How do you know if it's worked??

Hi,
I have very pale skin with very black hair, so was told by the nurse at the clinic that I was an ideal candidate for laser removal. She seemed really experienced and knowledgeable, but was concerned that when she did the test patches on my legs that they did not go red with lots of swollen spots as she expected. The hair which she treated seems to have continued to gow normally since the test - which was only 4 days ago, yet I certainly felt the treatment at the time - felt like lots of bee stings. She used the lightsheer and started with a low fluence, increasing right up to the maximum which the machine would allow. How do you tell the difference between immediate regrowth and hair which is just working its way out? :confused:
A total of 6 whole leg treatments (and she will throw in my feet as well) will cost £1200 (not sure what that is in US$).
I am so worried that I am about to throw all this money away when I can’t tell whether or not it has worked, and the nurse seemed to think that it hadn’t simply due to a lack of red raised spots.
Can anyone shed light on this???
Thanks! :roll_eyes:

I’ve never had the laser that you mention, but I had treatment with a ruby laser about 2 years ago…

I suspect that the lack of redness is not necessarily a sign of under treatment. I have a feeling that the redness is caused by a little bit of the laser energy being absorbed by the skin. If you have very pale skin, you may find that it didn’t absorb much at all…

But I’m guesing!!

As for the ‘growth/regrowth’ point, try to give it a few more days. I found that my hairs went very tough and used to catch on my clothes. (Kind of like they’ve been burnt at the ends…)

They’d be like that for 3 to 4 days, and then they’d start falling out. After about a week to 10 days, my skin was quite clear of hairs. (Then the little whats-its just grew back!!)

The thing to remember is that you’ve lots of hairs sitting just under the skin waiting to push through, so what you see appear isn’t necessarily ‘regrowth’.

Also, a treated hair may well regrow, but it will take a couple of weeks, and it will have been weakened.

It depends on your financial situation, but I’d say it’s worth giving it a few sessions. You might like to take a ‘before’ photo so you can check the progress more objectively.

Give the hairs some time. For many, they take a while to fall out.

In your case, I would definitely take some time to see what happens where you had the test patch. Don’t commit until you’ve seen the results at a month or two in that area. This won’t give you any guarantees of permanence, but it should give you a better sense if your hairs will be affected.

Thank you both for your advice. I am trying so hard to be patient, but having finally decided to have the treatment after 3 years of indecision, I am rather impatient! I will try to be more patient and see how it looks in a month or so… I think I will probably go for it though - nothing ventured, and all that…
By the way, thanks for such a great site Andrea. :grin: It is fantastic to get some unbiased information and to share the experiences of other people who have had these treatments. You only get one view from the people selling the treatments, and it isn’t always the whole truth! thanks again.