Just got my first Comet treatment

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

…I just came back from getting my first laser treatment, and it was with the Comet. I got full legs and abdomen done for $550. That also included some outer bikini work as well. The session lasted about an hour and a half. For all areas he kept the RF at 40. Because of my skin type #4 he varied the laser strength like this: Upper front of legs 20, lower legs across shin bone 16, meaty front of lower legs 20, feet 20, Abdomen 18 (it was challenge at that!), entire backs of legs 18 -OUCH! - but I never let on to it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> The upper backs of thighs were the worst, it’s just sensitive there. Seems upper backs of thighs is a pain with laser, shaving, or epilation. Near the achilles tendon also kind of hurt. I wasn’t expecting that one. Some redness for a half hour after the session, then it just all went away. They used a cool air machine that really helped a great deal. He was a great doctor with a good assistant. I was badgering him with questions during the whole thing and he answered all of them. He was realy in love with the Comet and had signed up on the waiting list a year ago to get one. All in all it was a good experience. I can’t wait to see how much I’m gonna shed. I wish I had something to compare it to. I’ll keep posted and reading the other experiences.

Mantaray

#2

I have a question maybe some of the other laser people here can answer: If I just went and got laser yesterday, why am getting some stubble today? If these were live, growing hairs, shouldn’t they have been killed? Do the dead hairs continue to grow a bit before they shed? Is the follical dead but the hair cells still growing? Or are these live hairs that were just unaffected by the treatment? I’d would just like to know. Thanks

Mantaray

#3

Here I go again answering my own questions. But like I say, this site is so vast with knowledge… First Treatment (questions)

#4

Thanks for the update! My practitioner is getting a Comet demo this week, and they may purchase one. The waiting list is not as long now.

What you experience is typical. There are also some good Q & A in the physician section:

http://www.syneron.com/faq.html

The delayed shedding is normal. This applies to both the Aurora and the Comet due to the RF. But I have noticed a similar pattern with the Lyra-i 1064 nm laser, even on the beard where the hair is very coarse.

Yes, for some reason the back of the upper leg, (hamstring) is very painful. But it’s worth it.

RJC2001

#5

dont take me wrong rcj, but you are not a bit concerned about what laser radiation might do to your skin in the long run? i have had 5 sessions on my face last year, and when i think of all the damage it might have caused in my skin’s connective tissue and the possibility of carcinogenesis and premature aging, i cannot sleep at night. sun radiation can cause all that, why not laser light.

#6

dont take me wrong rcj, but you are not a bit concerned about what laser radiation might do to your skin in the long run? i have had 5 sessions on my face last year, and when i think of all the damage it might have caused in my skin’s connective tissue and the possibility of carcinogenesis and premature aging, i cannot sleep at night. sun radiation can cause all that, why not laser light.

No, I’m not worried at all! Laser is infrared, not UV, and there is no conclusive link between IR and long term skin damage.

Skin cancers are among the easiest to cure anyways. And as it turns out, the link between UV exposure and melanoma, the most serious cancer, has been way overstated. Dr. Bernard Ackerman has done a lot of research on this and came to that conclusion. For example, countries closer to the equator have lower rates of melanoma than those further away.

Very few worthwhile things are risk free in this world. Given the benefits, I find the level of risk using the laser to be acceptable.

RJC2001

#7

In addition, lasers are used for many other procedures besides hair removal and for a lot longer for those procedures. So there is plenty of time to collect that data and make conclusions.

#8

Okay, got my first treatment on April 28th and it’s May 22 now. So I’m approaching that four week landmark these doctors talk about, and yup, I can definitely see some effects taking place, all kind of within the last two days. Lots, almost all, hair growth in some areas has just stopped. The hairlessness on my right lower leg is really unbelievable. The areas on the fronts of my thighs are very similar. It seems all the areas kind of catch up to the effect at their own rate, because all the treated areas kind of follow the same behavior but at different rates. And, as stated here before, the abdomen lags a bit. With what I see, I’ll most definitely keep my June 6th second appointment, and will schedule a third while I’m there. The RF thing really takes awhile to set in, but when it does, look out. Some here say laser is not permanent, others say it’s a permanent reduction. I say, unless you can prove that it is that same follical sprouting a new hair, and not a whole new primordial follical emerging in that same area, the follical is dead. With a BS in Biology and a Biology grad education, I don’t believe in cells coming back to life, but I do believe in hormones triggering primordial dermis cells to, maybe, form new follicals. But nothing can be done about that; IPL, electrolysis, soy milk, or laser. I say the effects of this Comet are looking pretty damn impressive. Long live technology.

A Happy Mantaray

#9

Manataray,

Thanks for the update! I’m glad to hear you are getting good results from the Comet. I hope my practitioner gets to lease one, but it’s up to the Dr. as he makes the lease/purchase decisions. I have some light and fine hairs that I would like to try the Comet on.

I too am skeptical of claims by some electrologists that all the hair for all those treated with laser hair removal is going to magically grow back after 4-5 years! Sure laser doesn’t work for everyone but it works for a lot of people too.

