Pain-free permanent hair removal (well, it could have been the vicodin)

So, I recently went for my first session of laser hair removal. Before I tell you how it went, I should tell you the hilarity of the day.

Because of my pain medications from my injury and because of my propensity to go from being just fine to being miserable in a matter of moments, I was a little wary of driving myself to laser hair removal. But a friend offered to drive me to do that and any other errands I needed, and since she was so kind to do that I asked her if she would mind if I also made an electrolysis appointment and an appointment with Tommy, my hair stylist. She said she didn’t mind a bit, so the next day I called Lesa and set up electrolysis and Tommy to set up cut/color. I’d made the laser hair appointment about a month or so before, so that one was already set.

Except, after I made those appointments, my friend canceled on me and told me she couldn’t take me. My Plan B for if she couldn’t drive me was to drive myself to laser hair removal. But since I’d made the other two appointments based on her availability, I was concerned about driving myself to all 3 of them – that would make for a much longer day than I’d been used to because of my injuries. I had already asked two other people, who were unable to take me because of work.

The only other person who I thought might be free would be my Dad. But I was not going to ask him to take me to electrolysis and laser hair removal – how embarrassing.  But, I really wanted to go. To all of them. I’d already made and canceled several appointments with both Tommy and Lesa over the past few weeks – thinking I’d feel well enough to go and then deciding I didn’t. And the laser hair was something I’d been looking forward to for so long and I did not want to cancel.

So, after thinking about who else could take me and coming up with no one, I shot my dad a text asking if he could drive me to “three appointments” that day. My dad is amazing. He answered right back with “I’m your guy. What time should I pick you up?”

The morning of, I was feeling some guilt about him wasting a day taking me to “appointments” – surely he assumed they were doctors’ appointments. But it was too late to cancel and like I said, I really wanted to go. My hair needed help by this point. So when he got there I mentioned that my second appointment should be over by 2:30, and if he wanted to drop me off at Tommy’s then for my 4 pm appointment, that would be just fine. I could hang out at Paper Skyscraper or a coffee shop or Tommy’s door is always open for his clients – it’s as much a social venue as it is a place to get good hairstyles. Jeff could pick me up after he got off work, I told Dad. But he insisted he was fine on time and looking forward to spending the day together. So off we went!

The first appointment was at electrolysis. It’s in a non-descript commercial brick building. Could easily be a doctor’s office as anything else. We pulled up and Dad said, “So what’s this appointment for?”

“Electroysis.” A slight pause. Then, “She removes the hair from my toes.”

“All right,” Dad answered. Nothing else was said.

I told Lesa about the conversation during our session and she said, “That’s the last time he’ll ask you what you’re doing today!”

And sure enough, she was right. After lunch we headed to Elite Laser Care where I was getting my bikini hair lasered off. And he did not ask what we were doing at the second non-descript brick building. And we walked down the hall toward the suite – and then I just about died of embarrassment. Because there were two plaques outside the door.

The first one, as predicted, read “Elite Laser Care.”

The second one read “Women’s sexual health center” or something like that.

Oh, my God.

And Dad most certainly did not ask. We walked in the door and it’s a small waiting room with a small back room and that’s it. And on the reception desk were some brochures that were labeled something about “sexual health”. The brochures felt as big as a billboard in that room.

But I went in for laser hair treatment (more on that in a bit) and was out in 20 minutes or so. And Dad and I walked out of the suite. But then Dad turned around and very pointedly read the signs on the door. Deep breath. Laser hair is way less bad than sexual health issues. So, I casually mentioned that Jeff had bought me a Groupon for laser hair removal and it was supposedly permanent. Did not tell him where I was getting this hair removed (trust me, he didn’t want to know).

“Ah, that’s nice,” he said just as casually. Then we went on with our day – stopped at Barnes & Noble and then Paper Skyscraper, then had a delightful time with Tommy as always. My Dad even said he’d love to go back to Tommy’s just to hang out – it’s so much fun (I agree! That and his talent are why I’ve been going to him for 10 years!)

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An aside: I almost fainted at Tommy’s. Was sitting in the chair with the hot apron around me as he cut my hair. And I guess the a/c wasn’t on. And suddenly I felt very faint. I communicated this to Tommy and Dad, and Tommy ran out to get his receptionist to turn on the a/c, and he got the apron off of me. I cooled down and did not faint, but had the cold sweats and seeing spots and icky feelings that preclude the fainting for me. As we speak, I’m waiting on a return call from my doctor to see if I should be concerned or not. In hindsight, the electrolysis needles + a slight fear of the unknown of how laser hair removal would feel (plus a detailed description from the laser hair lady) + a long day + a hot room = not the best idea …

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But, onto the actual laser hair removal. Oh my gosh, it was so simple. Like I told you before, I’ve done waxing. I’ve done epilating. Shaving. Electrolysis. Everything. I was surprised when Crystal told me it would only take a few minutes, and she was right.

Gina from Elite warned me it may burn a little, but the machine would blow cold air in addition to the heat the laser would create, and that should comfort the area a bit.

And then she started the laser treatment, but I didn’t even know she started it because all I could feel was cold air. So when she asked me how it was feeling, I told her I barely felt it! And then a little bit I could feel it, but it reminded me more of a sunburn or some other slightly irritating sensation – not painful at all.

Then I realized my painkiller might be the cause of my not feeling so bad! I mentioned it to her and we laughed and she said I should hold onto them for future sessions. Ha. But even without the painkiller I am certain it’s better than waxing. Certainly much quicker!

So, she said it would be a week or two before I would notice results. The only bad thing about laser hair removal is I have to shave instead of wax, and I absolutely hate shaving. But if I have to shave for a few months in order to get permanent hair removal, it’s worth it! I’ll report back during the process how well it’s working, but so far I am excited!