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5/20/12 4:35 A

Hi.I myself have just purchased a hair epilator.I too cannot wait the time it takes between waxings ,shaving is so tiresome.The epilator has given good results but was very painful ,not for the faint hearted but Im sticking with it as its supposed to become less painful the more times it is used.

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5/18/12 11:55 A

Unfortunately it seems like there's really no good options out there for me right now. I guess I'll have to stick to just tweezing and shaving for now since I can't bare to let it grow out enough for waxing or threading. And the other options are way too costly for not guaranteed results.

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3/2/12 11:54 A

I also forgot to note that the type of laser you use is very important. If you did not have success with one another might be effective. Also if waxing irritates your skin threading is just as effective and doesnt remove a layer of skin like waxing.

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3/2/12 1:28 A

Thanks so much for sharing all that info from your experience! And you're right about the terminal hair issue, I learned that in Anatomy and was pretty upset that none of my doctors had said anything about it in years past when I asked what to do about the hair issue! At this point, for me it isn't too extremely terrible yet, but it's continued to get worse over the years so I'm anticipating having to handle it in the future. For now I was curious if there were other ways to "maintain" the problem areas or slow the growth. I'll stick to plucking since shaving, waxing & creams irritate my skin & give me rashes or really bad acne flare ups that last about 3 weeks, yet I'd have to wax weekly with how fast the hair seems to grow back!

Thanks again!!!

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3/1/12 10:31 P

I have done all three Vaniqua, electrolysis, and laser.
Let me take some time to debunk a lot of the myths and rumors that I see even in this group. First lets start with the hair you are seeing now. When hormones make a follicle go from a vellus hair to a terminal hair there is nothing that is going to reverse that. Vellus hair is the hair that we have all over our body that is thin, nearly transparent and everywhere that terminal hair is except for your palms and the bottom of you feet. Terminal hair is any dark hair you have, under arms, genitals, legs, scalp, eyebrows, lashes, and maybe arms. Once hormones change a vellus hair into a terminal hair you can't reverse it simply because you fixed your hormones. Fixing your hormones will simply prevent you from getting more terminal hairs. For those that say, "oh but I started BC and I see less hair". That's because you are shedding the terminal hair you already have and no new hairs are growing in but those terminal hairs that are shedding will be back. This information is not my opinion but a fact that over 5 hair removal experts, two dermatologist, a gynecologist, and an internalist told me. Trust me they all say the same thing.
Now that you have prevented new terminal hairs forming you can concentrate on destroying the terminal hairs you have now.
Vaniqa- OK first up is Vaniqa. It cost me about $80 a tube for a small tube. It irritated my skin and made me break out. It slows the growth but as you know doesn't stop it. If all you have is a mustache I say go for it you can make that tube last a while. If you have actual chin hairs ect and a lot its a waste of money. Learn to wax at home if all you want to do is slow the growth. Besides laser can be as little as $45 for an upper lip. You do the math. I will say my cousin also used it and did not break out but she basically told me that it slowed the growth less then just waxing. If you decide to get a cosmetologist to wax you it is also around 12-20 buck an area. Still cheaper then a month of vaniqa.
Electrolysis- The only permanent hair removal right? If you have absolutely no hormonal changes again then yes you will never have hair again. In your case even if your hormones are stable you will in the future have the change of activating more vellus hairs and turning them into terminal hairs. Also electrolysis has to be performed by an expert or it wont work. Don't think that because someone is part of the electrolysis association they are good at what they do or quick. Since they charge by the minute you want them to be quick. I once had a "top" electrolysis take 2 hours to clear my chin when all I had was less then 300 hairs give or take. You need to find someone who is quick and effective. If this is the route you want to go let me give you some advice, check the transgender forums. All male to female transgenders will eventually get electrolysis and they know the best of the best because it is the most expensive part of the transformation. When I started going to a man who specialized in working with transgenders I was in and out in less then 30 minutes and I got the best results. Trust me on that one.
Also I should note with electrolysis they have to be able to see the hair to get to it so expect to walk around with stubble for a few days before you can go in and if you shave the day before forget it you have to reschedule even if you have a big night out you have to go out stubble and all. If it is done improperly expect to see scabs and possibly permanent scarring.
Cost wise it is in the long run more expensive then laser unless all you have is a couple dozen long hairs. Also they have to get each hair in its growth phase so you will have to go back multiple times. I had a particular dark hair that took 3 treatments to finally die. I recommend electrolysis after laser for maintenance once or twice a year.
If you have dark skin or fair hair this might be your only option.
Laser: My personal favorite. No its not painless like people say but it hurts a lot less then electrolysis. The other thing is to once finish zapping the pain is gone the pain literally last less then a second. It just sorta surprises you especially in delicate areas. If you have ever waxed your eyebrows you should be fine. The pain is on the same level as waxing.
The results are amazing. As a women with pcos you will need 6-8 treatments to begin with. I had laser on my legs 6 times. I used to have to shave every day and even with shaving you could still see little pepper spots like a permanent five o'clock shadow on my legs. I have super dark hair and very pale skin its a curse. Well after 6 treatments 5 years ago I know shave once a month if that and when it does come in it is so fine I could probably get away with not shaving if panty hose came back into fashion. Not completely gone but I will take it. On my chin I had 4 treatments 5 years ago and it came completely back because I was unable to take care of my hormones. I am now getting treated again and am going on 7 treatments next month and I see a massive difference but I know I will need around 3 more so ten total this time. After that I will probably just need a maintenance treatment once or twice a year. That I can do with electrolysis. You can also shave in between treatment so no one ever need know you have hair. No tanning though the laser needs to see a contrast between hair color and skin color.
Cost wise depends on where you live. The more areas you buy the less each area cost though I would caution against getting the works done incase you are in that 3% that laser does not work for. I would say get the chin and lip first then laser if you need to get nipples get them done with your underarms ect. Avoid those fancy laser clinics that advertise through groupon and on the radio. They are desperate for money and nothing else. They will sell as many packages as they can then it will be a nightmare to get into them on time as you have to go every 4-6 weeks. They also are not as cheap as they claim. I also am going to say something that I know is controversial, avoid going to a doctor. Doctors don't make big money off laser, they use it to entice people to come to the office so they can get them to be patients and make money off actual procedures. They also often do sloppy work as if the laser is beneath them. I have had multiple women tell me their doctors missed spots or took their side burns to high ect. Your best bet is to find a electrolysis with multiple years experience who also has a laser certification or a medi spa with a laser tech that mainly just does laser if you feel more comfy knowing a doctor is in the actual building. Don't fall for any of those this month only specials. Get only the basics to begin with then progress. This you can find on forums and through referrals. If you live in the Cleveland, OH area I know of an amazing laser tech with great pricing. I won't post her name on her because I don't know how she would feel about that but privately I will be glad to share the information with anyone that lives around here.
So in closing Vaniqa = waste of money I don't even know why people buy it honestly
electrolysis = worth it if you find the right technician
laser = if you have fair skin and dark hair don't even question it just go this
route or at least get a consultation if you want to know how much to save
up.

