Author Topic: Laser hair removal on your scalp  (Read 605666 times)

Offline Timmay

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #30 on: April 06, 2009, 07:12:00 AM »
Nothing like making a whole post in CAPS...lol 

He must be excited!

Offline Jonny Monterroza

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #31 on: April 06, 2009, 07:35:31 AM »
Hello, I am 23 years old and I am presently dealing with quite a difficult time. I am between worlds and don't know whether to fall victim to the undying hope of many that hair cloning/some miraclulous discovery will occur or rather take advantage of the present ability to dismiss the entirey of my hair through laser hair removal. I am almost becoming obsessed with hair loss and cannot stand the idea of falling victim to it. At this time, I am fortunately married and have a loving woman to sustain my sanity, but I detest the fact that I am this young and have to deal with the uncomfortablity. I must confess that I was quite vain in my teenage years and never expected to have to deal with this burden (not to be taken as an offense to anyone, but I really liked having hair!). Moreover, presently I wear eye shadow under my hair line to make it look thicker, which works amazingly and to this day my wife is the only one that is aware of it; however, I am fully alert of the fact that I will not be able to cover it up forever; so I now plan to go to some laser hair clinics in my region (being Ottawa, Canada) to see if there is anyone who will treat me. My first place to go is the same place that my wife went to for her side burns to be done, which turned out to be quite a success! In addition, I have also been researching permanent tattoos that can replicate hair follicles, but I imagine that such a procedure is more of a limiting agent than a success story for my upcoming years. After all, I am young and truly require to be provident with all of my chronic issue decisions.

P.S: I truly appreciated reading all of your comments and feel much more confortable now knowing that other people have had it done. Also, I added a picture to let you see how well the make up works. I don't recommend that anyone get into the phase of doing it, but it obviously works well for me with the amount of hair I still have left. The second picture of the group family together has my biological brother on the far left, which demonstrates what my scalp will look like in 2 years.

Offline Timmay

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #32 on: April 06, 2009, 07:51:46 AM »
Hey Jonny, thanks for posting up and welcome to the site.  Just wanted to say something here and I do not mean to be rude about it, but, are you sure no one notices you put eyeliner under your hair line?  I am in a production where we use theater makeup and eyeliner is used to "fill in" and from what I can see, it is vary noticable.  Of course I do not notice it in your picture, but just with overall experience with this.
You shouldnt feel bad about losing hair.  It happens everyday and some people it goes unnoticed.  You mention that no one has noticed, but do you really think they are going to say anything to you?  How many times do you see a bad hair do on someone and go up and mention it to them?


Like I said, I hope I am not coming off rude to you, but just trying to help you face reality.   I would just almost guess and the other guys in here will back me on this.  Once you shave and get to where you are comfortable with it, it will be the best decission you will have made.  Just give it some time, read up on the post and figure out what is best for YOU!

marty22

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #33 on: April 06, 2009, 09:35:18 AM »
welcome and IM not sure about the makeup.

Offline Jonny Monterroza

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #34 on: April 06, 2009, 05:38:30 PM »
To make everyone aware of why I wear the make up, my reason is mainly in cause of the fact that I have a specific hair style which makes it impossible to see my hair line. My hair is short and I guess that the dark color of it makes it easy to blend with the powder in order to make the recession unnoticeable. As I said before, I am well aware of the fact that this will not be a solution to my problem, but while going to University during the day and having to go to work after wards, my insecurites are much forgotten (thank God!). Either way, I look at my brother and although he is coping extremely well with his hair loss, I in particularly don't plan to head down that path. So, I am researching my choices such as simply shaving it off for a short while or perhaps going to get the laser treatment; after all, its not going to come back if I am this young and already dealing with the first wave.

