For several years I’ve been shaving and waxing for bikini hair removal and it hasn’t worked out that well. If I shave I get red bumps because my skin is so sensitive, and if I wax I’m cursed with ingrown hair. Waxing makes your hair thinner and weaker, so the more I did it the worse my ingrowns got, and in the end I actually started doing a combination of both. This seemed expensive and silly and I was never that pleased with the results, so after hearing good things I wanted to try laser hair removal.

I researched a few different places, got recommendations and then decided to make an appointment. I chose a reputable dermatologist and made an initial consultation. I knew that I wanted to proceed so I put some numbing cream on prior to my appointment. I used the numbing cream Emla, which I would highly recommend to anyone for waxing or hair removal. It completely numbs the skin and you feel no pain. I love it!

When I arrived at the clinic I was given a waiver to sign and an information sheet. On the information sheet it says that some people actually burn their skin from laser hair removal….eeeks! This made me a little nervous.

In terms of treatment it wasn’t that painful since I’d used the numbing cream before we started. The treatment took about 20 minutes and I was a little red, but it didn’t hurt too much. In some ways it was just like getting a wax – someone is doing things to your neither regions and you are asked to place your body in some very strange positions!

Since I’ve had my treatment I’m happy with the reduced hair growth. To make sure the treatments work you are not allowed to wax between laser treatments, but you can continue to shave, so I’ve been shaving about once a week to keep things tidy.

One thing I’m not happy with is the ingrown hairs that have developed since my first treatment. My bikini line doesn’t look excellent with my new red bumps. I’ve been using a loofah, but it doesn’t seem to be working. I’m going to call the hair removal clinic and see what they recommend for the ingrowns or what they can do about them. I expect them to help me take care of them, since they helped to create them.

I also wasn’t that happy that I received my first treatment without meeting the dermatologist. I was told on the phone that the doctor meets all patients prior to treatments, but when I went in I never met her. It seemed unprofessional to me, and I’ll definitely make sure I meet her next time I go in.

My next treatment is scheduled soon, so I’ll keep you posted on how I’m progressing. I’d really like to be hair free by the end of 2009, so it’s important that I stick to my schedule to make that goal.