I Spent $1,380 To Treat One Of My Biggest Insecurities, And I’m Borderline Angry At The Results

1 month ago 25

Hi, my name is Remy, and I was blessed with thick hair. I was also, coincidentally, cursed with thick hair. So much hair.

Unfortunately, my body hair has been a major source of discomfort throughout my life. Of course, there’s the visual discomfort of having noticeable body hair in a society that shames women for daring to be human. But then there’s also the physical discomfort of razor burn, ingrown hairs, and scratchy stubble.

Ever since I started shaving, I have dealt with this, and I’ve tried everything: exfoliants and balms, disposable razors and zero-waste razors (almost bled out in my shower thanks to that one), Nair and sugaring. You name it, I’ve tried it.

In the last few years, my armpits have only gotten significantly more irritated, harder to shave, and verrryyyy hyperpigmented — this was my biggest insecurity, armpit-wise.

Armpits are a common spot for hyperpigmentation, partly because of the thicker hair that grows there and leaves a shadow, but mainly because armpit skin is thin, sensitive, and prone to more friction, dryness, and inflammation that triggers pigment production.

Once again, to treat this, I tried everything: brightening turmeric soaps, exfoliants, Nair, and even bleaching my skin. I also slathered on lotions and creams whenever I wasn’t wearing deodorant to moisturize any dead skin, and still, nothing helped. My armpits were like that old newspaper joke: black and white and red all over.

After several years of scrubbing and brightening, one of my friends suggested laser hair removal (LHR). I knew several people who had done LHR, but it never occurred to me because it was such a small body part, and I would rather just keep searching for the elusive drugstore product that would solve my irritation. Then she said the magic words: It totally solved her hyperpigmentation.

By that point, I was so uncomfortable in sleeveless tops due to the kaleidoscope of colors and bumps under my arms that I did my own (anecdotal) research.

I found so many people talking about LHR soothing their irritation, as well as the complexion-evening benefits. I looked at so many armpits on Reddit, y’all. I decided to go for a consultation to hear what the professionals had to say and brace myself for a quote.

After all my research, I chose to go with Milan Laser for their unique pricing system, overall cost, and the fact that their laser is designed for darker or hyperpigmented skin.

Instead of paying per session, Milan offers a single price per treatment area, broken down into 24 or 36-month payments. This price covered all my sessions plus any future touch-ups. I also started my treatments during a sale, so I got a significant discount.

The original price for my armpits was $4,700, but my final quote was $1,380, or $57.50 per month. Girl math, boy math, all math showed me that I was paying less for this than I would for most gym memberships in NYC.

I was surprised that my consultation didn’t include an examination of the treatment areas. It was just a conversation about my general health history, the area(s) I want treated, and how their machine and payment style differ from other clinics. I definitely could have just done the online consultation, but I ended up with a bigger discount in-person.

I went back a few days later for my first treatment. You have to be clean-shaven before each session, and your skin needs to be clean of any products or deodorant. There were alcohol wipes, (shitty two-blade disposable) razors, and spray deodorants in the bathroom, in case you forgot to prep for your session and/or needed deodorant afterward.

Once I was undressed and on the table, the esthetician outlined my armpit with a wax pencil and got to work. The laser is precise, and a standard “zap” spot is 10–24mm (pea-sized), so it took multiple zaps to get my whole armpit. She increased the frequency as she moved from the edges of the treatment area toward the center, and each armpit took about one minute.

I’d heard that LHR is painful, but Milan’s machine blasts cold air directly around the laser to offset discomfort. As someone who has a pretty average threshold for pain, it was…fine? It felt like a hot rubber band snapping under my skin, but it was tolerable. There were some spots that hurt, but mainly it was just uncomfortable.

I did put aloe on after treatment, but just preventatively, and the spray deodorant didn’t bother my skin at all. I definitely made sure to moisturize after I showered later, but that was all the aftercare I needed. I also didn’t experience any tenderness or soreness afterward.

Results are not immediate. It takes a week or two to see hair loss after a session, and several sessions to see long-term baldness. My hair technically started to grow back immediately after the first session, but it was visibly damaged; it wasn’t the straight, spiky hair I was used to, but rather dead-looking and weirdly difficult to shave. When it did start falling out, oh boy, was it satisfying! If I applied any manual friction to my armpit, little pieces of hair just fell into my hand.

Over the next few weeks, my armpits were very patchy. Some parts looked untouched, while other parts were hairless. It looked pretty weird, I can’t lie. The skin in the bald spots, however, looked LIGHTER. This picture was taken one week after my third treatment; my hyperpigmentation had significantly faded, there were no ingrowns or irritation, and the hair is dead and falling out. By the next session, half of this hair hadn't grown back.

I noticed the biggest change after my second and third sessions. More hair fell out during those sessions, and my hyperpigmentation practically disappeared. I started in February, and by June, I was shaving every other week, at the most. Any remaining hair was thin and soft, and my skin was smooth with ZERO irritation.

I’ll be honest — I knew the hyperpigmentation was bad, and I knew the inability to get a clean shave was bad, but I did not realize how bad the irritation was until it was gone.

A full course of LHR treatment takes 6–12 sessions, with a 4–6-week wait between each session. I’m about halfway done with my treatment, but I also stopped treatment during the summer because you cannot tan for three weeks before or after a session. Even with the three-month break, there is minimal hair growth and, still, zero irritation or hyperpigmentation.

On a very introspective note, I have worked hard to accept my body, but I have also recognized that it’s okay to do what makes me comfortable and confident, and I can say with 100% certainty that this was the right choice for me.

Body hair and women’s bodies are still so stigmatized that all conversations about them are important. By speaking about my insecurities and documenting them (my armpits are immortalized on the internet forever), my hope is that it helps break down that stigma and lets other women feel seen.

On a more literal note, the results completely justified the cost in my life, and I’m almost angry I waited so long to do this. It saved time, frustration, and money spent on useless products. I have my next appointment scheduled for the end of September, and I cannot wait for softer, smoother pits!

Would you try laser hair removal? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

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