I had my second armpit session and 1st XX bikini session. (youch)
My underarms were on 26 j/cm2. (First session was 25/26)
The bikini area was 18 on the more sensitive parts, and 20 on the bikini line. This was with a light sheer diode laser. I’m not sure what the pulse was, I asked her and she wasn’t sure either. On the main screen it just had the option to change the j/cm which makes me think it was in the 30 pulse mode…any thoughts on this?
Do these settings seem ok for bikini?
Question: during my first armpit session, the hairs popped out of the follicle and fried, and this session was very effective. Today, barely any hairs on my bikini or armpit did this. I shaved about an hour before so the hair was very close, if not a little under the surface. Does this make a difference in shedding or effectiveness?
Also, this was 6 weeks after my first armpit session. She wanted me to make an appointment to do them again in 5 weeks, but I think I should wait longer, 8-12 weeks as suggested before. Right?
What is the spot size on the machine? She should know that.
It sounds like she’s just using the preset mode, which is normally 30ms pulse, yes.
What is your skin type? Generally, 25J and up seem to be most effective on LightSheer AND using compression while performing the treatment. Of course, your skin needs to be able to handle those settings without burning.
You need to wait 3 weeks for shedding to occur. You can’t tell what was affected at this point.
Yes, you should wait longer. You shouldn’t have enough to treat at 6 weeks with effective treatments where almost everything sheds 3 weeks later.
My skin type is II. Black hair (on these areas) and very pale. Burns easily, but I can get a slight tan if I really really try.
I had complete shedding after my first armpit treatment, so I’m hoping for the same this time. I barely had any hair under my arms at all today, and basically just did the treatment so that I can have them both done again at the same time in 8 weeks or so. I’m wondering if I should investigate the clinic in my area that has the alexandrite laser as those are supposed to be better for fair skin. My bikini area is definitely a lot less irritated than my underarms were after my first treatment, so I hope the settings were high enough. It certainly hurt enough though…
The problem with using settings lower than 25j on this machine is that even though you see shedding, the follicles may not be permanently damaged. With your skin type, there should be absolutely no problem using higher settings.
This machine is fine on your skin, if in good hands. An alex laser like GentleLASE is a bit more powerful, so it can provide better results faster. Of course, skill of the operator is important there as well. If they are not willing to increase the settings and you’re not stuck in a contract here, I would definitely check out a few other clinics with an alex.
I’m not in a contract here. If 26 is working on my armpits, is it ok to have all my sessions at 26 or should she be increasing the joules every session?
Should I ask for 25 next time on bikini or slowly increase?
I would do test spots and see how high you can go. With your skin type and only 30ms, you can probably go even higher. There is no advantage of starting out lower if you can handle higher settings. Treating almost as high as your skin will handle will guarantee that the hair is killed the first time around.
I don’t think a lot of the hair was affected… I might have to ask for a touch up. It was $175 for the bikini… I guess I’ll wait a few more days just to make sure.
I’m about to go in for my third underarms treatment. It’s been 6 weeks since my last one, and this is the first time since my first treatment I’ve had more than a few hairs again. (Second treatment was 5 weeks after my first) However, it appears as if ALL the hair has come back. I have about the same amount of hair, but it is a little thinner and, it feels different, more spiky. (I can’t explain this, because I shave it, and I know it should feel “stubbly” but it doesn’t feel uniformly stubbly like when I shaved it before laser, it feels rough and strange…
Do you think this is simply a new growth cycle since I haven’t seen any hair (to speak of) since my first treatment?
Also, I think this lightsheer has a 9mm spot size… It looks like there are 3 models, 2 with 9 mm and one with 12mm. Is this ok?
It’s normal to see “all hair come back” at this stage - you’re just seeing hair synchronizing and a different growth phase. You should start taking pictures so you can truly compare reduction each time.
However, your treatments are spaced too close together. If the treatments are truly effective, you shouldn’t have anything to treat at 5 weeks or much at 6 weeks. That makes me think the settings may be low. What are the joules and pulse being used with the 9mm spot size? 18-26j is pretty low on 9mm even with a 20ms pulse.
Do you let all hair shed after the treatment before you start shaving? What kind of shedding have you been seeing?
Well, as I said I didn’t have anything growing back at week 5, but I had a treatment done anyway (mostly because I wanted to do my first bikini treatment, and have them done at the same time). Now, I’m going to wait until I have adequate hair for each area before I do treatments. (I think it will take quite some time before my 4th underarms and a while before 3rd bikini.)
The joules were 26 I think last time, and she doesn’t know the pulse size… how can I find this out? (I think its the 30ms pre-set pulse though.) Where on the screen would it say this? If it is a 30 ms pulse and I have skin type II, what is the max joules you think I should use? As you suggested before, I’m going to do some more test patches to see what I can handle, but I’d like to know a suggested range.
On the bikini it was 20 joules on the thigh area and 18 on the “other areas”. Should I also increase the joules here?
I haven’t been letting all hair shed before I start shaving, but it’s easy to see when it does as I will have several hair free weeks before needing to shave again. I’ve been seeing totaly shedding on the underarms after the 2 treatments. The bikini had good shedding, but some missed patches which have of course continued to grow througout these 6 weeks. (And that’s the main reason for this session, I don’t have hair in the areas she lasered 6 weeks ago, but I want to get the hair that she missed. BTW I tried to get a touch up session after 2 weeks so I could fully see what shed and what didn’t and she said I had waited too long and now the growth cycle would be different and mess up. Kind of B.S., I know, but that’s alright.)
Sorry for so many questions! Thanks for the help as always
I went up to 28j on underarms yesterday and it hurt! It is still red and painful now (22 hours later) but, it’s dealable. I’m not sure I would go much higher on myself, maybe 29 or 30 max.
Bikini was up to 21j on outside, still 18 on inside. Didn’t hurt as much, but wasn’t fun.
Settings don’t depend on the area. They depend on color of your skin. It’s supposed to hurt. If you can handle it pretty easily, then the settings may be too low, especially if the hair is coarse. Coarse dense hair like bikini and underarms hurt most. 18-22j is a pretty low setting on the LightSheer with 30ms.
A good reaction is redness for several hours and swollen follicles for up to a few days.
