Laser Hair Removal Results After Eight Treatments

Jump To Recipe

In August 2018 I decided I wanted to try laser hair removal. I don’t know about you but shaving is not fun for me, and I hated feeling self-conscious if I was wearing shorts or a skirt and I forgot to shave my legs!

I have been shaving my legs and armpits since 5th grade, and I remember thinking, “if I ever am rich someday, I am going to get laser hair removal”. Well, I can tell you I am not rich LOL but I was willing to make the investment if it meant I didn’t have to buy razors and shave all the time. It was quite the investment-even after the discount it cost $1,885.80! 🤭 😫

I ended up going with Laser Away in La Jolla because when I called to get more information, they had a special package for underarms, lower legs, and bikini line. My thighs don’t really grow much hair (thank you GOD) and the hairs are very light, so I don’t worry about them.

They explained to me that laser treatments would be scheduled every 4-6 weeks and it is important not to miss any appointments. I was able to go to all 8 sessions within the 4-6 week period.

Here’s What It Was Like For Me to Get Laser Hair Removal:

First, they took payment over the phone. I asked if they do monthly payments, but the lady must have misunderstood me because she charged 100% upfront. I did find out they have some kind of loan/payment plan, but I wouldn’t have wanted to do that anyway. My first appointment began the next week with them.

Next, I created an account online, and they sent me forms that I needed to read over, acknowledge, and sign. Bunch of legal stuff and warnings.

After checking in for my appointment, the nurses would escort me to a treatment room to get undressed and wear a sleeveless towel-dress type article of clothing that they provide. The chair is like a dentist’s chair, and they have a TV playing. Inside the treatment room they provide wipes to wipe deodorant from underarms. Also important to note that before each treatment, I had to shave so that the laser would be able to find the follicle and zap it at the base of the hair root.

I liked that each treatment room had a freezer with ice packs. Since my armpits and bikini line were more sensitive, I would use their ice packs wrapped in a Ziploc bag to numb my skin while I was waiting for the nurse to come back in the room. I usually came to my appointments straight from work, so I didn’t always have Advil on me but taking a pain-reliever before usually helped with the pain.

Before treatment, the nurse would just make sure I wasn’t exposed to the sun (tanning) and that I had not started any new medication or antibiotics that they needed to know about. The nurse and I would have to wear protective eyeglasses (essentially sunglasses) during each treatment.

The nurse would draw on my lower legs with chalk to make little grids in which they followed to ensure they were covering all the skin with the laser.

The laser is a loud machine that almost sounds like loud chirps or beeps along with the humming of the machine. The laser tool doesn’t actually make direct contact on the skin. Actually, only the laser beam (whatever its called lol) will shoot from the tool onto the skin. So the nurse is just hovering close to the skin, allowing the laser to zap the hair follicles to kill the hair from growing, or at least slow its growth.  The laser blows cool air which I liked the feeling as it cools my skin and it doesn’t feel like it is burning.

The nurses would check in with me to make sure I was doing okay during each treatment. The nurses were friendly and would carry on casual conversation during the length of the appointment. The appointments from the time the laser machine started on me went really quickly. To do both underarms, both lower legs and both sides of my bikini line, it took about 5-15 minutes.

I noticed as my appointments went on, the pain felt on my lower legs stopped and the underarm pain diminished. My bikini line always was painful, but that makes sense because it is such a sensitive area. Luckily, I never experienced rashes, folliculitis, or any other skin irritation due to the laser treatments.

In between my appointments, I’d either experience no change or less growth. Not until my final treatments I had noticeable hair reduction.

I finished my 8th treatment in June 2019, but I noticed my underarm hair came back entirely. My leg hair also had some hairs return, and I wasn’t too thrilled about that either. I contacted Laser Away and first, they tried to sell me more laser treatment sessions. I put my foot down and they offered to give me two complimentary sessions for my underarms after they did an evaluation on me.

When they did the evaluation, I had to sign another document for the two comp treatments. They took pictures of my underarms and definitely agreed this was not typical after months of treatment. When I asked about my legs, they said the results were really good, so I didn’t get any more treatments on my legs. I was thinking, really?! You’re already doing my underarms, just quickly zap the hairs on my legs!

Anyways, the results were pretty good. Even in their introductory newsletter email, it said, “Remember that your goal is improvement, not perfection.“  It’s July 2020 and I still have little to no hair on my lower legs and bikini line which I only shave once in a while, but the hairs aren’t noticeable and my legs are still soft and smooth! I do have to shave my underarms though, which is the pits! 😉 Pun intended.

What To Know About Laser Hair Removal:

Pros:

  • Hair reduction
  • Thinner unwanted hair in treated areas
  • Shave less often
  • Friendly nurses at Laser Away (La Jolla location)
  • Professional and clean atmosphere
  • Sessions are very quick
  • No razor bumps
  • Laser Away team was informative and detailed when explaining the process

Cons:

  • Results aren’t perfection
  • It is expensive
  • Takes several treatments (8-12)
  • May take maintenance treatments
  • It won’t work on blonde/red hair
  • Bigger areas mean more money
  • It hurts like the dickens
  • They tried to upsell me with their other services they offer

Were the laser hair removal results worth the pain and the cost? Would I do it again? Yeah, but I would probably find a Groupon package and only do a small area on my lower legs.

Subscribe to my blog to get more lifestyle/beauty tips!

Gallery

Click to enlarge
No items found.
Posted 
This is some text inside of a div block.
 in 
Text Link
 category