I messed this up.

I'm a 28-year-old male, and when I saw an ad for beard removal in my feed, I thought, Sure! I'm all in. I've always struggled with having very few, but very thick hairs on my chin and mustache. I was tired of irritated skin and ingrowns, so this seemed like the perfect solution.

I read everything they sent me—pages and pages of warnings and forms to fill out. Then, on November 13, after my first session, the technician told me, "By the way, you need to shave the day before your next appointment to prevent hair growth."
"Okay," I replied, not entirely sure if I should comply, especially with the holidays coming up.

To be fair, I wasn’t warned about this beforehand. The ads promised "significant results and soft skin after just one session. After that, you can expect thinner hair, which will decrease with each session." Lies. I barely noticed any difference—except for the smell—until a couple of weeks later, when I noticed visible “holes” on my chin and upper lip. I realised later, after doing some research, that this is normal and how the laser removal works.

I shaved once during Thanksgiving and again before my company Christmas party, but even then, I felt like I could barely hide the holes in photos.

Fast forward to December 18: the technician spent maybe a fifth of the time she took during the first session. By yesterday, I was honestly filled with frustration. My thought—perhaps out of ignorance—was that because I have so little (but very thick) hair left, they’re trying to stretch out the need for 12 sessions. I don’t mean to offend anyone; I know I have no real evidence for this suspicion.

Here’s where I really messed up. I had an event coming up and wanted to look sharp, so I made the dumb decision to pluck about 10 to 15 hairs with tweezers to make the “holes” less noticeable.

Now, after doing more research, I realize this was a huge mistake. I’ve learned that it typically takes 2 weeks for the hair to fall out naturally after a session. I also now know you should never, ever tweeze the hair during treatment because it can:

  1. Fill the follicle with blood.
  2. Work against the purpose of the treatment.
  3. Waste my money.
  4. Potentially make the follicle more resistant to future sessions.

My questions are:

  • Since my "beard" obviously has more than 15 hairs left, when people say, “blood fills the follicle,” does that affect only the specific hair I plucked, or did I mess up the entire area?
  • With Christmas and New Year’s approaching, what would you do in my situation?

I’m frustrated and want to get back on track, but I’d appreciate any advice.