Is laser hair removal a fad or does it actually work?

I had mine done an about 15 years ago, think maybe had 8 sessions. Haven’t had any top up sessions although I know it is recommended. Have the very odd straggler now so would need to top up. From what i know the success depends very much on the machine used, they are not all made equal

Laser hair removal on my legs was worth every penny. Really effective (I have dark hair and fair skin).

On the face it is not quite as good. Hair growth on the face is tricky to eradicate completely because of hormones and age etc.

Would recommend going to a salon - research the laser they use before you commit.

I did full body around 10 or so years ago - 6 sessions at the optimal interval (I believe was every 6 weeks). 99% is gone and the very little that is left is very fine and sparse. I’d highly recommend.

i had six sessions of IPL at a SK:N salon. It was honestly life changing. I’d spent my whole life feeling self conscious of my face, plucking, bleaching, having kids take the piss at school etc. Tried electrolysis as a teen, but not being able to pluck or wax in between was hellish.

Then 6 months of IPL treatment in my 30s
and it was gone. I could show my face in daylight without feeling the need to bow my head, or cover my mouth with my hand.

i paid for it with an unexpected tax rebate and it was honestly the best £1000 I’ve ever spent. I really wish I’d been able to do it years ago. The only regret I have is that eyebrow shapes have changed a lot since I had my treatment (whole face from hairline to neck) so if I had it done now I’d have asked to leave the brows a bit wider, but at least now they don’t join up to my hairline! Fluffy down on sideboards is gone, moustache gone, fine beginnings of a goatee gone!

Menopause did spring a couple of wiry ones on me so I bought a home IPL machine to deal with them and also did my legs and armpits at home. It takes ages to do a big area like legs, so I have definitely missed a few hairs but essentially I haven’t shaved my pits or legs for over 10 years. Means I have quite dry skin as I’m not exfoliating with a razor on the regular, so I use a loofah, but it’s so nice not having to worry about wearing shorts or vests.

I’m olive skinned with dark hair but quite pale in the winter which is when I had it done. 100% recommend to anyone to give it a go. Annoyingly it hasn’t worked so well for my DD who is pale with mid brown hair, but she didn’t give it a really good go to be fair,

Not all lasers are the same. It really does depend on the type of laser you get.

It didn't work for me. I signed up for the recommended "package" and got told I was the "perfect candidate" with dark hair and fair skin. Did the whole package, hair maybe reduced 50%. "That's normal" they said "sometimes you just need a few more sessions" and did the recommended extra half package. Maybe 5% less hair after the extra sessions.
"That's normal" they said "just come back once a month indefinitely and it will reduce a little every month"
I stopped going at that point. I figured they'd strung me along enough times for crap results, and I wasn't going to keep throwing good money at it. Hair is completely grown back in now, couldn't even tell I'd had it done.

For me, it has depended on area. It has been extremely successful on my legs and bikini line. That was very important for me as I had almost like pubic hair down the back of my legs and inner thighs and that is all gone now and has been gone now for the best part of 20 years.

I think it reduced the hair in my armpit, but definitely never got rid of it all.

It hasn’t been particularly successful on my face and if anything has contributed to melasma forming

I couldn’t tell you what type of laser I had used.

F

Buy a Philips Lumea IPL and change your life! I bought one about 5-6 years ago and I've remained completely hair free everywhere I've done it. Means no itchy armpits in the summer or worrying about my bikini line. Best present to myself I could have bought.

No, for electrolysis you should leave the hair visible. Electrolysis kills each hair follicle individually one by one, so the technician needs to know where the hairs are to know where to zap.

For laser you need to be clean shaven.

As long as you use the right machine for your skin tone.

I did laser with Soprano - barely any difference.

Did full body with ND Yag - 10 years later and I’m still hair free, and I was SUPER hairy beforehand.

I've got a patch test this week for candela laser (hollywood) so ask me in a couple of months!

