Question
Hi...
I'm actually very happy to have run into this website, because I have tons of questions about laser hair treatment.
First of all, I'm 23 and I am of Arab/Indian descent...so my skin color is tanned. I also have very dark hair.
I have had recent hair growth on the sides of my face and my chin, and the hair growth is visibly spreading. It's been about 6 years since I first noticed an abnormal growth of hair, and since then, a hormonal imbalance has been ruled out by many (yes, many!) doctors. I've been a) waxing, b) threading, c) plucking -- and it's a pain the neck ... it also looks horrible. So, I was told that I should look into laser surgery, because it's simply an aesthetic problem.
So, about 3 yrs ago, I spoke to a "technician" in Toronto (where I was studying at the time), and, she did a patch test on the left side of my face. But since the woman looked pretty dodgy, I never went back. I can now see a visible difference on the two sides of my face, where the left side of my face (the patch test side) looks MUCH worse than the right side.
Now, one year ago, I had a consultation at a very reputable clinic in Geneva, and the doctor there told me that her research has shown that there are two places of the body where laser treatments prove to be completely ineffective -- and in most cases, worsen: the sides of the face, and the upper quarter of the arm. So immediately after hearing that, I decided against doing it.
Since then, I have moved yet again (i'm still a lost post-college student ), and now I'm living in the developing world, and considering it again.
The consultation here...the doctor told me that she has never heard of it being ineffective, but I don't know if she's just trying to make some fast cash.
So what are the possible side effects?
I'm really sick of the hair...so I'm seriously considering tis process. Any words of advice? Better yet, encouragement?
Any comments (especially on what the lady in Geneva said)?
Thank you for all your help.

Answer
Hi...
I'm actually very happy to have run into this website, because I have tons of questions about laser hair treatment.
First of all, I'm 23 and I am of Arab/Indian descent...so my skin color is tanned. I also have very dark hair.
I have had recent hair growth on the sides of my face and my chin, and the hair growth is visibly spreading. It's been about 6 years since I first noticed an abnormal growth of hair, and since then, a hormonal imbalance has been ruled out by many (yes, many!) doctors. I've been a) waxing, b) threading, c) plucking -- and it's a pain the neck ... it also looks horrible. So, I was told that I should look into laser surgery, because it's simply an aesthetic problem.
So, about 3 yrs ago, I spoke to a "technician" in Toronto (where I was studying at the time), and, she did a patch test on the left side of my face. But since the woman looked pretty dodgy, I never went back. I can now see a visible difference on the two sides of my face, where the left side of my face (the patch test side) looks MUCH worse than the right side.
Now, one year ago, I had a consultation at a very reputable clinic in Geneva, and the doctor there told me that her research has shown that there are two places of the body where laser treatments prove to be completely ineffective -- and in most cases, worsen: the sides of the face, and the upper quarter of the arm. So immediately after hearing that, I decided against doing it.
Since then, I have moved yet again (i'm still a lost post-college student ), and now I'm living in the developing world, and considering it again.
The consultation here...the doctor told me that she has never heard of it being ineffective, but I don't know if she's just trying to make some fast cash.
So what are the possible side effects?
I'm really sick of the hair...so I'm seriously considering tis process. Any words of advice? Better yet, encouragement?
Any comments (especially on what the lady in Geneva said)?
Thank you for all your help.

Answer
I actually have a similar question regarding the upper portion of the arm, where I actually had done it once, and so far its ok...will it get worse?? i wouldnt continue if i thought it would get worse... and why does that happen in the specific areas you mentioned?? (arm and face). does it also prove to be worse on the chin?

Answer
as long as the correct settings are used, it doesn't get worse. the only time that can happen is when the area is undertreated, so it works to stimulate hair instead of killing it, since there is not enough power to kill it. some use lower settings on the face, so that might explain it.
for your skin type, use a Yag laser if you decide to go through with it. high settings can be used on it and it won't burn your skin. stay away from alex or diode lasers as lower settings will be used to make sure the skin won't get burned, which can in effect cause the things you are worried about, although not always.

