Cancelled my session because of setting doubts...

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi everyone!!

Well today i was supposed to get a second treatment on my legs however i canceled the session at the clinic because of many doubts with the settings.
My first treatment was on the GentleLase 12J 18mm which i handled very well… but i personally thought this was too low because i noticed many people here are on much higher settings.

With my second treatment they didn’t consult me as to what settings they were going to use or ask how my first treatment went… until i stopped the nurse and asked what setting and she simply said she’d remain on the 12J because “they are perfect settings for me looking at the first treatment”
The manager then came in:

I told him:
I think those settings are too low and that i wanted a higher setting at 14 or 16… That i have read threads on forums(hairtell) where people have a lot of experience, understand a lot about lasers and who have used higher settings on GentleLase.

His Responses:
“Whatever you have read on the forum is not true”
“We are experts and we know what we are doing”
“The GenteLase we have is calibrated at a higher power” ?!?
“They don’t want to risk my skin getting burnt/scarred”
“If i were to use 14J the heat would be too much and is dangerous … bla bla bla”
“They would only go higher after treatments 3/4”
and god knows what else

I AM SKIN TYPE 2/3 by the way!!

i was just not willing to give away £350(500$) just like that without being sure.

So what does everyone think?!? Was i a fool or did i do the right thing and cancel?!?

Thank You!!! :wink:

#2

I’m glad you cancelled!!! 12 is way too low especially if you’re type 2 or 3! I’m 3 and I do 18mm/16j on most areas, I find it’s pretty jolty in some areas where there’s bone but it’s bearable. I get great shedding pretty much 100% in the areas treated. $500 is insane, they totally sound like scammers, they want to get a few sessions out of you at 12 because you’ll get SOME results then after they’ve made $$$ off you they’ll up it a bit and keep you as a customer versus you only needing a few sessions.

12 isn’t horrible but it’s still way too low you really need 14-16 or higher. Getting them over 16 can be harder since Candella recommends 16j for skin type 3, (not sure what 2 is) so sometimes they want to stick to that, but 12 is so low. Good on you for walking out!

Oh and calibrated at higher power, that makes NO sense. 12 joules is 12 joules!

#3

Thanks for the reply!!

Well i guess I’ll find another clinic with a GentleLase that can give me higher settings at around 14-16J

definitely wont be wasting anymore money getting treatments at 12J

haha i still can’t get over this calibrated at higher power… absolutely no sense at all!!

#4

I think you did the right thing. I’m II/III. I’m going to a lady who is quite competent in technique but is very conservative and works from the Gentlelase handbook which suggests maximum settings on 18mm is 16J. The first treatment I had (chest/abs/shoulders/back) she went 12J on all areas.

I knew it was low but I was sort of just interested in getting treatment started and I figured that because I’m going to get 8 to 10 treatments, no big deal to go light on the first. There was a good deal of shedding, so I didn’t think it was a total waste.

On the second Tx she I asked her to up the settings so she did 14J on my chest and 16J everywhere else. No burning, more shedding. I was still sure that these settings were lower than the true experts on this board recommend.

Third Tx, which I just had today I convinced her to go 16J on chest/abs with 18J everywhere else. She was freaked out because this was the first time she used 18J on ANYONE. She wants me to call her in three days etc. In fact, 3 hours post treatment and it feels/looks no worse than it did after prior treatments (I checked the settings, so she wasn’t messing around). In fact, I think it hurts a little less than before, I’m actually a little tanner this time than I was for the previous two treatments.

Based on today’s relative success, next treatment I’m going to go 18J chest, 20J everywhere else.

btw, I pay $250 per treatment.

#5

Just because it sheds doesn’t mean its actually working so don’t waste too much money on low settings. It will usually always shed but it may not be strong enough to disable the folicle permanently.

#6

The new tech is right, not the one the OP was talking about, 12J on 18mm is useless.

#7

So, if someone is type III and the highest they can handle is 16J what is the chance that the results will be permanent as apposed to going for 18-20J?

#8

They will be permanent, no worries. The only issue is if they were to use something like say 10 or 12 is all. It’s also not that 16 J is the highest type III can handle, it’s the highest that Candela recommends for type III. Type III can probably handle much higher, the only issue is whether your skin can take it, and whether you have a laser tech willing to go higher than the recommended settings.

#9

The best bet is to treat at the highest setting YOUR skin can handle safely, which you can figure out by testing.