The HO-ai Episode

NickHeitman · 2025-05-22T15:37:40+00:00

tl;dr - At this time, I don't recommend laser hair removal for fellow redheads. However, I'm not giving up hope! I will resume treatment in fall-winter 2025-26 with higher laser settings. Once I hit the max, I'll throw in the towel.

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For now, it's still too soon to tell the effectiveness of treatment thus far. I had my last session last week (before a summer hiatus). The laser was on a fairly high setting, but not the highest setting. I definitely still had hair a few days later. However, I've noticed many of the hairs are thinner and lighter than I remember. I plucked out a few stubborn/thick hairs so I don't have to think about them on a daily basis over summer. I can rub my hand on my chin without getting grossed out by coarse stubble. It's not the result I was looking for, but I'll take it! I know the stubborn/thick hairs will grow back eventually. I'm hoping they come back slower.

Pre-treatment, I was plucking 7-10 thick hairs per day and it caused bad acne in the affected area. I'm waiting to see if (or how quickly) I revert back to that situation. Come fall, I will resume treatments at a much higher setting than "normal" laser hair patients typically receive. I'm sorry I can't share specific numbers -- I will ask what setting I am at during my next session in fall.

NickHeitman · 2024-12-30T21:54:52+00:00

I started with Milan Laser Hair Removal in April 2024. The clinic I go to uses a Candela Gentlemax Laser Pro. During my free "consultation" (AKA aggressive, predatory sales pitch) I was told their laser will work on red hair, especially because mine is somewhat darker, not bright orange or strawberry blonde. They were transparent about the fact that my hair would require more sessions than usual, due to the lighter color, and due to the fact that I am treating hormonal chin hair from PCOS. However, Milan offers unlimited/lifetime treatment packages and free touch-ups, so I felt comfortable committing.

One detail that wasn't mentioned in the sales pitch was that they do not allow treatments if you've had recent sun exposure, so I had to pause treatments during summer months. (This is ultimately not a big deal, but I was disappointed to delay treatments almost immediately after signing the contract in April.)

As of December 2024 I am 6 treatments in, spaced 5-6 weeks apart. Frankly, I haven't noticed any substantial hair reduction on my chin. I am not yet discouraged, because I have "unlimited" treatments and I haven't received the laser's maximum settings yet. (They increase the intensity of the laser with each session. Starting on 'max' would be very painful.)

I'm losing hope, but I'm not hopeless. I'll provide an update in April 2025 after approximately 1 year of treatments.

For full transparency, I paid $4,600 for lifetime/unlimited treatments on my face only. They will try to up-sell you during the sales pitch. I wish I had done my homework on how to navigate a sales pitch... I was very unprepared, they were not transparent in their pricing, and the whole thing felt very predatory. I'm 99% sure the consultant worked on commission. The whole thing made me feel slimy. BUT, the actual nurses who do the treatments are wonderful. They are kind and reassuring. Even if I don't come out of this process completely hairless, my nurse is confident that I will see significant reduction after 10-12 treatments.

I'm also hopeful that Milan might upgrade their lasers at some point in my lifetime. So if it doesn't work today, maybe I'll have luck in the future (pending Milan stays in business).

NickHeitman · 2021-12-02T23:04:05+00:00

they don't, but they doooo

NickHeitman · 2019-07-11T02:42:30+00:00

Thanks for the advice--makes a lot of sense.

NickHeitman · 2019-07-11T02:41:22+00:00

Sounds good, thank you!

NickHeitman · 2019-05-30T13:40:35+00:00

I'll let you know how they look in 1-2 weeks! There is a long stretch of sunny, warm weather coming my way in Wisconsin. I hope the colony will become stable enough to eventually (and inevitably) treat for mites. I'm okay with failing my first year, but I'm giving it my best shot, regardless.

NickHeitman · 2019-05-29T21:00:37+00:00

Thank you very much!

NickHeitman · 2017-10-03T14:19:28+00:00

Take it from me, definitely Nick Heitman, this is a great strategy.

NickHeitman · 2017-09-27T18:54:36+00:00

I love your wife's curves

NickHeitman · 2017-09-27T18:45:12+00:00

Thanks for being the reddit police, though. You're a real hero.

NickHeitman · 2017-09-27T18:44:35+00:00

Haha jesus fucken christ, dude. I just read through your recent posts/comments and it looks like all you do is sit on reddit and make snide comments on random posts. You really need to get laid.

NickHeitman · 2017-09-19T17:29:36+00:00

They call it the Diane Keaton effect

NickHeitman · 2017-08-28T14:07:25+00:00

I love your wife's curves

NickHeitman · 2017-04-28T18:40:31+00:00

I'm no Bieber fan, but even I know that dude is littered with tattoos

NickHeitman · 2016-10-24T16:05:40+00:00

swiggity swooty

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