I haven't had laser hair removal, but did have Epilight, where they use a light pulse instead of a laser (the advantage being that a larger area can be treated with each blast). It was very painful and I also had a bad reaction after each session where my skin itched like crazy (and I suposedly have the ideal colouring for Epilight - ghost white skin and black body hair, so would hate to think how awful it would be for other people). I wouldn't reccommend it for large areas ie legs cos imo it's not worth the pain or expense; the treatment did indeed kill the hairs, but they always grew back (albeit slowly) and I find I can get the same effect with epilating.