Info. and Experiences with Laser Hair Removal

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Well I thought I’d just leave a little information here for UK residents about laser treatments and my experience with it.

To start off with I’m a 18 years old and have a large amount of hair covering from head toe (except for sides), which Iv’e had since I was 14 years old. I do a lot of street dancing competitions, which goes without saying that I have to be pretty much hairless (or appear to be for the hours I am performing). I have tried pretty much most hair removal tecniques available to me; shaving, delipiratory cream, friction pads, epilating (which may I add for someone with my level of hair and thickness, should be classed as a modern form of torture), waxing and plenty more, the only thing I didn’t try was electrolysis, simply because of size of the area that needed to be treated and the cost (unfortunatly the majority of the English salons in the South East charge by the length of time it takes, so it leaves little to the imagination of the cost of the first treatment).
I am a cross between Skin Type 2 and 3 (as my consultant put it), I tan very easily, which is partly down to me having some Hespanic heritage, but my skin tone without exposure to the sun is relativley pale.

I started off by seeing what my local GP could do at the age of 15, who gave me the typical answer: “Theres nothing wrong with that, I don’t see why your embarassed, plenty of women like hairy men”. As expected this did nothing but infuriate me and remind me of the fact that a person with the most minor defect with their teeth would have thousands of pounds spent on them by the NHS (National Health Service), but when hairsuitism is concerned in men, they turn their nose up at it. Anyways, I returned when I was 17 and went to another GP who referred me on to a dermotologist, again giving me the same answer, but thankfully enough my GP then looked into it and found the name of a private doctor who may be able to help me (despite being told by others that laser was unlikely to work on me and the only solution was to get me counselling to deal with it).

This is the main part that is useful, Doctor Richardson, who is based down in Brentwood, Essex (www.theregencyclinic.co.uk), was my next port of call. He did a test patch on me (using a Alexandrerlite Laser, however he also uses a Yag Laser as well) and despite first believing that it would not work so well then decided that it most likely would after administering the test patch, WHICH IT DID! After 3 weeks of waiting for the hairs to shed, oh my god it looked fab, I hadn’t been that happy since Micael Barrymore was forced to leave television.

He then referred me onto the chain company [removed by request], even though it is a chain company, they did the laser treatments at a fraction of the cost that many practitioners charged including Doctor Richardson himself. Iv’e now had my back done and it is great, they use the newer models, which shoot a jet of cold air onto the skin (making it a damsight more comfortable) and still delivering a decent ray to the skin. Overall it took around 45 minutes as they use a 18mm laser spot, and cost around £180 for full back and shoulders (a mere pittance to the quotes given to me by other places). So far Iv’e had around 3 treatments and the hair has been reduced to almost draw dropping proportions, compared to what I was warned to expect, and I am planning to have plenty more else where as well.

To sum this all up, I would recommend laser as the primary use of hair removal for people looking to remove large areas of hair (maybe use electrolysis to remove the finer hairs that are left). If you have darker skin tones I would advise that you do make a trip to Doctor Richardson to have a test patch, he is one of if not the most knowledgable practitioner in England on the use of lasers for hair removal (especially seeing as he was the first practitioner to bring the laser over from America to England). Once it has been established whether or not you are eligable for laser hair removal I’d say, if Doctor Richardson doesn’t (which I highly doubt that he wouldn’t), go on to [removed by request] and book yourself an appointment (and I think the man deserves his due for informing patients of companies that will remove the hair cheaper than he does). There are [removed by request] clinics dotted all over the UK and deal with patients over 16 without parent permission and also deal with under 16 year olds, although this is only at certain clinics and you do need to have parental permission as well as them with you for each consultation (currently I’m having my treatments done in the one based in Harley street up by the Regents Park end). The [removed by request] clinics are clean, professional and precise and offer a real value for money.

So, I hope this is of help and thank you for listening to my whining, haven’t had a good one for ages!
Kind regards,
Benji

#2

Hi, congrats on the results, how long has it been since your last treatment? any chance of posting any pics?

