Question
Hello,
i am 19 years old and im intending to start laser hair removal soon. i had a few questions before i start tho. i have dark coarse hair that grows all over my body (chin, chest, nipples, stomach, butt...everywhere lol) and ive come to terms with the fact that its not gonna just disappear, so i try to maintain it by shaving. tho its so annoying shaving all those areas and it only stays smooth for a day or 2. ive also just recently found the love of my life and he knows i wanna get this done (he actually thought about having it done on him in some areas) but he doesnt know that i have such bad hair growth, especially on my face because i keep it plucked. what i was wanting to know is, once i start...
how bad does hair growth come back after the first treatment? because my hair grows really fast and very dark...and very noticable and im terrified he's going to see it and be disgusted by it.
and he also wants me to go on a trip with him this september, and we'll be gone for 3 days...and i want to go sooo badly..but i cant go that long without plucking, i have 2 pluck every day or i have a beard almost. if i started now with treatments, would they be far enough along by then that i wouldnt have that problem? or would i still have dark coarse hair growing like crazy?
and also..how long is the time in between treatments...because the hair grows so fast on my chin, and i doubt i could go longer than a week.
ive had treatments done before but they werent laser and they didnt work...i forgot the technical term for what i was having done, but it was similar 2 electrolisis only they used a sticky electric patch that was supposed 2 *boil* the hair root and destroy the hair...but it didnt work at all, it seemed to make it worse. and needless to say, alot of money was wasted.
one more question, how many treatments would a person like me have to have? on average...because im scared to death its gonna take like 4 or 5 treatments before i see results..and im even more scared that he may see it in the process...and leave me. this is the only thing that is holding me back in my life and its putting a huge dent in it. i have to get it done, it takes over an hour a day 2 pluck all the hairs out...so u can imagine how early i have 2 get up in order 2 be at an 8:00 class or another early appointment...if anyone could answer any of these please feel free. anything would help. thanks alot!!

Answer
Hello,
i am 19 years old and im intending to start laser hair removal soon. i had a few questions before i start tho. i have dark coarse hair that grows all over my body (chin, chest, nipples, stomach, butt...everywhere lol) and ive come to terms with the fact that its not gonna just disappear, so i try to maintain it by shaving. tho its so annoying shaving all those areas and it only stays smooth for a day or 2. ive also just recently found the love of my life and he knows i wanna get this done (he actually thought about having it done on him in some areas) but he doesnt know that i have such bad hair growth, especially on my face because i keep it plucked. what i was wanting to know is, once i start...
how bad does hair growth come back after the first treatment? because my hair grows really fast and very dark...and very noticable and im terrified he's going to see it and be disgusted by it.
and he also wants me to go on a trip with him this september, and we'll be gone for 3 days...and i want to go sooo badly..but i cant go that long without plucking, i have 2 pluck every day or i have a beard almost. if i started now with treatments, would they be far enough along by then that i wouldnt have that problem? or would i still have dark coarse hair growing like crazy?
and also..how long is the time in between treatments...because the hair grows so fast on my chin, and i doubt i could go longer than a week.
ive had treatments done before but they werent laser and they didnt work...i forgot the technical term for what i was having done, but it was similar 2 electrolisis only they used a sticky electric patch that was supposed 2 *boil* the hair root and destroy the hair...but it didnt work at all, it seemed to make it worse. and needless to say, alot of money was wasted.
one more question, how many treatments would a person like me have to have? on average...because im scared to death its gonna take like 4 or 5 treatments before i see results..and im even more scared that he may see it in the process...and leave me. this is the only thing that is holding me back in my life and its putting a huge dent in it. i have to get it done, it takes over an hour a day 2 pluck all the hairs out...so u can imagine how early i have 2 get up in order 2 be at an 8:00 class or another early appointment...if anyone could answer any of these please feel free. anything would help. thanks alot!!

Answer
I am just learning about hair removal myself and am in a similar boat except I'm a male and my hair is on my back. I can't help you on the treatments but I do have some advice anyway. Be honest with your boyfriend and don't try and hide it. If he cares about you he will support you and you should not have to worry about blowing your cover.

