Laser hair removal (Part 2)

Okay, let’s continue right where we left off last time, without any delay!

At the beginning of my laser treatment, I thought, Wow, I might even be done by my fifth session or earlier! Unfortunately, after that initial, exciting progress, things seemed to hit a standstill and started moving a lot slower, or at least, that’s how it felt.

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of hair stops growing back completely, but there are always those stubborn ones that you keep seeing session after session. They might start getting thinner and taking longer to regrow, but they’re definitely still there.

By the time I was in my eighth or ninth session, I was really starting to worry. Why was this remaining hair refusing to be eliminated forever? That initial excitement started transforming into disappointment. I was eight months into the process, I never thought it would take that long, and I still had at least four months left of my original contemplated timeline.

The clinic we chose has a written warranty guaranteeing 90% to 95% hair removal. If you haven't reached that goal by your 12th session, and you followed every instruction to the letter without missing or rescheduling an appointment, you can claim the warranty and continue with sessions at no cost until you hit that magic number.

Sounds too good to be true, right? First of all, how are they actually measuring that percentage? How many hairs make up the remaining 10%?

If you have a jar of rice and you take 12 handfuls out of it, how do you know when you’ve gotten exactly 90% of the rice out? You can probably make an estimate, but unless you counted the individual grains or weighed the jar before you started scooping, there's no way to know for sure.

That's exactly how it felt here. They never actually measured how much hair I had to begin with. To make matters worse, when I started the treatment, I had been using my epilator, so they never even saw my full grown hair. How exactly do they measure?

Nowhere in the contract does it specify, but hey, that's their problem, not mine. Still, since there was no true measurement, they could easily just argue that they did reach the percentage, and I’d have no way to prove otherwise.

Well the twelfth session came and went and I still had remaining hair. To my surprise (well, not really), they did try to deny me the warranty, but for the wrong reasons, and reasons I could absolutely disprove. They tried to argue that I had been late to a couple of appointments and had rescheduled another.

What they didn't know is that I consider myself a very well organized lass. I had all my receipts and records, so faced with the proof, they had no choice but to authorize my warranty.

Now, how does their warranty actually work? Well, you only get approved in blocks of three sessions and I had to go in for an evaluation first. You get three sessions but before each one, you also need to be evaluated.

Also  they are no longer going to glide the laser over the entire leg like a normal session. Instead, they only target the specific remaining hairs. After those three sessions, you have to go back for another “final” evaluation, and they decide if you're finally done or if you get another three, and so on and so forth.

To not make this story any longer, I started this treatment in the last quarter of 2024. We are more than halfway through 2026. I have had 16 sessions so far, and I still have hair left on my thighs. As of this writing, I'm in my second warranty block for the remaining hair. Two full years of this, it’s just nuts!

So, is laser hair removal worth it? Well, I guess it depends on what you consider a worthy investment. Personally, I would say it was worth it, even with all the complaints I just wrote about.

The amount of hair I used to have versus what I have now is way, way, way less. The hair that is left is much finer and takes much longer to grow back. I think I'm more disappointed by the general limitations of laser technology than by the customer service I received regarding the warranty.

Laser hair removal is a great alternative; it's just not the instant miracle you might be visualizing. We have to keep in mind that our bodies have testosterone, and that plays a huge part in the results we get.

Also, before starting laser, I was taking Minoxidil pills for hair loss, which are a much better option for scalp hair growth than topical solutions. The problem is that the pill goes straight into your bloodstream, so you get faster, better results on your head... but also on every other part of your body.

So, if you are on any kind of oral hair loss medication, laser might not be for you unless you’re willing to stop taking it and settle for less effective topical solutions. Of course, if you are on any other type of medication or you're unsure if you can start laser treatments, it’s always important to talk to your doctor first.

As for me, I guess I’ll just keep going to the sessions I get authorized. Once that’s finally over, I’ll have no other choice but to dust off my trusty epilator and clear out those stubborn little leftover hairs, but meanwhile, my legs do look and feel wonderfully feminine every single day that’s for sure.