POSTED UNDER Laser Hair Removal REVIEWS
12 TX - Male Beard - DISASTER - Patchy Results
ORIGINAL POST
I had laser hair removal on my beard. 12...
$2,100
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!
james's provider
UPDATED FROM james
It's been about 8-9 years since my first laser...
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.
Replies (131)
January 3, 2013
I am really patchy after 1 session of LHR 2 months ago. Is there any chance my bald spots will grow back? I wish I never did this!
Thanks,
Mikael
January 3, 2013
It will grow back, just takes time, how long all depends on your body. My last treatment was in Nov. of 2011 and I still have areas that have not grown back. It isn't pretty but it's coming back. Funny how I did this to reduce the need to shave but I find myself shaving more often than ever.
For anyone going through this two things to keep in mind: 1. It will grow back, it just takes a very long time. 2. It's not the end of the world.
It's hard to look in the mirror and accept what has happened but I know that I will be back to my old self at some point.
January 3, 2013
Wow, over a year and you still have bald spots? Hopefully since I only did one treatment it will come back sooner.
Exactly man--I wanted to reduce shaving frequency but I have to shave daily or twice a day to minimize the visibility of the bald spots. This suckssss. I wish I found this thread before!
January 17, 2013
I believe so. After my seventh and final procedure I was around 95% complete (lasered everything except my side burns down the ear lobes and goatee area including mustache) I went to see Dr. Goldman at San Diego dermatology who has well known for pioneering laser hair-removal technology.
He explained to me that laser hair removal is not permanent because it does nothing to alter the gene that causes hair to grow. He also explained that the FDA wrongly labeled this treatment as permanent because by their standards, anything that last over 3 months can be considered permanent. I believe they have changed their stance on this.
Since my last treatment over a year ago I have seen significant hair regrowth. The hair grows back in stages. You will tiny follicles start to form, these follicles begin to mature and get thicker over time. From my personal experience it has taken approximately one month to see a hair mature to a noticeable level.
It's a long process, just need to be patience and maintain your confidence.
January 17, 2013
I ask cause i had this procedure done like an idiot I wish I had seen these forums 3 years ago. The hair on my face grew back a whole lot i have no patches just thin on the sides and much darker in the goatee area. I want to know will it fully comeback. I could've had a mountain man beard by now if I didn't have this laser treatment done. Is there a reversal procedure or topical solution that will help speed up if any full regrowth? The sides for me look like i have a long hair 5 o'clock shadow
January 17, 2013
During my follow up visit with Dr. Goldman I asked if there was anything available that would help expedite the hair re-growth process. He prescribed a topical medicine called Formula 82M which is used to help with male pattern baldness. I have been using it since August of 2012 and I can't say for certain whether or not it has had any effect. Again, he said the hair would grow back during my 1st visit and didn't prescribe anything then. At the very least can offer a "placebo effect" in that you feel better knowing that you aren't just waiting for nature to reverse what was done.
January 18, 2013
Whatever he gave you, the Formula 82M, probably works for MPB by blocking a hormone called DHT from binding with receptor sites in the scalp (and don't quote me on that it's just an educated guess). It's "probably" more for prevention than anything else but then again, I'm not a doctor. As far your beard goes, from what I've been told by surgeon who preformed a procedure on me not long ago, is that some of it will come back and some of it won't. It will probably take a while to grow back and the consistency will likely vary throughout your face. It sucks I know. Believe me...there's been many times where I thought about letting mine regrow. Best of luck man. Sorry this had to happen to you as well.
January 9, 2013
It's so good to hear from you again, James. I'm glad it is getting better, slowly but surely. Thank you for keeping us updated.
January 18, 2013
The hair that is growing back is not the hair you had lasered. Your body always produces hair follicles as you age. The laser doesn't destroy the gene that causes hair growth but it does destroy those targeted follicles, believe that. At best some might come back as vellus. The hair that is growing back after LHR is the hair that would be growing anyway and would be adding to the fullness of your beard had you never got LHR. Don't fool yourself into thinking that is the same hair. I had 16 treatments on my neck and 12 on my beard area from 2001-2004. It's been 8 years since my last treatment and the hair is growing in all areas but it's still thin and patchy. If you've had less than 10 treatments STOP NOW but be prepared to wait and you might recover to the point where no one will notice like OP James. That is encouraging and I am happy for him. For me and others who had more treatments sorry to say we might never get to that point. I might have to commit to more treatments in the future even though I swore never to go back. You reach a point of no return I believe where the amount of time it takes to get back to uniform would be so great that it might be better to just continue.
January 18, 2013
Yeah man I hear you BogusClaims. For me, I accepted what I had done and continued moving forward with it. It was either that or look terrible in hopes that it may grow back. I can't tell you for sure how many treatments I've had but it's up there; probably in the 40-45 range. Now, I have complete clearance. My skin looks good. I have NO patches since I'm obviously past that stage. I look young and healthy and go in every 4 months for a touch up. Anymore, it's no big deal. I can practically go in for a treatment, get it done, leave...and you wouldn't barely even be able to notice. For me the choice was clear. There was no turning back.