Sounds like you were treated with a good laser, however the Skin clinic in my area uses an IPL which is no good and also the staff are pushy and unhelpful, its important to note that just because one clinic from a chain is good doesnt mean all the clinics will be the same across the UK.

#3

thanks for your feedback. it would be also very helpful if you can provide us with exact name of the machine that’s being used and exact settings (joules, spot size, and pulse). how long has been it since your last treatment? how far apart are they spaced?

sounds like you did your research before you started too. that’s great to hear!

#4

Hiya,

Managed to get hold of some details since my last treatment was yesterday, the tye of laser being used is the: Apogee Elite – Alexandrite.
The settings are (this is what the tech wrote down): 18mm Spot Size, 30 Joules and 755 wave length (I think thats the one she pointed to as the wave length).

My treatments at the moment are usually spaced 6 weeks apart, which suits me fine and once the hair starts to grow back I’ll show you a before and after photo.

Laters,
Benji

#5

This is not a bad alexandrite laser (all alexandrites are 755nm, that’s what makes them an alexandrite). It can’t have 18mm spot size. I think the largest spot size for this machine is 15mm. 30 joules is pretty high if using 15mm, so that’s good if it doesn’t burn your skin. 6 weeks apart is too close together. you’re not seeing the actual reduction by not waiting long enough for new hair to grow in. basically, this will also make you have more treatments overall. i would decrease to 8-12 weeks apart as usually recommended.

#6

Hiya, just giving a bit of a update.

Unfortunatly Iv’e lost my original laser nurse, who was a brilliant Polish lady called Sarah, as she has now gone on maternity leave. [removed by request] clinics then set me up with a different nurse called [removed by poster], and what a mess she has made (I will be posting pictures tomorow [English GMT time]). It has been 2 weeks since she treated me and I have huge lines that stretch horizontal from shoulder to shoulder, down the side of my upper arms, across the top of my upper arm, and numerous places on my lower back, totalling to around 9-10 lines and patches in total and a minimum of 10 centimetre+ in length.
And this didn’t include her lack of general professionalism during the treatment, from forgetting to put on her mask, charge/catalyse (or whatever it’s called) the laser, stopping to do paper work half way through the treatment and then saying “don’t worry I can see where the laser went by the red marks on your skin”… [obviously not pumpkin, because at the moment my back looks like a page of lined paper]. Oh and missing my back altogether with the laser and shooting the bed and my jeans, creating a pretty little spark…

I imeadiatly rang up the clinic and insisted on another nurse after I looked at my back in the mirror today. The new nurse I got is called Adeline, who I already wanted anyway but the girl at the desk reassured me that [name removed by poster] was just as good (highly doubt it, as she let slip on the phone that they draft her in to different clinics when people are on maternity leave, or have planned holidays etc). She rang my mobile (cell) direct today, about 3 hours after I made the complaint and pretty much tried to blame it on dormant hairs regrowing and said that Sarah should have explained this to me (which, funnily enough she did, but said they would come back sparse, not in horizontal and vertical lines). I came to the conclusion after this little cop out cough I mean explanation, that it was a big pile of steaming … as this problem has never occured with Sarah or Doctor Richardson during my last 3 treatments.

She did manage to persuade me over the phone to come in on Thursday to fix the patches and lines and I know this shows that she aims to correct the mistake, however, she did mention that in future she was going to draw lines on me so that if she stopped she wouldn’t miss areas. (Personally, I’m not so comfortable with this, simply because my last nurse and dermotologist didn’t have to make my back resemble a blue print in order not to miss pathces.) Iv’e now had a chat with my mum whos been great with supporting me through this and she agrees that if I’m not happy with the treatment and phone call she gave me I should change nurses and ask to have them correct the mess she made, rather than her. Partly to make sure it is done correctly, but also to let them get the jist of why Iv’e insisted on having someone else other than [name removed by poster].

Well, there we go, I guess I just needed a rant, and also wondering whether you guys thing I’m being a drama queen or not?

