Well, no I have not written enough about hair. In fact I have not written about it at all (aside from maybe mentioning I have a laser hair removal appointment).
Laser Hair Removal, it sounds much simpler than it really is. For most LHR clients it really can be a simple and relatively painless procedure. This is due to women for the most part being lucky enough to have much finer hair than their male counter-parts. My partner and I both go for regular hair removal appointments, and compare our experiences after. Now my partner considers herself to have an extremely high pain tolerance, and even for her some areas are terribly painful (but overall it is a relatively pain free experience). Not so for me.
In my limited experience with LHR, I discovered that the back, chest, and stomach, are nearly painless as the laser zaps each follicle. I may notice the odd little prick but in the time it takes to do those areas my brain is often tempted to succumb to the adenosine in my system and simply fall asleep. I have also been extremely impressed with the results, the technicians told me each area would need 6-8 treatments for permanent removal and even after the initial treatments I barely notice any re-growth.
The face was not so easy. Despite never having a whole lot of hair on my body, my face was not so lucky. Still, for what facial hair existed, it is coarse with the added disadvantage of being attached to naturally sensitive and soft skin. The first time I got LRH on my face, the technician started with a spot on my neck and with the first shot I did feel something but really just thought to myself that it was not so bad. The cheeks were next and still I continued to think that this laser hair removal thing was not bad at all – too easy. I was wrong. Once she got to the area just below my lower lip, the pain increased significantly. Each zap felt like it was shooting through my tissues deep into my mouth, but still I had a goal and the pain was worth it. Then the technician moved to the jaw line. If you have never had laser hair removal on your jaw experience will be very difficult to understand. With each zap of the laser I could feel a short shot of pain shoot right up into my ear. It was very strange as they are so far removed, though I am sure someone from the medical or biological field could explain to me how there are facial nerve bundles running along the jaw or something. As the technician moved the laser up the jaw line, I began to hear the individual follicles being destroyed. It sounded like a very loud version of the crackling/squishing sound when you take fire to hair or lint. The closer she got to my ears, the louder the dying hair follicles were and the more off-putting the experience was. But the day was not over yet. I should note that I have had broken bones, and had gall-bladder attacks and never have I cried from pain. This is not a testament to my strength nor is it a statement about how tough or manly I was, but rather my response to pain never included tears. But all that was to change when it was time to apply the laser to the area above my upper lip. As the technician zapped each hair above my lip, I am pretty sure I could feel the pain shoot up the midline of my face and behind my eyes. As she continued I quite literally started crying and could not help it. She asked if she should stop but I firmly stated we should get this over with. I found myself holding on to my belt so tighter and tighter with each lasing that I unknowingly slid my pants down a little. Finally, the experience was over and after some advice was given for after-care I was told it should only take five to seven more of those appointments until it was permanent. Still it is worth it.
Wrongly thinking that facial laser hair removal was the worst it could get, I elected to go for an appointment to remove the hair from my butt, pubic area and groin. Having never gone to have this area done before, I was a little concerned with the comfort level of the technician. I really was not sure if she would be alright with getting right in there to get the job done. But when I asked if she was comfortable she laughed slightly and said ‘it is just business’ with a smile. So she had me strip and cover myself with a tiny towel wrap and we got to it. This time she started with my butt, and it was quite painless. Just like with my face, I wrongly thought to myself this won’t be so bad. The technician was very good and professional as she grabbed, grasped, spread, and moved whatever she had to in order to get the job done. Unfortunately, I had not mentally prepared for just how painful this was going to be. As I said, some areas felt like nothing. But as the appointment went on, I found myself experiencing little involuntary jumps or spasms with each zap. As a coping mechanism I began squeezing with all my strength a little stress ball the technician gave me. The pain got worse in the most sensitive region, so I asked the technician for an extra facecloth which she handed me with a confused look on her face. I rolled it up and bit down on it like a gag, in order to not groan or scream through the final few square inches of the appointment. As painful as it was, I was happy with the results. Only four or five more of those for permanency!
So for all my whining about what I went through, I will state that I am very happy with the results. Despite the pain, the results so far make me look forward to returning for more appointments. I will also add that I am very happy with just how soft my skin is where the hair has been removed from, and some friends have even noticed that my skin appears younger with a nice complexion. So in this case pain is good.
~ Hailey Amelia Rae
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