Hair

I don't have many so I just shave or trim them with a Remington trimmer.  

Laser?  You'd have to have the appliance off for that it's seems.

Waxing...never done it but seems like it would do more harm.....remove the hair and the follicle would be open?..... It Would be open and you would have to put the wafer over it. 

I don't know.  I just shave it. 

But I am lucky to have a half dozen hairs around it. 

Richard

Hello Jeff,

I have had laser hair removal (underarms - for cosmetic reasons). If you have dark hair on pale skin, it is effective. It is unfortunately painful as well, but on a small area it is over in five minutes. You can get a numbing cream to apply beforehand that works well. Afterwards, you need to be careful with the skin - treat it gently and no hot showers - as if you had sunburn.

I found that waxing caused ingrown hairs. (It didn't matter how the hair was pulled out - waxing, tweezing, whatever - it was being plucked out and regrowing under the skin that was the problem.)

Laser hair removal may be painful, expensive and slow, but it doesn't cause ingrown hairs and once you have had all the hairs zapped while they are in active mode, it is permanent.

If you can fit in even one treatment before your op, it may well make a difference. I think I had four treatments on my underarms ten years ago, and they are 95% hair free.

Best of luck with your surgery. I too am looking at reverting to an ileo, although I don't need to have my pouch out at this stage.

Sarah

P.S. I don't think it would be advisable to have laser treatment once you have your stoma. The skin in that area is usually sensitised by the adhesives etc., and adding a sunburn-like trauma might be too much stress.