Alexandrite GentleLase Laser hair removal Burns

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
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From reader kokotte

I went to a certified physician on Monday for a first treatment of laser hair removal on my botton legs and bikini line. When I got out of the clininc it felt like I had just shaved and rubbed my entire legs with rubbing alcohol. The doctor kept saying it would go away and that redness was a good sign that the treatment was working. About a few hours later my legs looked like I had bruces everywhere and it burnt all night. It’s been 3 days now and I still have dark red and dark brown spots on my legs and bikini line area. I know now that the spots are burns as it’s easy to tell now and my skin is still sensitive to the touch.

I think the doctor might have used the laser in a setting that was too high.
Also, the majority of the spots on my legs are not round; they are in a quarter-moon or half-moon shape. This leads me to think that maybe the laser device wasn’t positioned completely flat on my skin, but in an angle instead. It seems like that is the only way the spots could be in any shape other than round since the device itself is round. Try to picture this, when the laser is positioned in an angle, the portion of the skin that is closer to the laser gets hit harder than the rest of the skin located in the same target zone. Do you think that this could have created the problem? On a big area such as the legs he might have tried to do it too fast. When quickly dragging the laser down and up the legs (as opposed to lifting it up every time and making sure that it’s flat) it might end up being in an angle 50 or 75% of the time. I’m not sure at all! I usually don’t have sensitive skin whatsoever. Or could it be the laser itself, maybe it needs to be calibrated or something like that. It’s hard to understand why the spots would almost all be in a quarter-moon or half-moon shape as opposed to round. Plus if the laser was used in an overlapping method I would expect to see lines and not circles. Seeing circles would mean that we are missing and skipping some areas, while lines would mean we are covering the entire area. The doctor pointed that out to me and wasn’t sure of the reason why we were seeing spots instead of lines. Could it be possible that the machine constantly alternates the power of the laser being sent out? For example the laser would be strong, then even stronger, back to strong, then stronger… This could explain circles as opposed to lines if the stronger setting was too much for the skin to handle, but it still doesn’t explain the quarter-moon or half-moon circles.

Also I was speaking to my sister who has much more sensitive skin than me. She’s been doing the treatment with a completely different machine than me and had no problem. On her they first put a gel all over her skin and they also use some kind of a pellicule between the skin and the device. In a way the machine never touches her skin. The device that I used was completely different. The doctor did not use any gel as the device sends out some kind of ice spray right before the laser hits the skin. Could it be the ice that burnt my skin?

I seriously look like I got mistreated and someone burnt my legs with a cigar all over…

Any advice? I’m freaking out!
I have white skin but I tend to tan very easily. I haven’t been tanning since last summer so I can’t imagine that I would still have much of a tan.

Also, the doctor told me to shave the morning before the treatment. Is that right? I couldn’t see any follicules at all before doing the treatment so how is the laser going to see them?

My sister said that when she does her treatment she can actually hear the hairs popping. is that typical? I didn’t hear anything…

Please help! I’m still hoping the spots will go away…

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what settings were used on the GentleLASE in this case? it sounds like a superficial burn which will resolve itself. she should use aloe vera daily to help it heal, but if it’s really bad, see a dermatologist and get something stronger for burns. these things are not usually permanent and go away within a few weeks or a few months at most. she should also contact the clinic. this has nothing to do with any hypotheses she has stated. the operator basically set the settings too high for her skin type.

btw, are you on any medications currently? if you’re taking anything photosensitive, it would make you more prone to burning too.

the tip of this laser is a circle, that’s why they’re not lines.

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I believe he used 18 joules with a 15 mm tip. He wants to use 16 joules with 18 mm tip next time. It’s been a little over a week now and the marks are still there but are slowly fading away. Not fast enough though. I went to see a doctor and she thinks differently than the physician who performed the treatment. She thinks the marks are not burns but bruces instead from the pressure created by the cryogen. I am not sure what it is, I just want the marks to go away.

Regarding photosensitive products, I do use Differin but only on my face for acne. Could that have anything to do with it?

Thanks for your reply!

