It’s been a bit over a year since I posted about my hair removal progress and as I just finished up treatment #26 a week or so ago, I thought I’d recap a bit… if anything, as a note to self.

I started the process of getting my facial hair removed a little over two years ago. My facial hair is, to put it mildly, very coarse and causes all nature of dermatological issues if I let it grow even a little bit, not to mention it destroys sheets, pillowcases, necks on shirts, etc.

Hair removal is painful. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The more coarse your hair, the worse it is.

To that end, I started the first few treatments using a Dermo Flash, which is a less painful, more broad-spectrum sort of hair removal system. That helped to thin things down, but after the first few treatments we saw diminishing returns because it wasn’t powerful enough. I then switched to a MeDioStar laser-based treatment which was much more effective but also much more painful.

Since then, I’ve been alternating between the MeDioStar and a Syneron eLaser that combines laser and radio frequency. I’ve been having good results with this, with some spots on my chin and upper lip being the only stubborn areas we’re still working on.

Something to think about if you’re considering getting this done: You’re in for the long haul. That’s not just if you’re getting your face done, but anywhere. They can do a lot in a few treatments, but you’re not going in for five or six treatments and calling it good if you want to actually clear an area out. And once you’ve started, you can’t really turn back because you start getting patchy and it doesn’t look all that great.

Also, even today, it still hurts. Not nearly as bad as it did in my first treatment, but it hurts. On the upper lip it’s enough to bring tears to your eyes.

Had I known all that… I probably still would have done it. I don’t get the nasty ingrowns like I used to, I don’t tear up my pillowcases anymore, and I can kiss my wife without removing the top layer of her skin with my sandpaper beard.

I have a few more treatments (a total of 30) and we’ll see where I’m at then.