Even if you don’t do laser, your body over the course of years and years and years is already removing a tattoo, hence why you see old people with faded ass tats.

So it makes sense even after a laser session or two and you left your tattoo alone, it’s gone fade and fade and fade, maybe not as fast if you went through the constant laser sessions but it will just fade and fade lol.

Laser just makes it easier for your body to do its job :)

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Yes, my tattoo removal person had a guy that would just come once a year when he was in town and I think he had only had 3 sessions and it was almost gone, I think the space in between treatments can be a big factor, sometimes it’s better to space them more if you can

I can mostly only speak to my experience. For context, I have pale skin and dark hair, so pretty much an ideal candidate for this kind of thing.

I had something like 16 sessions on my face, between 2017 and 2019. It took that long - longer than many people's experiences - to get to the point where (almost) all the dark hair was gone. That said, the effects *have* been permanent, and pretty amazing - since my last laser appointment, none of it has returned. It has been one of the most effective pieces of gender affirming care I've experienced.

I have recently begun getting electrolysis to get rid of some of the translucent hair that wasn't touched, but there wasn't *too* much of that.

Hair has a growth cycle and I'm not going to go all scientific because I don't really completely understand it but the best way that I've explained it and my electrolysis agreed that it was a good way is as follows.

You have a master hair in each hair follicle. Any given day the hair that is growing in that follicle could be the master or it could be a slave.

As your laser or electrolysis person removes the hair if it removes a slave, the master simply sends another slave up. This is why sometimes the hairs regrow

But one day the master will pop his head up and then if your laser or electrolysis gets him no hair will ever grow there again.

So basically it's a 20% chance that you will never have a hair grow again from laser or electrolysis which means it could take five trips just for that one hair or it might take 10 trips just for that one here. Nobody can tell you how many trips it will take just for that one single hair.

But on average every time they do an area 20% of the hairs will die and never come back. So on average it will take five trips over every single spot on your face or your body to remove a hair.

So it is not a consistent science saying it will take x amount of trips because everybody is different.

Adding on to that is redheads have deeper follicles so sometimes lasers don't work very well on them.

So your hair color your skin color all these Factor into whether laser will even work for you. Electrolysis will work for you guaranteed it doesn't care about hair color or skin color.

To all the redheads out there. Electrolysis is painful for us just like everything else. The trade-off for our gorgeous red hair is that we go through the world in more pain

My wife has light skin and dark hair. She did 10 laser sessions over the span of about a year. It significantly reduced the amount and speed of growth, thinned the hair, and lightened the hair on her face. In 10 sessions, she reached the point of really needing to switch to electrolysis because the hair was too light. Electrolysis is the only permanent hair removal technique, but it's costly and time consuming. Many people will start with laser to remove what they can and then switch to electrolysis.

The number of sessions needed for each also really varies. Factors like the techniques used, types of laser and electrolysis, your hair density, all play a role. Your answer is really "your miles will vary", unfortunately.

I'm not sure how many electrolysis sessions my wife has had for her face, but I know she's not even halfway through that process after a few months. I will also add- despite laser not taking care of everything, it was a huge help to my wife's dysphoria and she very much felt it was worth it.

Laser is permanent, caveat, on the hair it affects. There will be light hair that will never go away with laser but the dark hair will be permanently removed.

Do laser first. It will be the fastest way to get rid of shadow completely. Electrolysis targets the extra hairs that do not affect beard shadow.

The only complete, permanent method is electrolysis.

Laser is never completely permanent, no matter what you read. You might see permanent reduction in some or most follicles, but there will always be some hairs that come back over time, especially the thinner or lighter ones. But these will be significantly less than what you started with. You will definitely not have anything close to the same level of hair growth pre-laser.

That said, if your goal is true permanent removal, the most cost effective route is often a full course of laser, then finish whatever remains with electrolysis, rather than all electrolysis from the jump, since it is much slower (going follicle by follicle) than laser.

Hair doesn't go away because you need to kill the hair follicles for it to stop. And you have thousands

Laser can damage them and sometimes kill them, but your body is good at healing and over time some may become more active and healthy again, so that's why some people report permanent loss and some report it coming back

Electrolysis kills the follicles because it targets them directly. It's slower but guaranteed eventually

Some people do laser to thin then electrolysis to wipe out completely

Electrolysis is not cheaper. You're looking at at least 100 of those $80 sessions to clear your entire face. If you go every single week, it'll take 2 years.