It’s been 2 years since my last laser treatment on the abs and the minimal hair growth that remains has been steady, it is NOT going to all grow back! From my experience, Whatever hair that is going to grow back after a laser treatment is going to do so within two months.

RJC2001

#10

Just got my second Comet treatment a couple hours ago. This time he cranked it up even stronger, and the pain varied from area to area. In some areas, it was completely painless, in others, it was a lot more than ‘a pin prick’. The outsides of the knees, the upper back of the thighs, and the outer ankles for some reason really get me. Full legs, feet, and abdomen. If as much clears out as last time, I’ll be a really happy camper. This time I kept quiet and didn’t ask as many questions so he could concentrate on the rythym of the trigger pulls, and I think he did a more thorough job because of it. His RN nurse is training to use the unit so more appointments can be scheduled. Right now it’s very hard to get laser time on the Comet, and thank god return patients get highest priority for scheduling. My third appointment is for July 18th.

Total price: $300 for legs & feet (he lowered this price $100 from two months ago), $150 for abdomen, $450 dollars.

Settings RF (radio frequency)= 40-50 depending on area.

Laser = Not sure, but it was almost double from last time according to him.

Time: a little more than an hour.

Setting: Cool air machine set on max, one assistant, turned up to my highest pain threshhold on my request. He frequently stopped and asked how I felt, and was I comfortable.

Medication = None, but I took four aspirin an hour before. Did it help? A little.

Mantaray
~Believe in the Syneron Comet~

#11

The outsides of the knees, the upper back of the thighs, and the outer ankles for some reason really get me. Full legs, feet, and abdomen.

You had all those areas done in a little more than an hour? The Comet is a very fast machine then!

His RN nurse is training to use the unit so more appointments can be scheduled. Right now it’s very hard to get laser time on the Comet, and thank god return patients get highest priority for scheduling. My third appointment is for July 18th.

If they are that busy it could be a sign that they have a lot of happy customers!

Settings RF (radio frequency)= 40-50 depending on area.

Did you get any RF burns? They would look like 2 parallel rails, dark in color. The Aurora would do that every once in awhile.

Laser = Not sure, but it was almost double from last time according to him.

That is a good sign they know what they’re doing.

Time: a little more than an hour.

That is an incredible treatment time for all of those areas!

Medication = None, but I took four aspirin an hour before. Did it help? A little.

Advil (ibuprofen) would probably work better.

Thanks for the update! The Comet seems like it is working very well for you!

RJC2001

#12

What is your skin and hair type? And did you have any finer hairs treated?

It looks like the Comet may address the limitations of other optical hair removal systems. Lasers traditionally do not work very well on fine and light color hairs.

RJC2001

#13

Hey RJC, I looked for the “train track” type marks you spoke of, and couldn’t really find anything like that. He had it high though, because I did experience a few new things. Areas that weren’t so painful before, hurt a lot more this time. I really pointed out to him that clearing the hair on the feet was important to me, so he really gave me the juice there. He countinously asked me how i was doing, and to let him know about any discomfort. i just told him that- “It needed to be done. Do it.” I think I got good clearing this time, but got some blisters. I got three on my right foot instep, and two on my left foot instep, nowhere else. As soon as i noticed and pointed it out, the assistant put ointment on them and they pretty much just regressed. I figure a blister will come and go, but hair has to be stopped in it’s tracks. I don’t regret the high power.

I’m a now completely untanned skin type IV (4), although I feel I look like I’m more pale than most of the III’s I know, so he used the long wave. My hair type ranges from coarse black (abdomen) to sun bleached blond (legs and arms), with lots on dark brown here and there. My natural hair color I would catagorize somewhere between black and dark brown. As for the finer areas, the laser just bulldozed those areas, but partly my years of epilator use diminished thoase areas as well. What I found with epilator use is that the sparse areas like the high hip or sides of the chest I plucked, just never grew back. So they were gone to begin with.

To be really honest, I was only planning on getting two or three treatments per area, but now that I see how neat it is to not worry about shaving that much, I’m going to go get the same areas treated until it just plain exhausts the effectiveness. Before treatment I was getting stubble on the legs before the end of the day. Now, I can go three days without shaving and deal with it okay, and this is before this next round of shedding. So needless to say, I feel very much it was worth the $1000 I’ve already paid. Downsides though, is that my adbomen is responding a lot slower than the entire leg areas. Maybe this time they’ll catch up.

Mantaray

#14

Hi mantaray,

I didn’t get as good results on my abdomen as I did on my legs. (Full disclosure: I was on a different laser).

I’m now having electrology to clear the little bit that the laser was never able to get.

#15

im wondering about the syneron comet to everyone who has used it…for the lower back…dark skin and black hairs…i’m not sure what type my skin is im really tan and normally all winter i hold my tan…im like a brown sugar type skin…maybe this laser would work just to reduce the hairs and finish with electroloysis as i already have a GREAT one…but i want to make the job faster and easier with using one session probably of laser on the area to help…let me know your thoughts everyone…THANKS and GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!! KEEP SMILING!!!