Kind regards,
Benji

#7

Not at all. You/we pay alot of money for this, so its not too much to ask for a proper job.

Im in the Uk, and i must admit i have heard bad things about the Skin Clinics. Apparently they are quite pushy and money driven…
Shame you lost the good nurse eh?

Why exactly did the doctor in Brentwood refer you to Skin? Why didn’t he just treat you himself?

#8

a few comments:

  • Take pictures right NOW, so you have evidence later. Don’t wait until they “fix” it to do this.

  • It’s not uncommon to draw lines, but this should be done with a white pencil.

  • Stripes that you are describing are usually due to not overlapping and bad technique

  • I would most definitely complain loud enough to get an appointment with the absolutely most experienced nurse available for both the touchup and all following treatments

  • are you stuck in a package? can you switch clinics?

  • I wouldn’t trust any doctor’s “recommendations”. 99% of them are based on at best hearsay, but usually on money they get from these money-hungry clinics for “referrals”.

#9

Hiya, sorry for the late reply, been quite busy lately.

I have taken pictures and documented them. In the end I went for another practitioner, unfortunatly one of the best ones, who I was due to have the review (correction procedure would be a more appropiate name) was ill, so I had to be put with another technician, and unsuprisingly I only found out this information when I arrivaed after a 2.5 hour train journey. Despite this, the technician seemed pleasent and did all the areas, fingers crossed so far I have had no problems with her treatment, although I made sure I will be having Anallin, who is the more experienced woman I was meant to have, for my next laser session which also has been extended by 2 weeks.

In regards to any other treatments though, especially the ones involving thinning out the hair I will be going elsewhere.
Unfortunatly though I am tied into a contract of 6 sessions on full back, shoulders and upper arms before I can leave, but I will kick up as bigger fuss as need be to get what I expect, which is simply a good service and result (which seems to be immenent as long the operator is competent, as I have very pale skin and dark hair, which apparently is the same colour right down to the root).

In regards to why Doctor Richardson advised me to go elsewhere was simply because he cost nearly 4 times the amount as [removed by request] does for such large areas. This is partly because he is a private doctor and deals with far smaller areas such as the male beard (which I have seen and heard that he is very good at, partly by looking at people in the waiting room as I came out of my consultation with him). Although I do have a feeling that advising me to Sk:n clinics was based on the hear say of cheap treatments.

Anyway, heres the photo that I promised of the results of the treatment, sorry that its not the greatest pic in the world.
(Oh and the blotchy patch is the colour that my skin naturally goes when exposed to the sun without SPF Cream, missed a patch if ya’ havent guessed ;).

http://s218.photobucket.com/albums/cc122/joniesroxx/?action=view&current=18thBirthday018.jpg

Kind regards,
Benji

#10

at what point in the treatment is the pic?

#11

That’s about 2 to 2.5 weeks after the laser session

#12

some more of that should have shed over another week and a half or so.

#13

Yes, that pic was taken a week prior to me having the it corrected. The surrounding areas began to shed as they should, however the lines did not and continued growing at the normal rate.
Sk:n did admit responsibility for this, which was good. The pic itself is not great but when right up close there were no pepper spots in the lines and the hair just grow back like it had been shaved. The nurse I had who corrected it all seemed quite dubious to begin with, but then when seeing my back apologised and cleared up the mess for free (although she did want to laser the hair when it was a third of an inch long, but I insisted that she shaved it as she went along).

Anyways, thanks for everyones help and all that jazz, has done wonders.

Kind regards,
Benji

#14

Well I’m back again, I guess I’m treating this like my diary at the moment.