Laser gets rid of 95% of your dark facial hair after 8-12 sessions. Cost me about $100 every 6 weeks for a little over a year.

White hairs do not conduct heat, so laser does nothing to them.

I'm afraid I can't really help - I'm in the UK, and facial hair removal is one of the few gender affirming care options that is offered to people on the NHS. For what it's worth, though, my body hair has *significantly* thinned as a direct result of HRT, which as far as I know isn't really what happens to facial hair. I'm still considering getting laser treatments for some of the rest of my body, but that feels more like a "it would be really nice" kind of thing than "it will help me stop crying all the time" kind of thing.

Why don’t you buy an IPL machine for at home touch ups so you never have to pay out for laser again . I don’t think anything is ever permanent without maintenance and you’ve got to be willing to put the time and money in if that’s what you’re looking for. I have an IPL machine and never had laser and I’ve been really happy with my results x

From what I’ve gathered and what a few derms have told me, laser reduction can be long-lasting for many, but not necessarily permanent. Hormonal areas (like underarms, bikini, and face) tend to be especially stubborn and often need maintenance treatments over time. And electrolysis seems more reliable for small zones or facial hair, but it’s a whole different level of effort.

So finally I went the at-home route. I started using Ulike Air 10 a few months ago, and it’s worked well for keeping regrowth in check without needing to book appointments or spend a ton. I think it’s kept me from feeling like I’m starting from scratch again.

If you’re feeling burned out by the clinic route, it might be worth exploring home options, just to give yourself a bit more flexibility and control. Just make sure you’re realistic about upkeep, nothing’s permanent unless you commit long-term.

I have basically no hair since laser >5 yrs ago. Only place with regrowth (approx 50%) is Brazilian area.

I think my results are as permanent as it gets.

I'm glad it worked well for me but from looking at posts on here, seems like it doesn't work as well for many others.

It's hard to judge your personal results against others since everyone get very different results.

At home IPL isn't as effective as laser but for some people it's worth the investment since laser doesn't work well for them and having access to ongoing IPL by buying their own machine is better. It's worth looking into. Just be aware that if laser is not effective as long term hair removal/reduction, IPL won't be any better.

I heard electrolysis works well but for large body area with lots of hair, it's going to be a really big cost and big time investment. Not sure if it's worth it for large body parts.

I had permanent total clearance. That said I had to make sure my tech was using the highest setting I could tolerate.

Your results may be due to a couple of factors. Since laser can only treat hair when it is in its active growing phase (connected to the blood supply), the hair you are seeing now could be the follicles that were dormant at the time of treatment. Also laser only being effective on dark hair, if the hair that remains is too light, laser wouldn't be able to create enough heat to destroy the follicle. It's pretty rare that 6 treatments would be sufficient to completely clear an area. Significantly reduced, but not fully clear. Electrolysis would work, and if the hair is lacking in pigmentation the only permanent option left. As far as pain goes, yeah there's a sensation, but I think some people really blow it out of proportion. Quite a few of my clients find electrolysis to be less discomfort than the laser. Laser treatments are quick but hit everything within the spot size, electrolysis is one hair and one follicle at a time.

So I've had both laser hair removal and electrolysis. The woman who does my removal explained that both are permanent. For laser hair removal it takes regular appointments for about 3 years in order to eliminate most of the hair from an area. Laser is less precise.

Electrolysis is time consuming because they have to go in and hit each individual hair follicle, but once that is done it will never grow hair again. She also said that your face is the one area where there will always be new hair growth because it is hormonal. Even if you destroy one follicle, it will grow from another.

So take that for what you will. I had laser on my underarms for about 2 years straight and it's been about 5 years since. I'd say I've got about an 80% reduction of what was there before.

I had electrolysis 30 year ago in my chin and upper lip and it took 10 years to come back with a vengence 

Not true. I had laser hair removal and it didn't grow back. It's been 18 years.

I had laser done on my legs 15 years ago…nothing grew back.

The thing is, it really depends on the skin tone, type of hair, part of the body, etc. The hair certainly weakens a lot and becomes less visible, but you need to have maintenance sessions at least every few months. There's no "never again" solution, for now.

