go thro tht pain, with laser the pain is quick and over with. with Electrolysis the pain is slow and long.
Great points by both Mehnaz and Syra. Darker skin has a lot of chance of burning as the skin melanin will absorb the laser energy and end up burning your face. You can also end up with patchy skin, with portions of it hyperpigmented and other areas hypo pigmented. For the face I would never recommend laser to anyone. electrolysis is def the way to go.
With a "machis" .. well I dont do it myself, cuz I havent mastered the art as my mum says ;) .... but it doesnt hurt or anything afterwards, but of course it feels VERY warm on the skin and that can be a bit hurting while doing it.. I would say it takes about 10 mins to do my sides and chin .. The hair does come back, but nothing like threading or waxing .. veryyy fine! and this is from someone who had quite dark hair