effect of laser on underarm scars??

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

hi everyone. it feels weird to be in this side of the woods. hehe. i am a frequent electrolysis section poster and i am been seriously thinking about laser for my underarms. i am currently doing my face and chest bone with electrolosis and resutls are great. only problem is, it takes long and the trips are every week.

now, my problem is my underarms (the pits). i got black hair there and somewhat white/pale skin. i have serious ingrown hair issues that result in these very painful pimple bumb like things. They seem to lay dormint in my skin until they are irritated with waxing or shaving. (so very freqently). and becasue of that i have scars, especially along the upper border of my arm pits. the scars are darker in colour from the rest of the arm pits and i am woried that laser will damage this area. Since it targets dark coloured pigmentation (i.e. hair) that it will also zap the scars (since they are also dark in colour) and cause me to burn or skin damage.

i would really appreciate your knowledge in this matter. Also, i am worried about pain as i heard armpits hurt the most. i know what electrolosis feels like and i can certainly bare it. i never think about pain with electrolosis. not sure if laser will be the same.

thanks so much for your input.

_R

#2

hi everyone. it feels weird to be in this side of the woods. hehe. i am a frequent electrolysis section poster and i am been seriously thinking about laser for my underarms.
Welcome to the Laser world. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Since it targets dark coloured pigmentation (i.e. hair) that it will also zap the scars (since they are also dark in colour) and cause me to burn or skin damage.

i would really appreciate your knowledge in this matter. Also, i am worried about pain as i heard armpits hurt the most. i know what electrolosis feels like and i can certainly bare it. i never think about pain with electrolosis. not sure if laser will be the same.
Speaking from my personal experience, my armpit has best result from Laser, and in fact the lest painful area in Laser.
If you feel pain, you can relax on one thing… Laser is very fast, both armpits won’t spend more than 10 minutes.

As for scarring or skin damaging. Even electrolysis might cause acne or scars etc. Speaking from my personal experience, I got a few discolouration on other parts of body but not my armpits from laser. My recommendation is to apply Aloe Vera gel after each treatment. It will help shooting the skin, and you will have less change for scars.

With your black hair and white/pale skin colour, Laser should be suitable for you. However, I would suggest you stop waxing for at least few weeks before Laser. (Shaving should be fine, but leave “enough” length to be seen for the Laser treatment.)

#3

thank you so much ants! i really appreciate your time to help me out. i have another question, what laser did you use? and what is the best, do you think. my money is limited and i really want to make this work on the first shot and not have to go through 6 treatments and realize nothing happened.

also… did you use anestetic cream? i could get emla, but i never did use it for electrolysis. pain was not a big issue with me. not sure if it would be same with laser. i do hope it doesnt hurt me as with you.
-R

#4

what laser did you use? and what is the best, do you think. my money is limited and i really want to make this work on the first shot and not have to go through 6 treatments and realize nothing happened.
Hello rachelle,
The machine I used was Alexandrite GentleLaser. It worked quite well for me. Although I did not get 100% hair free (I ended up in electrolysis, galvanic).
I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’d say you will need to have at least 4 treatments on your underarms. Please aware that Laser is classified as “permanent hair reduction”, with proper schedule and repeating of treatment, permanent hair removal result can be achieved.

That is to say, do not expect laser would work 100% in your first 2 or 3 treatments, you should consider the finish the entire course.

As for which laser is the best? or in a better term most suitable for you, please see http://www.hairfacts.com/methods/laser/lasermain.html

also… did you use anestetic cream? i could get emla, but i never did use it for electrolysis. pain was not a big issue with me. not sure if it would be same with laser.
The pains are different in Laser and electrolysis. I used EMLA in genital area with laser. I did not feel much pain on my underarms when being treated. Also, since each zap is so short, you will be all right :slight_smile:

Hope this helps

#5

Did You just say that Laser, if done frequently enough would remove 100% of the hair in the underarms permanently? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Please tell me if I misunderstood what you just said.

#6

Did You just say that Laser, if done frequently enough would remove 100% of the hair in the underarms permanently?
Pretty much yes. With proper scheduling, it may be achieved. (That’s based on one of the medical study report, I don’t have the link now, sorry.)

In fact, my electrologist also agrees that underarm is the most effective area for Laser.

#7

woho!! this is making me smile indeed. i think i am going to start saving up money for laser for under arm. not only you, ants, said it works (more or less), my dermatologist said the same thing and my electrologist said the same thing. though i personally dont recommend laser on face just becasue it is a delicate area and possibility of scaring there is scary… but underarm…

anyway, thanks all.
-R

#8

I got one quote for $1,200 for underarms. That seems like a lot for such a small area. $1,200 US pays for a lot of shaving.

#9

I got one quote for $1,200 for underarms. That seems like a lot for such a small area. $1,200 US pays for a lot of shaving.