Answer
I had a laser treatment on my face and in about two weeks the areas in general vacinity of the treated area showed a huge amount of hair growth where there was not hair before. I had my chin and sides done and the surprise growth was around there. It seemed that the laser over night stimulated the hair growth.

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Wow nchair...really? How long has it been and how many treatments have you had? And is it getting any better?

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If you guys read this board, you'd know that tons of women have reported INCREASED hair growth on the face after LHR. It pays to be informed, so search this site to read about personal experiences before signing up for 8 sessions of anything.

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Okay, so what you're saying is that it is one big gamble, and if I go for it, there is an equal chance of me ending up a gorilla as there is of me being happily hair-free?
I mean, I would risk trying it if there was some sort of certainty that this won't get WORSE...but will stay the same or get better.
Does anyone know WHY there could be an increased hair growth?
Thanks.

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laser on the face is fine as long as you don't have only a few fine hairs to remove and the tech knows what they are doing. increased hair growth is usually experience by a small minority when they didn't have a lot of hair to begin with, the hair was very fine, and the tech was using settings that were too low. if you undertreat an area, your body can stimulate more blood supply to the area due to "the shock", which is what hair feeds on. if high enough settings are used, the hair will just be killed. so this happens only if settings are too low. this is of course just a theory by hair removal experts. also, laser works best on dark coarse hair since it is attracted to dark pigment. if that's what you have along with an experienced tech, you won't have a problem. on the other hand, if you have 20 fine hairs total, it will be more cost-effective to do electrolysis in general. laser targets "spots" of hair and with that little hair, it will certainly reach the fine hairs around what you actually want to get rid of. that's what you need to avoid and electrolysis is best for this type of thing since it targets each hair individually.

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ive had 3 treatments on my chin and upper lip...so far there is improvment *crosses fingers/hope not to jinx myself*, BUT, can it all of a sudden start becoming worse? I mean since the hairs start to grow around the time of my next treatment, I never know for sure if its really working or just killing the hairs that show up. I have been content, but a year down the line, I dont want to look back and wonder why it grew worse, when so far it seems to be working. Should I go on? or should i not press my luck?

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Wow...I feel so discouraged all of a sudden.
The hair IS coarse, not fine.
I've seen peole with who have done electrolysis, and it has left weird looking bumps on their faces, so I don't want to consider that immediately.
Okay so related to morningrain's question...is there a way to know whether it is NOT working on you after the first few sessions? Is 7-8 months long enough to see good results, provided it's working for you?
And does anyone know what the longterm effects are for this?

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this information is mainly anectodal and is not meant to scare you. just out these so you are aware that you really need to put in the time to find a very experienced tech when you're treating your face. it's a harder to hide area as well. i would wait the full 6 weeks before going in for the next treatment to assess the situation, but i would think that if you are seeing less and less hair every time, you are fine.
if you have coarse hair, this should be fine as well.
all treated hair should shed after each treatment. if it doesn't shed, it wasn't affected and it's not working.
electrolysis is better for very small areas and sparse hairs. with a good electrologist, you shouldn't get any marks.

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so if i have fine hair on my cheeks i shouldn't have it done there?

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And what if you have fine hair in the same area as the coarse hair....will the fine hair become coarse because of the laser? and will that then be lasered off in eventual sessions? or will that just be a disaster?

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if you do really have a lot of hair, it should be fine. as long as it is dark and your skin is light. if that's the case, find someone with a diode or alexandrite laser who knows what they are doing. just ask a lot of questions to make sure that they are aware that they need to use specific settings on the face to prevent any side effects like this. if they have heard of this phenomenon (it is rare), they will take precautions and you will be fine. please realize that this is rare and the information is mostly here so that those how have only 10-50 hairs total consider electrolysis. it's hard to imagine how much worse it can get if you already have a pretty full beard etc.