all booked in for laser

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

i found a laser place the offers GentleLase, finally!. It is an hour drive away, but no where else offered GentleLase near my area but i did find a place where they offered Lightsheer and i spokje to the lady on the phone and she was Very pushy and even said she can laser people with blonde hair and when i asked to make a consultation she said it HAD to be a consultation AND treatment and the price was EXPENSIVE so i definantly didn’t want to go.

So im booked in for a brazillian and getting my underarms done at the GentleLase place. The price seem good, it is $70 for a full brazzilian and $70 for under arms. They said they could do each area in 5 min, as in the charge $70 per 5 min, is that possible??

Also the spot size is 15 mm, and i dont think they are going to go too high with the jouls as i asked if i should put some emla on before i come in and they said there was no need there shouldnt be any pain> but im going to speak to the tech and hopfuly convince her to put it as high as possible as my skin is pretty white in the areas i want to get done. Also i have a question, how do i make sure they dont miss any spots when they do my brazzillian, and also i want to make sure they dont laser anywhere that the hairs are thin should i ask her at the end of the session if she missed any spots i dont want to be ruse but i just want to make sure EVERYTHING sheds you know. so if anyone got a laser brazzillian can you let me know how u make sure they dont miss any spots and any other tips would be great ,
thanks guys :slight_smile:
p.s sorry for the loooonnng post

#2

The underarms will take less than a minute. Maybe 30 seconds or so. Your bikini line will take longer. Mine takes 15-20 minutes depending on if I ask her to backtrack or if I pause to catch my breath.

Ask for the 18mm spot size. There SHOULD be pain. The underarms are fine because it’s over before you blink. But the bikini line will hurt like F*CK. Once it’s done the pain is gone, but each laser blast is amazingly painful. If it doesn’t hurt a lot, then the settings are awful. I personally can’t handle this area without numbing cream. Pits, arms and legs, yes. Bikini line? Noooooo.

It’s hard to make sure NOTHING is missed since you can’t really see what they’re doing down there. Try and pay attention to it if you can. Otherwise wait to see what sheds and ask for a touch up.

#3

I do the full brazilian without pain medication BUT… be prepared for the pain, lol. It’s kinda like you get a lighter, and just turn it on right next to the area for a second. It burns but then its done. My eyes usually water but I think I have a fairly good pain tolerance. If you want to try without EMLA and see what happens, just take a couple of panadol about half an hour to an hour beforehand and you should be right.
The prices are fantastic! I got my brazilian for $60 but only because it was on special at the time, usually its $95. So I think you did well :slight_smile: Goodluck!

#4

If you’re as pale as you indicate and they’re using GentleLASE, understand that on 18mm 20J is max and on 15mm 30J is max. I would make sure that they treat at at least 14-16J on 18mm. On 15mm, probably something over 20-22J. They can test a spot first.

Bring a white pencil and outline the area. I would also shave 1-2 days before so there is just enough stubble to see where to treat.

I agree with all of the above. You should feel pain. Take a painkiller. Bikini may need some EMLA. Depends on your pain tolerance.

#5

hm thats why im worried, as i think they wont go too high on the Joules - hence them saying it wont hurt - they said they follow some guidline, so im seiroulsy hoping they will make it high - but only time will tell, they crappy thing is they are the ONLY place i found that used GentleLase… so im desperate as in if they do the settings low ill still go to them. And the only spot size they have is the 15mm, which is a shame becasue i would of preffered 18 mm, anyways ill let you know how it goes :smiley:

#6

Call and ask what Joules they will use. It’s really bizarre that they don’t have the ability to treat you at 18mm. Did the 18mm head break or something? If you get treated at 15mm, make sure they up the joules to compensate. GentleLASE is a great machine, but like any laser it’s utterly useless if it’s not being used well.

#7

They should have the 18mm… from what I’ve read, even the old model can be updated to have the 18mm piece :frowning:

#8

really, they were really adament that they only used 15mm but ill call and ask again and ask why they dont have 18mm

#9

It’s fine if they use 15mm too as long as you use at least 22J and up on your on that spot size. I would urge them to do test spots on you, plead that you’re very pale, and that you can handle the settings. Tell them you’re not afraid of pain - that you want max results at max settings your skin can handle. It really will depend on the tech you get. I would call ahead of time and speak to someone to figure out which tech has the most experience and try booking directly with her.

#10

thanks for the advice guys :slight_smile: i tried calling them again today but its a public holiday so going to try again tommorow, also, when you got the brazilians did they do the area near the bum? haha sorry if that sounds gross, but should i specifically ask them to do it ? and if they did do it did you have to help them reach the areas (part the bum)haha
Alsooo when i used to get this area waxed, it hurt but i could handle the pain, is this like the laser (assuming the put on high settings), and is it even safe to put the emla on this area?