Answer
I know exactly what you're going through. I have struggled with the same problem for years. From the information you have provided I think you may want to speak to your family doctor about your condition. I recently found out that I have PCOS. One of the symptoms is hirsutism. I was advised by a dermatologist to not begin laser treatment until I began treatment for PCOS. If you suspect that you may have a hormone imbalance I would hold off until you deal with it first. If not laser hair removal will treat the hair that is there, however, new hair will continue to grow, and it will seem as though the laser hair removal is not working. Search the web for hirsutism and pcos, and talk to your doctor first. I wouldn't rush into anything just yet.

Answer
First, as Jaz has said, there is a chance that you have a hormonal issue that is causing this, which needs to be addressed before any hair removal method is performed since if you don't, your body will continue developing new hair and it will seem like it's not working. it's advisable to see an endocrinologist and get some tests done to see if there is an issue.
laser works best on light skin and dark coarse hair, so sounds like you're a good candidate. you will need to find an experienced tech with the best laser for your skin and hair type.
with proper treatments, you will see results after the very first treatment. you will need to stop plucking and waxing for 5-6 weeks before starting laser because roots need to be there in order for laser to target them and kill them. Shaving is fine as it doesn't remove the root. During the treatments, you will also only be allowed to shave, no plucking. Basically, the way it works is you shave the area, you get is treated by laser, then you wait 2-3 weeks for the hair to shed. Then you have a hairfree area for another 2-3 weeks until new hair that was dormant before starts to come in. That's when you get next treatment. They're usually spaced 6-8 weeks apart due to this. The hair that comes in is thinner and finer and you can shave it. You'll need 5-6 treatments or so.
By the way, don't be afraid of shaving. It doesn't make the hair more coarse. Plucking hair with the root actually does.
It's very important to find someone experienced to treat u. They need to knwo how to use maximum settings without burning your skin. You can search these forums for recommendations in your area as well. It's recommended that you have several consultations and compare techs and prices.

Answer
thanks for all the replys, they helped alot. now i have another question...
if i were to go see an endocrynologist and it turned out i did have a hormonal problem, is there any medication they could give me that would make the hair go away? i dont know if there is such a thing...but then again i dont know much about medicines. and if not, what kinds of treatments do they offer?
thanks alot for replying again!

Answer
they would give you medicine that would even out your hormone levels and get them back to normal. the hair that's already there will need to be removed, but your body will stop producing new hair.

Answer
Paul Gregory
If only all guys were like you. I have struggled with a hair problem for the longest time and kept it a secret from my boyfriend, although I am sure he noticed at some point. I have had laser done and it was amazing, but it's hard to expose this kind of problem with a boyfriend.
I am lucky that my boyfriend doesn't care about it but I am sure that wouldn't be the case for most guys.
As for you lbdjsil, it's hard to say how your treatment will go, but for me, right after a treatment I would swell a bit. The ideal time is about 2-3 weeks after a treatment, so if you can time it like that for your vacation, you should be ok.

Answer
The whole unwanted hair is a really hard thing for a girl to deal with even if a guy ISN"T in the picture! I had a facial hair problem for most of my life but I was able to maintain it through shaving/plucking. Then when I decided that I wanted to have electrolysis done I was lucky that my boyfriend (now husband) was away at university during the week. So I could let it grow out and just bleach it. It was noticable in the early days but if he wasn't around then I didn't really care about it. He knew I was having electrolysis done but I told him I didn't want to disclose the details After the electrolysis I finally felt like a girl! The awkward part was over with by the time he finished university.
Now that we're married and live together he's seen what my legs and arms look like when I don't remove the hair and surprisingly he never makes any negative comments about it. I'm still super self conscious and rarely expose my unshaved legs! Which is why I'm getting LHR
It is a scary thought but the previous posters were right. If he really cares about you it won't be a big deal.
The one thing I can think of to suggest is maybe get electrolysis done on your face. In some ways it's worse because you have to let the hair grow out but at least you can bleach it. Although with LHR it should be okay to shave before and after each treatment. You can decide which is more reasonable for you.
BTW My husband is Chinese and has way less hair on his body than I do! How unfair

Answer
My wife's legs are hairier than mine. I can't say that ever bothered me too much. Over 20 years later, we're still doing just fine. Because I thought it bothered her, I got her a set of laser treatments for her birthday a couple of years ago.