I’m considering this as well, but the cost has been a bit off-putting for me. I need to research it further and work it into my “project” budget — probably somewhere between replacing my obsolete Mac and landscaping the side yard.. Is your hair dark? I know that laser works best on fair skin with dark hair.

I did it several years ago. I have dark hair and fair skin which is supposed to be the best combination for a successful outcome. I spent a fortune and did the treatments for 12 months without any change in my hair growth at all. I really, really wanted it to work on my face. It did nothing.

I'm sure the machines continue to improve, but I would suggest to you to try only one area and see if you have a positive outcome before committing to a large financial outlay.

As for pain, there was a stinging sensation, but it was bearable. It certainly hurt less than waxing.

I think that there are laser hair removal devices that you can buy for home use.

#1 daughter had her legs done. Years ago she had a lot of croup issues and the "cure" was steroids. Steroids stimulate hair production..so I get why she tried this. Turns out laser's only work on dark hair. She's fair skinned, fair haired. Now she shaves patches and it's thinner but a lot of money for not a great result IMHO.

jakabedy I have dark hair and a few (less than a dozen) white hairs. One of the reasons I know I can't wait as more white hair is on the way.

Terezosa- unfortunately for me the only place my hair growth has slowed down is my head, eye brows and eyelashes. It has expanded on my face (boohoo) and seems the same on my legs and underarms.

I have wondered about the home use lasers. I need to read more about them. What Have already read seems to say they are less effective, but the idea of not having to go anywhere and less expense are appealing.

Fun2Bhere-Wow that is worrisome. Thank you for sharing. I knew sometimes it might not work 100%. However, I thought that would mean one or two hairs here and there. I think your suggestion of trying one area is a good idea. As for pain that is reassuring. I read it might cause pain and go to the extreme in my mind.

arcy_gw- In most things I take after my mother but the hair is all my father, dark and a lot.

I've done it twice, in different areas. I have light skin and dark hair, another prime candidate for the procedure.

One was my bikini area many years ago. They used a dual wave laser and the results were spectacular.

The second was my pits, which I started with a Groupon and never finished. It was much more recently and with a different type of laser and the results were okay.

The key to success is to follow their instructions and timing to the letter. I can't remember the exact timing, but if they say come every three weeks make sure you go. Hair has a pattern of regrowth and if you don't follow the timing, you can lengthen the process which increases the costs.

Lastly, I would always do something like this with an MD and not anyone else.

Fair skin, dark hair (at the time). Laser can sting a bit, but it wasn't even remotely as painful waxing. (I had my legs waxed once and screamed my head off. ) I didn't have any skin damage.

The clinic was run by an MD. The actual work was done by his wife who is an RN. She was careful to explain that at this time the only truly permanent hair removal is done via electrolysis. Laser results vary. For some people, it is permanent. For others, the hair eventually returns. After a few years, some of mine returned. It was sparser and less coarse, however. Since I understood the risk in advance, I'm ok with this. Had it not been explained up front, I'd be very angry that something so expensive wasn't truly permanent.

As part of my work, I have done lots of waxing on people for years. I've not done laser hair removal professionally on others, but I understand it inside and out as it's in my field and I also had my legs lasered a few times (many years ago)

The main thing to understand is that it's not really laser hair "removal", but rather, think of it as laser hair "reduction". As long as one understands that, and you are ok with the cost and commitment to the treatments, all will be good.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this is a procedure that will show you whether your excess hair is from simple genetics (your ancestor's dna showing up in you), or if the hair growth is caused from a hormone imbalance.

For ex: if you have PCOS or an adrenal imbalance that would cause excess hair growth in our deemed improper places, laser hair removal will not work as well for you because the hormones, whether sex or adrenal are still flowing and vitalizing the hair follicles continuously. There can be a temporary improvement, but it does not last.

