Hi, I think I have Fitz patrick 4 to 5 skin (just a bit lighter than Halle Berry to give you an idea) and black midium thick facial hair. I have had a total of 11 or so treatments with Candela Gentlelase (alexandrite) and then switched to Candela Gentle YAG for my last 7 or so trtments on my face (all over). After three months of no treatment…ALLLLL my hair has come back except my upper lip. I don’t have elevated hormones…my dermatologist said it is genetic. Basically my hair sheds and then I’m hair free for 3 weeks or so and then it all starts to grow back. I’ve been using laser like a sort of maintainence…going in every 8 weeks. I am soooo upset at all of the time and money I’ve spent. We have raised the settings to the point where it is pretty painful and I have had some hyperpigmentation…so basically I am at my maximum setting that my skin can tollerate. Am I doomed with laser? Has anyone with my skin color had success with laser on their face? Please help!
PS. I forgot to add…my hair has come back the same thickness…if not a little thicker, but definately not finer…except on my upper lip where it has practically dissappeared.
it sounds like only the hair on your upper lip is coarse enough for laser to work on you considering your skin tone. in the future, you should only be using a Yag laser. Alexandrites like GentleLASE can only be used safely on your skin at very low levels, which doesn’t kill the hair and can cause hyperpigmentation. Yag lasers shouldn’t do that at all.
Your best bet for the rest of the hair on your face is electrolysis.
Actually it was the same or less coarse than the rest of my facial hair. I was wondering if anyone knows of people with my skin tone having permanent hair removal on their face…I’ve used YAG for long enough and there isn’t even a reduction. Shouldn’t I start to seem some patches or thinning out after 7 YAG treatments?
yes, but for some people laser doesn’t work at all. and some have underlying causes where your body keeps producing more hair. it’s hard to tell.
Sorry to hear your poor response sol, I have had only one treatment with Cutera Coolglide which is also a YAG, and still am waiting for shedding so can’t say how well it works or not. It does seem like it is definitely not working for you.
Have you tried any other body areas, other than face?
hert9
For Skin Types I-III (light skin) use the Alexandrite Laser by Cynosure. For Darker Skin types 4-6 use a 1064nd:Yag laser.
Hope that helps.