ELOS technology?

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I’ve been reading this board for ages and haven’t heard anything about ELOS - am i correct in assuming it’s an IPL? Can i achieve hair reduction with IPL or is a total waste of money?

I have very fair skin, dark coarse hair and i’m female without PCOS or any other known reasons for male pattern hair growth, as in no underlying medical issues causing this, seems to be hereditary?

My first treatment will be the face/chin/neck area on Wednesday the 29th, and i have plans on Oct 10th to go on a mini vacation, will my face be “back to normal” by then? or will it still have a sunburnt looking skin, or pepperspots form the hair not having fallen out by then? I would hope to be looking as if either nothing had happened, or be at least free from some hair by then but if that’s not possible, it’s understandable. Is it usually still noticeable that you’ve had a treatment after 10 or so days? I normally shave every day and do my best to use cover up to make it look less noticeable… will i be fine with this or are there any other suggestions, ideas, information you could help me with?

I’ll be going to a place called Aura in Kirkland, WA and have read great reviews for both that location and the Bothell location, but any help regarding this would be helpful! After reading these forums i’m concerned…

Thank you!

#2

There are definitely lots of discussions about it on the forum if you run a search. Yes, it’s an IPL with RF technology and basically a gimmick.

Why aren’t you looking for a place with an alexandrite laser which would be best for your skin type?

Also, is all the hair coarse? I would make sure to only treat patches with coarse dense hair. This area is prone to stimulated growth, so you can end up with more hair than you started with if you don’t.

Many clinics post their own glowing reviews. You need to check out 4-5 clinics with good lasers for free consultations first. You should also find out what settings they plan to use on you when you go. This isn’t the type of treatment that you just schedule on the phone and come in to get treated, and then expect to get great results. In fact, that’s a sure way to get minimal results if anything at all or induced growth.

How much hair do you have? Have you actually seen an endocrinologist who confirmed lack of PCOS or elevated hormone levels?

How fair is fair? What’s the Fitzpatrick skin type number? What’s your ethnic background?

#3

I guess I’m a I or II on the Fitzpatrick scale. The hair i have is dense and coarse, and what i’ve read is that IPL may give me results.

I have a fair amount of hair. I’ve been to 3 endocrinologists - all my testosterone and androgen levels are normal. My estrogen levels are normal. 2 regular doctors, 3 endocrinologists, and 2 gynecologists have confirmed there is no PCOS, there is no insulin resistance or diabetes.

There is literally NO medical reason for the hirsutism, all we can figure is it’s hereditary - I guess i’m closer to the apes than the rest.

I was referred to the clinic by a woman who’s had laser hair removal on her face after being treated for her underyling medical issues causing it… she’s taking something to manage the excess androgens, and she had results, so i don’t see how it can be a total gimmick. I only plan to have the areas treated that have the thick dense, course hairs (the goatee area if you will, and neck)

I don’t have a lot of options in terms of clinics as i’m restricted by where i can walk to / bus to, and even getting to kirkland is going to be a bit of a trek. I’ve called a round to a few, and read reviews on 3rd party sites regarding a number of ones in the area and Aura seems to have the best reviews…

I had laser hair removal done a few years ago with decent results, but it was in a different state, they treated an area with vellus hairs and now i have stray black hairs growing in that area so i won’t make that mistake again (i’ll treat the cheek area with electrolysis eventually, it’s really not that big of a concern to me!)

SO! Back to my initial question and real reason for posting: is 10 days enough to give the area time to heal in MOST CASES and the hairs to at least return to somewhat normal instead of leaving me with pepperspots or a face that looks like it was singed halfway off? Or should i wait until after my trip?

#4

When i said i was referred to a woman who’s had laser hair removal, i meant that she’s been treated with the IPL - i shouldn’t call it a laser

#5

IPL won’t give you as good of results as laser and in some cases they’re only temporary. If you have to go with an IPL, I’d go with a Palomar machine, not Elos. In the end, it’s up to you. My goal is to recommend the BEST option. I don’t want to see people spend lots of money and time and get minimal results. Those people then tend to come back here and categorically state that “laser is temporary or barely works” and fail to mention that they didn’t get the best treatments.

Shedding takes 3 weeks. At that point, all treated hair should shed. It likely won’t happen in 10 days and it’s impossible to predict whether you’d have pepperspots, even after 3 weeks.

#6

I just spoke to the clinic again, they do use a Diode laser for hair removal.

I guess what i’m REALLY asking is: I understand that the hair sheds in 2-3 weeks. I get that. What i want to know is. After 10 days, will my face still look like i got a treatment done on it? You can shave the un-shed hairs until they stop coming back. I get that.

What is the GENERAL appearance of the face area 10 days post laser hair removal treatment? That’s really all i’m asking. I know that my experience might be different, but i’m really just trying to prepare. Would it be better to wait until AFTER my trip if i’m going to look like i just got blasted with sand or what? This is all i’m asking. Thank you.

#7

10 days post it will look pretty much like it does right now after not shaving it for 10 days. I find it’s more hairy since it’s harder to shave, feels a bit more tender and the hair looks/feels different. I can shave as close as possible but still always looks like stubble even though there isn’t any. It will start falling out around day 10 though.

#8

thanks so much edokid :slight_smile:

#9

No problem. Biggest thing is no one will look at it and be like what happened lol, it will be pretty much normal.

#10

Also just to add, my first laser clinic used GentleLASE but they were only open 2 days of the week. The tech worked at another clinic other days that used ELOS. She told me it’s sort of a scam and doesn’t work very well and that it’s super easy to burn people with it.

#11

Your hair may be burned off at the treatment and you may look completely hairless. Or you may have some pepperspots. It’s impossible to predict this for you. If you have any reservations at all, just wait.

#12

I went to 3 clinics to check them out in the last 2 days. I decided to go with the first one, there was a woman in the lobby waiting, and she said she’s on her 6th treatment and very satisfied. She waited 12 weeks after her 5th treatment and wasn’t even sure if she’d get the 6th treatment (she was getting the face area done). I was confused when i thought it was a elos IPL, but they do in fact use a diode laser - an elos diode is what she said. I got a discount at the spa, so was happy about that due to a miscommunication, and a misquote (probably miscommunication on my part, but discount all the same.
I guess i’ll just wait and see how it goes. I was happy that they use actual medical nurses and not just technicians like at some other spa/clinic/hair removal chains that i looked into.
The woman doing my treatment was extremely knowledgeable, and explained things much like LAgirl does, as well as being very friendly. I guess I’ll just wait and see how it goes, i was surprised in the difference afterward on how my skin looked/felt compared to when i had a laser treatment done 10 years ago at American Laser Clinics. I hope this is a good thing.
Thanks all for the information!

#13

http://www.syneron.com/elos

It’s RF. It’s usually used in conjuction with an IPL (Aurora) and in one case with a diode (Comet machine). What is the name of their machine?

#14

She just said it was the elos diode made by syneron, and said that they only use the IPL for things like photo rejuvenation and the like. I assume then that it was the Comet machine.

#15

There are a few reviews of treatments with the Comet on the forum. They’re not very promising. Most see better results if the RF feature is turned off and they’re treated with just the diode.

#16

Interesting, i wonder why the RF would interfere… thanks for the info though

#17

LAgrl what you have said here is just plain wrong. We are a well known and leading laser hair removal clinic in New Zealand. We only use Syneron Elos Comet or eLaser (same thing but later version)diode laser equipment with RF for hair removal and get fantastic results.

We have 7 years of clinical experience with this equipment and we have a thriving business built from client referrals. That just wouldn’t happen if the Elos equipment was “not very promising”.