Am I being treated at the right setting?-GentleMax

Hair Removal Tips Tips for increasing effectiveness
#1

Hi everyone,

I am a 23 year old female. My skin is light, tans easily with slight burns within a couple of hours of direct sun exposure, longer than that causes a painful burn. My hair is very dark with medium thickness. I am a Type III on Fitzpatrick chart and have been having laser hair removal sessions on my face.

I had 3 sessions with Soprano Ice (every 4 weeks) without any prominent results and so the dermatologist then recommended to go for GentleMax instead. Now I have had 3 more sessions (every 6 weeks) with GentleMax, on these settings:

(YAG)
Spot size: 12 mm
Fluence: 16 joules
Pulse duration: 20-10

I could not find out what the pulse width is. Also, they only change the setting after 2-3 sessions, which they haven’t yet in my case.

My results are still not impressive. The areas with slightly thicker hair, like sides of the cheeks and above the lips, definitely have reduced regrowth (40%), but I have a lot of hair that are of normal/medium thickness but not fine, still left (about 60% regrowth).

I am sorry if I sound ignorant but in my defense, my dermatologist has never bothered explaining any thing to me and the small amount that I know, I have found out by googling. This is just how it is like where I live (Middle East) but I’m desperate so I’m going with it anyways.

I am really confused and concerned whether my dermatologist is using the right settings for me, or if the setting is kept too low just so they can cash in more procedural sessions. In fact I am also horrified that the regrowth in the areas with less thicker hair seems to have increased.

Any advice and suggestions on whether it is possible to have increased regrowth on these settings and if I just need to give it some more time to see the results will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading till the end!

#2

Hey, I’m not a professional (and one of them should be along soon to give you a more thorough answer), but the short answer is that YES, I’m very sorry to tell you that laser (especially on hormone-sensitive areas for women, like the face) can indeed stimulate/increase growth.

The good news is that there are other, permanent ways of getting rid of hair, even lighter/finer hair (I’m doing electrolysis on my stomach and it’s going great), so you shouldn’t despair but you should also stop going to this practitioner if you’re seeing increased growth. It’s a real thing and it could get worse if you keep going!

Like I said, I’m just a client myself, so these are of course partly my personal opinions (based on things that I’ve read). Hopefully a professional will come along and help you.

Stay strong!

#3

Womens’ faces are generally not recommended for laser unless you have very coarse and dense growth. Induced growth is a possible side effect in which you will need electrolysis.

As for settings, those settings are horribly low for 12mm spot size. As a guideline see this (this is for GentleYAG but it’s same manufacturer and similar laser so the settings are pretty transferrable between GentleYAG and GentleMAX):

#4

Well not a professional by any means especially with laser, but like Jess I have heard countless accounts of Laser Stimulated Hair Growth which seems to happen frequently with those with olive skin tones as is common in places like India, and I suppose the middle east as well.
In my opinion, especially if its somehwere near the face, electrolysis is the way to go. Those follicles get dead and stay dead. Without stimulating other growth.

Seana

#5

When I had laser done I noticed that I was getting more hair growth, (white hair) I asked the operator if the laser can simulate hair growth and she told me no! I thought I might be imagining things, it wasn’t until I read the threads on here that I knew I wasn’t imagining it… The laser did reduced some of the black hairs though.

#6

skydivingjess, thank you so much for supporting! It means a lot.

Brenton, thanks a lot for adding the link to the document. Now I can clearly see that the settings are way off for my skin type.

Iluv2zap, I can’t determine if I have the olive undertones in my skin. They are certainly not obvious but I suppose my dermatologist will be able to tell so I intend to ask her if I end up going again.

hairy Harry, that is exactly how I was feeling when I posted this, that I might be only imagining it, but it seems real now. In my case the hair growth does not seem lighter than usual though.

#7

Eli.za, If you’re middle-Eastern you are a skin type 4, no matter how pale you are. It is the potential for reaction, or the sensitivity of the skin that is ranked and that comes from the ethnic origin. Being paler would allow the practitioner to push your settings up quicker as long as you don’t react to the test patches. You can and probably will end up being treated on settings for skin type 3 and even above, if they bother to test patch you higher every time and increase the setting on every next visit.
However, 16 j on a NdYag is terribly low. Being undertreated often leads to quicker manifestation of paradoxical hypertrichosis, or increased growth from laser treatments.
Look for a good electrologist please.
My opinion is based on 10 years laser and electrolysis practice in London.