I Tried Laser Hair Removal and It Didn’t Work

I’ve been devoted to waxing for years but when I kept seeing Groupons and other “daily deals” popping up for laser hair removal, I became curious. A few sessions with a laser sounded way better than monthly wax appointments for the rest of my life. One thing that had stopped me before was the cost. While waxing or sugaring does add up month over month, it’s spread out. Laser hair removal can be thousands of dollars, in some cases, up front. I decided a $60 Groupon was a steal for four sessions. Surely it would get that hair off and I would never see it again.

Wrong.

After four painful sessions (yes, it hurts!), of laser treatments to my underarms, I literally saw zero results. Zero. My annoyance spiraled into determination to get results. A bit of research informed me there are different kinds of lasers. I was confident that the Groupon location clearly just had the bad kind of laser and I would have otherwise seen results.

(Spoiler alert, I was wrong again)

I went in for a consultation at a reputable cosmetic dermatology office. After they assured me they had the “right” kind of laser, I happily purchased six sessions. Well, maybe not too happily given it was a few hundred dollars. But if that meant not shaving my underarms again, it would be well worth it.

They space the sessions out at least a few weeks apart to account for hair growth cycles. This meant my six sessions took several months to complete. By the fourth session, I mentioned I was not seeing results. I could tell the Dermatologist was a bit surprised. She fixed some of the settings on the laser because she said I have some red follicles and those are tougher for the laser to detect.

Let’s stop and talk about the pain for a minute. It hurts! I even opted in for the numbing cream and still found it painful. For the underarm area, it is very fast so it’s nothing you can’t withstand but don’t go into this thinking it’s pain free. It’s not.

After six sessions, I did see some results. I could get away with shaving every few days instead of every other day. Progress made but not what I intended after spending hundreds of dollars. The Dermatologist informed me some hair is just simply tougher than others.

Here is what I found so interesting. While I assumed the lighter the hair the easier it was, it is actually the opposite. It’s all about the laser detecting the hair so the darker the better. Apparently the ideal candidate is someone light skinned with dark hair. I have friends who fit that category and I am not kidding they have seen results in literally two laser hair removal sessions. Two! I find this super annoying, of course.

Even though my hair is not crazy light by any means, those alleged red tones coupled with the fact that my hair is more light than it is dark basically means I am not an ideal candidate. I was pleased that the facility I went to did give me an additional two sessions free because she even admitted my hair turned out to be tougher than most to get results from the laser regardless of what setting she put it at.

I now only have to shave about once a week which is certainly an improvement. However, I will not be throwing any more money into laser hair treatment. No way am I going to try laser on those more delicate parts knowing it very likely may not work. I will continue my monthly Brazilian appointments either with sugaring or waxing knowing I at least gave another option a good solid try.

Have you tried laser hair removal? We’d love to hear if you got results!