Anecdotal Questions

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I would like to begin by saying how I appreciate this site and everyones contributions. Andrea has authored many helpful sites and they keep improving their effectivenss.

I have a few questions about things mentioned here and elsewhere with regard to peoples experience with LHR.

  1. any distinction between success rates of removal locations on the body? specific shoulders/back

  2. Age, body weight,sex, metabolism, ethnicity? How do these factor in? Anecdotally, what seems to respond best? for example, a young thin anglo-saxon woman? i am none of these.

  3. what is meant by visual effect? do the rest of hairs turn vellus? If 80-90% removal is achieved, are the remaining hairs mostly vellus and do they stay that way.

  4. “experience” is the single most important factor i am told. Is that in setting up the treatment parameters or actual execution? what about a good doctor who uses nurses to administer his treatment regime?

  5. In summer hair grows faster, any impact on LHR?

  6. A question about this much appreciated anecdotal evidence. Are people more likely to join a forum like this to share bad experiences rather than good? I know from work, family etc. its usually easier to complain than to give praise. im wondering if there are more silent successes out there.

thanks in advance to all those who share their knowledge!

#2

  1. Easiest seems to be back and arms. Hardest is face, especially around the mouth.

  2. Best candidate is light-skinned dark haired patient of average to thin weight.

  3. Laser is best on dark, coarse hairs. Some will be miniaturized, and some may be so tiny that they are not visible. This causes and visual improvement. Others my lose their pigment, which also gives a visual improvement.

  4. Parameters set up by a physician and performed by an experienced practitioner are probably the safest bet, although some practitioners may be more experienced than doctors.

  5. Since many people take more sun in the summer, it’s possible to get more side effects in the summer. The change of hair growth rates in the summer are not terribly great.

#3

For me the best results were on the chest, with 50% reduction after one treatment. Next best results were on the back and shoulders. Results on the arms were not quite as good but I have had less treatments on them and the energy levels were lower on some of the treatements.

I can’t get laser treatments in the summer because my suntan is too dark. It takes about 3 months for my tan to fade enough for laser treatments.

Any regrowth I have had did occur within two months with no additional regrowth after that.

Most of the hair that did grow back was much finer and much less visible. Some hair probably did undergo pigment changes too.

To get the most out of your laser treatments, the practitioner must find the maximum fluence you can tolerate before long term skin damage occurs. If the fluence is too low the treatments will not be effective.

I would not worry about a little bit of scabbing or blistering. I have experienced that on some treatments and there were no long term problems at all. I have had less scabbing and blistering with the Lightsheer diode laser than with the Apogee alexandite. Both lasers worked very well but results on later treatments on finer hair have been better with the Lightsheer.

There is definitely pain during the treatments, but to me that is a sign they are effective and reaching deep into the follicle.

I am very happy with the results of my laser treatments and highly recommend them.

RJC2001