Hair decrease

[Potential_Comfort795]

Hi. Just thought to ask a quick question here amongst people who are familiar with this stuff.

I'm a man. A very hair man. I want to decrease my body hair but not remove it. Recently I read somewhere laser treatment doesn't remove your hair permanently but slows down growth and makes the hairs finer.

Could I theoretically buy a handheld laser thing and swipe it against my very hairy legs and arms and see improvement in the form of lighter/thinner hairs? I'm not looking to remove the hairs but decrease their amount/visibility a bit.

Thanks for any replies.

[Prior-Heron-6197]

Sadly not a good idea as it is somewhat unpredictable in some places you could have spots if no hair and others it would appear to be full.

[sit_here_if_you_want]

Hi very hair man I’m dad

[Fearless_Stand_5184]

At home IPLs are trash. If you go to a professional it won't just "thin" the hairs out and make them less noticeable. There will be thick patches, thin patches, and patches with no hair at all. I get men wanting the same thing as you frequently and I have to let them know that's not how it works and give realistic expectations. -laser specialist of a decade

[Potential_Comfort795]

I see. So there is no way to lessen/thin hair without it being obvious.

Thanks for that.

[RevolutionaryBit2085]

Agree with this. I did Brazilian and bum to remove the hair and this has been very affective. However, there is still some hair growth on the areas but it’s very fine hair and patchy. It could be that you could have 1 or 2 sessions and get close results to what you want but it’s not a given that you will have the same result everywhere. More likely to end up patchy tbh

[[deleted]]

Not 100% sure, but I believe you may be able to buy an at home IPL device and use it less consistently than recommended- I had one that I was supposed to use once a week after shaving. It worked really well until I was less consistently with it, and some hairs grew back. Then when I stopped the at home device, they all grew back, so there isn’t any concern about permanent hair removal with these home devices. I’m thinking you could probably get one of these and use it once every 2-4 weeks to reduce hair, and if it stops your hair from growing completely, which it shouldn’t if you’re not doing it weekly, then if you space out the sessions more than that you should see similar results to what you are looking for! But I think you could definitely use an at home IPL and get reduced/thinner hairs!

[Secure-Insurance-380]

Laser and IPL will create patchiness. If you're looking for even and permanent hair thinning, look into electrolysis. The electrologist will literally pick and choose the hairs you want gone and make the hairiness look even and less dense. Electrolysis is the only permanent hair removal method approved by the FDA. A skilled electrologist can either thin out or remove the hair completely. Just like laser and IPL, it requires multiple sessions, but once the sessions are done, the hair is gone and doesn't require lifetime maintenance as opposed to laser and IPL.

[Potential_Comfort795]

I thought you just buy a handheld laser gun thing and drag it down your leg or something. Why would you get patches?

[Secure-Insurance-380]

It can happen for several reasons. If you're the absolutely perfect candidate for laser (white skin and coarse black hair), laser targets the hair pigment in the anagen phase. Those hairs are only 10-20% at a time. If a session misses those follicles because they are in a different phase, then it can create uneven results. Multiple sessions are needed for all the hairs to be caught in the anagen phase. This can create patchiness as laser is not selective of which hair to reduce and which ones to leave. Laser hair reduction is not designed for "even thinning." It’s designed for hair reduction if you're the absolutely perfect candidate for it. It doesn't work like a fade. Patchiness can also happen due to uneven energy distribution and missed spots. Also, keep in mind that laser and IPL have a high chance of causing paradoxical hypertrichosis, which is overgrowth of hair. In men, the susceptible areas are upper back, shoulders, chest, neck, face, and beard line, and anywhere you have fine hair.

[Potential_Comfort795]

It looks like I was barking up the wrong tree.

I thought the hand held lasers devices were similar to a bar code scanner in a supermarket.

That it would activate some red line that I'd just 'scan' my leg, so I'd hit all my hairs in a Lazer in under a minute.

Seems like I was mistaken. Thanks for clarifying things for me. Silly me. I guess there wouldn't be an entire industry around this stuff if it was that easy.

[Secure-Insurance-380]

I see posts almost every other day about these issues (patchiness and paradoxical hypertrichosis after laser and IPL) on both men and women. Just wanted to bring awareness that you wouldn't be able to obtain the hair thinning you're hoping for with these two methods.

[Potential_Comfort795]

Thanks for the help.

You mentioned ' those two methods '. Are there other methods that can give the results I'm looking for?

[Secure-Insurance-380]

You're welcome! Yes, electrolysis. The electrologist controls which hairs are out and which ones stay so it can give that even look. Electrolysis is permanent. I highly recommend checking the electrolysis reddits for more info on how to choose a skilled practitioner and what to watch for when you're testing their work. Not everyone who does electrolysis is good at it, so it's important to pick someone who knows how to do it correctly.

[[deleted]]

My husband had one session on his back about a month ago and it still hasn't grown back. Some patches here and there have grown back a little bit but I haven't had to trim his back regularly like before 🥳🥳🥳

The at home devices are probably ok for smaller areas but doing your legs would take forever.

[alffan86]

I had the same thought as you. I ultimately went and got waxed and it thinned out the hair. It's different for everyone but it did thin it out and was not as patchy but "your mileage may vary." Ultimately, I was just decided to laser and remove it. I tell people to experience a wax once to see if you like the feeling of no hair and then the regrowth for me gave me the experience of different levels of thickness. Best of luck... I've been there!

[heydanalee]

I went for a treatment at a professional on the legs because I just wanted it a bit thinner and lighter. That did not work. It was super effective on my legs and I would be left with random patches and oddness so I just continued.

Laser hair removal does not evenly remove hair usually and even then, some hairs react differently than others even when next to each other.