I had my first treatment with the new lady at Sk:n. She seemed relativley good, very fast but at least this time she didn’t shoot the bed, forget to put on her mask or try to sell me every product under the sun for everything else but laser (the amusing thing is my previous nurse who was trying to sell me a product that had a fruit acid in it, glyc. something, turned out to make the skin more photogenic… NICE! At least I didn’t buy any off her)
Anyways, it’s been 2 weeks since my treatment with the new nurse and it all seems to have gone well, a couple of minor lines but nothing major (although some of these were touched up at Laser-active, I’ll get onto that in a minute). It was still the usual get them in and out the door as soon as possible and I also discovered that if you have bought a contract of treatments if you cancel within 48 hours you loose a treatment. Thats fair enough to some extent, but when my little sisters fractures her jaw and I have to take her down to A&E, I find that a little hard to stomach (although the manager stopped the call centre staff from charging me for the treatment, which was fair).

Now onto Laser-active, I had a consultation in the City clinic (it is a small chain company with 4 clinics based in London and only one person per clinic, it’s also been the longest running laser company in Britain and the healthcare commission pretty much gave them a glowing review). The lady Gail was wonderful, completly professional, very straightforward and made you feel completly at ease. The consultation was absaloutley free, and so was the test patch (unlike Sk:n who hasten to mention that it costs £25’s, but the talk is free) and she even touched up the small lines on my back left by sk:n, so I was compeltely happy.

The treatments themselves are a lot more expensive, almost double, however just the feeling I got from Laser-active alone is enough to make me happy to pay for it. Soooo I decided to book full legs, chest, and other areas. The aim is to thin out the hair on all the areas, except for one area, from which I want all the hair gone.

They have a nice little deal going on that if you have 3 treatments you get the 4th free and your not expected to buy into a contract, even better!

I guess I’ll have to wait and see how everything comes out, but at least this time I feel like I might be getting a very good treatment, I guess the old saying “you get what you pay for” is kinda true eh? :wink:

Kind regards,
Benji

#15

The mask isn’t worn for germ control, and really isn’t that necessary if she has a quality smoke evacuator and good ventilation. The plume from the vaporized hair can irritate the respiratory tract for busy techs.

#16

sounds like the second clinic is a much better fit from your experience. is all the hair you’re treating coarse? are they both using GentleLASE?

#17

All the hair I’m treating is course, my chest is the thickest however the other areas aren’t far behind either. The shedding has already started to take place now on the test patch, which is good (although I did expect this).

Both Sk:n (Harley street clinic) and Laser-active use the Candella GentleLase.
Laser-active treated me on 16 joules and 18mm spot size (will find out the pulse next time, but I know it is quite low).
Sk:n is currently treating me on 18 joules and again an 18mm spot size (will also find out the pulse as well).

Gail at Laser-active said she was very happy with the way the hair reacted on 16 joules, but after my first treatment I’m going to ask for 18 joules. For some reason I find that I have to start of on 16 joules on the first treatment to allow the hair to weaken and my skin to get used to it, then I can up it a bit.

And yeah your right Choice in regards to the mask, thats what annoyed me even more, but meh.

Oh and i forgot to add that another good thing about Laser-active is that they acknowledge they may miss little patches every so often. So anyone is allowed to come back within 2 weeks to have these touched up for free, but from what the man I chatted to in the waiting room said, this rarely ever happens.

Anyways, will give a full update on how the treatment goes in a couple of weeks.

Kind regards,
Benji

#18

Sounds like you found a good clinic. On GentleLASE, pulse is not adjustable. It’s stable at 3ms.

#19

benji boy thanks alot for writing this! i’ve been through the begining of your story where i saw my GP and got reffered etc… and have been thinking about using SK:N recently. i would like to hear about how laser-active goes for you.

how much are all the treatments approx? and how much have you spent so far?

#20

Hiya PaleBoy,

Umm my treatments at Sk:n were:

£950 for 6 treatments on: Full back and shoulders (I got upper arms for free in a deal, unfortunatly it’s not on anymore)

Laser-active treatments are:
£600 per treatment on: Full leg, chest and other areas.

So far I have spent £950 on the contract with Sk:n, however that is going to go up when I have my first treatment at Laser-active.
Fair enough, Laser-active is more expensive but I feel more comfortable there. I guess the proof will be in the pudding, so when I have the treatment in a weeks time I’ll give an update on how it goes.

Kind regards,
Benji