If it is caused simply because your ancestors had hair in those places (not caused by medical issues), the results can be very good. For ex: one can reach a state of almost no hair in the properly and thoroughly treated areas (it can take a fews years worth of treatments for some people). So a quick razoring or a wax or tweez is all that might be needed once in a great while. Plus, keep in mind the life cycle of follicles can widely vary. Some may lie dormant for more than a year--thus, it missed all those laser treatments you had done and now there you are looking at a hair patch :( But a few more treatments, during the active follicle growth phase can take care of it.

For myself, I had calves and thighs done (long time ago now). Fair skin, dark hair. Perfect candidate. I had two or three treatments done and I got a great reduction in hair. I don't shave my legs since then, but rather use an epilator once every few months to yank out the stragglers, which is similar to waxing in that the hair, if yanked out at the root, is gone for a while before you see it again. And no, I don't wax on myself, only others.

It's a hefty investment, but I believe that for some people, it's a fantastic gift to yourself. I made the investment because I won't wax on myself and I hate to shave. I'm ok with epilating a few times a year the left behind hairs that were dormant while I had my treatments. But, I had better than expected results. I truly thought I was going to be one of those who needed many treatments.

Good luck.

1929Spanish- I wan't aware that there were different lasers used. I need to look into that. Interesting to know about the timing. I plan to go to the Derm office I used for patch testing for an allergic reaction to sunscreen and removal of some seborrheic keratosis lesions. This doctor concentrates more on cosmetics than diseases. Actually most of the work in his office is done by PA's and aestheticians. I was very pleased with the PA who froze off many sk's with liquid nitrogen which doesn't hurt me as much as burning them off. No other doctor would do that, though it is an acceptable and recommend way of removal. In addition, since several were very irritated from my bra strap he was able to have insurance cover the removal.

Moxie- Good to know that I may not have 100% removal but a reduction would be good. Currently, if I shaved certain parts of my bikini or upper leg I will have five o'clock shadow the next day and many ingrown hairs. Waxing causes less problems.

I swim a lot and don't want to have to wear swim shorts constantly instead of a regular bathing suit. I'm going to call the doctor's and see about a consult or go for a wax now that we are entering phase 4.

Sea Sea- You are very encouraging as I have been contemplating this for many years. I am not young and feel a little foolish doing this now. I don't have any hormone imbalances that I am aware of. I suspect that I just have a lot of dark, corse hair especially on my inside thighs, bikini line and too a lesser degree the backs of my upper legs. I think if I can get a 50% reduction of amount I would be ok more than that and I would be ecstatic. A quick touch-up with a razor once in awhile is a lot different that waxing every three weeks or shaving everyday. I know I am not on the extreme end of hair growth. I have had several female coworkers who told me they wax their backs, arms etc. due to the amount of long dark hair that grows quickly. Would you suggest I start with just one area and evaluate the results. I hesitate to do that just because it lengthens the time I will have to commit to hair removal.

The last reason for doing this now is the woman who has waxed me for the last 15 years is too afraid to return to work. She worked at a salon and I was one of few choice clients who went to her home. She said she may never do that type of work again. Too close for comfort.

Also in same situation that I haven't had a wax since February. Yikes. Might want to consider this again. Bikini, thigh, and lip/chin were costing me nearly $100 each time. I go to a place called European Wax Center. They sell "wax passes" which are volume discount , but you have to buy a pass for each area you have done so that is a huge prepay. They are open, but I am not going. No pool/swimsuit here, unfortunately, but I have skirt bottom tankini.

Also, as I've aged, my hair has thinned.

hcbm,

I'm glad I was able to send some encouragement your way :)

Really, if you think you don't have a hormone imbalance and you have the budget, I vote to go for it. I know, it's not my money, but I totally understand where you are coming from. You know the things I've seen and ripped out. It's drudgery for people to keep up with this. To be rid of this chore and the cost, and having to fit those appts in on a regular basis, it's well worth it, as long as it is a type of laser that will kill those root bulbs. Which leads me to another point:

Have this done at a trusted dermatology office, not a laser salon. First, you need for your tech to have been thoroughly trained on the machine and it's settings. Which should be a given at a derm office. If you google laser hair removal disasters or something similar, you will see that you need to have a fully trained tech working on you. These are powerful lasers. Things can go very wrong in the wrong hands. Not to scare you, but this is important.

