Before & After photos - male legs, Nd:Yag CoolGlide laser

Click the thumbnails for full image…

Before -
[image]http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/8311/front0312065nh.th.jpg[/image] [image]http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4949/back0312062eg.th.jpg[/image]

Close up, after my first patch test:
[image]http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/1249/cu0404218vw.th.jpg[/image]

After -
10 treatments over 18 months with a Nd:Yag CoolGlide laser. Settings varied from 30J right up to 120J. These photos were taken 12 weeks after shaving, and 4 weeks after the last laser treament.
[image]http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6894/front0509183an.th.jpg[/image] [image]http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6630/back0509180is.th.jpg[/image]

Close up, showing the remaining hairs. These would not respond to even the highest settings, and look like they’ll need electrolysis to clear them completely:
[image]http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/3507/cu0509188lp.th.jpg[/image]

I’ll try and take another set of After photos in 12 months time.

Excellent results by the looks of it so far. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes over the next couple of months keep us posted.

I am having treatment with YAG laser at the moment, going well so far. Time will tell though.

Thanks for the report! Please do post follow-ups at any time! I know a lot of readers will be interested.

Hey please post your Nd:Yag Coolglide experiences on the darkskinlaser.com forums via the link in my signature.

I use a relatively cheap host providor so don’t know if you can post images there (its a new forum!), but perhaps you can link to this forum in your message so darker skinned people can see Coolglide treatment pics. Kudos to you for making the effort to take pics.

I am beginning to beleive that laser is definitely the way to go for lighter skinned people with lots of hair to remove. Hopefully, we can get more pics like yours which show no skin damage.

Looks like the Coolglide worked great for you! Did you feel much pain or get any redness at 120 Joules?

The hair that is left is probably too light and fine for laser. Now it’s time for electrolysis?

This supports my theory, start with laser and finish with electrolysis.

RJC2001

Looks like the Coolglide worked great for you! Did you feel much pain or get any redness at 120 Joules?

Yes! I was definitely squirming - but no more than I was at 65J with a 10mm spot size (the 120J was a 7mm spot, I think). Only this last treatment was at 120J, and apart from a few areas, there was very little reddening of the skin. Virtually no follicular edema - which didn’t please my practitioner! The hairs (which were left long for this treatment) mostly didn’t even frizzle. And 4 weeks later, I’d estimate that only 30% has fallen out.

The hair that is left is probably too light and fine for laser. Now it’s time for electrolysis?

Yup. I went and saw an electrolysist the other day. She was a little alarmed at the amount of hair that was still there, and said it would probably take at least 4 sessions of an hour or more each. Even so, after laser, it’s still relatively cheap. :stuck_out_tongue:

We’re coming into summer down here (not that you’d know it right now though…) so I’m looking forward to getting some sun, and rid of this pale blotchy skin!

Yup. I went and saw an electrolysist the other day. She was a little alarmed at the amount of hair that was still there, and said it would probably take at least 4 sessions of an hour or more each. Even so, after laser, it’s still relatively cheap. :stuck_out_tongue:

Four hours isn’t bad at all! You’re in the home stretch!

RJC2001

8 months later…

Well, this set of photos was taken today, after 8 months of no treatment of any kind. I focused on the worst areas, so bear that in mind. My shins, calves, and hamstrings, for instance, are still almost entirely hairless.

[image]http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8091/imgp04195be.th.jpg[/image]

[image]http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/8403/imgp04225tw.th.jpg[/image]

[image]http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/3793/imgp04200zu.th.jpg[/image]

[image]http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/6317/imgp04232sb.th.jpg[/image]

[image]http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6868/imgp04244nj.th.jpg[/image]

[image]http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/1707/imgp04261tf.th.jpg[/image]

So that’s where we’re at. Now what do I do?
>> Legs:
I still want to remove the hair on my legs. Remember that my last laser treatment was virtually ineffective on the hairs on my quads. I had therefore intended to switch to electrolysis, but the hair now seems darker (there’s possibly more of it now too), so perhaps it would be more cost/time effective to try laser again?

