June 7, 2013

Vlog: Fourth Treatment

I apologize for the month-long absence.  I have been really sick.  And I mean, three doctor's visits and three different prescriptions kind of sick.  A kind of sick I haven't been since I was a child.  I managed to kick H1N1 in a week without medical help, so this has been a real low point in my year.  But I'm better now, and well enough to be able to lie still for the laser.


After my fourth laser hair removal treatment, I asked the technician if there would be a point where we would call it; that my chin would be as good as the laser could ever make it.  And she basically told me that that point was now, and it was time to come in twice a year for touch-ups.  She has said to me more than once now that the chin is a very "hormonal" area, and if she's seen in her many years of experience that the chin is particularly difficult to laser "pew-pew" into submission, it's time for me to accept that.  The good news is, she expects that touch-ups will only be needed on my chin, so I'll be looking at around $50 a touch-up instead of the full amount.

So what now?  I don't know. 

Being sick, I had ample time to view my face with almost a week's worth of growth.  I show the pictures in the video but will post them here as well:


Really, this is still an enormous improvement over my chin in it's natural state, or even as it has been with medication.  But look at all that coarse blond hair that the laser won't ever be able to kill. 

I ramble on in this video about how my goal of eradicating the dark hair was really just me deceiving myself, and that really in my heart of hearts I want to get rid of it all.  As much as I would tell myself that I could live with noticeable hair if it was blond, to be perfectly honest, I don't want to have to deal with that either.  I want perfection.  Who doesn't?  Most of us are struggling to achieve an ideal set before us by our culture.  I want my pre-pubescent hairless chin back. 

I mention some realistic next steps in the video, but I'm not sure which one I want to take yet. 

6 comments:

Anu said...

O My God !
Al, please do take care of yourself.
These flu and all are a bit too 'painful' at times.
Please take care of your health.

And yes, congratulations, your chin hairs have reduced a lot compared to your earlier photos.

Anu said...

One more question- Why did u choose spiro and not finasteride

Allerleirah said...

Don't worry, I have received good care from my doctor, my mom, and myself. I am doing miles better now. You're very kind to be concerned, thank you. :)

After being on different doses of Spiro for almost a year, I wasn't totally satisfied and wanted to try something else, so my endo put me on Finasteride. In the three months I was on it, I saw my body hair start to regress back towards what it was without medication at all. So I went right back to Spiro, and the endo suggested giving it a little extra kick by adding oral contraceptives.

You can read all my Finasteride posts here: http://allerleirah.blogspot.ca/search/label/finasteride

There is a collection of photos showing the progress of the hair under my bellybutton in there, too. You will be able to see the regression while on Finasteride.

anu said...

Thanks Al !

Allerleirah said...

Hello Erika. Thank you so much for your comment! As much as I hate to hear of someone else going through such similar experiences as myself, I am always so grateful to hear it, too.

I didn't start out so open. There was a lot of fear when I began this blog. But the more you talk about it, and meet others with it, the easier it gets. I don't know how long you have been in counseling with a therapist, but I hope you are or will soon feel some lightening in your load as well.

I've been on Spiro without the pill, and there's nothing really wrong with doing that, so long as pregnancy is scrupulously avoided. I certainly didn't like how Spiro alone messed with the regularity of my cycle, though. And apparently being on the pill slightly lowers the overall amount of testosterone in your body, too, which can be of help, but doesn't seem to be necessary to finding a treatment that works. You won't know if it's best for you until you try.

And hang in there. The road to finding the best treatment seems to be long for most. You've already proven how strong you are by the things you're trying and the way you're reaching out for more knowledge about what's happening with your body. That's really important!

Allerleirah said...

That's an extraordinarily unsympathetic counselor. I'd stop seeing her too. There are "worse things", but it's all relative. It affects how we think of ourselves and our everyday life, so it needs to be taken seriously by all medical professionals. Grr, that irritates me... >:(

It definitely sounds like you are hormonally sensitive. What a journey you've been on! As for being on Spiro while doing laser, since I have done it both ways, I can say I have personally seen better results while being on the Spiro. I believe the results will last longer, too, with hormones being blocked from awakening new follicles. But that's been my experience, and shouldn't be taken as the rule in the matter. :)