Product Review - Laser Hair Removal

Back in my single days, I was overly obsessed with my appearance (spent hours at the gym and was in constant search of magic hair and make-up products) - not that I no longer care what I look like, but I'm more concerned with making it out of the door on time and in one piece than making sure every strand of hair is in place.  So, needless to say, when my roommate told me about the laser hair removal treatments she having, I thought it was just what I needed.  You see, I have very dark hair that is unfortunately, very coarse - which of course means, that I have to shave often and I usually suffer from those nasty ingrown hairs:(  So, the idea of having a few laser treatments and never dealing with the hair or shaving issue again, sounded like a dream come true.  I decided to start with my armpits because they were without fail the worst area for ingrown hairs and I'm glad I didn't go much further.  The results lasted for about 2 years - here are the details:

the laser machine

Product Name: Laser Hair Removal (via Sona Medspa)

Price: Around $550 for 5 sessions of underarm hair removal

Product Description:  Laser hair removal is a process that involves a laser (well, duh ;)) that they pass over the skin, which acts to burn the hair follicle.  It took about 45 seconds per armpit and felt like 1,000 tweezers tweezing out my underarm hair at once (its not comfortable to say the least).  They do offer some gel you can put on the area that acts as a topical anesthetic but its still very uncomfortable.  Prior to attending the session, you can have absolutely NO sun exposure to the area for 30 days prior to and there is also a long list of medications that you can't be on while having the treatments (nor can you be pregnant).  The procedure was performed by an RN in a very relaxing, spa-type setting and despite the pain of the procedure, it was a nice experience.  After the procedure, your hair will start to fall out about 2 weeks later and generally starts to grow back in about 2 months.  The hair that returns is patchy and generally much finer in texture.  They recommend 5 sessions because hair apparently grows in cycles so the goal is that at the end of all of the sessions they will have eradicated all of the hair that grows during the different cycles.  According to the hype, while you may not have permanent hair removal, you will have permanent hair reduction.  

Pros:  Hhhmmm...lets see, at the beginning I had great success and only had to shave my underarms about once a month.  There was barely any hair there and the hair that was there was very fine.  The spa setting was also nice.

Cons:  Well the short story is this - every.inch.of.hair.has.returned!  I'm not even kidding, even the ingrown hairs are back and I'm only 5 years out from my treatments.  In all honesty, the first two years went well but after that it has been a steady regression to the hairy days of past - bummer.  For the price, I really thought that although it may not get rid of all of that hair forever, it would at least change the texture and lessen the amount so that I could enjoy life without ingrown hairs.  A girl can dream...right?!

Would I buy again or give to a friend? No - not for the price...or the pain.

J