Laser beard removal for rare chronic folliculitis

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#21

Hey Seana, i must have replied to Brenton before seeing your post.

What part of the body have you had LHR done? Are you female?

I think what i should emphasise is that my goal is not to remove all of the hair, but most of it to reduce the folliculitis, and cosmestically at the same time reducing the beard shadow, if there is still quite alot of hair left that doesn’t look too strange / patchy and i can shave much easier and not have big red boils all over my face then i will take that as a result.

But i’m sensing that i’m going to have to have some sort of electrolysis anyway to even things out…

Thanks again!

#22

The overall pattern ended up being fairly even actually. I had a very good practitioner. Only after the second treatment did I have some patchiness (it was literally like a line of hair) which I believe was caused by my dermatologist missing that line. Otherwise, I didn’t have any noticeable patchiness. If you’re looking into only needing to shave every couple of days, laser is a fine way to go. I finished with electrolysis in every area (my hairs were very coarse and deep to the point my electrologist needed to yank my skin around to get the probe in far enough to kill a hair… which would explain why laser didn’t kill as many as I had hoped on me.) My hair was still fairly dense but much finer, though I have read of a number of people getting nearly hairless on cheeks and neck after laser… my hairs made that hard to do.

Chin hair in general is difficult to treat with laser, so I wouldn’t worry that you’d go completely bare there even with the number of treatments you’re doing. I’d probably have him zap the goatee area a bit to help the folliculitis, but that’s your decision

#23

Yeah, i guess i can assess the chin area after a few treatments. Just a much finer sparser beard would really be great, i have got friends i’m envious of who can go days without shaving and still look clean and presentable.

I’m told i look much better clean shaven as the desinger stubble look doesn’t suit me due to the thickness and colour of my beard contrasting with my pale skin.

So, are there any important questions i need to be asking my dermatologist at the test patch on wednesday?

So far i’m thinking - do you overlap? What settings will they use? Numbing creams? And how many treatments he thinks i need?

Thanks

#24

Rickenbacker, in answer to your question, yes I’m female. I’m also a transgirl ( male to female transexual) though and started with a very male pattern beard. I had the face and neck done. Probably similar to what you face. I suffered severe irritation any time it grew out even a little bit ( not to mention dysphoria). I’m on hormones so I dont get new growth, but 40 years of living as a guy left me with a full beard that doesnt go away because you no longer have testosterone in your system. So my removal would be very similar tto yours
I cant advise on laser types because I had my laser done at t a school and foolishly, dont even know what the laser type is! I’m guessing alexandrite but couldnt tell you beyond that.
I DID have some patchiness. Some of my hair is grey on my chin, but even amoung the dark hairs I got some patches that just didnt seem totake. I cant blame it on the practitioner doign the same thing over and over, because I had someone different each time, and only once or twice did I have the same person work on me again. It comes with the territory when you have your laser done at a beuty school to save money. I’m poor and notoriously cheap :slight_smile:

My advice if you are considering laser is to get a package of 5-6 treatments. Expect some patches to be left, and some stray hairs. Then zap those with electrolysis.In my case my neck and under chin didnt seem to take the laser much at all, probably because there’s more blood flow there and blood grows hair.That’s where I’m having to do the most electrolysis aside from the greys on my chin

Seana

#25

Seana

Sounds like you had a bit of a rough ride with your treatments, glad it’s now working out for the better…

I’d actually be happy to have some stubble left around the chin / goatee area, i’d just keep it clean shaven every day.

There is one thing my dermatologist said which i forgot to mention - i remember him saying something along the lines of “we could possibly just treat the areas where the folliculitis is”

I’m not sure how that would work as the areas most affected are the jawline, and neck area, and lower cheeks…

Does that make sense to anyone?

#26

Hi Rickenbacker15 !

sorry for this long silence. This is the link of my laser beard remover journey : http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/108741/1.html

My dermatologist uses an alexandrite laser. You can see some pictures of me in my topic. I have tan/fair skin (I have spanish roots) but I didn’t have such beard hair density as you.

