STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

uesgirl · BCBG

Those who have had laser hair removal

lynnie · Chanel

i've had electrolysis (which you can't shave for), but i know both need to kill the root of the hair- so in laser it wouldn't matter. I think a hair must be in the "growing phase" to be permanently removed- by shaving, a doctor can tell how many are growing by hair length. I don't know if that's why they ask you to shave though.
This site is a great resource on hair removal:
http://www.hairtell.com/
There are some horror stories of people that have had hair triggered growth from laser (go in for a few hairs on chin, end up w/a beard).Not sure if it happens on places other than face, but I know a lot of people that have said it wasn't permanent. Maybe you should consider doing laser in addition to electrolysis.

KBomb · BCBG

I am in the process of getting my bikini line lasered. She told me a day or wo worth of stubble - just enough to see - not so much it catches on fire (kidding).

The pain was more localized - probably won't need Aleve until the next day when the area will be tender and puffy. I used lots of Cetaphil extra rich lotion for a week or so. Loved the reults. This will be my third trip this week.

Christine · Coach

One week from now, I'm going in to have the 5th and last treatment on my underarms (I started treatments late last summer.) I'm SO happy with the results.

To answer your questions, yes, you definitely need to shave before you go. I was skeptical about this first, too, but it's what the laser needs. I have always been told by my laser technician to shave the day before. If you show up too much stubble, the technician is going to have to shave your skin anyway before they begin the treatment. So if I were you, I'd shave Thursday.

About the pain -- the first treatment, I felt absolutely no pain. The technician started the laser off on a slightly lower power on that first treatment just to make sure I didn't have an adverse reaction. The treatments after that, she turned the laser to a stronger power, so it hurts a tiny bit -- it feels like a little rubber band snapping, but only on some of the hairs. In my experience the pain was never bad -- just slightly uncomfortable, some of the time.

Make sure there is no trace of deodorant on your underarms on the day of the treatment. My technician always asks me this before she begins because laser + deodorant can irritate the skin.

Here is a link to a post I started after I'd started the treatments. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Link

-- Edited by Christine at 09:56, 2007-03-28