I am a black female and my facial hair problem started in my early 20's where I had one side of my face that would have about 10-15 follicules that would grow thick coarse hair from middle jaw line to under my chin, the other side of my face had only 3 spots that would grow . (I did not have the problem of having one area that was fully concentrated with hairs.) Well after about 2 years of constantly digging and tweezing the hairs that would come out of my face, I now had plenty of scarring that was making me very self conscious of anyone that stood on problem side of my face.
I have a darker complexion , similar to Fantasia the american idol, so I was not sure if there was any laser that would be suitable for my skin tone that would not damage my skin. I did a lot of research on the internet and thankfully, found a clinic used a laser that was beneficial to those with dark skin. The clinic I went to promoted the COOLGLIDE NY-yag. This place was very professional as they told me the risks and benefits of laser removal . So after my consultation I decided to purchase a package of 4 which cost be about $600( it was cheaper to purchase the package compared to and individual session, about 20% off).
EXPERIENCE: The coolglide laser felt elastic bands slapping being slapped across your face.They applied a cooling gel which did minimize the pain a little bit. The process took about 20-30 mins as I had purchase a half face procedure- which went from your cheek to jaw line ,to your anterior neck.
After the session I had a mild burning sensation on my face which lasted about 3 hours and slightly raised skin where the laser went over.(Nothing too bad )By the next morning the swelling had gone down and you couldnt even tell I had received any treatment.
RESULTS: It been about 3 years now since I have been doing LHR. After the first year and half I realized that getting laser hair removal would be something I would be doing for the rest of my life:(,till they invent a laser that created PERMANENT removal : )
The thick coarse hairs that would grow before are GONE , but now I have hair that is very very fine (almost like downy hair) that grows on my face. As I am dark skin it is not that noticebly to the public, but because I want my face to be as smooth as possible ,I continue to receive treatments every 4 months.
TIPS:
- -I would suggest to anyone having a laser treatment done on your face to get a sample area done to see how your skin reacts to the laser, if its a large area being done on your face. I never did this ; but after reading several peoples horror stories ,its better to be safe than sorry.
- -Make sure to tell the technician of any medication your taking at the time as it may negatively affect your results. I was using Steviamycin ,an acne prescription similar to Differin, and they refused to do me on one of my session because the medication was still in my system, even though it had been 4 days since I had used the prescription. Now before I go for treatment I stop applying my acne medication at least 3 weeks before my appointment.
- -DO not laser hair area that are not problematic....I know this one seems obvious, but I made the mistake of having the other side of my face that had only 3 hair spots completely lasered, thinking "might as well do my whole face, just in case this side decide to act up too."
- In the end the laser seemed to have promoted that side of my face to grow the fine downy hair as I stated before.
OVERALL -Yes it was worth it because I dont suffer from painful ingrown hairs anymore which created so many scars on my face .