I use Philips Lumea IPL on my under arms and legs and really the best thing I ever did. I followed the initial treatment plan religiously and now maybe do it fully about four times a year, do get some patches popping up so for them every two months. I used to have to shave every day and it’s a complete game changer in the summer.

With electrolysis - do you have to shave before sessions?
that’s what’s out me off as it’s in my face and I don’t shave already…

I’d recommend it only if you don’t want/are done with having children. My chin hair have made a strong reappearance post babies.

Timing is everything BTW for laser. So find a reliable clinic that won’t cancel on you. I’d ask for your money back from the original clinic if their cancellations pushed you beyond recommended intervals between treatments.

I got YAG laser done in a laser clinic chain. Great results. And I was hairy.

I had YAG laser removal almost 15 years ago for underarms and Hollywood. Dark skinned Asian so always a bit iffy about whether it would work. I have the odd underarm hair that needs plucking. Nothing at all on undercarriage. Also had a few facial patches zapped with similar success.

People talking about IPL - it’s not the same thing at all. I use IPL for my legs but I understand it’s not permanent.

Edited because I have fat fingers that no amount of laser treatment will fix

You need a modern laser like vectus. Ipl is not even a laser

I had IPL about 13 years ago at a professional clinic. Expensive but worth every penny! I had suffered all my life up to then with excessive hair, and shaving in the summer heat was unbearable. Waxing didn't work, and epilators were too painful. Also affected my relationships, because I felt like a freak. I honestly didn't know anyone else who had as much body hair as I did, and trying every day to get rid of it controlled my life, especially on my face.

In my early 40s, I finally took the plunge: it took over a year and a half to get through the treatments: 15 on my face, 6 full legs, 6 full bikini area and bikini line. If you have dark hair but light skin, that's the best type they recommend. So it worked really well for me, and changed my life.

13 years later, I probably could go back and have top-ups for my face, but almost nothing has grown back on legs and bikini area.

The last time looked into it, they said they were moving away from IPL to a new type of laser, which apparently gives even better results. I would persevere if it's that important to you. Don't wait until you are much older, because it doesn't work as well on white hairs.

edited for spelling

Ive had 5 sessions so far and honestly its money well spent. I have dark hair and light skin. I noticed a great improvement from the first session. I used to have to shave all the time. I go to a clinic not sure if the at home ipls work as well.

20yrs ago I was living abroad and a friend was training in a laser clinic- I was her guinea pig. Unfortunately only for 1 session though because she left. I had underarms and bikini line done. I've been left with about 3 hairs in either underarm and maybe 2 bikini hairs where it was done. I've been pregnant 3 times, sadly all ended in MC, but I've had no hair regrowth at all! I have dark hair and light, freckly skin.

10yrs ago I bought a braun IPL. It made absolutely no difference to the few underarm/bikini hairs I had, but did get rid of nearly all my arm hairs. I also tried on DH's back and don't think it made any difference. I'm not sure if that helps OP, but I would go to another salon.

Yes it works, but it takes several sessions and it's not completely permanent. I had IPL years ago and it was great for a while, I think I had 6 sessions then barely needed to shave under my arms for a year or so. Maybe every few weeks. It did grow back though. You're meant to have top ups every now and again - like one top up session once a year.

I'm currently having proper laser on various areas of my body. I've only had 3 sessions so far, and my underarm hair had responded really well (possibly due to prev IPL??) and other areas (bikini, peri anal, upper lip and chin) are starting to grow noticeably thinner. I will need at least 8 sessions in total though, and similar to the IPL I've been told I will need a top up session every year or so. The laser is a "Soprano" some kind of advanced laser. But no I'm not sure there is a completely permanent solution.

A friend of mine had laser done on her leg hair, and she has bought a home handheld IPL machine to top up herself which she believes will work out cheaper in the long run. I may consider doing this too.

I got lasered 15 years ago and it's honestly been the best thing I ever did, 99% gone