Back from London..

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hello everybody I just came back from London last week, after visiting three clinics for consultations.

The first one I went to was London Premier Laser Clinic, where I was told that I would be traeted on a GentleLase machine, but because of my skin tone I would have to start the treatment with the settings starting at 10j, and move up from there to maybe 16j, but probrely not more then 14j. That seem a bit low, and maybe not worth the money.

The second one was Renew Medica. I was told my skin tone was IV and I would therefore be treated on a Yag diode machine I think, the settings would start at 28j not sure about the spot size. I was also told that they wouldn’t be able to use the Laser on one of my shoulders, because of the metal plate and screws I have inside my arm from surgery, after an accident 5 years ago, I was told that the metal would absorb the heat from the laser, have anybody heard of this? it wasn’t a problem when I was being treated with IPL…
Other then that they seem nice a honest.

The third was the Sk:n clinic on Harley st.
here I was told that I was a type III, I can’t remember which laser the use, but I think it’s the Cynosure Elite, the test path settings was:
Joules 15-17
Spot size 15
Fluence 15
Pulse width 40
Rep rate 1.5
The women doing the interview was very nice and informative, and I had a really good experience there.

The first one is out probably out of the picture, but I could really need some help on choosing between the two others.

P.S sorry for any spelling and grama mistakes I might have made…

#2

It’s either a diode OR a Yag. It can’t be both. 28J is ok on a diode, but too low on any Yag no matter what the other settings are.

Cynosure Apogee Elite is both an alex and a Yag. I suspect what they used for the spot test is an alex, but it would help if you confirmed. If you could handle the above settings you mention on an alex, that’s not too bad though the joules a bit low and the pulse is a bit high.

Yes, treating on anything under 14J on GentleLASE would be a waste.

#3

Once again, thank you so much LAgirl for taking the time to help, it really means alot…

Is the difference between the two that Yag “shoots” a beam, while a diode actualy touches you? if so it was a diode.

It was an alex, I remember her saying that the test patch was with a 755 wavelength.

#4

Yes, 755nm is an alex.

Yags and diodes all operate in different ways. We really need to know the name of the machine.

#5

I just called Renew Medica, and they told me it was the Lightsheer diode machine.

#6

If your skin is fine at 28J on LightSheer (given a relatively low pulse width used…hopefully around 20ms), then you don’t need a Yag really. An alex or a diode should be fine.

I would wait to see how shedding goes on the test spots before making any decisions.

#7

At the Sk:n clinic they did the test spot, with the Cynosure Elite where there was no hair, to see if my skin could handle it, and since it had no effect what so ever, I’m pretty sure they would set the machine a bit higher.
The test spot I got from Rewnew Medica left my skin a bit itchy and a little red around the hairs. it’s been about a week now, and the hairs a starting to look like they will fall out any day now.

I still need some help in choosing between the two clinics, which one do you think I should go with, the Sk:n clinic and their Cynosure Elite or Renew Medica and their LightSheer Diode? which one is the better machine?

#8

They’re both decent machines, but alex lasers are more powerful than the diodes. If they’re willing to use much higher settings on the Apogee Elite on the alex setting (i.e. around 20J and up with pulse of under 30ms), then I would likely lean there. If they’re not, I would stick with LightSheer if you feel they know what they’re doing with it since it’s not an easy to use machine. Up and down method is important on it as well as using compression.

#9

Is the diffrence between a GentleLase and other laser such as the Apogee Elite really that big?

So you would think 20j with a 15mm spot size, would be the best choice…
I’ll try to give them a call to see if it’s even possible to go so high with my skintone…

It’s really hard for me to figure out how to go about this, it’s really a big stress factor for me, not a day goes by without me thinking about it, and it feels like part of my life is on standby till I find a way to solve this problem, it’s really tearing on my self esteem and now that I have the money I just want to get rid of that hair once and for all…

#10

GentleLASE is a bit more powerful due to largest spot size on the market, which is 18mm and the lowest pulse width on the market at 3ms (constant and cannot be adjusted).

Apogee has a stable spot size. I believe all Apogee Elite models are 15mm. Pulse IS adjustable on Apogee as opposed to GentleLASE. So that’s where they can vary it to make sure your skin is fine but you’re still getting results. You have to make sure they’re willing to use a pulse of under 30ms. The lower the better.

Basically, high joules, low pulse, and large spot size is most important.