Laser Hair Removal: Stories

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12 TX - Male Beard - DISASTER - Patchy Results

james
posted 5 years ago
updated 4 months ago

Not Worth It
Cost: $2,100
American Laser Center (New York City, NY)

I had laser hair removal on my beard. 12...

15 Dec 2007

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!

It's been about 8-9 years since my first laser...

3 Jan 2013

It's been about 8-9 years since my first laser hair removal treatments on beard. Last one was probably 6 years ago. I still have some patchiness but no one but me notices it. It's considerably improved. I do wish I had stopped after the first few treatments. My beard would have completely grown back. If you have only had one or two treatments STOP now. It will only get worse.

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LgThomas 7 May 2013

Hello, Firstly, I'd like to thank all the regulars posters on this forum - hearing your experiences have helped me to realize the rashness of my decision to have LRT on my beard. Sadly, I only found this site after booking a 6 TX programme and I've already had my first treatment 4 days ago; I'm not having any more. Already I can seen feint honeycomb patches on the side of my face, I assume these get worse with continued treatment, and I'd rather have the redness from shaving than risking further treatments. Also I am concerned about the light pigmented circles that have appeared on the skin - I hope it's not a permanent discolouration. About the company I had the treatment with: a chain company based in Ireland with heavy nationwide advertising. After the initial free consultation which offered a £200 discount for 6 TX, if i paid there and then, too good on offer to pass on, I thought. So I was booked in for my first treatment the very next day. More about the consultation: the lady asked very few questions, she didn't even ask very basic ones such as: why I wanted LHR in the first place? or was I aware of uncertainty of the results? To my questions she seemed to be answering from a text book rather than any real insight. But I found the promise of 6-8 TX and you'll be hair free, with extra annual touch ups to good to be true, and as it turns out it probably is. SickNtired's story should serve as a warning, 36 TX that sounds like an emotional, financial and social nightmare. I wish I had the information I have now about patchiness and skin pigmentation I wouldn't have even considered LHR if I knew what some of you guys have gone through. I'm not going to continue the scheduled treatments, hopefully I can get some sort of refund but i doubt it - like my incinerated hair follicles, I fear my money is gone for good But I'm going to cut my losses and move on. Saying that I have a few questions if anybody who has experience with stopping treatments at a very early stage can help: what can I expect my beard to grow back like in the next 6 months, and will I ever able to get a reasonable amount of growth to hide the patchiness? I am 27, have type II or III skin, and I have never had a very full beard anyhow. The type of laser used was Candela Gentlelase 755. I really don't want to be committed to hundreds of TX over the rest of my life, I've made a mistake, and I just hope it's not a lifelong regret. I know I've got the willpower to stay away from the laser whilst I try to recover but will my follicles recover?. I would appreciate any advice as I suffer from anxiety already, and this is one thing I don't want to continuously lose sleep over. Again, thanks for all the posts - they've scared me straight and really helped me understand this isn't what I want. I will keep you informed...

vmzaneti 7 May 2013

Hi, Thomas. Look, I have some good news for you. Yesterday was the first day, since I lasered my face, that I looked at the mirror and thought "thank God my beard is back!".The cheek area, if not completely recovered, seems to have more beard than before. I can't tell for sure, because I lived all these weeks without knowing what a full beard was anymore. But now I'm quite satisfied. The neck area still has some patchiness but is improving a lot either. "MadAboutSkinCare" told me to wait about 16 to 22 weeks to fully experience homogeneous growth. The results I got were far better than expected, since it has been now about 10 or 11 weeks from my laser session. If you had only one treatment, don't worry too much. I think you will recover your beard after a while. I'm using minoxidil 5% to accelerate the process. I don't really know what could happen if I stop using it, if I would lose the regrown hair. Ocasionally (once or twice a week) I use Retin-A before sleep. I don't know if these are helping improving the results or the regrowth is really happening, for the most part, by the natural way. After some time, I will discontinue the use of both and update my experience here. But don't worry too much, it seems that only one session is not enough to definitely stop your beard growth. Keep shaving for a while and have some patience. Don't despair... have faith in seeing yourself just the way you were back then and let your body take care of its business on the following weeks. By the way, the laser stained my skin too. This treatment sucks hard. I was anxious about those stains being permanent, but they're finally gone too. It took a while, though (8 weeks). So, don't worry too much. Just try to take it easy, and good luck! Oh, and from now on stay away from this procedure from hell!

