Just wanted to share my hair removal experiences with others, maybe someone can benefit.
For the record, I’m a 25 y/o male and I was unhappy with the amount of hair I had on my body, particularly the chest/abdomen and spots on the back. A few years ago I looked into laser hair removal and decided to try it.
The first place I went to used the Apogee laser and although all the people at this establishment were nice and professional, after 3 sessions it became apparent to me that I was having less than desirable results. Now, in my opinion, the sub-par results were directly related to the clinics’ refusal to increase the intensity of the laser beyond a certain level–predetermined to be “safe”. I am always an advocate of safety, specifically when it comes to my own bodys’ health, but there is no excuse to refuse testing the patients’ level of tolerance to the laser. This is to insure they are getting the most for their money and also the provider of the service is actually doing what they advertise… remove hair permanently.
Somewhat discouraged, I did some more researching and decided to try the lightshear laser at a different clinic. The woman there was fairly experienced and seemed to know about what I could tolerate without causing any skin damage. This turned out to be well above the other clinics levels. To make a long story short, I’ve had 3 sessions done there with very good results. My last session was in FEB of this year. I am very pleased, 9 months later I would say I have 60 percent clearance on the chest/abdomen and the same on the back.
This is hair that is permanently gone… as I’m sure it would have regrown in 9 months. Most of the rest of the hair is lighter than it was, so the effect is quite dramatic compared to before.
Moral of the story: Make sure you are being treated at an effective intensity or you will be doing nothing more than a painful session of laser waxing.
Laser power levels (for those that care)
1st clinic
1- 19 J/cm2 20 pw
2- 21 J/cm2 20 pw
3- 23 J/cm2 20 pw
2nd clinic
1- 38 J/cm2 10 pw
2- 40 J/cm2 10 pw
3- 40 J/cm2 10 pw