Laser Hair Removal ~ is it worth it £££££

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Hi mumsnetters, there is fabulous offer in my local area for laser hair removal, I’m so tempted but need some real reviews from those who have had it ! I don’t seem to know anyone who has. Is it worth the money ? Has it been permanent for you ? How many sessions did you have ? Is it painful ? Help !

I had ten sessions with a well advertised chain, underarm, lower leg and bikini. Its not comfortable but not crying in pain sore. I am very pale with brown hair.

Results have been very mixed for me 2 years after my last session. Underarms are good, shave maybe once a fortnight, legs still need to be shaved once a week and bikini line is a disaster. Very patchy hair loss and def not permanent for me.

I went back to have it out with them and in a free follow up session, was burned with the laser on my bikini line which was agony and completely put me off any further follow ups! It has not been the life changing intervention I had hoped for.

Following as I'm interested in this.

Depends a lot on the hair you are targeting and your skin colour - the best option being v dark hair and pale skin.

For me the results are:
Underarm - gone
Lower leg - gone enough that I can go barelegged and not shave
Face - what a waste of money. Bastards kept growing back, electrolysis was the better option

So yes life changing for some areas, not for others - face my hormones were just determined to keep growing hairs.

Is it IPL or laser.
laser has been life changing for me. I had thick, wiry, black leg hair. Felt like my husband’s beard hair. I’d be stubbly within hours of shaving, and a wax wouldn’t last me a week’s holiday.
I used to be constantly self conscious and embarrassed, I’d hate having a partner touch my legs.
I do have a few hairs still - mainly because I’m too lazy to zap them with the lumea! - but they are so much finer.
I would highly recommend.

I’ve found it to be hair reduction for me rather than permanent hair removal.

Which I’m quite disappointed about, as firstly I paid £1899 and secondly it was advertised as permanent hair removal - with a disclaimer saying that for most people it’s not permanent - in the teeniest tiniest writing hidden away in all the advertising.

As others have said depends on your hair colour and skin tone. Mine was pretty ideal so I had my underarms done two years ago. They are waaay better than they were but you do still need to shave maybe once a week or so; it doesn't get rid of the hair forever and gradually over time a lot more grows back. I can see mine when it grows back a little but the hair is thin and hard to see at a distance, if that makes sense It wasn't comfortable but it wasn't agony. I haven't had it done anywhere else as tbh I couldn't fit the appts in around covid / working shifts.

I bought a Lumea afterwards and use that for my bikini line, legs and upper lip- been pleased with that and can top up my underarms as needed from home.

So yes I'd do it again underarms, but it's not a perfect hair removal solution!

I paid £100 for underarms, 8 sessions. I honestly don't think it's worth thousands to get larger areas of your body done, but that's just my two cents.

Had lip chin and neck done and I’m happy. Glad I did it however I do still get the odd dark hair poking through, it’s finer than before though.

I bought a Philips Lumea. Best purchase I ever made.

I went for a trial session and found it more painful than I was expecting. Not painful as such but really hot and uncomfortable and that was on a tiny area. I'm normally fine with that sort of stuff but it did make me think twice about sitting there whilst they did my entire legs.

I've had arm pits and bikini done.
I don't touch them at all. Worth it in my opinion. Go for it

I paid about a thousand quid getting my face lasered at Skin clinics. It was quite painful and my face was bright red for ages after each treatment. It kept the hair under control, but I always needed ongoing treatment. I also had salon IPL, which was weakass and made little difference.

My Phillips Lumea is just as effective as the laser, more convenient and so much cheaper.

I had SHR rather than IPL. Total game changer. It was around £1.2k for underarm, bikini and lower leg. Total game changer.

Don't need to shave now, run the razor over once a month or so to catch a few strays but that's it.

Didn't hurt at all on lower legs, bit jumpy on underarms, rather ouch on bikini but each session takes a few minutes only so totally bearable.

Absolutely recommend. I had 6 sessions.

Thank you so much for all your replies ! Have booked in for a patch test next week so will see what they say. I posted on this thread a couple times yesterday but can’t see them now 🫤
The offer is from underarms, bikini & full legs for £580 instead of £1930. And it says Alma Soprano Titanium if that means anything to anyone ? Doesn’t say IPL. I just can’t deal with shaving anymore 😂😅

For 8 sessions that is ! So i’m quite hairy ! Thick, dark hair ! I shave then the next day I’m stubbly again. Waxing lasts a couple weeks but it would be a dream to never have to do either again 😍 If it is completely permanent it is totally worth the money in my eyes !

Had my underarms, chin, upper lip, full legs and bikini done and still on going had about 5 sessions of YAG laser for my skin type and it's the best thing I've ever done total game changer as pp has said. Changed my life! No hairs seem to grow back ever so my sessions are getting more and more apart. There's the odd straggly ones and once I went without for about 2 months and noticed the under arms in particular grew a lot. I've still got a few more sessions to go but it's honestly helped me so much!

Those who had face laser, did it work in white hairs at all?

That's SHR which is what i had. Better and less painful than IPL. That's a brilliant price. DO IT

I'd definitely do it but it's definitely not pain-free as some places may tell you.

I'm currently 5 sessions in. Got a total of 10 booked. Hollywood, underarms, and legs. I have very dark hair, light olive skin.

After 5 sessions:

Underarms: barely have any hairs left and always feels smooth. Before, it would be prickly pretty much the next day after shaving. Laser feels like stinging. Quite uncomfortable the first 2 sessions but I'm used to it now and there are less hairs so not as bad.

Hollywood area: Patchy now. A lot of that area is very smooth. Laser seems to be struggling to hit the inner areas where the skin isn't as flat. Laser feels extremely painful on this area. I wasn't prepared for just how much pain it would cause. No pain no gain though, right?

Legs: this is the reason why I went for laser in the first place. Unfortunately, results haven't been as great. No pricklyness at all and hairs don't really grow back much. But they're all still there and you can see the little dots where the hair wants to come out. Got another 5 sessions to go though so hoping to see improvements. Hair has definitely reduced though so if you don't have the spotty leg problem, you'll probably be fine.

Forgot to add. With legs, there isn't really any pain. Maybe a light tingling every now and then.

I bought 10 sessions for a Hollywood for about £250 iirc. I’m 4 sessions in and so far so good. It’s medical grade lasers, not IPL. I’ve got dark hair and pale skin.

It is a bit painful. Kinda snappy on the skin but nothing too unbearable. Plus it’s over very quickly.