If your budget allows, I would go for full treatments and keep the appts. Don't cancel because they will schedule you to catch each growth cycle as it reemerges. When I had mine done, it did hurt. omg. I am no wimp, but maybe my derm office was using a very strong laser, idk. If it turns out to be something you have to space out because the discomfort is a bit much for you, start with your most annoying areas first. That way, when you go back for session 2 and so on, you've already given the worst area a treatment and you are that much ahead of beating down the dreaded beast.

In my experience with my clients, you should be able to tell if it's going to work for you within 6 to 8 months. If you start to have areas where the hair is less coarse and or even bare (!!), you will see some of that by at least that point, if not sooner. Sometimes a lot sooner, but we are all different, so you have to give yourself that chance. But remember that most of our follicles are dormant at any given time (amazing), so there is going to be hair that wasn't in a growth phase for x number of treatment sessions. That is a bummer.

If you go ahead with this, you do need to not get waxed. Only shave. So I'm glad to hear you waxing person is not taking clients at this time. It makes it hard for you to get it done, and that's a good thing.

The nice thing, if it works for you is you are always swimsuit and shorts ready (or nearly ready). I love that part. I haven't shaved my legs since 2002 and the epilator a few times a year is much easier than getting waxed. One of the best things I ever did. I didn't do bikini area as I didn't need it, but my ladies who had that done, along with legs had the best results in the bikini area. My thinking is because the hair is coarser there and it gives the laser more to work with. Most of my laser-drop-out clients felt that the reduction was enough and getting waxed a couple times a year was a fair compromise.

I'm excited for you! I would like for you to be sitting down when you get your price quotes though, ok?

I hope that helps somewhat.

ETA, don't be ashamed of getting this done at your age. It's a lovely gift to yourself and I got it done for my own preference of course, but also I prematurely greyed and I didn't want to be the lady in the nursing home with 'those legs' haha. I felt the need to get it done asap in case my legs went grey early too...they didn't, but I wasn't taking any chances.

Thank you for starting this topic! I am eagerly reading the responses as well. I am in my mid-30s and I have dark leg hair. During winter my skin is a light olive and I do end up with quite a bit of tan (even with sunscreen in the summer). I swim at least 3x / week and wear sleeveless shirts constantly. I am sick of literally shaving every day only to have stubble by the evening. Was thinking of having it done at a salon but now the wise advice I'm thinking I should check with my derm's office first. Thanks!!

Sea Sea sorry for the delay in responding. I got crazy busy. I will call my dermatologist's office today and see about an appointment for a consultation. They are offering a Groupon which is interesting. I will ask before I accept the appointment what kind of laser and what kind of training the tech has. I also need to know the costs. If I can stretch the payments over visits maybe it will be doable. If not I need to find a new wax tech. I have thin, sensitive skin and before I found my wonderful woman who never damaged me I had occasionally experienced skin damage which healed but was not pleasant.

Pricklypearcactus let me know what you decide. I hope it works for both of us. I know if it does I am going to feel a little silly for not doing it in my 30's, I wasted so much time shaving, waxing and being annoyed.

gsciencechick- It is expensive to wax and for me the next day I have red dots wherever I was waxed and a week later I begin to have some regrowth. I like to wax every three weeks and must wax after the fourth week.

Prickleypearcatus,

Just remember that lasers go after dark, so if you do decided to have this done, it sounds like it's a winter time activity for you.

I send you good wishes hcbm! I hear you on the cost of waxing. I figure that with the return appts, one is likely not saving much $$ by keeping to a frequent waxing schedule instead of getting laser done if we do the stretched out math. Laser is (or was...maybe it's different now) a large investment. But for those who are in shorts, dresses, or swimsuits often, it makes life easier post treatments.

In case anyone was wondering why I don't wax myself when I wax others, I have sensitive skin and no matter the wax, my skin objects. No one else's has, but mine does. I've done trade deals with other salons to see if it was *me* haha, and no, it wasn't. My skin just doesn't like to be waxed. The little red dots you mention hcbm, one can get with epilating too. I get that sometimes when I epilate the stragglers but it's for a couple of hours, then gone.