LgThomas 8 May 2013

Hey Zaneti, Thanks for the reply, the support helps. I have to ask you though was your beard very thick and dark before you started treatments? My beard has always been quite light and fair coloured. especially around the sideburns and I hardly any real growth on the cheeks to begin with. For me, it has always been a blessing having such a light growth, but I have suffered horribly with razor bumps and in-grown hairs on my neck and chin, so I wanted an end to it with LHR. For a while i would tweeze like crazy the neck and chin area to help reduce irritation caused by shaving, so i always have had a strange growth pattern around this area. The real concern for me is the damage that might have been caused to the skin. If I don't see a decent regrowth of hair in the area, I won't be to upset as long as I don't have real obvious patches. Well all I can do now is wait and see. Best of luck with your progress too.

LgThomas 8 May 2013

Oh, one more thing Zaneti, you mentioned you were treated with lightsheer is this IPL or a medical laser?

vmzaneti 8 May 2013

Hi there. Thank you. If your hair is light coloured, then you should worry even less. These treatments (I'm refering to Light Sheer specifically) are more effective against dark hair, preferable growing on light skin. I have a very dense beard, covering a wide area of my face, and its hair is very dark, while my skin is very, very pale. So, I am considered an ideal candidate for a successful treatment, as I discovered some days after my first - and last - session. This worried me even more, but as you can see, altbeit being an ideal candidate, my hair is fully growing again, thank God. Lol. About the damages of your skin, wait a little while for the burns to disappear. Always use sunblocker SPF 30 or higher daily untill the skin is cured. And try going to a dermatologist and see if there's something to help hasten the cure of the burns or stains. I think you'll have an easier time in recovery than I'm having. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask anything, anytime. See you.

vmzaneti 8 May 2013

I can't tell you as I don't really know the differences between these two.

LgThomas 8 May 2013

Hi again. How is your neck doing, you mentioned in one post it wasn't growing back too good? Anyway, thanks for the advice about the skin it's reassuring that it will fade - to be honest: you can only notice the colour change if you're looking for it - but I imagine with further sessions I would really get obsessed with their appearance on my face. As for the sun, I live in Ireland and don't really get much, but as advised by the tech I am using spf 30 when outdoors. I'm not really looking forward to telling her I want out of the treatments - I wonder if she will even care as she already has my money - but if she does care it may even be worse; she might try to convince me I'm better off continuing. On a final note: I know it's only been 5 days, but I'm really starting to shed; it's impressive how much hair has fallen out already. I keep staring in the mirror - and this is the most perverse thing - I'm finding the whole thing fascinating. If only it wasn't so permanent... there's no chance I'm going to continue treatment though. One day when I'm old and balding - I'll be glad if I can grow a beard like Col. Saul Tigh.

Madd about skin care 8 May 2013

Happy to read your hair is coming bck and your feeling better about your look!

Michael Law, MD 28 Apr 2013

The right laser will remove the hair. We caution men not to have laser hair removal performed if their objective is to simply reduce or thin out hair growth, as there may not be even regrowth. The photo is not just patchy, it clearly shows rings where laser hair removal was successful, but other areas seem to have been passed over completely. We do perform laser hair removal for men on the face if they really want it, but realize that the complete absence of a shadow might feminize the male face. More commonly, we treat the neck area where men often have a lot of razor burn and / or ingrown hair. Treatments should be performed one at a time, not in a package. People respond differently to lasers and therefore the idea of making laser hair removal a cookie cutter procedure does not make sense.

