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Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
Why did she shave the hair?! Once you have your laser done, it should soften the root and they should fall out themselves within a couple of days.
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
you have to shave the hair, because when you do laser, you cant have any hair on the surface of the skin, but you need to have the root. the hair wont start shedding until about a week after your treatment. It will look like the hair is growing back, but its just the root that has been damaged coming to the surface.
Dont despair, all your hair wont be gone with one treatment, it takes a few treatments to see a noticeable difference.
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
Sent you a PM^
It will work, it may not show at the moment, but by the time you get your next hair growth cycle you will notice a difference, and the best bit is that you will notice the dark stubbon hairs go first.
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
I'm surprised at the clinic that they did not explain the process to you.
The hair is shaved prior to treatment because any hair above the skin will burn and it's not a nice experience. The energy deposited by the Laser will destroy the follicles that currently were in the anagen phase (providing they were thick and dark enough to absorb enough energy to to destroy the follicles). This is why you need multiple treatments - because there is more than one cycle of hair.
The hairs then need to 'shed' - they will look like they are growing normally (although perhaps a bit slower than usual) for anywhere from 1-3 weeks and then they start falling out. It can take a week or so from the beginning of shedding until shedding is complete. Anything that doesn't shed was either missed patches during treatment or was unaffected by the Laser.
You can only shave or trim during the laser process. Don't worry, shaving doesn't make the hair thicker, although the ends of the hairs will be blunt. If it was a body area, I'd suggest leaving the hairs until they shed. Since it's your face, you can shave or trim it. Keep exfoliating as it will help the hairs shed faster.
You will then stay hair free for a few weeks (it won't be many weeks for the face) until the next cycle of growth starts to come through.
Go for your next appointment when there is sufficient hair to justify the next treatment. So rather than 'as soon as hair starts to reappear', a week or two later when more of the cycle has come through will give you better results.
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
What stoppit said.
I had this done, and it takes time, as in atleast 6 to 7 treatments to notice a difference, but its worth it in the long term.
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
Shaving is necessary for laser because the hair needs to be coarse. The laser picks up coarse hair that's why blonde/white hair never gets picked up. I have been doing laser for 6 years now and although it's not like it was before the hair still grows back. It's no ones fault that people advertise that the hair goes away completely with laser treatments... it doesn't. I think my sideburns are pretty much gone but I definitely have to get them touched up once in awhile. The hair on my chin is more coarse too and that's why it's been taking forever to fix. I use to do my upper lip but saw no difference after 7 treatments and just decided it was not worth it. Laser doesn't work for everyone or every place so you kind of have to watch what works and what doesn't and make an executive decision about continuing treatments. The type of laser you doctor uses makes a huge difference too.
ooh i was thinking of starting a thread just like this! my first treatment for underarms started a few weeks ago and i too was wondering the same thing. my hair is starting to grow back out but it is shedding. there were even a couple of tiny hairs in my underarms during the treatment that i thought would get "lasered" off lol but they didnt? anyway im waiting for my next treatment! im excited because the result is great so far alhumdulillah.
p.s. whoever said laser hair removal is pain-free is a big fat liar. it hurts! =/
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
OMG IT HURTS SO MUCH!!! the worst is your upper lip. How bad does it hurt for your underarms?
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
There is a numbing cream available for pain. Ask the place where you are getting your laser done to give you a prescription for it.
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
the worst thing you can do is get a numbing cream especially for laser. You need to feel if you are getting burned by the laser especially if you are not extremely fair.
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
Zamana - you are right that Laser doesn't work for everyone and everywhere. I keep repeating on here that if one is not seeing results from the first treatment and a good reduction by the third, it's most likely not going to give permanent results and it's best to stop, unless one has the money to keep on having treatments every year. If your chin hair really is coarse, it should work so I think there is probably some other reason - have you had your hormones checked?
If your hair is coarse and dark, Laser will work such as on underarms, bikini and legs. It's areas like the face where the hair is not as coarse as underarm or leg hair that doesn't result in permanent results or experiences induced growth. Laser isn't really suitable for the face but clinics don't want admit this.
EMLA is recommended if you can't bear the pain. The Laser settings should be as high as they can without burning you and they should hurt. If it's not hurting, the settings aren't high enough. So if you want effective settings and the only thing holding you back is the pain, then go for the numbing cream. You should never get burns from a good clinic as they will always test patch settings for the next treatment in the prior appointment.
the worst thing you can do is get a numbing cream especially for laser. You need to feel if you are getting burned by the laser especially if you are not extremely fair.
Why do you need to feel the burn?
Re: Is my laser hair removal working?!
Thank you for the great replies everyone & stoppit! Oh and stoppit, they did explain it to me, I watched a video on it too in the office, I guess I was excited it was finally happening that I didn't fully understand the process right away.
And I'm finally getting shedding! I just pull the hair and it comes out tug-free. The ones that don't, I'll give another few days because like you said Stoppit, it can take a week (I just noticed shedding yesterday) or they were missed.