Take care.

hcbm,

I'm including a photo of my lower leg for you, so anyone uncomfortable, look away.

I epilated the stragglers back in April. If I zoom in tight, I can see two stragglers that have grown back. I'll get out the tweezers should I feel the need to. But really, I don't. Pardon the mild vitiligo and freckles ;)

Anyways, just to give you an idea of how my results turned out. Like I said upthread, I had better than expected results, but having fair skin and dark hair gets the best results and that is exactly what I had during treatments. To think I used to wear black tights to work because I didn't want to shave more than twice a week. We used to have to wear nylons (remember those?) at work, so I bent the rules and wore black tights instead unless it was shaving day.

I hope it works well for you if you decide to have it done :))

Sea Sea- Thank you for the specifics. Your skin looks a lot like mine. I think I more freckles and a few other skin ucks. I made an appointment for next Thursday, July 30 for a free consultation with their aesthetician. I'm going to ask them about the Groupon because it has different prices depending on size of area but doesn't specific what the exact size is. I'll be back after my consult to follow up and probably ask you more questions.

I had it done - one or two sessions short of the recommended treatment course because I couldn't handle the pain. Still quite pleased with my results. (Now I wish I had that money for my bathroom reno but I digress.) The technician told me to use a numbing cream 1 hr prior to the session. The logistics of that were fun. Cling wrap to protect clothes on the way there. Once, I didn't apply the cream long enough to get its full effects. Yikes. Session curtailed and lesson learned. Diode laser, if memory serves. Derm's office. Tech fully trained on their lasers. Absolutely no sun pre- or post-sessions so the office preferred booking winter sessions. Post-care was no exercise for a couple of days and a soothing cream (similar to LaRoche-Posay's Cicaplast). Informative article on laser hair removal and the different types of lasers. Good luck with your decision and hope it goes well for you.

I thought I should come back and give an update. I had my consultation and they honored the Groupon. I got a huge deal of whole upper legs and bikini, 6 treatments for $320. The tech couldn't believe it and went to check with the manager to make sure the Groupon was real. She had offered me $2000 and then dropped to $1000 before I showed her the Groupon.

I had a treatment 3 weeks ago. It was much less painful than waxing. She said she would like to turn it up a little the next time.

I am not impressed with the client service the tech is providing. Her technical skills may or may not be fine. I don't know how to judge that. Her customer service skills leave a lot to be desired. First I had to wait for 20 minutes before she was ready for me. Next she left the room in the middle of my treatment to "take someone off a machine." Then she left again for many minutes, returned said she had an emergency phone call and would continue while staying on the phone waiting for someone to return to the call. I told her no go take your call and then return to me. I lay on the table covered in the goo used for the laser for twenty minutes before she returned. When she returned she explained she was taking care of a client, not a personal emergency. I will say something if this occurs again. It is unacceptable. I guess you get what you pay for.

Today I noticed some small hairless spots, but that may be normal. However, I noticed that many shorter dark hairs seemed odd. They were falling out. YEAH!! I know that may not happen for all my hair, but was glad that I might have a little early success.

So you got pulled into a similar scam as I did. The reason they don’t turn the laser up is it increases the chances you will need more treatments than the groupon covers. They did that to me and I just never went back when the Groupon visits were done. So I got a thinning, but not total removal.

1929Spanish-GW, I don't know. She offered to turn it up next time if I wanted. I had told her I was concerned about the pain. She also said it was a brand new machine and the old one was very painful. At the beginning she suggested I would need 12 treatments I told her I would never commit to that much time. I will be happy if I get a 50% thinning, hopefully with less corse hair. Currently, if I shave I get lots of ingrown hairs and bumps. I wax and in two weeks I'm seeing some dark hairs.

Nice to see your update. I hope the professionalism appears on your next visits though. I hope you have very good density reduction. Yay! I'm happy for you.