>> Midsection:
The hair on my abs and upper chest has mostly appeared over the last 8 months. With the exception of a small snail trail, which I asked them to leave (for realism, you understand!), when I stopped the treatment I was more or less hairfree here. I’m not sure whether the hairs that are growing now are new hairs, or whether they’re old hairs that survived the treatment. Either way, I’d like to remove them eventually, but they’re thin enough that it’s not a priority right now.

>> Shoulders/Traps:
Where the hell did this hair come from?! There were a few stray hairs here that we zapped while doing abs/chest treatment previously, but nothing like this! I know there are many stories by members here of laser stimulating hair growth in this area. I don’t know whether this is what’s happened to me or not - I’m 24 so it’s entirely possible I was destined to start growing hair here anyway. the question is, how to remove it? Do I risk laser? Is the hair dark and coarse enough for that? Is there too much for electrolysis to be practical?

My laser practitioner warned me people often need 1-2 follow-up treatments a year later. The laser I was using was a CoolGlide. I’ve recently discovered a place with an Aurora laser. I suspect the Aurora will be twice the price, but is this likely to be a good option for me? Or should I stick with the CoolGlide, or try electrolysis?

Wow. Questions, questions, questions… Any answers would be most appreciated! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Nothing glues me closer to the hairtell site than pictures that tell a story over time like these.

It still looks like you have a lot of hair on your torso and upper thighs, but it is also obvious to me that you’ve had some reduction. I don’t think anyone can say if the burst of hair on some areas, 8 months later, is newly developed hair or regrowth??? Could be a mere coincidence or a consequence of treatment,but, in any event, it’s there and it’s dark, so at least it may still respond to laser.

So, as far as your upper arms and back are concerned, are you saying that you hardly had hair in these areas and 8 months later you now show this amount of dark hair? That’s really not a lot for a microflash thermolysis practitioner to get under control, so if you are uneasy about repeatedly lasing this quirky area, then electrolysis would offer a surer outcome.

Ten sessions and 18 months later and you are left with the prospect of needing more treatments shows there is no easy way down for permanently removing hair with any method. I personally didn’t think your before pictures were so bad. Normal man stuff. I’m assuming that you are pleased but not satisfied quite yet?

Some people need much more than 10 sessions of laser before they switch to electrolysis. You’re abdomen on up is still pretty hairy. At least the hairs are still dark and most probably deep, so they should be responsive to the Yag laser. It would be ideal to perform electrolysis if the laser could affect more of this hair, first.

Oh, and thank you for the pic’s.

Dee

First, you look like you are tanned, but can be much lighter if you’re not. Is that possible? If it is, you would have a bit better results with either LightSheer diode or an alex laser like GentleLASE if you held out on tanning. Those lasers are more effective on finer hair as well. Aurora is an IPL with RF technology and generally doesn’t give as good of results as true hair removal lasers, so I would stick with Cooglide if you can’t do either of the options I mentioned above. Prices don’t depend on the machine. They pretty just vary based on what the clinic chooses to charge, so it’s worth looking around and getting a few quotes. In your case on all areas, I think laser would still be effective. None of the hair is too fine or light, including the upper arms. And it seems that laser did stimulate the hair on your upper arms as others have reported can happen when treating sparse hairs on that area, but at this point laser should be able to get those new hairs, now that they’re dark and dense. I would be careful not to touch the areas that are still hairless on your upper arms to avoid stimulating anything there.

Thanks Dee - I know how frustrating it can be when you’re trying to assess whether laser is the right option for you and there are no photos to show you what to expect. Hopefully we can encourage more people to post their pics.

