Laser hair removal - advice please

[Movingnotmoving]

A few years ago I enquired about getting my chin lasered but was told that, as the hair on my chin was fair and fine in texture, lasering wouldn't work.

Now I have several thick dark hairs that I have to pluck every couple of days. I have a real fear of having to go into hospital suddenly and waking up a week later with a full beard!

Does anyone know if I can get these dark hairs lasered and, if so, do I have to (gulp) let them grow to get it done?

Tia.

I’ve only had laser on my bikini line so can’t comment on the suitability for your chin but fwiw the hair needs to be barely a dot. Any longer isn't really going to work. You’d need to shave instead of plucking.

I had my chin done.

I only had a few fine hairs, but they were dark. I cut mine with nail scissors (shaving feels weird and caused aggravation to my skin).

I have been lasered head to toe pretty much! So have had everywhere done. Legs, bikini, underarm, eyebrows etc.

The chin hairs went for a year after maybe 3 sessions. But are starting to come back. I will top it up again soon I think.

Just go for a test patch first. And stop plucking. You can't pluck and laser.

:-)

Thanks for replies. I did not know that about plucking. Will make an appointment tomorrow tomorrow so for a consultation.

Can I jump in here too?

can anyone recommend a Salon? What type of laser hair removal is best? (Chin hair. Not bikini)

Thank you.

I’ve had my first session with Skin on my chin and upper lip areas. Bought in Black Friday deal - £300ish instead of £2000ish. Haven’t noticed a difference yet but hopefully will after all the sessions. I haven’t got anyone to compare them with, but I generally haven’t been particularly impressed. I can’t shake off the feeling that I’d be pretty disappointed with the service if I was paying full price though!

@KittieKath I hope you don’t mind me asking - should I not be plucking at all in between the monthly treatments? The practitioner just said not to do it for a couple of days before and then it said in the aftercare email not to pluck for the week after, but nothing about not doing it at all. Do you know why?

I think you might need to change your salon.

Google the Lynton laser and the soprano ice laser. I don’t understand why your practitioner is telling you that plucking is ok.

Laser would work on darker hairs, you’d have to stop plucking and shave them though before the appt. After the 1st treatment they’d not be spikey though.

Electrolysis may also work well

I bought a Phillips Lumea last year and Im pretty impressed with the results

First once over on the legs and pits gave a 70% reduction, it grew back real quick on the areas I missed. Id say now with perhaps 4/5 goes Im 99% hair free in those areas - same with bikini line

Top lip and chin are being more stubborn. Mostly because of my age - Im 59 - and that a lot of the hair is now grey. Its thick and wiry so obviously I dont want to allow it to grow too much so Im letting it grow, shaving, treating, then having to pluck the white ones that pop through in 2 or 3 days. Id say Ive a 60% reduction there

Im also pretty lazy ( read too busy ) about defuzzing, like its winter, no one is seeing the pits or legs, so I dont treat as often as I possibly could. And if you dont treat ( monthly or so , everyone is different ) the hair will appear again - eventually.

@TheGirlInTheGreenDress

Happy to share my experience. I am no pro though!

(Just for clarity, I am pale white skinned with dark brown hair. I know there are also laser treatments for people with darker skin, but I believe these work differently.)

As far as I understand, the laser "attacks" the follicle of the hair. And it works by targeting the dark hair and not the pale skin.

If you pluck the hair before the procedure, there is no dark hair for the laser to target. If you shave, you leave a little dark hair in the skin, which can be zapped.

If you pluck between sessions, you remove the root from the partially damaged follicle. The body will then focus on regrowth of a new hair. The new hair that grows will still be strong.

Repeated laser treatments work best by targeting the same hair follicle until it dies.

Hope that makes sense - and as I say, no expert on this! So take everything I have said with a pinch of salt.

I used my lumea on my solitary chin hair, i think it has worked

Thank you @KittieKath. I will ask at the next appointment why they didn’t tell me that!

@Movingnotmoving I now don’t recommend Sk:n clinics!

I get electrolysis which is working. I have both light hair and dark hair. I've been told laser can work on my darker hairs.

Lumea has worked perfectly on my chin and lip hairs.
Benefit of doing it when convenient to me and not needing time to book appointments/travel to a salon.

For anyone doing bikini line, recommend treating before you are old enough to get greys - I left it too late…

sk:n. not recommended, they will just try to sell you expensive packages promising results that never materialise.
For chin your best bet is electrolysis.