Was that quote for laser? How many treatments? That sounds extremely expensive!

RJC2001

#10

Was that quote for laser? How many treatments? That sounds extremely expensive!

RJC2001 [/quote]

Actually, it wasn’t “laser”, but some other form of light–HTGT system (it is a chain, Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow). It was for a year of treatment. I have no idea what form of light/laser they use. I had thought a chain like that would be less than going to an MD, but now I’m not at all sure. I certainly wouldn’t do that until I’d gotten a lot of prices elsewhere. I’d love my pits done, but there must be a more reasonable way. I bodybuild (not competitively), so my underarms are visible when I flex, that’s why I’d like them to look nice and smooth. My daughter goes to a dermatologist that does laser, I will check there too. Does anyone know what would be a reasonable price for underarms?

#11

I pay between $100-125 per hour for laser treatments. Electrolysis is $100 per hour for me. There are very few electrologists in my area and I have a great one, that’s why it’s on the expensive side. Worth every penny though.

RJC2001

#12

Electrologists know they can effect permanent hair removal. We already know that LASER guarantees are riddled with weasel words. Don’t spend any money you can’t afford to loose, and be ready to find a good electrologist to “Finish You Up”, when LASER reaches “The point of diminishing returns.”

#13

I thought Laser was usually charged as per area size based, not by the time. It was charged per area for me.

With an hour of Laser, a much bigger area can be completed compared to electrolysis.

#14

aiy aiy aiy… ok i asked my dermatologist how much she charged for laser and i am <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />. 340$ per session and i would need around 6 she said. jeez louise. But she’s an MD so i am pretty sure other technician laser people would go for much cheaper. i am thinking in the 100$ range as some of you mentioned already. That would be better and reach up to electrolysis cost so i can handle that and then maybe i can go see my electrologist to finish up what laser was unable to do since i am already seeing my electrologist for my face.

thanks everyone for your posts. by the way, i am thinking “Body Science” laser people. what do you guys think?

#15

I pay between $100-125 per hour for laser treatments. Electrolysis is $100 per hour for me. There are very few electrologists in my area and I have a great one, that’s why it’s on the expensive side. Worth every penny though.

RJC2001

Just by chance, RJC, where are you located? Given that laser covers a large area, how long can an underarm possibly take? I would think a fewe minutes per side would do it. Any one happen to know good people in the Chicago for electrolysis and laser both?

Comforting as it is for an MD to do laser, it probably is absurd to pay MD rates for someone to hold a laser beam over your pits or other body part.

#16

I am located in Indiana, about 180 miles away from Chicago. There are only about 100 licensed electrologists in the state of IN I am told.

Being near a major city like Chicago, you probably have a pretty good selection of electrologists.

I’ve never had my armpits lasered. From past experience on other areas I imagine it would take 5-10 minutes per side. You get a better deal on laser if you have large areas done. Sort of like a quantity discount.

RJC2001

#17

In NY a treatment for underarms runs around $150, so $1200 sounds expensive. I see great results for underarms with my paitients. One word of advise, if a practoner uses a machine “just like or better than laser” don’t expect the results you would get from one of the FDA approved lasers.

#18

In NY a treatment for underarms runs around $150, so $1200 sounds expensive. I see great results for underarms with my paitients. One word of advise, if a practoner uses a machine “just like or better than laser” don’t expect the results you would get from one of the FDA approved lasers.

If that is $150 per treatment for underarms, how many treatments are needed? And, in your experience, is it necessary to “finish off” the laser with electrolysis to remove the pesky hold out hairs? If 6 treatments are needed, that would be $900, which isn’t all that far from $1200. If 4 does it, then, yes, $600 would be a lot more reasonable.
Do you know any reputible laser specialists in the Chicago area?
Thanks
By the way, what do you charge for Chest/abs?

#19

ok. i asked something about scars and i think people got the wrong idea. though the information was great. thank you all. when i said scars… i meant…

i already have scars on my armpits from acne. This was NOT caused by laser or electrolysis treatment (which i never had done in that area). the acne scars are from ingrown hairs from shaving and or waxing. The scars are dark colour in pigmentation compared to the rest of my armpit skin. SO,

my question is… since laser targets the dark pigment of hair, will it also target the dark pigment of the scars that are already present in my armpits? will it zap the scars thinking it is hair and cause me more harm?

thats what i would like to know <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> hope it was not confusing.

-rachelle

#20

I had my 7th treatment last week. I use a Nd-yag CoolGlide laser and have not had any problems with it over acne, chicken-pox scars, or moles.

However, my practitioner had just got back from a conference of doctors who were doing LHR. She said one interesting thing to come out of the conference was (apparently) LHR can actually help remove scarring. I’m not sure whether this was using laser - it may even have been IPL. She also said the doctors weren’t sure why this happened. :stuck_out_tongue:

Hope this helps.