Dissatified Clients with Laser Hair Removal

I have dark hair and light skin, so I should be the perfect candidate. I went with a well known company, with multiple locals around the US. My package was for 6 treatments on my legs, underarms, and bikini and it came with a 2 year guarantee - free treatments for 2 years after the 6th treatment if I see hair growth in the treated areas. I went to the treatments every 11 weeks, as the clinic recommended. I saw results after a few treatments - small spots that had less hair growth than usual, or look bare. But by the 6th treatment, instead of seeing the 80% results the clinic said most people see, I saw maybe 20%. So I went back for more treatments every 6 weeks (they suggested I come more often because I wasn't seeing good results). I started receiving "double passes" where they go over the entire treatment area twice at each treatment session. Last month was the end of my 2 year guarantee period. I had over 20 treatments total. I still have to shave every day. My underarms and bikini have spots with no hair growth, but the hair that does grow is still thick, and I suspect the areas of little or no grow will grow back within the next few month. My legs show very little progress as well - less hair, but the hair that does grow is still thick and grows quickly so I have to shave regularly. I don't know if I'm particularly resistant, if the lasers they use at that clinic doesn't work on me, or what. But I would not do it again. The pain, time, and most of all expense has been wasted. I still have to shave regularly,so the little results I've seen are meaningless.I don't know if other people have had success over the long term, but I would not suggest this to anyone. At least not until the technology is improved and more people have seen better, more permanent results.

Client 2

The 34-year-old walked out with a blistering burn on his chest.It’s a scenario that’s become all too familiar. Laser hair removal at so-called medical or medi-spas in major cities across the country. Shortly after beginning the hair removal process on Perez, the laser technician noticed a discoloration on his chest. She told him it could be removed with the laser."I was like 'go for it,'" said Perez, who believed the technician to be a nurse. "I figured she knew what she was doing."

Once the technician began to "remove" the large discoloration using an Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment, Perez said he felt immediate pain and smelled burning hair.

"There was literally smoke coming off of my chest," he said. "She said it’s OK; that’s just the hair follicles burning. So I didn’t think nothing of it. I ended up walking out of there with a 1 1/2-inch-by-2-inch test area that was very pink and reddish, but I thought that was part of the process and that when it healed it would be gone."

Perez continued experiencing pain throughout the night and the area began to blister. It eventually formed brown scab in some areas and hypo pigmented or turned white in other areas, he said.

"Before the IPL, my chest had just the brown discoloration," he said. "Now I'm left with three different colored patches on my chest and shoulder from the laser burn," Perez said.

"I have to look at this scar every day, and it's a constant reminder of how much pain I suffered and the bad judgment I used, because I just didn't know the dangers of going to a medi-spa.

"They’re in the business to make money," he continued. "There’s no ethics; there’s no morals. The laser hair removal didn’t even work because of my skin tone. The laser they used on me was for Caucasians and not for a guy whose last name is Perez."Perez hopes one day he will be scar-free and though he’ll likely spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars by the time it’s all said and done, he has chosen not to sue the medi-spa he blames for the injury.

"They’re out of business now and by the time the lawyers get involved, what’s left over, $1,000 and a lot of headaches," he said.

Still, he admits to holding a grudge against the spa and the woman who treated him.

"Why didn’t she say, 'let’s have a doctor look at this first,'" he said. "That would have been the solution to the problem, not let’s turn this laser up as high as it goes and burn it off. Somebody’s going to get hurt pretty bad if they haven’t already."Both Jacob and Perez encourage anyone considering laser hair removal to make sure an actual physician is performing the work or supervising

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