Advice? Stick with Lightsheer or try GentleLASE

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

So I’ve done my three treatment package with a LightSheer on my chest/stomach. I’m not that hairy to begin with, and have relatively light skin. I’m of English and Polish descent. It’s being done at a really reputable plastic surgeon’s office, and the woman who does it is very nice and has been doing it for a really long time.

The first treatment I shaved one day before, and everything went fine. There were missed spots, but I figured that was normal. The hair eventually shed and I was hairless for a little while before it regrew. My hair follicles tend to get very irritated, I can’t even use a straight razor on them because it gets red all around the follicle. This is exactly what happens for two weeks after the treatment (and one of the reason’s I’m having the treatment). So after the treatment, within 2 hours when the overall redness goes away, you can see EXACTLY which hairs have been hit and which haven’t. #1 the hair is melted, and #2 the follicle is red. It kind of looks like eczema. But it’s totally normal for my skin. Anyway, I know the joules were low the first time, she turned it up the second time to 27. Second time I let hair grow for 2 days before going in so that she could see it better and not miss any. Well she missed a bunch, even ones she had gone over didn’t melt or get red for some strange reason. So I went back two days later and had her touch it up. I only got one area where the skin was burnt and it just scabbed and fell off. It seemed to work a lot better with the higher setting.

So my third time (last week) I went in with three days of hair growth (thinking that way she could NEVER miss any of the hairs). She said the length was fine. I told her to go as high as she thought she could. I think she put it on 29 joules. This time I have lots of bruises that are scabbing off. The thing is the bruising only happened in two areas. And I’m thinking maybe she hadn’t cleaned the tip for those areas or pressed down on those, or the hair was just too long? Normally she doesn’t really press down and I’ve heard that you’re supposed to. She kind of touches it to some hairs and it just zaps the hair. Sometimes she even holds it at an angle so it’s not touching the skin much at all. Anyway some of the bruises were pretty painful, they’re fine now, just waiting to see what it looks like when the scab falls off, hopefully fine… But when I went in this time she asked, “Is the hair getting patchy?” I said, “Nope, not at all.” It isn’t. It’s definitely finer, and maybe a hair here and there is gone, but no NOTICEABLE patches of hair not growing in. Also this time I kept checking and having her get hairs she missed and directing her around. I hate doing that, and I apologize constantly. In two weeks I’ll see how the regrowth is, but I’m already thinking if I should stick with the lightsheer or that practioner, or if I should try to the GentleLASE.

The GentleLASE looks like it would be easier to NOT miss spots, plus the spot is bigger. But at the same time, the hairs do shed with the lightsheer, even though I guess even if they do shed it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s working well enough.

At the place I go to for a “large area” they normally charge $750 for 3 treatments. So that’s normally what chest + stomach cost. I’m not THAT hairy though, and we kind of had a good rapport because I’m super friendly, so she told them to just charge me for a “small area” so it was $325 for 3 treatments. I think that’s pretty cheap. And I know it’s not a BIG part of the plastic surgeon’s business there, because she told me, plus they only do it on Wed and Fri and use the machine the other days for other things. She even does a little patch on the small of my back along with my chest/stomach.

But I basically just want advice from anyone who’s willing to give it. Any idea why some of the hairs are NOT being burnt even though she’s going over the area? Any idea why only two grouped areas of the skin burnt and everything else was fine? Is the GentleLASE usually favorable to the Lightsheer?

I just hate, hate, hate having to constantly nag the woman who does it about this spot, or that spot, because I know EXACTLY where hair on my body grows. So when I don’t see redness there or she isn’t going for that area, I’m like, “Oh, over here.” I really wish I could use the tool myself sometimes, but that’s just because I’m super anal and would go over every area perfectly, even if I didn’t necessarily see the hairs. I do see the hairs, sometimes she doesn’t though. They’re usually the finer hairs, but they’re still colored and candidates to be zapped. I just think telling her, “Hey, can you press down harder on each spot and do it very evenly,” is getting really, really pushy. I kind of would LIKE to draw out an exact area and have her just do a grid inside that, but again, I feel like that’s kind of pushing it.

I live in Las Vegas by the way, it’s a huge city, so I can pretty much find any type of machine. I’m just wondering if I should try a new machine (the GentleLASE maybe?) now? Or if I should just continuing going to the same person and make her do it very, very exactly.

#2

It sounds to me like she doesnt know what she is doing.

I had one of those sort of techs with a lightsheer. She told me that her previous client had said she was “the best laser nurse” and then she proceeds to give me a patch work quilt effect on my chest (missing as much as she hit) and burning my arms by lasering hairs that had been missed 2 weeks before without shaving them. Needless to say I didnt go there again, and this is why I would never pay up front for a package of treatments.

I am having Gentlelase now, and even though the nurse draws a pattern on me with a white pen she still misses some. The laser does seem more effective though to me.

#3

Yeah, I think I’m sold on going for the GentleLASE and trying it.

I have a question though, when they go over you with the GentleLASE, and she draws the hair pattern on your chest, can they just go over EVERY single bit within the hair pattern, even if they don’t see hair? There’s nothing negative about that, right? Because some of my hairs are finer, and I feel like the technician assumes the lower sternum part of my chest doesn’t have any hair, but it does! So I’d like them to just do the WHOLE thing, even if they don’t see anything, because there is some there, you know what I mean?

Another question too – when do you shave before the treatment? One day? Two days? Can the technician actually see the hair above the surface when they’re doing the treatment? Because again, I’d love to just shave the day before, have barely any hair coming through and just have them zap EVERYTHING within the area where hair grows.

