It's working but should I expect more?

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I’ve had 3 treatments on my chin area with a Fotona Laser at a local med spa so far. Ive never asked for the settings, I didn’t visit this site before going and feel embarrassed to ask after the fact!
I have seen results which I’m very happy about although I have never had a hair free period that I have read about. The hairs definitely seem to be thinner and not as dense which I’m very excited about since that makes it not noticeable under the skin after I shave. I’ve even taken before pictures and compared to now there is a definite difference.

Is it possible my hairs just grow fast enough that I’m not experiencing the hair free time after 3-4 weeks or maybe since the hairs that are growing are not as thick that the laser isn’t getting those? They are still dark though! I do have very fair skin and dark hairs. The lady keeps pushing me to come back for another treatment at 3-4 weeks but I’ve been going about 7 weeks apart. My hairs have always grown pretty fast where by 5pm I could use another shave but usually didn’t since Im just at home and dont want to irritate the area anymore. Now I can still feel it a lil but they are thinner so really not as noticeable.

My other question is since Ive been shaving for 10 years and Ive done electrolysis several times and the most recent time the way she did it really irritated and left my skin red for months, my skin is discolored in that area. Is there any skin treatment or things that can help it pretty quickly? The med spa I get the laser treatment at offers different skin treatments, but Im not sure if they would help and if I ask them I feel like they would recommend something to get my money. If it wasn’t as dark then it wouldn’t draw attention to that area :\ I’ve been using an over the counter skin lightening cream but it hasnt worked.

Thank you for any advice you might be able to give!! If you have other questions I’d be happy to answer, Im excited for answers and I have 3 months to look my best before my hubs gets home from deployment :slight_smile: Im tired of having this to hide under lots of concealer and shaving!

#2

The Fotona laser looks to be a YAG with a max spot size of 8mm and joules up to 300J. Because the max spot size is a very low number, the joules need to be up fairly high to see good results. I would call and get the settings.

If your skin stayed red for months, then something was done improperly. If it’s still discolored in that area, I would hold off on laser treatments for a bit. Since the chin is not a huge area, you may want to consider switching to electrolysis. It shouldn’t take a very long time to get a full clearance (it would take less than 3 months if you keep up with it)

#3

Oh the redness was from the electrolysis being done incorrectly!

The laser has actually helped it a bit, from the hairs not being so thick and dense it doesn’t aggravate the skin anymore to shave. She did turn the laser up a bit the last (third) time I went but I still didn’t have that complete hair free period. So while Im seeing small results I don’t know whether to worry that Im not seeing that hair free time after the 3-4 weeks.

#4

If the hairshaft was damaged not enough to stop the current hairgrowth and to let the hair shed 2-3weeks after, than how could it do some permanent damage to the follicle?

Ive seen the shedding everytime Ive had laser - even though the results were not permanent…

#5

I’m assuming you’re female. Can you post a photo? A Yag with only an 8mm spot size probably won’t do much for your growth in terms of permanent removal.

You should be seeing all hairs shed at the 3 weeks mark. Whatever is growing as usual at that point wasn’t affected.
Shedding doesn’t guarantee results, but it’s a sign at least something is happening. Using aggressive settings is important for this reason. No shedding means nothing is happening though.

Unless you have man-like beard growth, you would likely be better off finding a good electrologist and doing electrolysis. You’ll need it regardless. Laser can only remove coarse dense growth. You’ll need electrolysis after. For a small area on the face, it’s not usually worth it to do laser.

#6

So maybe since the ones now are not as thick or dense as at the beginning that maybe it affected those thicker hairs and now Im left with the thinner ones? Let me see if I can post a photo when I get home tonight.

#7

Sorry it’s taken so long to post pictures! Each picture was taken 1 day after shaving with an electric razor.

I guess looking at them I have had results… do you think laser would have any more progress for me or should I switch to electrolysis? I’m still not happy with my skin, its not smooth and I can’t go without makeup still :frowning: Maybe there’s a skin treatment I can do to improve it?

qwerty Attachments

Before first treatment and after Second
Before & After Laser Hair.jpg
6 Weeks after 3rd treatment
Laser 3.jpg
6 Weeks after 3rd Treatment (2)
Laser 3 (2).jpg

#8

You have had some noticeable difference. However, it’s impossible to say whether it’s permanent. That spot size is very small.

If you continue laser treatments, I would only advise it with a good Yag laser with at least a 12mm spot size (Coolglide, GentleYAG, Apogee Elite, etc).

The pigmentation is already resolving itself nicely. I wouldn’t use any creams and let the skin resolve itself. Once you reach a point where you think it’s pretty stable and there is still pigmentation, you can consider using a lightening cream.

Do understand that laser won’t be able to remove all hair. It’s impossible to tell how coarse yours is from those photos. However, you’ll probably still have 20% or so to be removed by electrolysis later when the remaining hair becomes too fine.

#9

What does the spot size have to do with how permanent it is? I thought it was just the area that it covers. I guess for my next treatment I will have to look around for a new place.

The lady who I went to in the past is so quick I am in there for only 5 minutes total. The spots do seem very small and she runs it over the skin so incredibly quick it. I even told her the last time it didn’t seem like she spent as much time on the left side as the right and she assured me she did and it was just the pattern she did it in that made me think differently. Then said come back in 3 weeks and opened the door for me!

#10

It’s NOT just the area it covers. It impacts settings. That’s why on GentleLASE, for example, max on 18mm is 20J, but on 15mm, 30J. If spot size is small, joules have to be adjusted proportionally higher.

Using a small spot size also makes it very easy to miss spots since it’s hard to cover an area well and overlap.

#11

While they talk about their fotona laser on their website, I called and they said they use the Sotoma which they said is an ND:Yag laser. From what I read here this if for darker skin and I seem to be a type III. Does this mean that Im not seeing as good of results as I want because its not made for types I-III?

Sigh… this is all so complicated! I guess Ill be calling around to more places monday. I liked this place because they are open on saturdays and daycare is an issue during the week!

#12

You can use a small spot size like 7 mm, 8 mm or 10 mm but the energies need to be high in order to give good results. In your case, an adjustable pulse Alexandrite may give better results.

#13

Thanks! I have a consultation this afternoon at Ideal Image that has an alexandrite laser but I’m worried they will try to pressure me into a contract which I don’t want to do. Hopefully I can get them to agree to just a test session to see if it’s for me.