January 18, 2013
SNT. And on the bright side you never have to deal with ingrown hairs or razor burn. That is two big problems out of the way. I know if I never got LHR that I would not be shaving...I would be using that stubble/beard trimmer. Guys who have little to no facial hair don't know how lucky they are.
January 18, 2013
Totally agree there...guys who have a thin beard have the best of both worlds. I was always so envious of guys like that. If I didn't have this done I too would be using a trimmer as well but stubble just doesn't give you that polished/professional look. All in all; worse things have happened. At times I miss my beard but not really. I'm glad I'm at where I'm at with things. It's all maintenance from here on out.
January 18, 2013
Yeah. I think I'd be totally fine with LHR and maintenance for the rest of my life if I didn't think there was some kind of stigma to doing this in other people's minds. Like there is this idea that you would have to be some kind of metrosexual or something. That is the main thing I have a problem with, is that other people might have a problem with it. Like I'm lesser of a man or weird of something. Can't control what others think or say but that is still what bothers me more than going in for maintenance or the money. You will be stigmatized by some people, there is no way around it. You can say well those people are BS and you shouldn't care what they think or say anyway but the reality is it's hard not to care. I remember once when I was in the middle of my treatments and my face was totally smooth I was having chest pains (not related), so I went to the hospital and they gave me an EKG. The nurse was surprised when I took off my shirt and saw hair on my chest, she had looked at my face and just assumed I was one of those dudes with no hair anywhere. She even made a comment about it although I forget what her exact words were but it surprised me that she actually noticed, why does this guy have a smooth face with no facial hair but has a regular hairy man's chest? So that stuff kind of bothers me...just a reminder that oh yeah I'm now different than the "norm".
January 18, 2013
Yeah man I get where you're coming from. There probably is a stigma but everyone has their quirks. None of my friends care and many more have either been impressed by the results or wished the technology was around before they went grey. To be honest it's not really not something that ever gets brought up. This is the way I am now and have been for going on five years and nobody remembers me any other way. Come to think of it I've only had a few people ask me if I had laser done and they're main questions were always the same..."did it hurt"? I couldn't live in regret everyday and had to move on. If your beard looks like [RS bleep] I suggest just going in and getting taken care of. I don't know how old you are but as you age, presuming you're a younger guy, regrowth is supposed to really slow once we get into out late thirties.
January 18, 2013
Well that's good to hear. I know that nobody really cares except us...most people are busy with their own quirks as you say. I'm actually almost 40 now, no grey hairs in sight either. It comes in very black and thick....looks terrible. I'm really thinking about going back and if I do I'm hoping your right about the slow regrowth. I'm going to give it a few months and then make a decision.
January 18, 2013
If you want...pm me your email address and I'll send you some pics of how things have turned out for me.
January 18, 2013
Thanks. I appreciate that but not necessary. I've had total clearance before and I know it looks good. I liked not having to worry about shaving for months at a time before hair started appearing again. My neck has great clearance and no regrets at all there. Everyone who has issues with shaving should get this done on their neck, but stay far far away from the beard area.
January 28, 2013
I wanna say as a Hair Removal Technician, I would like to say that I often talk to women, more like poll them on their thoughts of hairless men.
98% do not prefer the hair to be gone on a man because they associate hairy men with having more testosterone, than those with out hair. Since Heat and Hormones make hair grow.
I call hairy men "baby makers". I believe it makes you attractive to women who want them.
Just the hair on the back is what they want removed, and a close shave with buzz clippers every where else. Some say, only body builders, swimmers, ballet dancers,bicyclist, Athletes whose hair interferers with their work, is always understood and accepted,
Waxing is also a way of making hair finer and thinner. As it was said "no one likes to hug a catus" and with waxing you let it grow out a little, that should last 4 weeks or more depending on how quickly YOUR hair grows, but majority of men can not handle waxing. I hope my observations has helped ease your mind on why women react as they do.
January 28, 2013
I wanna say as a Hair Removal Technician, I would like to say that I often talk to women, more like poll them on their thoughts of hairless men.
98% do not prefer the hair to be gone on a man because they associate hairy men with having more testosterone, than those with out hair. Since Heat and Hormones make hair grow.
I call hairy men "baby makers". I believe it makes you attractive to women who want them.
Just the hair on the back is what they want removed, and a close shave with buzz clippers every where else. Some say, only body builders, swimmers, ballet dancers,bicyclist, Athletes whose hair interferers with their work, is always understood and accepted,
Waxing is also a way of making hair finer and thinner. As it was said "no one likes to hug a catus" and with waxing you let it grow out a little, that should last 4 weeks or more depending on how quickly YOUR hair grows, but majority of men can not handle waxing. I hope my observations has helped ease your mind on why women react as they do.
Replies (567)
I guess I was lucky. I had my face and neck done. It did take many treatments probably around 25 or so but I do not have a patchyness or checkerboard.