Offline Jez

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #35 on: April 07, 2009, 12:08:38 AM »
Hi Jonny, i know how you feel, i had major issues when i first started losing my hair, mine started when i was 17 and it was pretty aggressive. Ive actually opted for laser hair removal myself, my scalp is just too sensitive to carry on shaving it any more + with the type of hair that i have im quite prone to ingrown hairs. Is the family photo fairly recent ? if it is recent, ive gotta be honest, it doesnt seem like you have that much to worry about for the moment at least. I cant really tell that you are losing your hair at all. If i were you i would just shave it for the time being, if it gets alot worse and you dont really care for the shadow then i would laser it.

Offline Jonny Monterroza

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #36 on: April 07, 2009, 06:46:20 AM »
Yes, the photo is recent and because of the fact that my hair still looks the way it does, I have opted to keep it growing and cover the weak areas with make up. Now, I am not someone who is over dramatizing my situation, because at first when I started talking to my wife about the hair loss, she initially tried to say I was crazy and that it wasn't noticable; however, now she agrees that it is gradually getting thinner (from her inspecting my scalp straight out of the shower) and we both agree that I should do something about it. The reason for that is because I can't go swimming comfortably in the summer (which I miss) and I constantly trouble myself about it (by going and looking in mirrors all of the time to reassure myself, when I should be more concerned about my studies than anything else). In addition, last summer my wife shaved my head and it hurt quite a bit; also, my hair grows so quickly and it is so dark that I can't imagine having the time or strong enough skin to shave it as often as I most likely will. Moreover, my wife has already called the place where she went for her laser treatment and we will go to have a consultation on Saturday. Wish me luck and I will let you guys know if I think it is a good idea once I get all of the information.
P.S: Jez, is there anything that I should ask or deeply consider about the procedure before making such a big decision? Does your scalp look weird without any follicles at all? Do you happen to go tanning often in order to make the look appear natural? Also, does any hair still grow on your scalp or is your procedure entirely finished? Thank you everyone for your helpful replies! Keep on sending them with your interesting information.

Offline Common

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #37 on: April 08, 2009, 10:40:29 PM »
After checking on the web and reading this thread, I just went in for my first session.  For the benefit of others considering the procedure, I'd like to take a few moments to talk about the pain.  Basically, the darker and denser your hair, the greater the pain.  Dark and dense hair (shaved) is what I've got everywhere except the crown of my head.

I can't remember feeling so much pain.  Terrible, searing pain.  I was sweating and trembling from the pain.  I called out from the pain.  Lasering my head took about one hour, during which I was in almost constant pain.

During the process, I imagined that my head would be a bloody mess when it was over.  Nope.  I looked in the mirror and no apparent damage.  The dome never looked better.

The total cost for session #1 was about $150.  The technician even picked off some random ear, eyebrow, and neck hair at no additional charge.  She believes that I'll need eight or more sessions to completely remove my hair.  She recommends having a session every four weeks.

My advice to other Sly Bald Guys looking to do this procedure is to take something to dull the pain.  A few Advils would be a good idea.  Personally, I'm coming back next time with a vicodin.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2009, 12:16:29 PM by Common »

Offline Alexander215

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #38 on: April 08, 2009, 11:32:20 PM »
After checking on the web and reading this thread, I just went in for my first session.  For the benefit of others considering the procedure, I'd like to take a few moments to talk about the pain.  Bascially, the darker and denser your hair, the greater the pain.  Dark and dense hair (shaved) is what I've got everywhere except the crown of my head.

I can't remember feeling so much pain.  Terrible, searing pain.  I was sweating and trembling from the pain.  I called out from the pain.  Lasering my head took about one hour, during which I was in almost constant pain.

During the process, I imagined that my head would be a bloody mess when it was over.  Nope.  I looked in the mirror and no apparent damage.  The dome never looked better.

The total cost for session #1 was about $150.  The technician even picked off some random ear, eyebrow, and neck hair at no additional charge.  She believes that I'll need eight or more sessions to completely remove my hair.  She recommends having a session every four weeks.

