I was so sick of shaving!
Shaving my underarms, my legs, my bikini area.. I had one goal and one goal only: I wanted to be hairless.
Like a slick little baby seal I wanted hydrated skin without the sign of an ingrown hair.
I wanted to chase my kids down the beach without worrying about pesky razor bikini bumps. I wanted to lift my arms and not even see the dark hair follicles under the skin.
I wanted Laser Hair Removal ASAP.
Can you get Laser Postpartum?
By the time I had my second child I knew it was time to try laser. For the time-saving perk alone I was sold.
I was finally in a place financially where I felt I could take the plunge on the initial price-point shock (Not sure how much it is in other states but in Hawaii the price tag was about $800 for three treatments of Brazillian and underarm area).
I have light-medium toned skin with dark hair, and that also made me a good candidate for efficacy of treatment. However when I called to book it was suggested that I wait about 6 months at minimum because I was postpartum.
I believe the terminology stated to me was
"WE NEED TO WAIT UNTIL YOUR RAGING HORMONES HAVE CALMED DOWN."
While they certainly didn't sugar coat it for me, what I found upon more research is that hormones truly would impact the lasting results of the laser. Since I didn't particularly want to throw $800+ down the drain it really was best to wait.
In fact, often times in the months after birth there is a shedding of not only hair on your head, but hair down there; and even under your arms.
It's best to wait until hormones have leveled and all your hair is really back to the growth stage before attempting a laser like damage to the hair follicle!
Laser Hair Removal While Breastfeeding?
I was trying to breastfeed for a full year; but I also really wanted to get started with Laser. 6 months came and passed and I assumed I was in the clear, however I was still breastfeeding- so was I?
Technically would it affect my breastfeeding? No. ...but from an efficacy stand point - maybe.
While laser hair removal would have no impact on say my breast milk it may cause some skin irritation. I was also told that when you stop breastfeeding there can be another hormone fluctuation.
For example, some women experience another round of hair shedding after breastfeeding, some even describe even more symptoms like the return of night sweats and immediate ovulation/periods as soon as they begin to ween.
Financially I just didn't want to spend the money and be disappointed by it not delivering the best results it could have because of hormones. So I waited an extra few months as was suggested.
Moms, Get LASER!
So flash-forward two years postpartum and I've completed 6 treatments of laser (I have European/Arab roots so lets just say I'm hairy). It has been everything I dreamed it would be!
I feel so much more comfortable in swimwear. I don't worry about painstakingly shaving every day (Hawaii is unforgiving- you are literally in shorts & a tank top always.
Of all the treatments I've done, I will recommend this one the most.
Pain level was extremely tolerable. Admittedly, the areas where thicker hair grows are going to burn and pinch a bit during the first and second treatment. By treatment three, the hair follicles have been so damaged and thinned that the pain was pretty nonexistent for me.
It's such a fast treatment (definitely can book on a lunch-break), my skin looks so much better, and there are no ingrown hairs in sensitive areas! Truly life changing.
Can I Take Hair Supplements While Doing Laser Hair Removal?
Ok so here's the thing. I finally found a hair vitamin that had massively accelerated my hair growth. So much so, that it was thickening up not only my edges but also the top of my part and hairline.
I had taken the Baby Blues Postpartum Hair Vitamins for almost a full year and I had no intention of stopping.
While taking my hair vitamin prior to laser, I had never noticed increased hair growth in any other areas; so I made the decision to keep taking them after laser.
Both my esthetician and myself monitored my hair regrowth and noticed no impact. While some will recommend discontinuing while you are damaging the hair follicles in your given laser area, unless you've noticed the speed of hair growth on your legs, underarms, or any other areas aside from the hair on your head- you'll likely be ok.
Please let me know in the comments if you had laser prior to pregnancies, waited until after, or if you've had any out of the norm experiences!
