Advice? Also test patch pic...

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hello <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I thought I would register/post here to ask some advice on LHR.

My name is Lani and I’m 26 years old. I’m hoping to get my face cleared in the next 6 months or so by using LHR. I’ve read all the FAQ’s but had a few questions specific to me that went unanswered in the FAQ.

First off, the only local place that does LHR is at a dermatology office. There are no chains around me, although I’m sure there are a few in NOLA an hour south. The person who owns the dermatology office purchased a Candela GentleLase and has a tech named Heather who has been operating it for 2 years. I went there about 2 weeks ago and had a test patch done on my neck and here are the results:
[image]http://www.victimofthemodernage.com/lani/testpatchsmall.jpg[/image]
(Click for a very big picture)

It’s not a before/after pic but it’s one side of my face and then the other side next to it. I did not have a digicam before the test patch was done. I flipped the other side of my face to make it easier to compare.

So here are my questions.

  1. What skin type do I have? Can you tell from the pic? I failed to ask Heather… Yes I’m a dufus <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I am currently moisturizing daily with Oil of Olay that has 15 SPF sunblock in it so hopefully the tan will fade.

  2. Are the results normal for 2 weeks post treatment? I see a lot of pepper spots still and some hair I guess she missed growing back. These hairs aren’t coming out when I tug on them.

  3. How successful should LHR be for me (from seeing my skin type and coarseness of my hair)

  4. What’s the usual price for face/neck? She told me it would be around $700 for 6 treatments and any followup treatments would be free or very cheap depending on how much regrowth occurs.

  5. I heard that the Lightsheer is a better laser. Is this true? Should I look for someone who has that instead of the GentleLase?

Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated. I’ve got to save up about $300 for the first treatment then each one gets cheaper (sort of like a package deal but not having to pay it all up front) So I have a month or two to decide if I want to go through with it or not.

Thanks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Lani

#2

  1. GentleLASE is an alex laser and one of the best on the market. In good hands, it’s effective. You seem to be a type II or III skin, so it’s the right laser for you.

  2. 6 months is not enough time to expect to be done. You’ll need at least 8-10 treatments for considerable reduction (you will most likely not get close to 100%, so have reasonable expectations; you will definitely see a reduction and a great decrease in density after 8 treatments and it will be left a lot easier to shave; but you’ll need more treatments and followup with electrolysis for complete remove of beard hair on a male). treatments should be spaced 8-10 weeks apart, so that will take you longer than 6 months.

  3. so far the test looks good.

  4. $700 is very cheap for full face and neck for 6 treatments. Definitely a good deal and worth trying.

  5. It’s very important that they don’t miss spots. Once you start treatment and if you see more than 10-15% of hair not shed after each treatment, you should ask for a touchup at around 3 weeks post treatment on those hairs. Otherwise, you might be left with some patchiness.

#3

I have had LHR on my neck/beard and have a similar skin/hair pattern as you, so I’ll add my opinions here.

  1. Like lagirl said, you’re type 2 or 3. Looks very similar to my skin and beard type.

  2. Yeah, after the first couple of treatments, some hairs will shed and some won’t (this is based on my experience, not neccesarily what should theoretically happen). When I had my neck done, I’d guess that about 75% of the hairs actually shed while the rest didn’t. It made shaving very difficult, because it’s really tough to shave shedding hair (unless you dry shave it, which sucks) - so things would look awkward for a couple of weeks after a treatment (you could shave the growing hairs, but the shedding hairs would remain behind). After a few treatments though, it wasn’t as bad.

  3. Again, don’t expect complete elimination. I still have a fair amount of hair on my neck, and can only leave it for about 4 days max before it needs to be shaved. But it’s more sparce and finer than it used to be, and much easier to shave. Also - no more ingrown hairs and no more razor-burn. As opposed to the rest of my beard (which after 4 days of growth, it takes a fair bit of work with a Mach 3 to clear it up), it only takes a few quick flicks of the razor to shave it. Also, keep in mind that the laser I used was less efficient on our hair/skin types than the one you are using, so you might have better results. I did a total of 9 treatments on my neck.

  4. I was paying $95 Canadian per session, plus tip, for the front neck area only. They gave me the same story about needing 6 treatments or so, then paying a nominal fee for touch-ups afterwards (they called it the Maintenance stage). I never made it to this “Maintenance” stage … so I coughed up $95 for all 9 treatments.

  5. Stick with the GentleLase. That’s the one I’m going to start new treatments with, and wish I had used in the beginning. However, I had a friend do his neck with the Lightsheer, and it worked amazing for him - and he has blonde hair on type 2-3 skin … which surprised the heck out of me. The operate on very similar frequencies, both of which have good absorption by melonin and poor absorption by hemoglobin.

As for some of lagirl’s comments :

They had me coming in every 6 weeks to start, then every 8 weeks after the first 5 treatments. Every 6 weeks was pretty close together, and there wasn’t always enough regrowth to justify another appointment so soon.

Be firm about missed patches. You will notice if they missed a spot. The place I went to would make me wait until the next appointment to deal with this - but you should go back in and insist on a free touch up for these areas.

hope that helps.