getting frustrated with hair removal

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi everybody!
So I’ve had laser hair removal in just about every part of the body except for the the top of my head. Yes, basically I hate hair. But my most annoying part that I’m dealing with is the face. I’ve had 7 or 8 laser treatments on my full face. with at least 2 of them at 20 @ 3 on the Candela. So I stopped with the laser years ago because 20 & 3 I wasn’t getting any improvement. I thought that that point that I was maxed out, little did I know that the Candela actually can go up to 30.

That has me wondering what’s best? I mean right now I can go for electrolysis and have my face cleared in a half hour’s time. But having to go again 2 weeks later is making me wonder if the hair is actually being removed or what’s going on. Is that hair folicle not being killed? Is it just thinning maybe, becoming more vellus?

Does that mean that raising the Candela power will or will not make a difference? And raising it to what? 22, 24, 26? This ofcourse is assuming that the laser place is even willing to raise it any higher than 20. They are saying that I am a type 3 skin tone. So I’m not even sure they will go higher. And it’s not to suggest, I didn’t get anything out of laser and/or electrolysis. I did indeed. I’ve probably reduced my facial hair by more than 95-98%. But there is that last bit of hair that won’t freakin go away and I’m am sick of having to own razors.
I just don’t want any freakin facial hair at all. Is this too much to ask? Is it hopeless to be completely hair free without completely cutting out all your testosterone production?

Julie

#2

HI Julie

I think that you are asking too much. To have your facial hair removed by 95-98% after 7 or 8 treatments is actually pretty good. Plus you are saying that you haven’t had laser for years. Hair on the face is controlled by hormones and consequently will never be 100% free.

I am a little confused by your settings - 20@3 is not a Candela gentlelase setting. 20j is the max on an 18mm gauge and to get the laser to 30 you would need to switch the gauage to a 12 or 15 and probably would not make any difference to your results.

With so little hair left, electrolysis would be a good idea. Do you have PCOS or have you been checked for it?

#3

I’m sorry for not being more clear. I stopped with laser treatments on the face years ago when at about 85-90% removed because laser was not doing any more for me. At that point I started electrolysis. I may have the laser name wrong. It might be Alexandrite 755 or something and I remember there is a second number but that always stays the same as far as I remember, anyway I believe that second number was 20 for joules.
I have had many many electrolysis treatments indeed. That is what I started when laser stopped working and that is how I have gotten to probably 98% hairfree if not more. But when I get it cleared through electrolysis. Two weeks later there is more to clear. And that is what I don’t undeerstand. Is it gone or not? Is that more hair or hair follicles that weren’t killed?

#4

  • I don’t know what you mean by the settings you describe. GentleLASE has several spot sizes, which matters a lot. 20J is max on 18mm, but on 15mm max is 30J. That’s because impact of the joules decreases as the spot size is decreased. So 20j is not necessarily lower than 30J. It depends on the spot size

  • You seem to have somewhat unrealistic expectations. Laser doesn’t remove 100% of the hair. It removes most of it. Since laser only works on coarse hair, there will always be some finer hairs left at the end. If you want them gone, you need electrolysis. That’s why it’s called laser reduction. Some remaining hair will be too fine for laser to affect it. 90% is a good solid result.

  • Hair grows in cycles. So you need about 12 months of electrolysis treatments to kill the remaining fine hair. You can get them cleared once every 3 weeks or so.