i’ve been waxing my legs for almost 10 years and am now considering laser. my hair has gotten rather fine, not anything like shaving, and i believe the root is weaker than it would normally have been had i shaved all these years.
would this make a difference at all? is it better to have weaker roots?
also, does anyone know of a good laser technician in the toronto area?
im not a professional but from what ive been told, as long as the hair has pigment in it,it will absorb the light.
and also, go for an IPL system
thank you, lady persia, for replying.
please excuse my ignorance, but what is IPL?
Intense Pulse Light
the machine which zaps the hairs are not a laser and use light
examples of machines used are: Ellipse or epilight or aculight
Persia said
“go for IPL”
I would not go for it ! I’ve heard more bad then good coming from that system.
Butterfly,
Do searches on the forum read alot of posts and you will find consistently better results with a diode(like a Lightsheer) or alexandrite(Gentlase) laser.
thank you, anthony.
this is all so confusing. i’m not sure which type of laser to go for.
which did you do?
the reason why i said go for an IPL system is this:
(story of my personal experience!)
3 years ago i had 5 softlight treatments, softlight was a machine using an Nd YAG laser and i noticed no result whatsoever. the hairs grew back strong and black after each treatment.
it was time for my 6th treatment (which my mum had to pay for all 6 treatments them in advance) when i went back to the salon and complained, the owner told me that they had a new system and so they treated me with that one. it was the ellipse system. that was my last time at that salon and by that time, my mum wasnt too happy, paying £3000 (roughly $4500?) for 6 tretments that had absolutely NO effect whatsoever. we were not happy paying this amount of money for nothing.
however, after a few months, when the hairs were growing back, i was looking closely at my legs and i noticed that there were rectangular areas where my hairs were finer and in random places the hairs were dark like before. to this day i assume this is due to the IPL system, because the bit that treats the area is a rectrangular area, and i guess that the areas where the light has hit the hairs had caused the hairs to dramatically become finer. i definitely noticed a diffrence in the machines but by that time my mum told me if i want to go ahead with any more laser treatments for my legs, i should pay for it myself. but i must say that the finer patches of hair have long gone, because ive waxed and epilated my legs. that is what convinced me to this day!
so thats the reason why i went for 3 test patches for Ellipse on my stomach, lower back and underarm. im dead sure that an IPL system is better than laser for my skin (having pale skin and dark hair on lower back/butt/legs)
also im replying about what you said about not hearing much good about IPL systems. ive gone done lots of research and ringing up salons etc and have come to a conclusion.
search on google or wherever and make a big chart and compare all the lasers youre intersted in- thats what i done! (maybe a bit TOO obsessive!)
in MY personal view, i would go for an ipl because of the experience i had with the Softlight compared to the ellipse. IPL systems developed from lasers, so in theory they should be more developed. but thats my opinion and im not an expert like andrea! but im only giving my opinion. but there have been good results from the lightsheer and others, which anthony knows about
also, the nurses performing the IPL systems can change the settings according to your skin type, and with Ellipse you cant be burnt. when i had my test patches done on my stomach, i could handle the pain so she increased the settings, which hopefully should mean better results (?) but when using the same settings on my lower back i jumped with the first shot she done, so she was able to lower the settings.
but im not saying that all IPL systems are good because apparently Epilight has had a lot of unhappy customers as well as the people who have bought the machines.
however i am curious about the lightsheer, even though it isnt an IPL system, it has been cleared by the FDA to call itself as being able to provide hair reduction, so im looking into it and continuing my research.
sorry for typing so much 
apologies also if this has sidetracked off the original topic of waxing causing finer hairs
[ November 30, 2003, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: Lady_Persia ]
The Softlight is widely acknowledged as innefective and a thing of the past.
Butterfly: My only experience is with a Lightsheer laser and imo it is one of the best lasers out there.I think many others would say the same.I did have some issues with the clinic.The techs that they were using werent the best so i did not achieve the results i was expecting.It is critical that you find a competant place.Do several consults and patch tests if possible.
Im not trying to knock IPL’s for no reason.But i cant help but notice the many bad experiences i hear from it.In the end it may work for you but i would be more comfortable dishing out money with a laser that has a better track record.
[ December 01, 2003, 02:16 AM: Message edited by: Anthonyy ]
I do know of some people who are utilizing IPL as a way to jump start their hair removal. They say that in their experience the IPL makes the hairs grow back thinner, so that when they do get electrolysis, the treatment energy can be very low and the job of “Finishing With Electrolysis” can be much faster and with little to no discomfort at all because it can all be done on low power micro-flash.
thanks for your input, everyone. i’ve heard better things about lightsheer than about ipl, so i might stick with that. if ipl results in hair thining, i’m not sure i’ll go for it. i want the hair gone, not thin… but i’ll do more research and let you know if i hear of anything significant.
cheers! 