#4

Jeff716a,

You said that you are of English and Polish descent. Usually someone from that background will have finer, thinner and lighter hairs. No matter how many times it is lasered or how high the laser settings are, it will not destroy the hair. As you had said, you grew the hair out for her to see and had her zap them, It’s impossible to keep missing it if she is going over where you are telling her to.

Hair can only be destroyed in the anagen phase, 85% of the hairs are in this state, so you will never see 100% shedding. Males tend to take longer for laser hair removal since they have more testosterone, especially if they are younger. In your case, maybe it takes some more time or the hairs may not be thick and dark enough to be lasered.

Hope this helps.
beautyrn

www.beautyrn.com

#5

Well the thing is the hairs that she’s “missing” are sometimes right next to other ones that were zapped, and they’re all the same coarseness and thickness and color. Sometimes I’ll point them out, and she’ll do them, but then that area gets double the treatment and can get a little irritated.

The ones that she “skips” are finer and less pigmented, right beneath my pecs. But I’m pretty sure they can still be treated, because sometimes when I get really anal I point them out to her and she’ll do them, and they melt immediately. But unless I was to basically say, “Just go over this entire area as if you could see the hair there,” she’ll only do areas where she clearly sees hair, and she doesn’t seem to see the finer hairs as well as I do.

I heard the GentleLASE is better for those hairs that are finer and a lighter color though? Is that true? Also, does anyone have any advice on if you had 29 joules with a lightsheer, how many joules you should start with GentleLASE? Is there a conversion?

#6

I shave around 2 days before so there is a little more stubble for them to see.

They dont miss some on purpose, maybe they dont quite see it or think they did an area and they didnt. My nurse looks for the red areas, but still misses a little bit. Not that much but some.

If there is an area that they dont treat on purpose, mention it next time. Just say, “oh I think you missed this area last time, I do want that treated you know”

Im coming up to 11 weeks since my second (recent) treatment on Saturday am loving being able to feel the smoothness of my back and shoulders.

#7

Can I ask if you use Lightsheer or GentleLASE?

#8

Both lasers are pretty good it’s more the person using it. When you say she misses or skips spots, does she willingly do this? Like does she just fire it where she thinks, or does she cover the entire area regardless? She really should be covering the whole area, whether she thinks there’s hair there or not.

Was going to say too usually Polish people have light skin and fairly light hair as well so it’s odd that you would be getting bruises and weird reactions. Is the hair very dark and coarse? GentleLASE would be no different in that regard, and would most likely be worse. However she should be either drawing a grid or making sure she 100% covers the area.

#9

I have used both, but currently Gentlelase.

#10

She ONLY does it on the hairs she sees, which bugs me and I point out areas constantly. I wish she would just go over the ENTIRE area regardless of if she sees anything. I’m also very thin and boney (6’ tall, 118 lbs), which doesn’t help, because she would have to turn the tip sideways to get certain areas like that dip in the sternum in my chest (which she ALWAYS misses). So I feel like a laser that doesn’t need to make direct contact with the skin (gentlelase) would be better for that.

Just seeing how the lightsheer and gentlelase work, it looks like gentlelase would be SO much easier to operate because you can clearly see where the laser is going to be hitting the skin and you don’t have to touch it to the skin. I think not cleaning the tip is one reason I got burnt with the lightsheer.

I was born with white-blonde hair, but it’s darkened over time to what you would probably call light brown. I do have SOME blonde hairs on my body, but I don’t expect those to ever go away, the rest are either light brown (on mid chest) or dark (chest between nipples and line down my stomach). But the hair she’s missing in my mid-section I believe is definitely treatable; it’s fine hair that’s lighter than the rest and I think she just doesn’t see it. It’s still light brown though, and when she gets SOME of it, it does melt and shed. I’m just SO over telling someone how to do their job, you know what I mean? I feel like such a douche, plus I’m worried if she goes over the same area twice it’ll just burn the skin (I think that’s why it burnt it in one of the places).

The lower wavelength of the alexandrite laser should help get rid of the light brown hairs even better than the lightsheer too, right?

Right now my hair has almost all shed, minus the finer ones in the middle of my chest that she missed… So I’m just waiting a couple weeks to see how it grows back out and then probably will consider going to a place that has gentlelase.

What I kind of want to do is literally draw with some type of removable marker (where can you get one?) an area around my stomach, leading up to my chest where I KNOW hair grows. Then just tell the person, “Laser EVERYTHING in that area whether you see hair or not.” Does that seem like a good idea? I know it’s pushy, but I know EXACTLY where my hair grows, I could draw it out even without seeing the hair, because it’s been in that hair pattern my whole life. And it’s not tons of hair, it’s like a circle around belly and then little line going up to chest, then kind of a triangle shape from nipples to neck.

Also, anyone have any idea of an expected average cost for chest/stomach? I think there’s a dermatologist office right by where I live who has the Gentlease, and there’s a med spa a couple miles away too with Gentlelase. Should I call them for a price or go for a consultation? It seems when they see that I’m really not THAT hairy and it’s not a huge area they give me a cheaper price… The lightsheer lady was really nice, she even did the tiny area on the small of my back for nothing just because I asked her too. But literally, it’s like 10-15 zaps, so no big deal.

#11

Which one worked better? And which would you personally recommend? I just can’t help think the gentlelase would take a lot of technique out of doing the lasering properly, so it would be easier for anyone to do it.