But you have to know that patchiness can appear after laser treatment. It does depend of each people.
Normally, after several mounths, regrowth will be without patching. (excuse my english grammar).

Maybe 4 sessions will suit on you. Ask to your dermatologist.

#27

UPDATE!

Hello everyone, just got home from having my test patch done.

So the clinic is a top end private hospital, and my dermatologist carried out the procedure. I asked him what lasers he uses and he said his machine has both a ND:YAG and Alexandrite laser built into the unit.

I don’t know what models they were, and unfortunately forgot to ask what setting he was using, although he did say that they were quite low for the test patch. I will find out setting used when i have my 1st treatment.

The treatment itself was relatively comfortable, the description of a rubber band being snapped was accurate, but all in all i expected it to be alot more painful, and realise that when he increases the settings and treats the denser areas - i will be in for quite a bit of pain and hg said that some people have their beards done in stages as they can’t handle a full beard session. I’m pretty confident i could try having it done all in one go, i think i may have quite a high pain threshold.

There was no numbing cream, just a gel applied to the skin then a cooling attachment blowing cold air from the laser to the skin during treatment.

My skin just looks a little bit red like sunburn, but experiencing no discomfort whatsoever right now, maybe just a little warm sensation.

The only downside to the whole thing is that i now have to wait 3 months!!! For my first full treatment, he said it takes that long for him to evaluate my skin and how it has reacted to the test patch. I have to admit that i expected him to say something more along the lines of 3-4 weeks (please note i do understand the normal down time between proper treatments is 6-8 weeks)

I just thought we could start alot sooner after the test patch?

So here are a few questions…

  1. does that amount of time seem right?

  2. if my skin heals well and all looks good, could i possibly call him mid-late November to see if i can start treatment sooner?

  3. does the laser actually kill any of the hairs for good? The reason i ask this is because the dermatologist said they were still unsure about this, and that he believes it destroys enough of the follicle for it to grow in much finer, i would actually be happy with this if it would stay a finer texture indefinitely, meaning shaving time and shadow is reduced.

Most importantly he believes it will help the folliculitis, and says that easier shaving and reduced density is definitely possible, but said he obviously can’t tell me what the end result will look like, just that we can assess the situation as we go along.

All in all i’m very happy with how it went, i believe i have good a very good practioner using the right lasers for my skin.

It’s just the waiting that’s gonna kill me :frowning: i would happily start the treatments tomorrow!!

P.s. Maiakochka…i read you thread, glad you are hapoy with your results, although difficult to compare with me as such a different density in beards.

#28

I wouldn’t get any treatments until you find out exact settings they are planning to use. After your first treatment, it’s too late to adjust anything. You can find this out over the phone.

Don’t see the need to wait 3 months.

I wouldn’t start treatment until you can get a proper test patch at a setting he will actually plan to use for actual treatment. There is no point of testing with lower settings. The entire point of testing is to make sure you can handle a good setting well.

Yes, laser destroys the hair for good. You can ask many of us who had treatments 8+ years ago and have no regrowth. However, him saying that could be a sign that he uses settings that are too low to cause permanent damage to the follicles, and I would be concerned about that. See my point about settings for the test patch above. You want to find someone who is aggressive and knowledgeable.

#29

Hi LAgirl, some interesting points there.

Well i’m booked in for 20th december for my 1st appointment, so a little bit less than 3 months.

This dermatologist knows my skin condition well, had several consultations with him before deciding on LHR - so is there a chance that the conservative settings of the test patch may correlate to the fact my skin is prone to bumps, irritation and redness etc and he was just being careful? As the impression i got from him was that the particular settings used today was a gauge to see if my skin can handle whatever setting he has in mind for the 1st treatment.

Also bear in mind that i’m not after a complete removal like SeanaTG and Brenton, just a good reduction to reduce the folliculitis and make shaving easier, and i did relay this to him today.

When you say it’s too late to adjust anything after having the 1st treatment, do you mean the particular damage (or lack of) of the hair, or that they have to stick to them settings for every session?

It may be worth me going to see him for a chat about all this rather than calling his secretary, i can arrange that innthe next day or so.

