About a week ago I had my first laser treatment, it was with the EpiTouch Alexandrite. I kind of had mixed feelings about the whole process. The clinic I finally decided on has a nurse practitioner doing the treatments. On the phone he had told me he also has an assistant that works with him, but when I got there I found out actually it was just a woman who had started the week before, knew nothing about lasers or the removal process, who he was teaching/training to do it. This appointment was supposed to be a consultation & test patch. The man who did it was nice enough, and seemed to know quite a bit, but whenever I’d ask questions, he’d give me very simple answers, like the information might be too much for me to understand… 
He talked VERY fast, and it was kind of like we were in a verbal race, I felt like I had to push my way into the conversation, but did eventually feel like I got all my questions answered & found out what info I needed to know.
We did the test patch, which went ok. Then he asked if I wanted to go ahead & have my first treatment done. I said ok…my make-up was already cleaned off, & everything was going kinda fast & I didn’t really think about things. Afterwards I was a little upset, mainly because I’m the type of person who likes to get info, compare my options, then proceed when I feel comfortable with my decision, and after the consult I still wasn’t sure that was where I wanted to go. Although he pressured me a little to go ahead & have the treatment done then, I could have said no, but I guess everything turned out OK. It took a little over a week for the hair to fall out, and my skin reacted really well to the treatment.
Now here’s my problem. At every consult I had (at 6 different places), I was told usually it takes 5-8 treatments, but depending on the person it could be more or less. This guy told me it would probably be at least 8-10 with a good chance of it being more than 10. He said this was because of the “conservative” way he does treatments, and that he does them this way to protect the skin & minimize chances of burning, blistering, etc.
Does this sound right? I’d appriciate advice from those of you who know more than I do about all this. 
It sounds like he is unsure of his technique, or his ability to read the maximum that each patient can tolerate… at least he was up front with you about it, and his reasons are valid enough… not sure if his rates compare with others…
He seems honest, but perhaps not willing to learn the levels he can treat you at for maximum effectiveness…
David
Hello IHH,
Thanks for your reply. I guess my main concern is whether such conservative treatments will be as effective in getting rid of the hair. He charged me $125 for the base of my chin and a small patch on my neck, which wasn’t too far off the other prices I had been quoted. Except for the fact that with this guy, It sounds like I’ll be paying this price for a while longer. Thanks again for sharing your opinion, I appreciate it.
Some consumers are especially concerned about avoiding side effects, in which case a conservative practitioner is a good idea. However, if you want bang for the buck and don’t mind a little more risk, a more aggressive practitioner with LOTS of experience can be a good thing.
I agree that at least he’s upfront. I’d only add that there comes a point where treating an area again and again becomes less and less effective. Usually 8 times is more than enough to get the maximum benefit in a given area.