Would You Spend $3,123 to Never Shave Again?
At 30 years old, Marshea Walton became fed up with stubborn hair growth. She’d been going to the European Wax Center for over a decade, but she was tired of the nonpermanent results. So she set out to find a fix for stubborn hair growth, which is one of those high-maintenance (and high-price-tag) treatments for a more low-maintenance life.
First, she went to European Wax Center
“I’ve gotten waxes since I was 18 years old,” she said. The waxes would be for only her bikini line, usually the first option people turn to after weekly shaving: “I wouldn’t say my hair growth was excessive, but it was stubborn.” She would go to European Wax Center every five to six weeks and loved how smooth the finish was, but going every few weeks started to feel like more of a chore. Although she has a product recipe for ingrown hairs (she swears by Topicals’s High Roller), she didn’t enjoy the fact that they still came in.
Price: $594, a discounted rate with a Wax Pass. Twelve sessions per year without one totals $840.
Verdict: It worked and was fine until she wanted something permanent.
She tried laser-hair-removal treatments
Earlier this year, after seeing a friend’s smooth armpits and finding out the source was laser hair removal, Walton thought, Is laser hair removal something I need to try all over my body? She immediately thought of the time and money it would save her: Laser hair removal was something that promised semi-permanent results, and it would offer an alternative to her wax appointments and could also save all the time she spent shaving her legs and underarms weekly. She began with a series of treatments, scheduled every six weeks at LaserAway. She knew the risks of getting laser hair removal with darker skin, but she checked in with the provider and with other Black patients to confirm their process didn’t affect their skin, and they were more than happy with their results and comfortable with the laser.
The pain progressed as the appointments went on because the heat was turned up, but it was still bearable for her pain tolerance; she rates the experience about four out of ten. After three treatments, each within six weeks of one another, she was impressed with her results. “After just one session, I could see the difference in how my hair was growing in, especially under my arms, my most frequent area I have to shave,” Walton said. Then, she noticed the laser was treating another concern she had: hyperpigmentation. “I’ve had hyperpigmentation on my legs for years from childhood falls and scars and even more recent ones, but no products ever worked on them,” she said. After her first two sessions, she noticed the scars fading and then she was really sold.
Price: $3,123 for six sessions.
Verdict: It’s been a full month since she has completed her six sessions, and her skin tone is more even, her skin is smoother, and, yes, she accomplished her goal of fixing stubborn hair growth. She doesn’t even feel small prickly hairs coming through, which is what she’s used to. She’s prepared to have to go back in a year or more for a touch-up: “I know it’s a follicle and nothing is truly permanent, but it’s already an easier life.” She’s happy as long as she doesn’t have to frequent the wax center and shave weekly, and the total cost of the laser sessions, to her, was a better investment than paying for yearly Wax Passes.
She started a new body-care routine, which included a special razor
She had a handful of products she’d use between every session. “I was told not to wax in between any sessions but I should shave, especially the night before,” Walton said. “So I did that and used products to treat ingrowns and keep all areas moisturized.” Her one issue with the laser treatments was the hydrocortisone the provider said to put on the treatment areas. It was extremely drying to her skin, but these were her maintenance products:
Gillette Venus MoistureGlide Women’s Razor Blades
“I love the five-blade because of how smooth it would leave my skin.”
Skinfix Glycolic Renewing Scrub
“This would be my pre-session treatment, but I couldn’t use it up until a week after each session.”
Kiehl’s Ultra Body Mega Moisture Squalane Cream
“I needed an unscented, deeply moisturizing lotion following treatments, so I would always use this. It wasn’t irritating, and it always left my skin feeling moisturized, especially after hydrocortisone.”
Topicals High Roller
“This Topicals duo is my favorite. The roller is what I always swore by for ingrowns, but using it in between sessions with the Faded bar left my skin brighter and targeted my dark marks.”
Price: $140 on products.
Verdict: This body-care routine was also helping in between sessions.
How she’s maintaining
Walton is still using some of the products, like the Kiehl’s body cream for deep moisture and her body scrub and exfoliation bar to keep the skin extra smooth in all areas. “I’m also obsessed with OSEA’s body oil for my legs,” she said. “They’re even glowier now that my skin is so smooth.”
OSEA Undaria Algae Body Oil - 5 Oz.