Question
Hello,
First I want to say this is a great Forum and with people really willing to help. Here is my case and hopefully I can get some answers:
I have been very hairy all my life (32 now), and everyone knows me as being very hairy (chest, legs, arms, butt, a bit in the back, etc).
I have always hated being so hairy, but to be honest, I do not want to get rid of it all, because I would be a joke. I just would love to have a total reduction of 20% to 30% reduction of hair evenly distributed in all areas. I want to treat ALL my body, but I would like to get an evenly spread out reduction of hair of around 20% to 30%.
IS THAT POSSIBLE?
I have been thinking on going to -Company Name Deleted- to get this done, but I have no idea what to tell them, ask them, or even if what I want can be done.
Please help me!
Thanks in advance

Answer
Hello,
First I want to say this is a great Forum and with people really willing to help. Here is my case and hopefully I can get some answers:
I have been very hairy all my life (32 now), and everyone knows me as being very hairy (chest, legs, arms, butt, a bit in the back, etc).
I have always hated being so hairy, but to be honest, I do not want to get rid of it all, because I would be a joke. I just would love to have a total reduction of 20% to 30% reduction of hair evenly distributed in all areas. I want to treat ALL my body, but I would like to get an evenly spread out reduction of hair of around 20% to 30%.
IS THAT POSSIBLE?
I have been thinking on going to -Company Name Deleted- to get this done, but I have no idea what to tell them, ask them, or even if what I want can be done.
Please help me!
Thanks in advance

Answer
it's really hard to predict even reduction overall with laser. just hard to tell which hair will come back and which won't etc, and the tech has to be very experienced not to miss areas. if he misses a lot, those hairs would be in different growth phase and that would make it look patchy. for a small reduction like that, you should probably only have 1-2 treatments instead of full 6-8 needed for most areas. make sure to check out several clinics and find the most experienced tech. the clinic you are looking at is one of the chain clinics. if you go with them, i would definitely request someone very experienced. but it's always a good idea to look around and get several quotes. also, what's your skin and hair type? what laser are they using? if you use a Yag, it would be easier to target the coarse hair with it as it is weaker on finer hair.

Answer
Well, I have light skin and dark and thik hair.
I have no idea which laser to use or where to go. I only know I want to get those results. I thought of American laser, but how can I know if the technician doing the job is qualified, experienced and/or very pro?
Which laser is best for me for the results I want?
thanks again!

Answer
hi,
with pale skin and dark hair you are a good candidate for LHR. I am the same and have had 13 treatments on full chest, back, abs and shoulders with a laser called
Gentlelase
aka, GL, GL+
I also had 2 treatments done on my arms. With just 2 treatments on my arms i estimate that there has been about a 30-40% reduction. My last treatment on my arms was 6 months ago and i don't think its getting any hairier now.
My results on abs have been great, more than 90% i would say. My chest has maybe 80%, my back is probably 70%. My shoulders have responded the worst with maybe 50%. Its been almost 4 months since my last full treatment on upper torso and i don't think much more will grow back.
From a few feet away in the mirror i look normal, a bit closer and my shoulders look quite hairy although i have to remind myself how hairy i used to be.
I'm in what you would call the maintenance phase where i could have 2 or 3 treatments a year to tidy things up, before vacation or whatever, this is normal for guys who have had this many treatments. For the most part i don't worry about being so hairy anymore because i'm really not and if i have to go 2 or 3 times a year to keep whatever's left at bay then that's fine.
So, anyway to answer your question, yes i think it is possible to get 30-40% reduction. Although i only had 2 treatments on my arms to get this that doesn't mean that 2 is the magic number as different areas respond differently as you can see from my results above. I would probably go for 5 or 6 on the main areas if i were you and then stop and wait and see.
Don't be tempted to stop after 2 or 3 as it can take a few treatments to synchronise hair growth and this is when the laser is most effective. If the treatments are done evenly then any regrowth should be even as welll, my regrowth doesn't really look patchy although maybe to my eyes i can see some, to others it just looks normal.
Also, make sure they use the highest setting your skin can take safely so have test shots done at various energy levels and then choose. With pale skin and dark hair you should be able to pretty high, this will give you the best chance of success,
good luck
Osh

Answer
is your reduction in hair evenly spread out? or does it look patched?

Answer
hi,
if you saw how hairy i was before i started you would say it was a miracle, honestly.
The word patchy kind of gives a false impression i think, its not like there's a big bald patch around one nipple and a lot of hair around the other one. On my arms for example, they still have a lot hair on them and it looks totally natural. On my chest maybe the regrowth isn't totally symmetrical but to be honest only i could tell and even then i'd be nit picking, it honestly looks natural. On my upper left arm i can notice an area about 2 inches square which responded better than the right upper arm but i would have to point it out to you for you to see it, perhaps i didn't get covered as evenly in that area.
If you want to read more about my treatments i've been posting on that other LHR forum consumer beware dot com under the username Chewy for the last 2 years.
I honestly wouldn't worry about patchiness, you can definitely get a good even reduction all over, provided you have a good tech, the GL+ is a great laser and one of the best out there. My advice is to find a really good tech, not some kid in a laser shop in the mall, someone experienced who will see you through the entire process from start to finish and who has a "personal interest in your success"
good luck,
Osh

Answer
either a diode or alexandrite (like GentleLASE) laser would be best for you. experience of tech really matters. best way to tell is to do a lot of research yourself, so when you go in for consultations you can judge better if what they are telling you is the truth and if they sound like they know what they are doing.

Answer
Excuse me blink, how many days/hours in advance do you need to shave before the laser hair removal session? you need to shave completely right?

Answer
the place i went to shaved me before they did the laser treatment, so the day of treatment works just fine, maybe you can shave the day before, i'm not sure.
They used clippers initially and then a disposable razor to get it close

Answer
i would shave 1-2 days before, depending on how fast your hair grows. it's best when it's shaved clean, but i would let it have just a bit of stubble so the tech can see where the hair is. if you have the type of hair where you can't see that there WAS hair there after you just shave it,no shadow etc, then I would do it 1-2 days beforehand. you want the tech to know exactly where to treat.

Answer
I know that you are starting with the idea of getting a reduction. That was my intent. Now, it seems, the more that's gone the better I like it. Makes for a nice, clean appearance. You might find that same thing happen to you.