# Talk to me about hair removal - laser vs electrolysis, who's had it? What worked? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-hair-removal-laser-vs-electrolysis-whos-had-it-what-worked/796733 "2017-09-19T16:13:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-hair-removal-laser-vs-electrolysis-whos-had-it-what-worked/796733/1 "2017-09-19T16:13:38Z")
I find myself deeply resenting having to shave/wax/thread/sugar or in general go to war with my leg hair/bikini line/underarms…I personally prefer the feeling of smooth skin, or I would just go on strike. I did buy the Flash N Go, but I am impatient. Anyone had laser or electrolysis? Good? Bad? The Ugly? Tell me all the deets ---
**Author:** ![phi2dao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@phi2dao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phi2dao)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-hair-removal-laser-vs-electrolysis-whos-had-it-what-worked/796733/2 "2017-09-20T02:05:40Z")
I’m currently getting electrolysis, so I know a bit about it. The good: It works! The hairs that are removed do not come back. I haven’t noticed any scaring or other skin problems in the areas effected either. The bad: It hurts. Oh god it hurts. I’m getting my facial hair removed, so I’m dealing with a lot of sensitive places, but I’m pretty sure it’ll hurt no matter where you get hairs removed. It also takes a while. Hopefully your hair isn’t as dense as mine, but you shouldn’t expect to get your hair problems solved in a session or two. The ugly: The places where you get hairs removed scab up for a day or so and look pretty weird. Don’t attend any parties right after a session. Those are my experiences at least. I don’t know anything about laser hair removal, but I hope this all is useful. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-hair-removal-laser-vs-electrolysis-whos-had-it-what-worked/796733/3 "2017-09-20T15:38:16Z")
> [@phi2dao](#): > > I’m currently getting electrolysis, so I know a bit about it. > > The good: It works! The hairs that are removed do not come back. I haven’t noticed any scaring or other skin problems in the areas effected either. > > The bad: It hurts. Oh god it hurts. I’m getting my facial hair removed, so I’m dealing with a lot of sensitive places, but I’m pretty sure it’ll hurt no matter where you get hairs removed. It also takes a while. Hopefully your hair isn’t as dense as mine, but you shouldn’t expect to get your hair problems solved in a session or two. > > The ugly: The places where you get hairs removed scab up for a day or so and look pretty weird. Don’t attend any parties right after a session. > > Those are my experiences at least. I don’t know anything about laser hair removal, but I hope this all is useful. SUPER useful - I forgot about the scabbing after (a friend had it on her upper lip in HS)! ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-hair-removal-laser-vs-electrolysis-whos-had-it-what-worked/796733/4 "2017-09-20T15:46:14Z")
**Moderator Action** Since this is looking for personal experiences, it’s best suited to IMHO. Any factual information is of course still welcome. Moving thread from GQ to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-hair-removal-laser-vs-electrolysis-whos-had-it-what-worked/796733/5 "2017-09-20T16:01:29Z")
I’m also currently doing electrolysis on my face (my chin and a bit of my upper lip) and my experience is right in line with **phi2dao**. I’m willing to do it because once it’s over, it’s over and the hair will never come back. I’m 10 months in and go every 4 weeks for a half hour. The tech puts some numbing agent on you but it still hurts. Actually the electric part doesn’t hurt as bad as the hair coming out, I think. But it still hurts. I couldn’t imagine having it done to a more densely-haired place, for longer sessions (a bigger area), or in some more sensitive area. I was frustrated with the pain level so I was Googling it one night, and realized that most transwomen go through it on a much much much larger scale. At least on their chest and more densely hairy faces. They go for 2-3 hours at a time. Owieeeee. But once again, it is worth it because it’s permanent. My BFF is a guy and he goes to the same lady as me to get his ear hair removed. He doesn’t complain about the pain but it’s a different area than I get done, and his sessions are only about 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-hair-removal-laser-vs-electrolysis-whos-had-it-what-worked/796733/6 "2017-09-21T16:24:50Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’m also currently doing electrolysis on my face (my chin and a bit of my upper lip) and my experience is right in line with **phi2dao**. I’m willing to do it because once it’s over, it’s over and the hair will never come back. I’m 10 months in and go every 4 weeks for a half hour. The tech puts some numbing agent on you but it still hurts. Actually the electric part doesn’t hurt as bad as the hair coming out, I think. But it still hurts. For the record, upper lip is usually one of the most sensitive when waxing too - and unlike your eyebrows or legs, it never seems to get used to it.