Had one session - advice pls

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I had first session of LHR for reduction on legs this Friday past (15th April). This morning i went in for a touch-up session out of concern of many missed patches.

I’m Type 2 male - full legs - Black hair - Apogee Elite 15mm 20J not sure about pulse.

Since Friday there are patches where the hair is about 4mm and my skin is still as white as before.I’m also generally quite itchy too. The areas where i was hit are slightly yellowish with red or black dots where the hair was. The lady did not draw lines on me or anything at the original session. Also this clinic wants the hair to be longer. I reckon maybe 70% was done. I was told not to worry as the hair shedding.

It cost £165 to have the first session which obvously is a great price but lots of patches wipe out the benefit of the price. Should i jump ship now and try the local Sk:n Clinic where it would cost £300. I’m confused because i thought the hair should be as close to the skin as possible so as to mostly hit the root and they would draw on me or something for guidance.

Other places where i live don’t use alex lasers so Sk:n is the only alternative if i want an alex machine.
Thank you for help.

#2

Hello.

You are correct; the hair must be shaved prior to treatment. Otherwise, 1) you run the risk of getting burned during treatment, and 2) the laser energy will be wasted burning the hair above the surface of the skin. That they are advising you of the opposite is kind of worrisome.

Red or black dots at the sites of the hairs are a normal reaction called periofolliculitis, which is an indication of successful treatment. In fact, failure to observe this would be a sign of poor treatment.

Slight bruising is normal and will subside over the next week or so. Alopecia (shedding) only begins 7-10 days after treatment, and continues henceforth for a few weeks after. At around 3-4 weeks, you should be able to tell which areas were missed, and at this point you should go in for a touch-up.

Itching is a normal, albeit bothersome reaction. You can use topical anti-pruritics (look for creams, gels or ointments with ingredients such as menthol, calamine, zinc oxide, hydrocortisone, proxamine or diphenhydramine) in conjunction with first generation oral antihistamines such as hydroxyzine (brand name Atarax) or diphenhydramine (Benadryl). The brand names of these medications differ from country to country, so be sure to ask your pharmacist/chemist. Use precaution with these antihistamines since they cause drowsiness. There are non-sedating antihistamines available, but they are generally ineffective for itch relief.

Good luck.

PS - If you want, post a picture here of your skin so we can see the reaction you have experienced.

#3

Thank you for response - Here are some pics

LHR Pics - Flickr

The close up calve shot is after the touch up

The shots on the lower leg are where you can see the missed hair. There are areas like that on my calves too. This place does offer free touch-ups but only 15 mins of time to do it. You book sessions here in 15 min blocks so obvously the less missed patches in the first place the better.

On the one hand i’m pleased they are fine to use decent settings without much fuss as others have gone through but accurracy a bit sketchy.

Can i ask, say i trimmed my hair 2 days before with hair clippers, then used my elctric face razor. By the time i have my treatment the hair should be just above the skin i suppose. Would that be okay in terms of both being effective and allow the tech to see where the hair is hopefully not missing any?

p.s i did get a wonderful roll-on thing for bug bites with witch hazel and aloe vera - deals with itchyness so fast.

#4

I saw the pic and, in my opinion, it would appear normal after a treatment.

Yes, you should shave prior to treatment. Someplaces like a clean shave but others not so cleanly shaven - where the hair is at the skin level. That way, the technician can actually see the hairs. Again, in my opinion, after a course of treatments, and your hair is more sparse, it becomes more important for the technician to see the places where hair exists.

#5

The treatments appear to be successful. The lack of perifolliculitis and the relatively long length of hair in a few patches indicates that those areas were missed. If the hair doesn’t shed in 3-4 weeks, then these areas need to be touched up.

Missed zones are really the technician/clinic’s fault. I’m confused as to why they specifically limit 15 minutes for touch-ups. If they actually missed enough areas to warrant a touch-up appointment longer than 15 minutes, the onus should be on them to fix it - however long it takes.

#6

I’ll change day and tech next time i think. As a compremise i’ll use the electric shaver and leave hair at maybe 1mm or so above skin level.

One thing I’d like to know - If i have these pepper pots am i gonna see shedding as such? With the test patch no hair grew just these black dots which vanished after first session.

#7

It’s too early to judge anything since you only had a treatment a week ago. You need to wait 3 weeks for shedding. It doesn’t even start until week 1.5 or so. Too early for touchups or judgements.