LHE Hair Removal: it's all grown back. NOT worth the time or money - Seattle, WA

This reviewer is affiliated with RealSelf. The views expressed here are their own and do not reflect the views of RealSelf, Inc. I've been considering doing some sort of hair removal for a while now. I decided to start with the bikini area (basic, not extended) since waxing there is ridiculously excruciating. Apparently, LHE (light, heat, energy) isn't the same as laser hair removal, which I didn't know. I bought my 6 sessions at a MedSpa on Living Social (the above price is the approximate cost before subtracting my discount, so I'm paying about $150 out of pocket) and realize this isn't the ideal situation in which to have hair removed. I'm kind of regretting it now and wishing I went with a doctor. I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I got there. The esthetician had me take off my pants (undies stayed on) and lie on a cot covered with a towel. She then placed an ice pack on the area to be treated for about 5 seconds and proceeded to zap the hairs. The first two zaps after the ice was removed didn't hurt, but once the cold started to wear off, which it did very quickly, the zaps hurt. Much less than waxing, mind you, but still...painful. The pain was very quick and disappeared as soon as the LHE device was removed from the area. Every time she zapped me, I jumped from the pain, which made me feel silly, but was completely involuntary. Also, the room started to smell like singed hair. The whole session lasted about 7 to 8 minutes. I'm to go in every two weeks for the first 4 sessions, and then every 4 weeks for my last two sessions. We'll see if this works. The next time I go I'm going to ask her to apply the ice pack more often (after every 2 or 3 zaps) and see if that helps the pain.   April 12, 2012 I had my second LHE appointment last week. It was so much better than the first. I put lidocaine on the area to be treated (and wiped it off before treatment), and requested that the esthetician use ice between every two zaps. (This esthetician, Jennifer, explained things much, much better than the first (sweet, but not as educating) one I had). She explained that icing is a balancing act because you don't want to freeze the hair follicle and keep it from responding to the light. She did ice a lot more often though and I only jumped about twice this time. Not sure if the lidocaine, which was really old, helped or not. Jennifer also explained that LHE, like lasers, have been honed and improved over the years. She said the newness of the machine/bulbs makes a difference as to how effective your treatments will be. The unit she was using was brand new. Since my second treatment, I definitely notice a difference in hair growth, or lack thereof. I feel like I could wear a swimsuit with very little depilatory action. Exciting! 11/1/12 It's been a few months since my last treatment and the hair has almost completely grown back. I would not recommend this treatment.