View answers from Michael Law, MD

lero7 16 Apr 2013

Hi - I had 1 treatment with the lightsheer to the base of my neck where I had red patches. It has been 5 weeks and there is NO regrowth at all, except for the patches (more like lines) that she missed from the start. I was red for 3-4 weeks. My question is: will my hair grow back now if I just stop at 1 treatment? It looks really really bad considering I have a dark heavy beard and light skin. My neck looks like I don't know how to shave & lost control or something. Or, should I just ask them to treat the missed areas? I've NEVER heard of anyone losing hair permanently from 1 treatment so I am just really confused.

SickNTired 20 Apr 2013

She didn't miss anything. The hair comes off in patches....or in your case, lines. The hair may come back but it may take a long time, if ever. These lasers are no joke. I will say that the neck does respond very well to laser. If you decide to continue with the treatments on your neck you will be amazed at the results. It would probably take a good 8-10 treatments or so to really get your neck nice and hair free. If you decide to continue with the treatments you need to understand that you will have to get touch ups once or twice a year to maintain the results. If you do decide to continue DO NOT do your beard. The beard does not respond anywhere near to as good as the neck does and that wasn't just my experience that was reported on here by many. I had amazing results on my whole face/neck but I have had 40-50 treatments and had to go through some incredibly difficult times, emotionally, to get to where I'm at with it today.

SickNTired 20 Apr 2013

Also, you want a tech who uses a Candella not a Lightsheer.

vmzaneti 20 Apr 2013

I agree. My neck is not recovering. But my cheeks are growing plenty of hair. I believe the patchiness will fill in again. It's not nearly as bad as it was some weeks ago, they're becoming very similar to what they were before the laser session, hopefully. But the hair on the neck is still not growing as much, I saw no considerable improvement. I will wait some months and see how the neck responds in terms of growing hair. If I don't see any improvement, maybe I'll go for some more treatments only on the neck, this time I'll look after a tech that is not a dumbass.

vmzaneti 20 Apr 2013

I'm not kidding, the cheeks are growing hair in serious density right now. That's such a relief...

lero7 23 Apr 2013

Thank you so much for that info. I already paid for a package with lightsheer...but they don't make u pay it all up front so I can stop whenever. Should I switch to the Yag even though the lightsheer worked this well (still no hair at 6 weeks)? You said 8-10 treatments would be necessary, but I also had a major swelling reaction for 3-4 weeks that was just totally gross... I can't imagine doing that every 6-8 weeks. It really irritated the hell out of the PFB in the neck. And, if most of the hair is gone after 1 treatment (which is still super weird to me since my back is full of hair 12 treatments later w/ Yag) what is there to zap at treatment # 8?

lero7 23 Apr 2013

How many treatments did you have on your neck? What does it look like now and what was your laser? Thank you!

vmzaneti 23 Apr 2013

Hi there. I had only one. My neck is the only area which is not growing hair. Right now there are gaps where the laser was applied and I must keep my neck well shaved in order to don't look weird. I hope someday I see this area growing hair again and fill these gaps. I wish this Light Sheer wasn't very effective right in the first application too, therefore I could regret my decision by analyzing the results of the first session and then give up the future treatments. I'll keep my faith in recovering and wait for a while. But feel free to ask anything, I'll keep sharing my experience and updating my progress as well. I know how important it is for those seeking more info or are desperate about what the've done. It was (and istill is) very important to me.