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i’m not 100% sure, but even using that on your face might cause an issue. also, unless this particular doctor you went to has a lot of experience with lasers, i doubt they would diagnose it correctly. if it’s already healing, it’s most likely a superficial burn. those settings are not too high since they’re at 15mm spot size (at 18mm they would be very good). you might be too dark or too tanned for an alex laser too. does this office have any others? how experienced are they? how long have they been in business? do they think it’s a burn and what do they suggest besides turning down the settings?

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The doctor did not recommend anything other than using a different setting (16 joules, 18 mm). what do you think of that setting after getting burnt at 18 joules, 15 mm ?

I am trying to contact Differin and find out if their product can cause photosensitivity on the legs even though im using it on my face. Also i’ll find out how long i have to wait until next treatment if I stop using Differin now.

At this point i am not sure if there will be a next treatment as I dont want to do anything unless all the marks go away. They seemed to be fading after the first couples days and now I don’t really notice much changes. I bet it will take a month or 2 to heal completely. It still looks really bad!

The doctor is old and he’s been doing it for quite a while. He doesn’t have any other machine. What’s weird is that he did a test on my skin a week before the first treatment to see how I would react and everything was fine. He used 15 mm with 16, 18 and 20 joules and decided to go with 18 even though he thought my skin could take 20. I’m glad we used 18 or else i’d be fried right now.

i will take pictures tonight.

You said i might be too dark for alexandrite. How dark is too dark? i wish they had charts or something like that. Are you supposed to shave right before the treatment or do you let the hairs grow a tiny bit? I know I shaved the morning before the treatment and I couldn’t see any follicles. Maybe the laser couldn’t either and my skin absorbs everything. I tan easily but haven’t tanned for 6 months or so. My skin is a light brown, my hairs are mostly dark brown some are lighter.

Thanks!

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if your skin is light brown, it might be too dark. or you might have underlying pigment depending on your ancesetry too. or, it could be more sensitive due to the medication. if he’s increasing the spot size to 18mm, than 16 joules is still pretty high. if he uses 15mm and 16 joules, then that would be a lower setting.

try searching for a fitzpatrick skin chart online to determine what your approximate skin type is. This is a good site. If you’re darker than a type III when not tanned, you should probably switch to a diode or Yag laser.

http://www.spa-medical.com/fitzpatrick_skin_typing_test.htm

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From the chart it looks like i’m a type 4.

Are you suppose to shave right before the treatment?

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yes, you are. that has nothing to do with this. laser is only attracted to dark pigment, above and below the skin. you would actually be more prone to burns if you had long hairs treated as the skin could be burned while the long hairs are being singed.

as a type IV, you might be too dark and those settings are probably too high. I would switch to LightSheer diode or a Yag laser like GentleYAG if the hair is coarse for your future treatments. They’re made for darker skin types and wouldn’t burn you (more so the Yag).

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Here’s the problem… There are only 2 clinics within 100 miles that do laser hair removal. If I can’t use the Alexandrite laser, this in my only choice:

http://www.betheperfectyou.com/ourlasers.php

what do you think of the Acclaim 7000 Nd/YAG Laser?

Would that be a better choice for me?

Thanks so much for your help…

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I haven’t heard of that Yag. However, the Apogee alex might be an ok choice if they know what they’re doing since it has adjustable pulse width (GentleLASE doesn’t). They can increase the pulse for darker skins to make it safer.

Have you tried these links?

Candela GentleYag ND:Yag: http://www.candelalaser.com/patients/index.cfm?task=practSearch

Lumenis LightSheer Diode: http://www.skinandhealth.com/details/practitioner

Cutera Coolglide ND:Yag:
http://www.cutera.com/locator/main.asp

American Society of Dermatological Surgery procedure provider search
http://www.asds.net/find.html

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The Aclaim 7000 is made by Cynosure corp. It is a very good yag and you should get good results with it.

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Thanks, I will wait another 6 weeks and hopefully the marks will be gone by then. If they are gone I will move on to the yag laser and forget about this misadventure with the Alexandrite. Otherwise I’ll have to figure something out… I don’t want those marks on my legs forever.

Last might I noticed that one of the marks was starting to peel. It was probably the worst one I have. Hopefully it’s a good sign. The others marks haven’t changed in a few days…