8 replies to this topic

[niki55]

hi i was wondering if any one could advise me on what to do

i went to a local clinic for laser hair removal on the sides of my face she said yes we could do this but advised to do it all over the face as i have acne and scarring she told me she thinks this would help to clear it. she did a test patch on the side of my face (where there isnt much acne) and thats fine at the moment 3 days on. what do you think? she also suggested a cream called 'tret' she could provide i am guessing she means tretinoin hydroquinone.

i am not sure what to do i have researched other lasers such as 'ND yag laser' and 'ppx isolaz' but its like a 50-50 chance some say good some say bad.

Just dont know what to do! i have been on roaccutane before and do not want to do it again, currently im still on antibiotics which are doing nothing

please help

[Zachary John Carter]

can we get it free form nhs assming that you live in england

[clandestine_guy]

Having personal experience with laser hair removal lasers and treatments I want to warn you to think very carefully about doing laser hair removal on the face because you're a female!!! LHR works on thick, dark dense hair. And majority of women with facial hair problems do not have coarse and dense enough hair for laser to work. One of the major side effects for females that do LHR on the face is something called "Laser Induced Hair Grwoth." It basically stimluates more hairgrowth instead of killing hair when the hair is fine, villous or when women have hormonal embalance or a condition called PCOS. This stimulation can happen after a single treatment or later after a course of treatments. Do not!! use lasers that are used for killing hair on your entire face, especially on areas where you don't have hairgrowth!! My advice is to go the electrolysis route for your face. It maybe a little slower and more expensive, but you will save too much stress and more $$ clearing the laser induced growth with electrolysis down the road.

As for laser and acne. The laser machines used for acne treatment don't do a lot. When I had laser hair removal on my chest, the heat from laser would zap away my slight body acne but all that acne would return in matter of months. I had 8 laser hair removal treatments and each time the chest acne would go away and come back. So do your research and don't rush into treatments. A lot of laser clinics sweet talk people with promises and good discounts like used car salesmen. These lasers for acne are kinda like chemical peels and dermabrasion. The laser superficially might oblate the top layer of skin, and that's it.

If you want to try light based treatments for acne, I would look into Levulan-Omnilux or similar blue/red therapies. Even they are not a cure but just acne management which will require periodic treatments. I heard about the Isolaz but don't hear much talk about it.

Edited by clandestine_guy, 04 March 2012 - 11:35 PM.

[scarface1]

I agree with clandestine_guy. Do your research before allowing the laser to touch your face. A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with PCOS and developed a few chin hairs and thought laser hair removal would remedy the situation. My skin would always come out looking beautiful and radiant in the area that she treated, but the true damage didn’t show up until about the third treatment. By damage, I mean that I realized that dark, thick hairs were growing in areas that hair had never grown before. There was literally a distinct line of dark hairs from where the laser had stopped.

I started to lurk these forums a couple of months ago, not because I have acne problems, but because part of my face is scarred from a combination of electrolysis treatments, ingrown hairs, shaving damage, and damage from products that inflamed my face rather than diminish the hyperpigmentation marks I suffer from.
Overall, a couple of laser treatments made an issue I had 100 times worse and attempts at fixing the problem has only led to scarring. I wish I had never had it done and had dealt with the minimal amount of facial hair that I had in another manner. So please do consider the risks, because although you may go through a few laser treatments to clear up your hair and acne, it may in fact stimulate a bunch of hair growth that will not only make you look like a hairy, walking monster, but will be difficult to remove without further damaging your skin.

[shayma]

hey im 15 and im american and bahraini nationality , laser has always been arab womens choice due to excessive thick black hair , its pretty tough of just waxing and shaving , just yesterday i found out i had pcod or "pcos" and everythings makes sense my face and my excessive hair growth . im planning to fully laser my entire body rather than just my face , make my life easier but now since i've read ur comments im having small doubts and concerns.the thing is my face i would rather say its a probm with pimples than acne but i would call it mild acne, and im just wondering how will it affect me and whats the damage in the future. hope you guys can help me out !! . thnxx xoxo.

[eliwest]

I'm 24 year old male, I had laser hair removal on my face when I could afford it. it is $200 a visit, once a month. It did not help my acne but did stop the hairs. I felt like shaving was possibly causing my acne so that is why I decided to get the laser done.

[dsmith10]

I would be very careful and take your time to decide. Laser hair removal is a very effective way to remove unwanted hairs however since you have acne on your face I would recommend going to your local GP and talking to him about it. He will be one of the most qualified people to inform you as well as giving you all the information needed to make a informed decision.

There is some good information and some very good laser hair removal articles here.

[LoveGreenSmoothies]

Don't do it, especially with active acne! First, hair removal lasers have caused facial scarring in people who don't even have acne to begin with. I've seen a few people with previously unscarred skin come to the acne scarring forum after getting scarred from this. Also, NO laser treatment should be performed on skin with acne due to teh risk of scarring.

[pearlwinselot]

well, u can go for laser hair removal but not for face. The acne can increase on your face as a side effect. and even somewhere u feel that you should try LHR on face then go for the best clinic and best aesthetic doctors.