About 7 or 8 years ago, I walked into my dermatologist’s office, pulled down my pants and underwear, and gave her full-frontal nudity. Pointing to my numerous ingrown hair scarring, I pleaded “WHAT do I do?”

For years, I had switched between shaving and/or waxing my bikini line area. I preferred waxing because the effect was long-lasting, but sometimes I would find myself in an emergency situation and need to tend to it with a razor. I had grown accustom to ingrown hairs (pun intended); I accepted my fate as a hairier individual and traded in a hairy situation for an irritated one because it seemed like the lesser of two evils.

That is until my ingrowns became so bad, they were actually scarring my bikini line skin. Not only were they physically painful, but mentally, I wasn’t exactly having fun getting naked in front of anyone or putting on a swimsuit. So, I booked an appointment with my dermatologist for a full-frontal vag examine.

“Oh. Oh wow,” she breathed upon seeing my situation. “Well, you have to stop waxing. And shaving. All of it. Now.”

“But what am I gonna do about my pubes?!”

“You have two choices. 1) You can let it go natural and use special scissors to trim it up. Or, you can invest in laser hair removal. But those are your only choices. No blade or hot wax can ever touch that area again.”

As someone in her mid to late 20s, the idea of spending an exorbitant amount on anything besides booze and Forever21 hauls was not the game plan. But her tone was so stern and her eyes so wide upon seeing the damage I had already inflicted, I knew I had no choice.

And THANK GOD I did it because laser hair removal is more than worth it no matter who you are or what you need done. I’ve had my bikini line and armpits done, and when I tell you it’s game changing, believe me. Here are some of my key takeaways for those new to or considering laser hair removal.

ALL HAIR IS CREATED UNEQUAL

The amount of laser hair removal sessions you’ll need in order to completely eradicate the hair from the desired area is entirely dependent on your hair itself. If you have fine hair or light hair, it probably won’t take you as many sessions. If you have thick, coarse, or dark hair, it could take a lot. All I can tell you from my personal experience is that it took my bikini line a good 10 sessions to get to the point where I legitimately forgot hair was ever there. All in, I might’ve done 12 for maintenance, but I know it was for sure 10 at least. For my armpits, I believe I’ve had 6 or 7, and I’m to the point where I’ll probably get it twice a year for maintenance. The good news is that almost all laser hair treatment centers offer packages, so you’re rarely paying full price per session.

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

Kidding. Listen… in terms of “does it hurt?”, it all depends on your personal pain tolerance. One thing I will tell you that you MUST LISTEN TO AT ALL COSTS is this:

DO NOT. FOR ANY REASON. EVER. NO MATTER WHAT. NO MATTER WHO. OR WHERE YOU ARE GOING. GET A TREATMENT WHEN YOU’RE ON YOUR PERIOD OR A WEEK OUT FROM YOUR PERIOD.

Please. This is so crucial. You may think this is a myth and you can handle it, but I promise you, you can’t. Hormones are a bitch and, for whatever reason, getting laser hair removal when you’re bleeding or about to bleed is excruciating (at least in my experience anyway). It’s never fun; like, hot lasers being shot at your hair follicles isn’t a fun feeling to endure. However, it is amplified 20x when it’s that time of the month. Schedule your appointments around that, and you should be fine. You can always ask them to lower the laser intensity if it’s too much for you. Also, stress balls do wonders—I squeeze the shit out of the one they give me during treatments and it helps. But again, it’s not horribly painful on a non-period day, and treatments for bikini line or armpits last a total of a few minutes. It’s no less uncomfortable than getting a wax or sitting there while someone threads or tweezes your brows. You can do it because it’s 100% worth it. But, again, DO NOT GET IT DONE NEAR OR ON YOUR PERIOD FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

AIN’T NO SUNSHINE WHEN YOU LASER

One rule of laser hair removal is that you shouldn’t be directly exposing the area to sunlight, which is why so many plan to get their treatments done before and after the summer season. However, I feel this pertains more to larger areas like your legs or full arms. With bikini area (or even if you decide to go full Brazilian), your swimsuit bottoms are usually covering that area naturally. That is, unless you wear a super high cut, narrow bottom—then maybe don’t be scheduling appointments throughout summer. Again, this is all my opinion and take—I’m very much the type that views “rules” as “recommendations” and likes to see for myself. What I can tell you is I’ve never had an issue with laser hair removal and direct sun exposure on either area, even if I’ve had sessions during the summertime!

do your search and pick a good studio

Laser hair removal is so popular now that studios are a dime a dozen. When I first started, I went to a very randomly located studio that ended up closing BUT they passed me off to Ultimate Image Med Spa, and that’s where I’ve been going ever since. I love it—the staff are all insanely nice, it’s clean, and they’re efficient AF. They also almost always have some package deal going on, so you should never be paying full price for laser. I’m sure there are plenty of other great studios in the Dallas area–I’m just pointing you in the direction of the one I go to. They have locations in Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and Lewisville. If you end up getting treatment there, tell them I sent you!

BOOK A CONSULTATION

IS IT WORTH IT? FUCK (AND I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH) YES

It may take you 10+ sessions like me, but I can honestly say my money has never been better spent than on this entire process. The freedom of not having to TOUCH my bikini line or armpits is unlike anything I’ve ever known. Never again will you get to the pool only to realize you forgot to shave and go into a panic. Never again will you have to take an emergency dry razor to either. NEVER AGAIN will you endure horrific ingrowns! It’s a process but it’s an almost-permanent outcome (I say “almost” because you’ll need to get touched up once, maybe twice a year) that is invaluable.

If you’ve been considering getting laser hair removal done, this is your sign to do it.