Yeah, “pleased but not yet satisfied” is a good way of summing up my feelings. There’s been a significant reduction in all treated areas (with the possible exception of the knees, where the hairs are quite blond). I’m disappointed it’s taken so many treatments, with more still required, but I guess that’s just how it goes…

Lagirl - I think it’s the camera that’s given me the tan! We’re coming into winter here (lasering season!), and I’m feeling very pale. I hadn’t realised the Aurora was an IPL - I only suggested it because RJC2001 spoke so highly of it. I’ll keep looking for those other lasers, but virtually every operator here either uses the CoolGlide or IPL.

I would look for any diode or alexandrite, especially if you’re actually lighter than that. So LightSheer, GentleLASE, Apogee etc.

I believe the IPL RC2001 tried and felt was not bad was teh Harmony.

Well, I just typed a very long reply and lost it! I was doing a copy and paste, hit the wrong key.

So I will break it down into smaller replies.

After seeing these pictures, I think you can benefit from a diode laser like the Lightsheer, Soprano, or Sonata. As hair gets finer from laser treatments, the Nd:YAG laser is less effective. I have had that happen myself. My practitioner does electrolysis too (even long before laser) so I get honest feedback when it is time to switch.

My practitioner switched practices and is now using IPL and electrolysis. I sign up for demos on IPLs because I get a very good rate on them. Getting the legs done for $125-150 can’t be turned down. I have had very good results with IPL. My legs are not as hairy as yours were but I have had excellent results with the IPLs, especially the ProWave 770 and Harmony. My legs are virtually hairless. In about one week, it will be 2 months since the last IPL treatment on the lower legs. As of today there is virtually no hair on my lower legs and very little on my uppers, maybe 20% regrowth. It has been 2 months since my last upper leg treatment. It took 3 Harmony treatments to get to this point.

From my past experience, any regrowth that I have will occur within two months and then be stable after that.

I had 2 Aurora and 2 Lyra-i (Nd:YAG) treatments the last two years on my upper legs, but they did not work as well as the Harmony. The Aurora does remove white and other light color hair, and I did experience some reduction in that area. But not enough to justify continuing to use it. Plus it caused arc burns in a test spot on my lower leg.

BTW, the ProWave 770 is made by Cutera, just like the Coolglide. I have tried other IPL devices, such as the Harmony, Aurora RF/IPL, the Quadra Q4, and the Aesthera PPx. See what IPLs are available in your area. I would not be so quick to dismiss IPL now after trying some better ones. IPLs have larger spot sizes for faster treatment and deeper penetration. I think the range of wavelengths may work better with finer and lighter (brown) hairs.

Dee, how long would you estimate it would take to do his shoulders and upper arms with electrolysis? I have reached diminishing returns in this area and will need to finish with electro. Now I don’t have nearly as much hair there as he does, though I started out with a lot more than he has now. Shoulder hair sucks, and I want it all gone! Once you experience being hair free, you tend to notice the little bit that is left. I have to let it grow for a couple of weeks before it can be seen, but I can feel it before then. It gets slightly itchy.

All for now. Hope this helps.

RJC2001

I can’t get a closer view of the upper arms and shoulders when I double click on the pic. I was able to last night! I have to pin down my genius son to help me figure out why. I really wanted to look at it again before I respond to the time estimation question RJC.

I’m curious as to why the YAG wouldn’t be an option anymore, since as I recall from seeing these pictures closer last night that most hairs appear like they could be deep. Is it because the upper thighs didn’t respond well?

Dee

BTW, the ProWave 770 is made by Cutera, just like the Coolglide. I have tried other IPL devices, such as the Harmony, Aurora RF/IPL, the Quadra Q4, and the Aesthera PPx. See what IPLs are available in your area. I would not be so quick to dismiss IPL now after trying some better ones. IPLs have larger spot sizes for faster treatment and deeper penetration. I think the range of wavelengths may work better with finer and lighter (brown) hairs.

