Looking to hear experiences about Laser Facial Hair Removal

Your mileage may vary indeed. I know some that have had 6 sessions and that's been it for them and they like @evie rarely need to shave. I also know someone who got scarred from it (electrolysis). Never heard of anyone getting more hair from it though. Personally I have had 12 sessions of IPL (light, not laser) and approximately 15 with diode laser and while it has been treated about 80-90% - so you can argue that it did work well - it is for me not fully permanent. It looks great 2 weeks after a session but 2 months later I need to go again.. I need to shave every other day at least but I'm always a bit nervous about that second day, so if I have some sort of plans then I do it every day. I have never had any issues with either IPL nor laser.

Whatever you do, do not get IPL as that is not permanent. Also do not get an at-home laser as they are not powerful enough for beard hair - ask me how I know, €500 later..

Diode laser is the most affordable of the treatments that work, but it might take a very long time and at least in my case, like I said, I have to go back every so often for touch-ups as things come do back. It also depends on your skin tone and the colour of your hair. If you are pale and have black hair, it will be the most effective. The darker your skin and lighter your hair, the less effective it is.

If you have a high budget for this, go for electrolysis, that stuff is mostly permanent and nothing will ever come back (edit: nvm @x08 can weigh in). It does however require a lot of hours of stabbing pain. Well all permanent hair removal is painful as fuck.

I've had laser on my face and legs. I went to I think three biweekly sessions? I have fair skin and very light, wispy hair, so the effectiveness wasn't as high as it would be for you (probably gonna do electrolysis eventually). In terms of sensation, it feels like getting flicked hard by a rubber band repeatedly during the session, and like having a mild sunburn after. It hurts, but hurts in a way that had me giggling; it isn't so bad. This was a few years ago now. It worked alright for me -- I only have to shave my face once or twice a week now, and my legs every couple weeks -- but didn't totally stop all growth, and I think the effectiveness has definitely diminished with time. That said I did fewer than the recommended number of sessions so that could play a role too. Me and two of my family members did it and none of us have had any damage or health issues from it.

I'm curious about this myself. I'm a guy and moderately ok being so, but there are sections of my face that will never grow a proper beard, and I've often pondered whether it would be worth getting my neck and the patchy sections of my face lasered. If anyone has experiences, I'm all ears. The laser hair removal places will promise the moon, but the experience of someone who's actually had experience with it would be invaluable.

I'm currently undergoing laser hair removal (6 sessions so far) for a few areas but the face isn't one of them. However, here are a few things I've learned or been told by my practitioner about laser hair treatment in general:

• I shopped around and checked reviews before I landed on a practitioner I was comfortable with. Each place should do a first consult to check your hair type, check your medical history, and explain the process and watch-outs to you. I ended up picking a doctor who has great reviews, and during my interview with him he was honest and very clear on the whole process. He also explained the science behind what he was doing which I found reassuring.
• Not all parts of your face can be lasered. If you get laser on certain areas of your face (like eyebrows, nose, temples), the hair will be removed there but can grow elsewhere instead. I'm a cis woman, so was only concerned with the upper lip, which is ok to get laser, but I assume getting beard hair lasered is fine (ask your practitioner though).
• You usually need to shave the night before or morning of the session to get the hair down as short as possible. Lasers today don't require a day or two of hair growth.
• I was told not to shave, epilate, wax, exfoliate or even use an electric shaver for three weeks following each session as this can stimulate hair growth. I assume it's going to be similar for beard hair but worth checking with your practitioner.
• In-grown hairs can be a bitch after a certain number of sessions as the hair thins and struggles to break through. It's really important to exfoliate well when your practitioner tells you to, and do it regularly until you have your next session.
• The first go it barely hurt at all, I was very surprised. However, with each session the intensity is raised. It can hurt quite a bit in later sessions but your mileage may vary. It's quick though, so whatever pain there is is usually over quickly. The intensity can also be adjusted if it's really unbearable. It might just mean you need more sessions.
• It's important to respect the interval times between treatments so the hair gets lasered during the right cycle. Wait too long and you give time for follicles to recover and regrow. This happened to me between my fifth and sixth treatments so he had to raise the intensity to make up for it.
• The lasers they use today can work on darker skin and fairer hair, and you don't have to be as careful about sun exposure. Do check with your practitioner though.
• I personally haven't had any major issues right after each session. The follicles will be red for a day or two after but it's nothing crazy. It's itchy when the hair grows back but that was already the case for me with regular shaving. Some people can have an allergic reaction but your practitioner should let you test a small area before you go for the full thing.
• You need to put a good cream on the area religiously at least once a day following treatment.
• Some hairs are just stubborn, especially the lighter thinner hairs. If laser doesn't work, electrolysis is the next step, where each individual hair is zapped. I don't have experience with this but have been told it takes longer and is more expensive so it's only really used for small areas.
• It can seem like only a few sessions are enough but not all hairs are undergoing the same cycle at a given time, so you need to stick with it for a while. I'm up to 6 sessions and it's clear I'll need at least 10 in total to get rid of everything, if not a couple more than that.
• You'll need to get touch ups at least once a year. I'm not at this stage yet so can't really speak to it.

Overall I'm happy with the experience, but I'm not done and there's still some ways to go. I do notice the difference, but only time will tell if it really sticks long term. I hope this helps!