SickNTired 23 Apr 2013

This is a copy & paste...you can do some more research for yourself. I've used both and I remember liking the Cadella GentleLASE a lot more. They're both good but if it were me I'd be using the Candella (and I do). The lag is more for tan/darker skin...but here: "The GentleLase and Lighsheer are both very effective, and popular, hair removal lasers. The GentleLase (755nm long-pulsed Alexandrite laser) is a very effective laser for hair removal in lighter skin types. It has excellent pick up by melanin (skin and hair pigment), making it great for hair removal in lighter skin types, but not a good option for colored skin. The Lightsheer (810nm long-pulsed Diode laser) is not absorbed by melanin as well as the Alexandrite. This may make it less effective for thinner or lighter brown hairs, but allows some darker skin types to be treated. I still would not treat African American skin with this laser--- for dark brown or black skin I prefer the long-pulsed Nd:Yag lasers such as the GentleYag. So-- for lighter skin types, especially if you have thinner or lighter pigmented hairs, the GentleLase is a better option. If you are darker skin toned, such a darker Italian skin, Middle-Eastern, Hispanic etc-- the Lightsheer (or the GentleYag) would be a better choice. For dark brown and black skin, stick with the GentleYag". -Jeffrey C. Poole, MD

vmzaneti 9 Apr 2013

I'm back for an update. I will discontinue the use of Retin-A + minoxidil for a while. This combination proved to be very aggressive to my skin and now I have several harsh red wounds all over my face. I was using these since 3 weeks ago. Back then I was a guy who had a patchy beard. Now I'm closer to some kind of monster, an aberration with still a patchy beard. That's it, people. I just don't know what to do anymore. I will wait and see if time can fix what I have unfortunately done. Want a tip? At least for beard hair removal, stay very far away from this procedure called Light Sheer. It sucks hard.

SickNTired 20 Apr 2013

Bro. Go find a good tech who uses a Candella. Continue with the treatments. Accept the fact that this is something you're going to have to maintain for the rest of your life. I now go in three times a year...so every four months for a touch up and my skin/face looks great. Yeah, it sucks still having to go in but I'm telling you it far outweighs anything you're going through.

vmzaneti 20 Apr 2013

Not a chance. If I told you the story that made me undergo such a treatment you wouldn't believe my dumbness. Lol. The fact is that I always liked my beard very much, I just don't know what I had in mind to accept doing the Light Sheer. It was a kind of gift I received from someone. But then, the technician didn't understand very well what I wanted (just a small area right below my eyes and some part of the neck), and she lasered way too much below on the cheek area and way too much above on the neck area. I lost the trust in these personel. They don't give a sh*t to what results you seek from these procedures. They just want to grab your money and than hasten the session to make you go away faster so they can grab other person's money. And the cycle goes on...

Madd about skin care 22 Apr 2013

My smart Zaneti you are so right!!!! Happy to see those who learn!!!!

Km91 29 Mar 2013

I had a very thick beard that couldn't shave with a razor and couldn't grow out due to extreme itchiness that acommpaned it. I did laser to define my upper cheeks and neck line. You can guess what happened next. The patchiness was the worst part. I did mostly 4 laser sessions on both my neck and cheeks. That was three years ago. Since then i've great regrowth, however the hair is not as thick as my original beards thickness. So i have a couple of question if you dont mind answering. Is this new hair thats growing normal hair?, i mean will it continue to grow and become white as i grow older? Is this hair growing from the foliciles that were hit by the laser or are these new hair folicles? And finally will it ever become as thick as it originaly was? So i advise everybody thats even considering laser removal to reconsider. It is never the solution, it will become the problem.

Madd about skin care 2 Apr 2013

In my experience yes it will. Heat and Hormones make hair grow so yes your hair will return. It may be softer for a time. This hair has always been there, they not new follicles. The hair is stimulated to grow by heat and hormones. Your hair skin and nails will slow in growth in colder months but will regain its strength in warmer weather. I hope this helps sorry it took so long to get bck to you!

Km91 3 Apr 2013

Thank you for the reply. Its just really frustrating.but compared to two years ago, there has been a significant improvment in the regrowth. If this rewgroth is permenant and the hair continues to grow,i can say that i'm statisfied because it could have been much much worst.

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