I would like to give my take on the Harmony. I’ve had many treatments with it on various body parts, such as shoulders, back, chest, arms. The Harmony is a great IPL for removing fine hairs. From my personal experience it does a much better job with fine hairs than the GentleLase and the Lightsheer(I’ve also had treatments with these 2 lasers). But one thing that I noticed is that the Harmony does not work very well with coarse and dense hair. So, from my personal experience the best results that I got were from having a few treatments first with GentleLase, and then when the hair thins out I have treatments with the Harmony. I am really amazed at how well the Harmony treats the fine hairs. On my lower back I had some really fine hairs, almost peach fuzz, and after 4 treatments with the Harmony I have about a 90% reduction(It’s been about 4 months since my last treatment on lower back).

just wanted to say thanks for your feedback david. it’s very helpful.

I can’t get a closer view of the upper arms and shoulders when I double click on the pic. I was able to last night! I have to pin down my genius son to help me figure out why. I really wanted to look at it again before I respond to the time estimation question RJC.

I’m curious as to why the YAG wouldn’t be an option anymore, since as I recall from seeing these pictures closer last night that most hairs appear like they could be deep. Is it because the upper thighs didn’t respond well?

Dee

The YAG doesn’t do as well on fine hairs. If the YAG has high enough power it may be able to target them. Cutera claims that it’s Coolglide CV can target finer hairs with its larger spot size and higher power settings. The Coolglide that Aitaronz was treated at with 120J only had a spot size of 7mm. The small spot size offsets the higher power settings to some extent.

I have never been treated with a Coolglide laser so I don’t know it’s capabilities with fine hair.

The Lightsheer has a 12mm spot size and can reach higher fluences. BTW, fluences are not directly comparable between the Lightsheer and Coolglide. 60J is much more aggressive on Lightsheer than on Coolglide.

I would definitely agree with davidkafricks observations about the Harmony on finer hair. I was amazed at the results. And I like the strategy of starting with laser, going to IPL for finer hairs, and then electrolysis for the leftovers. The Harmony includes wavelengths from 650-950 nm and that may account for the effectiveness on finer hair.

I have never tried the Harmony on coarse hair, only on areas previously treated with laser and left with only fine regrowth.

RJC2001

Thanks for all your comments, guys (and lagirl, of course!). I guess I’ll have to do some scouting around to find some clinics that use these machines, and try to get a patch test done.

I’m kind of tempted to go back to my CoolGlide clinic, just to see if the hairs have darkened enough now to make the difference - do you think it’s worth it? Maybe they’ll do another patch test for me.

I was also tempted by the electrolysis since, as I say, the hairs on my knees are blond, so I’d probably have to resort to electro here anyway. Also the cost is about NZ$75/hour - so I could get 10 hours for the price of two CoolGlide leg sessions. But again, I’m wavering. There are still quite a few fine hairs, and to try to get them all one by one could be a real pain, especially when a device like Harmony sounds like it could do the lot at once… On the other hand, from my experience so far, IPL clinics are the most expensive (and seemingly also the least knowledgable) of them all.

Argh! I don’t know what to do! Perhaps I should just flip a coin?!

I wouldn’t go with Coolglide is other laser option mentioned above are available. You can try to find a GentleLASE clinic by running the provider search on the Candela website. IPLs are usually somewhat cheaper, but not necessarily. Prices really vary depending on nothing else, but what the clinic decides to charge. It’s kind of arbitrary, so saying one laser is more expensive than another is not necessarily true most of the time. I would look around for a more powerful laser. Meanwhile, you can still get electrolysis done only on the blond hair is you want since in either case laser won’t affect it.

I would love to show you my legs after one laser treatment,but I really don’t know how to do it.But anyway,my next treatment is this coming July.I asked about getting a tan an my legs and she said to put a good sunscreen on,and try to avoid the sun a week or two before my next treatment.A little tan is ok.I still shave my legs everyday to keep them smooth and clean.This way I won’t forget to shave them when I go for my next treatment.I’ve been using a post laser lotion on my legs twice a day.What is the purpose of this and can I use another moisturizing lotion.