#11

Yes, they do your butt-crack, haha. And you may or may not have to uh… Help them get access to the area. If they can get at it, then they’ll do it on their own. If they need you to assist, they’ll let you know.

It’s safe to use EMLA on this area, I always do. Some people don’t, but I have to. I find laser to be waaay worse than waxing. I used to wax myself all the time and it was only mildly uncomfortable. It hurt but just enough to make me wince. But laser actually has me yelling and twitching.

#12

So…im confused about hair length about laser.

I know you have to shave beforehand, and I plan to shave an hr or so before I go in - just to avoid any redness or irritation before I have laser done.

However, I did think ‘how is she going to see where the hair begins and end?!’

But I was also under the impression the more hair tht is present, the more painful the procedure will be?

Can anyone advise?!

#13

well i was told to shave 2 days prior to the laser treatement, i guess so there is some stubble so they can see where the hair is when i get the laser done

#14

It’s kind of up to you. You can show her where to laser or outline it in white if you’ve shaved really recently. But many people here suggest shaving a day or two in advance so they can see the stubble.

This isn’t necessary on me since you can see ALL the hair follicles even when freshly shaved. Little black dots, yuck.

For me, I tried having 1 full day of growth (my hair grows fast and two days of growth would be way too long for laser) for my second bikini treatment and it was more painful than when I shave an hour before the appointment. Also, for that day beforehand I was burning and itching and it was really uncomfortable. So I just shave right before laser and avoid all the itchy redness.

Your preference may be different, so just give it a try.

#15

I shave right before as well, otherwise its just a pain. At least for underarms they know where to go, for bikini/brazilian they are pretty good at going to the outer limits of those areas. On your butt it’s usually just an inch or so out, since the hair soon turns to light fluff. For the other areas, because they’re going partly down the leg as well you can usually be sure they get everything. Using a white crayon or somehting to mark the places for them might be an idea, or just tell them where to go during.

#16

ok. so i just had my laser done on my brazillian and underarms. I thought i was going to be in good hands as the lady i had it with had 10 years experience…boy was a wrong.

She was explaining everything to me… and things were going good. When i asked her about the settings things turned ugly she was very pissed of id even ask… she was like that is not for you to know. and im like yer but i would like to knjow…and she said its like asking a docotor was size scapel they will use and i was like WTF and i yer but i would like to know for my own knowldge and then i asked her about the spot size and said so you dont have the 18 mm? and she said. NO we do but we dont want to use 18mm and we think 15mm is the best… and when she DID mention the settings she said 12 joulES! on a 15mm! WTF i was like isnt the hightest 30 joules and she said um NO its 100j WTFFFFFFFFFFF she was soo rude to me, anyways i still did the laser as i drove 1 friggin hour to see this b*tch sory for the language im just pissed off.
So anyways, i didint relise i would get a reacting like this when asking about the settings im very shocked about the way she reacted when i asked.
I guess ill see how the shedding goes… but yer 12 jouls on a 15mm spot size…hmm :frowning: oh well

#17

Yep! They are pretty bad! The place I go to in Adelaide is pretty good, they have younger people as technicians - not so experienced but at least I can kinda talk them into sharing the settings and stuff with me - mostly people assume you don’t need to know because you know nothing about the process. It really sucks that they used such low settings on you :frowning: And that they got offended when you asked! They probably know what they are doing is wrong and don’t want to have to change. I guess the prices are good because they know you’ll be coming back for awhile…

Hopefully you can find somewhere else to go.

#18

Holy crap. 12 joules is utterly worthless. It’s not even an okay setting with 18mm. It’s a joke with 15mm. Those may be the worst settings I’ve heard mentioned here before. Heh.

#19

That’s too bad, definitely don’t go back there again what a rip off. I would have said if they’re not going to tell me then I’m leaving, or I’d have paid with credit card and then called my card company after saying my card was stolen! Not sure if that would really do much though.

As for about how they can see the hair, it really depends. Some will just go by the average area which can sometimes work. I find with my underarms they never go high enough so there’s always a tiny spot missed. My clinic has one of those big magnifying glasses that people use for electrolysis so she usually will use that to check out my face and arms and so on to tell where to treat.

I also recommend shaving before going for your treatment, but it does depend on the area. For example, I’m a guy so I don’t normally shave my underarms, forearms, legs etc, I ONLY do when going for laser. So if I do it incorrectly, it’s very easy to get razor burn or irritation. Usually irritation wouldn’t start for a day or so so you’re usually fine. If you shaved the day before though then had all night for your skin to break out or have issues, then I think it would cause more problems when you go for the laser.

#20

Hey, edokid! You’re back! Hope you had a nice summer!