Laser hair removal on your scalp

[K2]

Well for the pain ill put it like this... I know I have posted earlier about this but I will again.... I am covered in tattoos. The worst pain I have ever been in was getting a pinup girl on my left oblique.. This hurts damn close to that. Some areas I can just knock it out like the front part of my scalp like my hair line cause the pain isnt as intense. Behind the ears and on the upper portion of the back of the scalp hurt the worst for me. In 1 treatment I have to ask probably 30-40 times for a break. Sometimes as soon as that laser hits the first zap after a break, it hurts bad enough that I have to tell her to stop again. It is lighting the hair up and burning the follicle. There are more than one hair coming out of each follcile so imagine have 3-4-5 hairs burning the same area at the same time.

Another thing I have noticed is that no matter where she is working, it usually feels like it is in a central spot. The area she zaps on me is about 2"x2" and it feels like she is zapping one little area. Almost like just sticking a needle in the same spot over and over. I know it sounds pretty bad by what I am saying but it really is bearable.

When I went in for my second treatment I went in about 30 minutes early. They put some numbing gel on my head and it actually did numb it. She had a freeze pack on my scalp and I could not feel cold at all so I know it was working. The pain was still just as intense though. Still worth it for me even with the pain. A tingle and mild discomfort is a complete understatement. It actually hurt less my first treatment with no numbing gel.

[Antimidas]

God, that sounds like torture!

[marty22]

it is torture!  My lst-3rd treatments, which took off the most hair, were 15-20 mins. each of pure torture. Other treatments werent so bad.

Having the back lowered, was beyond miserable. And I had numbing gel that worked so-so.

[K2]

I agree.... TORTURE!

[Common]

Definitely torture.  The money to pay for the treatment part is comparatively easy.  The pain is the tough part.

I just finished my fourth treatment.  I had some patchiness after the first couple of treatments, but things were looking pretty smooth after treatment three.  I even thought I might be able to finish with only five or six treatments.  Nope.  I have a whole new growth of hair now.  It's thinner than before, but covers most of my head.  Must be the new growth cycle.  Treatment four hurt almost as much as treatment one.

K2 you're very, very lucky to have found that numbing gell.  What's it called?  The topical anesthetic that my clinic uses hardly works at all!

[Antimidas]

Ok.  Maybe I just don't get it.  Everyone who has gone through it or is going through it describes it as torture.  If so, then why continue?

[K2]

I honestly don't know what the name of that gel was. I just went in and they put it on my head with a tongue depressor 30 minutes before I started. All  I know is it looked like a brown prescription bottle. I'm getting it again on Thursday.

You made me sad thinking that after my 3rd or 4th i will start getting another growth. I hope I turn out more lucky.


WOO WHOOO... changed my appointment... got my 3rd one today.

[Common]

K2:  How often are you going in for your treatments.  My clinic is having me wait 6 weeks between mine.

Antimidas: Regarding the pain, I think that it's trading some pain today for convenience/appearance in the future.  It's only 40-60 mins, with breaks, and almost anyone can bear that.

I honestly don't know what the name of that gel was. I just went in and they put it on my head with a tongue depressor 30 minutes before I started. All  I know is it looked like a brown prescription bottle. I'm getting it again on Thursday.

You made me sad thinking that after my 3rd or 4th i will start getting another growth. I hope I turn out more lucky.


WOO WHOOO... changed my appointment... got my 3rd one today.

[K2]

Well between 1st and 2nd treatment it was 5 weeks... 2nd and 3rd was only 4.. but this is because I am deploying and cannot wait any longer. This was actually not that bad. Since I already have less hair and I popped an 800mg motrin about 30 minutes before then popped another one right before. I only needed 7 breaks this time...... I counted.

[marty22]

Despite the pain: Id do it again.

[petree dish]

No pain no gain! The pain is probably whatever to people who want this done. I personally have a high tolerance for pain. Im probably going to get this done next winter. I cant wait to see your guy's results!

[Razor X]

I had a nasty infection on my scalp when I was in 5th grade and that's what made me start shaving it. I just kept up the trend ever since then. Sideburns and facial hair I am keeping. I am in the military but when I get out I do plan on growing the facial hair out completely.

Just out of curiosity, why did the infection require you to shave your head?  Was it so you could apply topical meds?  Pretty cool that you liked it so much that you kept it that way, and that your parents allowed you to.  If I had to shave my head when I was ten, I'd have considered it nothing short of a tragedy.  Of course, nobody was shaving their heads in those days.  You must have a been a pretty confident kid.

[K2]

I started shaving my head after the infection went away actually because it left some pretty wicked scars that I do not like. At first my parents did not like the idea but what could they do? I was already shaved. I just went in to the bathroom one day... shaved my head with some clippers and broke out the razor. Nicks and cuts everywhere. What a horrible first experience. Now I just want it gone so that I do not have to shave anymore. People with hair are pussies anyways

[apocalyps3]

Thought I'd post my experiences with laser hair removal on my scalp...

I wanted to get it done because I hate shaving.  The amount of time I waste in the bathroom shaving can be better spent elsewhere.  I was reluctant to try it because a) I didn't know about the side effects or future side effects and b) I had heard it was expensive.  Lucky for me, a friend of mine told me that her mom actually did it for a living.  So I went to speak to her about it.  She had done it for one guy previously and she said he had been happy with the results.  She didn't have much to share about the side effects, other than the pain, but I figured I'd give it a shot.   She offered to do it for free since my wife is such a good friend of their family!

So now I just finished my 6th treatment last week.  I can definitely notice the change.  There are large sections where the hair is almost entirely gone (the horseshoe around the back of the head).  You can really only tell that there's hair there if you run your hand along it.  The first 3 treatments showed a lot of progress and to be honest there were weeks there where I looked pretty weird.  I shave every day, but you could still see bare spots all over my head.  I looked like I had some weird disease.  I can live with that as long as its temporary.

After the 3rd treatment progress has been a little slower.  It still seems to be working, its just taking a lot longer.  I don't know if that's because she's going easy on me.  She's said before that she's taking it slow with me because she doesn't want to cause a lot of pain.  Each session takes about 15 minutes max. 

The weird thing is that it seems like my existing hair that hasn't been effected yet is growing at a faster rate now.  Maybe its just because its more visible than before or what, I don't know.  I'm willing to patient with the process (what other choice do I have at this point), but I'm starting to worry that it'll never really get me a clean look that I was hoping for.  I'll say this though, shaving is definitely faster and easier.

About the pain... she's said she has me on the lowest setting.  Each blast of the laser feels like a needle jab.  It only hurts for that instant and then goes away.  Most of the blasts are very tolerable.  There is no pain afterwards.  Occasionally though there is a blast that brings tears to my eyes.  These hurt like a mother f'er and are becoming more frequent after each session.  I suspect she's turning up the setting and just hasn't said anything.  They hurt like bitch, but are tolerable.  If the sessions lasted any longer than they do though, I would consider asking for a break... or a shot of vodka.

Hope this helps someone, I wish I had found this forum before I started my treatments.  I couldn't find any info on getting laser hair removal on the scalp before I decided to go for it.

[marty22]

welcome and post a pic when u can!