My advice to other Sly Bald Guys looking to do this procedure is to take something to dull the pain.  A few advils would be a good idea.  Personally, I'm coming back next time with a vicodin.

You can get topical cremes at the pharmacy that will dull the pain also. You don't need a prescription, just ask the anyone wearing a white lab coat  O0

Offline Common

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #39 on: April 09, 2009, 07:04:16 AM »
There are non-prescription creams that I can take before the procedure to dull the pain?  Say more!

I'll also talk to the nurse about it.  She discouraged me from using a topical pain reliever before the procedure because she wanted me to be able to tell her if anything was going wrong.  However, given the extreme pain that I felt, I know don't what I could have told her or how it could have hurt worse if something was going wrong.  I am DEFINITELY not going back without some type of pain medication.

For the record, I'm a black man with Obama-toned tan skin.  Laser hair removal is best for fair skinned people with dark hair, so having tan skin might be part of the problem.  I'm pleased to note for any other brothers out there that I've had no skin discoloration.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2009, 12:15:13 PM by Common »

Offline Some Guy

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #40 on: April 11, 2009, 08:32:00 AM »
My tech gave me a topical cream to use. I don't understand how or why they wanted you to tell them if something went wrong?.  Shouldn't they be able to figure that out:)?
The pain was bearable in my case, but have light skin and my hair isn't that dark.  I could tell where the thicker darker hair was because it certainly hurt more. 

Offline Common

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #41 on: April 12, 2009, 07:46:53 AM »
It's possible that she had the wrong settings, but it was a reputable place and my technician, who was also a registered nurse, struck me as being very competent, experienced, and compassionate.  It didn't hurt much or at all where my hair is thinner.  Unfortunately, much of the hair in my "horseshoe" is really thick and that's where it hurt a lot.

I should put my visit in some context.  I was really excited by my internet research and scheduled for a same day appointment.  Maybe in the rush we didn't spend enough time going over pain management.  Also, my technician told me that some people just have more pain than others.  Finally, my technician opted for a YAG laser because of my darker skin.  Maybe YAG hurts more?  I don't know.

Everything feels fine now.  My hair growth is noticably slower.  I still have a horseshoe shadow, but I didn't really need to shave for three days.  When I did shave, it was easier than it's ever been before.  I used to have a few patches in the back of the horseshoe that were so thick that they were hard to shave.  I'd have to go over them a few times and often still had embarrassing spots that I noticed later in the day.  No more.  Also, the razor bumps in the crease of my neck are disappearing and there's not the typical sting there after shaving.  That's a nice bonus from the extra work she did around my neckline.  I have a buddy who's jealous of the random ear/nose/eyebrow hair that she zapped for free as she was doing the job.  It's nice not to have to worry about that stuff anymore.

Overall, it was worth it.  I'm pleased with the outcome.

Id like to get my head lasered someday also and have spoken with several other baldies that have had it done.  Common- your experience does not sound like ones I have heard of.  I understand there is some pain but should be nothing like you experience. The laser tech may have the laser energy set too high.

Offline BuzzKC

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #42 on: April 14, 2009, 09:08:05 AM »
Ihad my first laser treatment a little over two weeks ago and I really don't see any difference.  If I don't shave it grows. Don't notice any patches or stripes like others have talked about.  Looking into some other laser centers that have packages, the first $200 seems to have been a waste.

Offline Common

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #43 on: April 15, 2009, 04:37:02 PM »
The first treatment should have only killed something like 15% of your hair folicles.  I wouldn't be discouraged if you don't notice a big difference.

I don't have patches or stripes either--thankfully!

Offline Ghost1988

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Re: Laser hair removal on your scalp
« Reply #44 on: April 15, 2009, 05:12:59 PM »
im really interested in getting lazer except i dont know anything about it. i dont even know what to search for exactly to be honest. where do i go to get my head lazered? do most cities have a place? do i need to grow my hair out when i go to get it done? if anyone knows a website where i can read up on it ide really apreciate it.