Why Did I Wait So Long to Have Laser Hair Removal Done?

I recently completed my 6^th session of Laser Hair Removal on my legs, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. There are so many reasons why I feel that way. Having smooth legs without any stubble is at the top of the list. They look and feel great! No longer having to shave in the shower is another biggie, of course. Can you imagine the time savings? I can now put up my – oh so smooth – legs and sip a cappuccino and binge watch Gilmore Girls reruns for 15 minutes longer almost every day. Not that I would ever do such a frivolous thing.

You get my point. Having permanently gotten rid of all the hair on my legs makes me very happy.

And yet oddly, I’m not quite as happy as I could be. Maybe this is just my twisted mind, but the idea that I was walking on this Earth for over 40 years before I discovered the bliss of a life without hairy legs makes me mad retroactively.

What a waste to have spent all these years shaving, shaving, and shaving!

Let alone all the money I spent on razor blades.

Or the untold times I nicked my skin and bled so profusely I had to wash extra loads of bloody towels.

Or the botched home-made waxing sessions that took hair off in all the wrong places and left my bathroom counter dotted with wax splotches.

And what about the potential dates I never got to go on because my potential suitor took one look at the stubble on my legs and said, no thank you, not this one? It’s a tragedy.

It would have been so nice to have these super smooth and sexy legs go with other parts of my body while they were equally smooth. Don’t get me wrong – having smooth legs now that I’ve solidly landed in mid-life is still very nice. But it’s a bit like baking a cake with Ghirardelli’s finest chocolate and decorating it with Twizzlers.

I can’t turn back time, but what I can do is make sure you don’t make the same mistake. Get your legs lasered, I implore you. It is so worth it to have smooth legs like a baby’s bottom!

I figure you might have some questions about the procedure, so let me try to answer a few:

What to Know About Laser Hair Removal

Why Should I Get Laser Hair Removal?

Well, I think I’ve been abundantly clear on that topic. You should, because otherwise you’ll say “dang, I can’t believe I didn’t do that sooner” one day.

Am I a Candidate for Laser Hair Removal?

Anybody and anything with body hair is a candidate. Typically, you’ll want to treat your underarms, legs, and bikini line, and if you’re a man, you might like to take care of that excessive hair growth on your back and shoulders. Your wife or girlfriend will thank you for it.

How Long Does It Take To Remove Hair Permanently?

You do need a little bit of time to make it all go away, but your active involvement in it is minimal. Basically, you go to a place once a month, sit there for 20 minutes making small talk and wearing dark sunglasses while a charming aesthetician waves a wand over various areas of your body, and after about 6-8 such sessions your hair is gone, girl!

Does Laser Hair Removal Hurt?

I’m a wimp. If I said it didn’t hurt at all, that would be a lie. But I can assure you it doesn’t hurt very much. Certainly a lot less than those botched waxing sessions I mentioned earlier. And brushing my hair after a windy day certainly had me in bigger tears than a little bit of laser hair removal. It does sting a little, especially at the beginning when you have a lot of hair to be targeted, but it is so fast that the discomfort is minimal. It also depends a bit on the laser. Where I had mine done, the laser blew out a cool stream of air while emitting its beams, which numbed the area sufficiently to keep the stings to a minimum.

Is Laser Hair Removal Safe?

Lasers have been FDA-approved and in use for cosmetic procedures for years. It’s as common and safe a procedure as it can get. Still, laser hair removal is a medical treatment and requires the oversight of a licensed professional. Going to a full medical practice with actual doctors present is certainly preferable to a place without such oversight.

Is There Any Downtime With Laser Hair Removal?

There is no downtime in the sense of recovery from a medical procedure. But there is one area of daily life where you’re limited with laser hair removal: sun exposure. If you’ve been in the sun or are planning to be in the sun shortly before or after your treatment, you run the risk of hyper- and hypo-pigmentation, the discoloring of your skin. If you have too much of a tan, the laser will target your skin instead of the hair. You don’t want your skin to get burned, so you’ll want to be careful during the summer months.

The good news is, there are other areas aside from your legs that are perfectly safe from sun exposure. I also had my bikini area lasered, and the benefit is undeniable – I no longer have to worry that any embarrassing hairs poke out from my bikini bottom. The underarms are another such area. Neither of those places are much at risk of getting deeply tanned, unless perhaps you’re in the habit of frequenting nude beaches.

So if you’re now saying “yes, sign me up!”, but it’s the middle of summer, here is what I recommend: Get an appointment set up and start with your underarms and bikini area. They are easily done during the same session. Return once a month to continue with those two areas. Once summer is over and you are safely out of the sun, add your legs to your sessions. You’ll have all winter to get them finished, and next summer you’ll be happily throwing all your razor blades in the trash and say hello to the world with your perfectly smooth legs and hairless body.

And you’ll probably say “I can’t believe I waited this long!”