I’m trying to read as much as possible about LHR on here, but still find certain aspects confusing.

For example, if i found out his proposed settings and posted them here - would you be able to tell me if they seem right for what i want to achieve?

Sorry for all the questions, i just don’t want to get this wrong.

#30

Without knowing the exact setting he used and planning to use, this discussion is kind of futile. I understand that you want a reduction, but you may just get a bit poorer after these treatments (that’s what I meant by too late to adjust. You would have paid for 1 ineffective treatment). You need to kill some hair in order to get a reduction.

A Yag laser would target the most coarse hairs, which may be a better approach for you. But you still need good aggressive treatments. You just need fewer (possibly 2-4 depending on how much you want to reduce).

I would simply call and ask the secretary or whoever else to provide you with the name of the machine, spot size, pulse width and joules being used. Then you can go from there. We will be able to tell you if they’re aggressive for your skin type, mild or a complete waste of time.

#31

Your beard is very dense, so using highly aggressive settings at the beginning can be actually pretty dangerous, so I understanding why your dermatologist is starting on the lower side to see how the skin reacts. Using high settings on a very dense and coarse beard can burn the skin. The fact that your dermatologist admits that the settings being used were on the lower side would actually boost my confidence that he’s well aware of what are considered strong and weak settings on the machine. I don’t think you need to wait 3 months… a couple weeks top should be ok.

#32

LAgirl - i will contact his secretary next week and find out the settings used on the test patch area AND what he is planning on using and post them here.

Also, i found out what lasers he uses from a directory of dermatologists in my area, his clinic is in a dermatology wing of a private hospital which has it’s own laser department, here’s the list…

Lasers: Q-switched Ruby, Q-switched Nd:YAG, KTP, Pulses Dye, Alexandrite,
Long Pulsed Nd:YAG, Erbium:YAG

Hope that helps?

Brenton - thanks for the reply, one of the first things he said yesterday was that i have a denser beard than most men he sees, and it was said within the same sentence as him explaining that he wants to start off at a certain setting and then increase to more aggressive settings in following sessions.

I trust him, i think as a dermatologist he is thinking first and foremost about the folliculitis, although i did tell him i would like a good reduction and not to be too gentle with treatments.

Re: the test patch - my skin is practically back to normal today, no crusting, whiteheads, irritation etc, so it seems my skin has took to it well. He went around my beard neckline where the hairs start to become more sparse but are still as coarse.

Final question - do these zapped hairs continue to grow and then shed, or should their growth be stunted as of yesterday?

Regards!

#33

They aren’t “growing”. They are slowly coming out to shed.

Being careful on a very dense beard is a good idea, but you have to make sure the settings are not a complete waste of time either. Might make sense to start with a Yag.

#34

Thanks again LAgirl!

Will keep you all updated in the coming weeks.

#35

Hello everyone!

Just a quick question…

It’s exactly 1 week since my test patch, and i have been shaving with an electric razor every 2 days. The test patch area still appears to be growing and then trimmed by the razor and growing again.

I have read the FAQ’s and understand that it takes up to 3 weeks to shed, and that this may be the hair “growing out”

Just just wanted to clarify if this is normal? I guess i kinda expected the hair growth to be stunted…

Thank you!

#36

Yea it’s normal.

#37

Cheers Brenton!

My 1st full appointment is 20th December, i think i’m gonna call them in a few weeks and ask if i can come in sooner so it’s not so close to Christmas…

The skin has reacted really well to it.

Thanks.

#38

I would wait to confirm that the hair sheds before proceeding. I would also ask for specific settings they used and are planning to use before committing to any treatment on this area especially.

#39

LAgirl - i’m thinking it may be worth booking an appointment with him to talk it through a bit more and find out the exact settings.

Do you have a range of settings in mind that would (in your opinion) be good to start with?

Also, if by this time next week i don’t see any shedding, can it still all come out in the 3rd week?

Thanks again!

#40

It’s not a good idea for us to recommend settings over the internet since we can’t see the situation. If you provide the numbers he’s planning to use, we can tell you if they’re reasonable or useless.

Shedding takes 3 full weeks typically.