“12 tx - male beard - disaster - patchy results”
Laser hair removal: NOT worth it
Pain: Worst possible
I had laser hair removal on my beard. 12 treatments over the course of two years. Now I have large patches all over my face like a checkerboard. I look like a freak. Men do not get laser on your beard!!
The patches only get worse with more treatment. I complained to the clinic and they tell me this is normal?! They just kept telling me to get more treatments. Then when it kept getting worse they tried to give me microdermabrasion to shut me up.
A note on "guarantees". My clinic gave me a 3 year guarantee which I thought was great. However I failed to think it through. The treatment itself (6-8 treatments every six weeks) takes about 1 year. In the areas where the laser does work, the hair loss only lasts about 2 years. Therefore by the time you begin to see hair in the treated area, the guarantee is over!
A real guarantee is to offer your money back. You will never find a laser clinic that will give you your money back! Offering more treatments if the previous treatments fail is NOT a guarantee. If anything it should clue you in. They are basically telling you the treatment only lasts a few years at the most, and after that you're on your own!
Dec 15, 2007Comments and replies (434)
30 posts
2 Jan 2008
I agree that most laser clinics significantly underestimate the number of treatments required. I've had laser hair removal around my lower neck (front + back) and on my chest, and am happy with the results, but I still have some very light thin hairs after 10 treatments over 7 years. (I had laser hair removal 5 times in 2000, and another 5 times over the last two years for touch ups.) You're right that the pain on the neck is the worst possible. A great clinic will tell you to ibuprofen, avoid caffeine (sensitizes the nerves), and give you a topical anesthetic. It will still really hurt. Despite the pain, you have to make certain that the laser technician uses the highest setting possible and overlaps the circular areas hit by a laser. I'm not sure why they don't make square lasers, since it seems like that would minimize this common problem... The hair that was hit with each treatment falls out within a few weeks, so you can tell if there are any areas that weren't hit by the laser. Rather than waiting for the next 6-8 week appointment, you should go back and demand that the treat the areas that they missed for free. As you can tell by the areas that have no stubble - laser hair removal does work in the areas that were hit dead-on by the laser. Unfortunately, the technician didn't make certain to overlap the treated areas. It's unfortunate that your guarantee expired, yet I think you will be happiest if you finish what you started by buying maintenance treatments -- possibly at a different clinic. While no clinic will advertise this fact, many will offer maintenance treatment pricing to customers from other clinics for a significantly reduced cost if you negotiate hard. (BTW, it's best to shave right before the negotiation so they don't think they have much negotiating power.) Laser hair removal has come down a lot in price over the years, and you should be able to get maintenance treatments on your beard for $100/treatment. Of course, you'll want to go back after each treatment and demand they fix the tiniest area they missed for free -- that's how you'll get the best result.
136 posts
3 Jan 2008
the neck has actually turned out not so bad. from others i've talked to, its the same. the neck tends to get good clearance and more uniform clearance. the beard is the problem area. the patchiness is completely unavoidable. believe me, i went in for touch-up treatments to get the missed spots 2 weeks after every treatment. it doesn't help much at all. i also had extremely high settings. and even had them draw grids on my face to ensure they overlapped. i even tried different laser systems. laser hair removal above the chin is a big mistake. talk to any non-transexual (trannies take hormones to suppress hair growth) who's had their full beard done. they will all say the same thing: extreme pain and patchiness that is unavoidable. continuing treatment would be the biggest mistake now. the hairs have begun to grow back slowly. i've talked to doctors; they dont have much to say since theres no clinical study longer than 1.5 years that measure hair regrowth after laser. in fact all measure 6 months at the most, except one study that had a small minority of patients come back at 18-24 months for a follow up. therefore all doctors can say is, it is probably not permanent, so "wait and see". the laser manufactures have funded most of the clinical studies. and they call it permanent, but its not. its like when they call a "perm" for your hair permanent. go to the FDA website and read for yourself. as long as a laser can show that some hair loss that persists for at least four months, they are allowed to call it permanent.
2 posts
18 Jan 2008
wow you guys seem to have had a bad time with this,i had no problems at all,it took alot of treatments but im 100% happy with it.maybe i lucked out in the person that did it !!!!
136 posts
10 Mar 2008
Touch up treatments is their way of blowing off the fact that you will never ever actually be totally hairless. Not even close to hairless! They casually tell you that you might need a few treatments over the years. In your head you think, oh for like one or two hairs . . . WRONG! As you can see what good would touch up treatments do? LOL. More treatment just makes it more splotchy and hair grows back in streaks. Wake up. Laser hair removal is not "permanent"! Or erm it is, but like when a women gets a "perm" for her hair. Yeah, doesn't last. A few months maximum. LOL. Oh and we forgot to mention. It's patchy. More like permanent hair reduction than permanent hair removal. Go to the FDA website and read up. Do your homework! Buyer beware!! Or believe what they tell you. Just go get laser on your beard and see what happens! You'll be back hear crying ...
unregistered guest
14 Mar 2008
James, I got the EXACT same result from the laser as you did, in fact your pics look exactly like mine, I have the same patchiness and patterns over my jaw/cheek area. Most people notice unless I shave everyday. The clinic I went to also said the hair would be completley gone in 4-5 treatments max, well 8 years later and ALOT of money and pain later (not to mentions about 12 treatments total) I am still very patchy! I agree DO NOT do this to your beard area, the neck is another story though, it REALLY helped on my neck and got rid of most of the hair. Oh and one more thing James just in case you didnt know this, 3 dermatologists said using Retin-A on the face and/or neck after laser hair removal treatments will stimulate the hair follicles to regrow, it might take a year or so but it will get there! Hang in there! Mark
unregistered guest
16 Mar 2008
I had laser hair removal done on my face and neck two years ago. I had incredibly (incredibly) thick stubble on my face and neck region. I had to shave three times a day. I had the same symptoms as you did after treatment one and two. I continued to number seven. Two years later I have no re-growth. I give props to the guy who did it cause he knew of my concerns and worries. HE turned up the heat on every session and I responded to 755 which I think is just about the strongest you can go. I think intensity is key and if there equipment is out dated than your result will be too.
11 posts
14 Oct 2008
I had my whole beard done one time and all of it was patchy. but the the spots grew back in.But i had him hit my neck right under my chin part of my beard about 3 to 5 treatments and it is yet to grow back fully. I had him stop with my face and i am continuing to have my chest and back done. i have already put in over a year now and still going. I have stopped with the beard thing like 2 to 3 months ago any ideal when my neck part might grow back in?
136 posts
14 Oct 2008
My neck is still sparse several years later. Although I had more treatments than you. Since you only had 3 tx, chances are good that it will fill in gradually over the next year or two, to the point where its completely back to normal. Just an educated guess though, without knowing your laser type, settings, etc.
1 post
25 Oct 2008
James- Thanks for this message board. I just got laser hair treatment on my beard yesterday for the first time, and have decided to not continue (my friends and family think I'm crazy!) Can you tell me what I can expect after only one treatment. From what I read here, I might be getting out at the right time! Thanks.
136 posts
27 Oct 2008
Good for you. Anymore tx and you'd have some long term hair loss.