GentleMax Pro YAG settings (pulse width)

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hello All,

I am male and have light brown skin, dark brown hair and have undergone hair removal with IPL and an older laser system in the past with “just OK” results.

I have started treatments with the GentleMax Pro YAG and so far find it to be far superior to what I have tried before. So far, I’m generally getting a full shed of hair and little regrowth.

I have a question on laser settings. I have reviewed the PDF linked here but it is for a different laser (i.e. the pulse width options seem to be different than what is on the machine).

Session 1: Upper Body. 16 j/CM3, 2.0ghz, 10ms pulse width

I noticed the smell of burning hair. The skin temporarily had raised bumps in the treatment area. I had a good shed and I don’t see much regrowth after five weeks.

Session 2: Lower Body. Same as above but 3ms pulse width. 3ms is the minimum pulse width on the machine.

I noticed little/no smell of burning hair. I could see red dots in some of the treatment area but no bumps. I had a good shed but it is too early to know about regrowth.

Questions:

  1. I know if the laser settings are too low, then you might get a good shed, but the follicle did not get damaged enough to permanently disable it. In your experience is 3ms enough to destroy the follicle?

  2. The Candela documentation suggests to use shorter pulse width for thin hair and longer pulse width for thick hair. It makes sense that you’d need less energy to fry a smaller follicle. However, wouldn’t more energy (longer pulse width) be also effective on thin hairs?

Basically, I’m thinking that I should always ask for a longer pulse to get thick and thin hairs?

Thanks for your help.
Mark

Session 1:

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Session 2:

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#2

I don’t know about power settings (i.e. Joules) on a YAG laser b/c I’ve always been treated with an Alex. However, I still think my responses to your questions would apply.

  1. Pretty sure you have this backwards. If the pulse width is too HIGH (or the power/joules are too low) the laser may not destroy the follicle. This is why it is suggested to use the most powerful settings your skin can handle.

  2. Higher pulse width is advised if the hair is really coarse and/or dense. As you continue with treatments typically the hair becomes finer and less dense. As this happens you want the pulse width to gradually go down. 3ms is fine to me. Personally, I would rather err on the side of a low pulse width rather than high.

One more thing. We can’t see how brown your skin is, but usually the darker the skin, the higher the pulse width. This is to prevent burning the skin.

Hope this helps.

#3

Thanks for your message. I think I’m closer to understanding.

The frequency in both sessions was 2000 mhz. I’m guessing that to deliver 16 J/cm2 of energy that you can either have many short (3 ms) pulses or fewer longer (10 ms) pulses. It appears that it’s the same amount of energy either way.

I think I was interpreting it as less total energy with the wider pulse but now I’m thinking it’s the same.

P.S. No burning with either 3ms or 10ms. The machine goes up to 100ms. I guess that would be for a Black person.

Thanks again,
Mark

#4

Energies seem low for your treatment. Are you Indian or African American ??