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3/1/12 12:27 A

I don't have experience with either, well I do have a short lived experience with Vaniqua that lasted about a week or 2. I can't even remember to put on regular moisturizer daily, so I wasn't using it regularly and then I stopped using it after we had decided to TTC (& this was all back in 2008). I've not been on it since, but I've been considering other hair removal methods, so I'm really glad you asked! I've tried tweezing & that it what I stick with because I have extremely sensitive skin and I still get acne at 26, which flares up REALLY BAD each time I've tried waxing the facial hair. Shaving also causes my acne to flare up worse than usual, and things like Nair also cause me to break out more than usual.

I am interested in what others have tried and what works best for other ladies :)

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2/28/12 12:13 P

if you're losing hair on your head, i would definitely talk to a doc about the spiro, because its supposed to help that as well. My hair is a little thin on top, and I have noticed that its slighty thicker on the spiro, but not by much. also, i did have a little patch of hair growing on my chest, and i have noticed much fewer hairs there, and the ones that are there are finer. here's a little more detail about the vaniqa from my experience. i was at the point that i had to shave every day, and if i was going somewhere in the evening, i would often shave a second time. and even after shaving, you could see a bit of a shadow on my chin, where the hair is the coarsest. with the vaniqa, i still shave once a day, but i don't feel the need to shave a second time, and when i wake up, i don't feel like i have to shave first thing. the coarsest hairs are still pretty thick, but they must have thinned slightly, because the shadow is pretty much not noticeable unless you are really looking for it and looking closely. and the areas that were a bit thinner have gotten even more so. the biggest thing is that it grows much more slowly. maybe you could get one tube and try it for about 6 weeks and see how it goes for you. to be honest, i'm at the point where i'm trying to decide if its worth the money. the bc and spiro do help me, but the vaniqa definitely does make a difference on top of that. one tube lasts a while for me, so i am leaning towards sticking with it for another few months and then seeing where things are at. if i keep losing weight and keep taking the other meds, i might try to go without and see what happens. the frustrating thing is that this pretty much never goes away no matter what you do. i'm just hoping that if i keep getting healthier, mine will still improve a little more. i've thought about laser, but have mostly heard negative things about it, so i'm leary of going that route...

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2/27/12 4:03 P

Thanks Julmut! I just looked up the price of Vaniqa on drugstore.com, and wow, it really isn’t cheap at all. I was thinking it was around $60 a tube. Definitely something I may still consider though. I had heard that it takes about twice as long for the hair to grow back. Such as if you had to shave daily normally, with Vaniqa it’d be about 2 days? Does it thin the hair at all or is it about the same? I’ve heard very little about spironolactone, but have seen that some people use that and it helps. I haven’t done any research on it though. Does it affect hair growth anywhere else though? Since November, I’ve lost about half the hair on my head and am really nervous about losing anymore. My Dr keeps bringing up birth control to me for helping with a few things, but I absolutely hated being on birth control a few years ago and am really hesitant to go back on it.

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2/27/12 12:51 P

i have had success with vaniqa. here's the thing... it really does slow down the growth for me, but it doesn't stop it completely. so, i do still have to shave, but it takes a lot longer for any stubble to be visible. it is very expensive, but a little bit goes a long way. i think one tube is only supposed to last a month, but for me, it last 3 times that, so its not so bad. i have also found that buying it on drugstore.com is much cheaper than my local pharmacy. i've never tried laser or electrolysis, so i can't really comment on those. another option is the medication spironolactone. it works as an anti-androgen, so it slows down the growth and prevents any new growth... something to mention to your doctor perhaps. the combo of birth control, metformin, spironolacton and vaniqa has helped me enough that i don't feel so self-contious anymore. so frustrating that it just won't go away... hope you find something that helps!

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2/27/12 11:25 A

I was really hoping that once I lost weight and ate more balanced food that my facial hair would be more under control. Unfortunately I'm still struglling with this embarassing problem and it just seems to keep getting worse. I tried laser hair removal years ago and it didn't work that great and it's too expensive for me to try again. I know Vaniqa is expensive and it only works if you continue to use it, but I'm tired of having to tweeze and shave every day and STILL feel stubbles on my face. Has anyone had good success with it? Is it worth the money? Also, I haven't seen many people talk about elextrolysis. I know it's more painful and takes longer than laser, but if it's permanent, I'd really love to hear other people's thoughts on this.