lagirl - you seem pretty passionate - please check into this for me

lagirl,

Please check into this for me. I know you have repeatedly told me about time intervals for hair removal, but Rocky Mountain Laser College and clinic insists that key to their success is treating every 4 weeks for the 1st 4 treatments. They told me that you will only see “black pepper spots” or hair spots but that is the ideal time to treat. They are the laser school with by far the most credentials. Please call them and check into this. Here is a link to their web site. http://www.laserlaser.com/laserclinic/ Their phone number, credentials, etc. are listed here. They also have 8 different lasers. Thanks in advance for your help!!!

hehe - “passionate” that’s the term that describes her perfectly. i don’t see what’s in to her to defend lasers with such a passion!! maybe she has nothing better to do in her life. or maybes she tries to pull people to spend money on laser hair removal because she is a laser person herself. save your skin, cpelvis, you really seem to be a very sensible guy. don’t hear what people in this forum say. if i had listen to my logic’s voice and not the reassuring comments of people in the laser section forum, i would have been better-off now. it is so horrible to be 28 and look like 80 in one year’s time. it sounds like a night mare but it is true. stay away from lasers.

Who is 28 and look like 80 now??

4 weeks is what laser manufacturers usually tell the techs who purchase the lasers to treat the patients at (usually followed by “you will make the most money that way”). you probably know this since you’ve had treatments before, but if the treatment is done correctly, the shedding will only stop around 3-3.5 weeks. That means that for most people, you shouldn’t see any new hair growth for a few weeks after that. There shouldn’t be anything to treat there at 4 weeks. Normally, whatever IS there is the hair that was missed by the tech during the treatment (a little bit is normal, noone’s perfect). So, some clinics actually have you come in for free “touch-up” at 4 weeks because they realize that whatever IS there is the missed hair at that point. Unfortunately, there are others who are more money-hungry who wouldn’t mind charging for that session.

I’m tired of responding to Vanessa’s immature comments that are only targeted specifically to me and are never here to help any actual consumers. I’m not going to stoop down to her 80-yr old unhappy woman’s level here. Let’s just say I have a degree from a top university, a career I love, speak 3 languages, lived in several countries, and have many other hobbies and interests that I’m passionate about and have a lot of knowledge about besides hair removal (obviously). Thus, unlike Vanessa, I am happy with myself and don’t mind using my knowledge to help others – sorry Vanessa, I’m in my 20s and still look it. If Vanessa read this forum before she blindly jumped into hair removal on her face, she probably wouldn’t have done it there in the first place (although she probably would have still looked 80 and found something else to blame for it instead of her unhealthy lifestyle that probably lead to it)

Thanks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hey Cpelvis,
I had black pepperspots from the day of the treatment itself that have not gone way close to 3 weeks from treatment. Some of them are starting to grow out but most are just staying put. How can pepperspots be an indication that its time for next treatment when they have been there from the day of the previous treatment itself. Can you get some more info from this place you spoke with.

thanks
hert9

I am not getting on anyone. I just wondered why the largest laser college swears by this. I talked to Lorenzo, the owner who has ran 30 clinics and he is the one who told me this. As you know, I don’t believe everything everyone tells me, but he said people would say something about making money, there is no hair there, etc. Do me a favor and call and talk to them, then get back to me. Also, what clinic are you going to, I am sure I can find something bad about them also, because so far, in all honesty, I have found something bad about every clinic I have looked at. I talked to an honest man, who used to own a Sona and he advised me not to go to a Sona. He said their claims are crazy and that he has treated thousands of men’s backs and almost everyone of them had regrowth. Once in awhile he said he would treat an older man in his 40’s and beyond and have better success, but not permanent. He also treated himself and said he still has to have his wife shave his back about once a month. I am looking at this as a maintenance program. Any man who honestly thinks he is going to get great results that last long term is in my opinion, which is based on a lot of research, fooling themselves. I could easily retire and start a foundation on all the money that men have wasted on LHR. I am doing these tests to see what kind of intervals and percentage of hair reduced, not permanency. I was just as excited and passionate as you were the 1st time around, but I realized I was looking at things with blinders on. When you are out thousands of dollars like me and still have to you some form of dipilatory, you will understand. Being a woman, your results will probably be better than mine, and this may achieve your desired results, I hope it does. I am not against you, I am on your side. But unlike laser clinics, I can almost guarantee that at some point you will have a lot of regrowth or new growth. It may be 6 months, it may be 4 years, but it will come, especially if you are in your 20’s. You are basing things on your hopes and dreams, I am basing things on experts, laser companies, doctors, etc. I am probably stupid for even doing test spots to see results, but again I am looking at this as maintenance program. I suggest you do the same.

