On What It's Like to Get a Biopsy
Holy mackerel. I read this article the same way I watch horror movies: through my fingers, hands over my eyes. I'm both traumatized and incredibly thankful to read your frank account and all the comments.
Posted on May 31, 2011 at 10:09 pm
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On Beauty Q&A: Ponytails, Wedding Clothes, and Breast Relief
@vivian darkbloom I've had both laser hair removal and electrolysis, so here's what I can tell you. Keep in mind though, my laser procedure was about six years ago, so my experience might be outdated. Laser was very effective, but expensive and the sessions took a long time because I had to show up an hour before the procedure to apply a topical anesthetic and wait for it to start working. The whole thing took five sessions, spaced about six weeks apart -- the tough part was that I had to let the hair grow out (horrifying!) for about a month or so before they'd do the first treatment. And then, after that, NO plucking between treatments. Terrible. I could cut it with tiny scissors, but then it was just really short and spiky. Ugh.
Then, about five years after the laser treatments, those suckers started to grow back. Luckily, it was only about a 25% return, but still--I'd paid upwards of a thousand bucks to never, ever see those wiry black bastards again! So this time I went electrolysis, which is supposedly permanent for real. (I remember revisiting the lasering website and they had changed their terminology to "long-term" hair removal instead of "permanent.") I like electrolysis because though it's a longer, slower process, I can pluck on occasion without totally ruining the results (i.e., the hair will grow back in and my electrologist can catch it next time around). Plus, it's easier on the wallet to pay, say, $35 for 30 minutes once a month rather than shelling out $1,000 in one shot for the lasering.
So, pros and cons either way. They both hurt, but it's totally worth the peace of mind.