I know there are several posts (and stickies) regarding laser. This is my next big investment, hopefully to be started within the next few months. I am looking into several types and looking at reviews. I hope I can find something that will work for me. To be honest, compared to what I spend in tweezers, creams, razors, waxings, etc...........if laser will work for me, I will not be disappointed in the price!
I recently read something from a laser clinic in my state that claims they have this new laser that will work on blonde hairs as well. I am checking into that also, b/c mine is a mixture of dark and course, and fine and blonde!
So... I was wondering how many actually have had non-satisfying results with the laser treatments and anything else you want to share to enlighten me!?
I had laser treatment a good 8 years ago when I was in high school. I don't know if it was because I was only 15/16 or because laser wasn't as good then but it didn't work very well.
The kind I had was called Epi-Light.
__________________ dx July '06
high androgen/excess hair/weight issues/IR
Meds: Met, Spiro, Desogen
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SP, how have you been taking care of the hair between treatments? My doctor says the face can require anywhere from 10-14 sessions, and that you can only shave to treat the hair so that the folicles are there for the laser to destroy.
I tried LHR around 9 years ago, and I did not have any success. This was because I did not shave during my treatments, but continued to pluck/wax/bleach all along. I was misinformed, and wasted so much money because of it. Although I loved the way my face turned out right after a treatment, the hair just always came back. (Not to mention that I was not medicated during that time, so my hormones were all over the place).
I just started treatments again, I go for my second next week. This laser is different, because the hair doesn't come out right away, but rather a few weeks. My skin is super sensitive to the laser, and I suspect it will react no matter what setting is used. My skin needed a good two weeks to heal from my first treatment, it felt bruised and I got a lot of bumps and white heads and some redness, too. But it did eventually subside.
I think it is worth a try, but you have to follow the guidelines and go through with the entire number of sessions before you can know if it will truly help. You should only shave, and you should definitely be on some type of medication controlling your hormones, or else you'll continue to sprout.
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"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
-Albert Einstein
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I had 6 sessions 4 years ago on my face my happy trail and around my nipples. My happy trail took great, the rest not so well. I stopped all medications this past december and all the hair has come back full force. Im actually going to see my obgyn today about it. Im going to try to get my insurance to cover it. Its the one thing that treuly depresses me, i feel like its ruining my life.
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Good luck on the insurance. I thought about writing some appeal to try and get mine covered, but I doubt it will do me any good and really have no idea how to go about doing anything like that. Let us know how it goes!
To be successful with LHR you MUST be taking care of your high testosterone levels and only shaving the hair. If you pick at the hairs, pluck or wax or use any removal that pulls the hair from the root, the treatments are pointless! Even with knowing that you must still remember that, just as everything with pcos, results take extra TIME. I am on my 15th treatment on my face (the most stubborn area) and I have seen great results! It took a while, but I barely have any hairs left and I only shave once in between treatments.
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Everything happens for a reason!_____________________________________________
like-minded, how often do you go for a session? At which session do you recall seeing a significant difference in the hair? My doctor thinks around 4/5 I should notice a decrease in growth.
__________________
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
-Albert Einstein
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I had laser on my face and if I get a treatment every 6 weeks or so, my face is great and really smooth. I went a year without treatments because I couldn't really afford to spend $150 every 6 weeks getting it done, and I had minimal regrowth. However, I have lost a lot of weight since I started it and have been having regular periods for almost 2 years now, so I think my hormones have improved.
__________________ Age: 24
New York, NY
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." --Oscar Wilde
I am seeing a dermatologist who is an expert in North America in the use of lasers for hair removal and many other uses, medical and cosmetic in nature. I have had 6 (of the initially recommended 8-10)treatments which covers my chin, neck, cheeks and sideburns($200 every other month). The doctor would not treat my mustache because it is so light.
I have had a decent improvement in the colour of hairs on my chin and neck, but it is still somewhat coarse and i notice it very much. My cheeks and sideburns don't seem to have been improved all that much. I had a treatment two weeks ago and it didn't seem to have been helping and now all of a sudden the benefit of lighter, thinner hair and slower growth has kicked in. That will not last till my next visit, or so has been the case.
My first couple of treatments were done with a standard laser then bumped up to the latest and strongest one out there. My next visit i will have my hair grown so the doc can see what i'm still dealing with and he can decide which areas there is still hope for. Hirsuitism runs in my family. My sister who had a problem (though very mild in comparison to mine) did the chin area and within 2 years she was having to shave again...she did not use the same doc (and does not have PCOS to my knowledge) so i can't comment much more that that.
There are different situations for PCOS patients that would cause less than satisfactory results.
1. amount of body fat
2. types of meds (spironolactone is a definite no no during treatment!)
3. Hormone levels
for others:
1. skin and hair colour
2. length of time between treatments...can't be too soon or too long between
As previously mentioned by many other cysters, you must not wax or tweeze hairs...the roots have to be intact.
Even though you may not be living in my area, i would recommend you check my doctors homepage for FAQ's on LHR...i trust him completely, but it is still a risk and i've known that well in advance of my first treatment.
I tried laser back in 2000, with good results on my chin and upper lip. I have blonde hair, so they would pluck the hair before the laser to get a blood drop so the laser could "see something" there. But NOW all has grown back and WORSE!! Since going off the bcp, now the hair is even worse on the sides of my face, and I'm even getting tiny ones on my nose! ~gasp~ I don't know what to do. I feel like an ogre. If this works on your blonde hairs, let me know please!!!
Who had bad or no results with laser? 
Patience is key 