Is this true? I did three sessions with Candela Alexandrite Laser 10 years ago, and that made a huge difference in my hair growth. I depleted maybe 50% or more, and the result was permanent, meaning i haven't noticed any new growth (on my body).

I am currently undergoing another package of 8 session. I've done three so far, and I am almost hairless now.

Could you say which phillips laser exactly? And did you have thick hair to begin with?

I’m 12 sessions in and my progress has slowed too. If it helps any I have been doing research into this and I’ve heard it’s normal for it to get slower as the ink gets lighter. I saw someone say they had a year period where it didn’t move at all and then it finally started going away.

How long have you been waiting I. Between treatments? Have you taken a break at any point?

Seeing these posts, seeing like 3+ years and it there just demotivates a lot :/

But to your post, I’d say give it some time off to your body absorbs ink :)

On which part of your body the tattoo is?

So light now tho

I've had laser hair removal off and on for over a decade. It grows back. Six sessions is probably not enough. I would honestly say consider 15 as a possibility!

Once a year touch up is not enough.

I know this is what they say to lure you in but it's only hair reduction and it's not permanent.

I'm curious to see what other people have to say about their experiences!

I had laser on my bikini line about 8+ years ago. It’s just starting to grow back now and this summer for the first time in 8 years I had to do a quick touch up shave before hitting the pool. It’s still barely noticeable.

6-8 sessions was totally worth it for 8 years of no bikini waxes, carefree pool moments + no ingrown hairs.

I’ve read the success of laser has a bit to do with your hair/skin color. Light hair/dark skin works better because the laser then targets the dark hair (or something like that).

Do it!

I had ipl x 6 on my underarms 15 years ago and no regrowth since.

But I've had 8 sessions of laser on my bikini area and only abot a 30 per cent reduction in hair.

It's a bit of a lottery, I think.

I had maybe about 12 sessions of ipl on my underarms maybe 10 years ago. It promises permanent hair reduction. And that's what it did. I have maybe about 10 hairs that still grow back on each pit? Which I can pluck every 2 weeks

As others have said, ymmv. I have super pale skin and very dark/thick body hair. Had 15 treatments on my bikini area about ten years ago, and although very little of it has grown back, all those treatments resulted in about 60-70% reduction. Still have to shave, it's just way less painful and leaves me with fewer bumps, ingrowns, and razor burn.

About darker skin and lasers: these days there are lasers that will do that, but you will want to do your research and make sure you go somewhere where they have that specific type, and they know how to use it.

I don’t have an answer but I hope my progress is as smooth as yours!

I think if you zapp it one more time and leave it until this winter it will be gone forever, good luck 👍

Own more session wouldn’t hurt. It’s extremely faded, it looks mostly like a bruise right now.

One session, and then leave it :)

1-2 more sessions to go back to skin level, but looks completely gone

Me currently.

I’ve got some good fading but it feels like they’ll never be completely gone at this rate

Everyone does, but even though its maybe not possible to get 100% fade what motivates me is that a 90% is also kinda invisible. Anyway, in the worst scenario is can get another tatto done, but a fk cool one.

I think everyone does. But you could say that about anything in life. I felt like it was worth it to try, and try I will! I haven’t had enough sessions yet but after 3 over the course of a year, I feel like it’s fading nicely.

Literally everyone lol

Oh definitely! I've just started the process of removing two tattoos and my technician said something that stuck with me - it's a long process but think in the short term. Each session will achieve fading and move you further towards your goal of full removal. With one of mine especially (large-ish, colour, cover up) I know that it is likely there will bits of pigment left over. My plan is to look at it at each stage and decide what's next, keeping reworks and cover ups in mind as we go.

No one can guarantee full removal but isn't it at least worth a try? There are always other options if it doesn't work out

Sorry to say but I’m struggling to even tell which is the before and after. Perhaps a new clinic is something to consider x

Check out my profile for my snake progress 3 sessions in. It’s pretty much the exact same placement as yours. I’ve had awesome results with the Q-Switch YD NAG laser. Might be worth a try!

What kind of laser was the tech using? I do see fading all over but mostly at the dragon tail.

New laser new laser !

Hmm I mean there is fading but its very minimal. I feel like you should switch up laser and clinic maybe. I know the process is slow but thats nothing for a year imo.