I don’t think in any of my posts I ever say laser is permanent for everyone or most or that I advocate it. I speak from personal experience and if you read my thread, you will see that I am very happy with the type of removal I am achieving because I cannot get this result from any other method available on those difficult areas. In addition, the areas that I am personally treating have hair in the first place because of hormonal stimulation. I do not believe that that will stop developing new hair, especially since I’m only in my 20s. I consistently say that I know I will need 1-2 touch-ups per year (I predict) to keep everything tidy. I haven’t decided if I’m going to touch up with electrolysis or laser. It will depend on the kind of regrowth I will see. From past experience, I’m imagining that I will see some fine hair pop up here and there once in a while and that will be easily removed with electrolysis. I won’t even mind shaving since shaving these fine hairs is easy and actually gives the appearance of hairfree skin after the fact. That’s not something I can achieve by shaving, waxing, etc with the kind of growth I used to have. When I went into this, I wasn’t looking for a magic solution that will get rid of every single hair that I have permanently. I wanted a result that would free me from constant drag of figuring out how to actually look hairfree after hair removal (shaving didn’t do the job, waxing required 3-4 weeks of growing out period and lots of ingrowns). And so far, I’ve achieved that and am very happy, even with touch-ups that I will have to do once in a while later. I don’t think that anyone should be going into laser hair removal thinking that they will get rid of all hair permanently and those who are happy with their results don’t. Those who have realistic goals going into this are generally happier with their results.

When I answer consumers’ questions, I just answer specifically what they’re asking about (usually to avoid them getting burned etc). I can’t include a whole page of explanation like this one about what they should be expecting from LHR in general in every post. That’s what hairfacts.com attached to this site is for and all the other posts they can read while they’re doing their research. And if they don’t do their research, there is noone they should blame but themselves. I did my research before jumping into it and I don’t tend to blindly believe anyone who has invested interest in me getting treatments through them, so that’s why I had/have realistic expectations going into this.

The doctor who treated me also mentioned 4 weeks spacing between treatments when I first came in (and I felt that’s what the laser salespeople told him), but he never stressed it and after he has learned that I’ve studied this quite a bit, he actually just does what I ask him to in terms of spacing and settings. So, I have control of my treatments in that sense and I like it that way. He also never promised any results. He said he only charges per treatment and results are different for everyone and it’s hard to tell how many treatments one will need, but at least 3-4. But he doesn’t feel comfortable charging people up front because of so many variables. He doesn’t sell his treatments at all and doesn’t advertise. I seeked him out myself from the Candela website (list of doctors who purchased the system in my area on there).

The above response is meant for lagirl not hert9. Hert9, thanks for reply. Here is the link again to check out this info. As I said, I am on everybody’s side and not here to bash people, but I think lagirl goes on what her clinic is doing or using, not necessarily research. I am not sure if treating every 4 weeks for the 1st 4 treatments really works or not, but I know this laser college knows the real truth. Whether they are telling us is the question. One thing is for sure, when I go for my tests, long-term, not one treatment, having the 1st 4 treatments every 4 weeks, instead of every 6-8 would cost me an extra $200 since they are doing these tests for $50. I am more than willing to pay the difference, and don’t really see, other than the money, how treating too often could be bad. Not treating often enough, however, seems to be a factor. If treating every 6-8 weeks is correct, I will cover that too if I am going every 4 weeks. If I could afford it, I would go every 2 weeks, even if I only saw 1 hair, just to prove to myself the results. Anyway here is the link. http://www.laserlaser.com/laserclinic/faq.htm

No, like I said, I don’t trust anyone who has invested interest in what they’re telling me blindly. I did my research separately, and had the doctor treat me based on the parameters I found to work best. Why does everyone jump to conlusions on this thread? cpelvis, have you read my longggg thread outlining in full details all my treatments? It might be helpful for you to do it to figure out where I’m coming from. The link is right there below my name.

lagirl,

First off let me reiterate that unlike other people on this site, I am not here to bash people. I have read some of your old posts and understand a lot of what you are going through. I am just going on all the evidence I have racked up and this is something further to investigate. I am not sure if what you are doing is the right way or not, the right laser, etc. I am undergoing similar research on myself because I don’t trust anyone either. I will tell you though that every laser clinic that has been in business for 4 or 5 years and has treated thousands of men and women knows the answer to all our questions. Seeming like a very educated young lady, you like I are smart enough to realize that if laser hair removal indeed worked long-term there would be thousands of clinical items available. I have talked to a few honest laser techs and clinics that have told me the truth, and that truth unfortunately is not what most people want to hear. As I showed earlier, an old owner of a Sona, who sold it still has his wife shaving his back once a month. He said there was reduction, but he will eventually have to go back for more treatments. I hope you have reduced priced treatments long-term or some special pricing arrangement. Also, think, I am a man who is looking at doing his back, arms, and shoulders again. This area is much larger and more expensive than most, so retreat prices are huge. Men that go on a per treatment basis with no future discount or just 4 or 5 treatment packages can plan on spending thousands of dollars on LHR every 2-3 years. I am not willing to do this.

I understand. In the end, everyone needs to make their own decisions and decide what their goal is and if there is a way to achieve it (and how much they’re willing to spend on it). People like RC2001 has had results on his back and seems happy with it, although it’s around 80-90% removal or so. Also, I don’t know if most clinics necessarily know what their patients’ results are like post-treatments unless patients come in to complain or get more areas done or unless they actually care enough to find out. My doctor for example has no idea at this point what the results are like after the last time he saw me and since I don’t think I’m going back for now, he won’t unless he decides to call me and find out (not something I think he will do being a busy dermatologist and probably not caring enough). I’m with you on the fact that we should see more clinical trials, especially those not done by laser companies, but noone’s doing them, leaving us to gather hypotheses based on experiences. Here’s another idea for your research: Have you tried asking the moderators in Kitty’s forum who actually perform laser treatments for a while now and regularly contribute to the forum if they have any personal data on their patients? Maybe they have the kind of thing you’re looking for. Would be interesting to find out.