Laser hair removal - choosing a provider?

[Naranjadia]

I am going to bite the bullet this summer and try laser hair removal. I am hirsute to the point that my daughter has said that she wants a little beard like Mama that she can shave off, too.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of word of mouth about laser hair removal specialists - at least around here. If you've had it done, what did you look for in a provider? How did you pick?

We have 3 spas around here that do it - 2 of which have physicians affiliated with them. I could also check with our dermatologist. I just don't know what to look for, other than the basic cleanliness, professionalism, and quality of equipment.

[jd11365]

Affiliation with a quality doctor (not at some random spa), experience, positive and successful recommendations from others.

If you're in the Bayside/Manhassett, NY area...
http://www.skincarebyrobin.com/

http://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/s...1e86764ee.html

[mctlaw]

Look for a doctor that performs the procedures, not a doc that is just "affiliated" with the spa. Affiliation relationships can be sketchy as very little oversight is required. Also, there is a laser hair removal board out there which is how I found the doc that is doing mine (nearly done now - I love it).

I see you are in WI. Is Chicago may be an option for you? PM me know if you need a referral, my doc is in Lincoln Park.

[cckwmh]

I would speak to your dermatologist. Depending on the cause of the hirsutism, the hair will grow back. depending on where you are in life (in terms of pregnancies, etc) we often would put our patients on spironolactone afterwards to prevent regrowth.

[RunnerDuck]

spiro can have undesirable side effects.

i have had many laser treatmemts. i have pcos. i don't think the hair will ever be gone but it will go away for a while and then come back. i get it zapped once or twice a year at this point. i just go by who has the best rates.

i have never had it done by a doctor. and have never had a problem. but in a medical setting - i have had it done by a nurse - i feel less expected to tip.

[nupe]

Agree about cleanliness, professionalism, etc. Make sure they can tell you about the machine, technology, complications, what they do special to avoid complications. I was also interested in machine maintenance.

Agree that it is hard to talk to happy clients for word of mouth. Anyone I found who had laser had it done a while back, so info was not longer relevant, and technology really has changed.

I asked my hair/nail folks for recommendations for aestheticians they had worked with, then met with aesthetician who does laser. Then I tried her for a facial. I thought the communication was good so went with her for laser too. I didn't want to pay for a physician to do the laser bc i figure the aesthetician has more "hands on" experience with laser than the MD.

I made sure that the doc really was affiliated with the clinic. Because sometimes they are not aware that their name is being used.

When I checked out from the laser treatment, there was no LINE on the receipt for tip, like there was for a facial. I'm sure that varies from place to place.