Laser hair clinics in London

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

All,

So based on LA girl’s recommendation I have searched for all posts from past 4 years discussing laser hair removal clinics in London. While there doesn’t seem to be any universal recommendation, based on feedback so far I have picked-up two clinics:
Renew medica
Royal Free hospital’s skin laser clinic

I am from northern part of India and believe have skin type IV (though I understand only a practitioner can determine skin type based on inspection)

I spoke to Oxford circus and Knightsbridge branch of Renew Medica and what I like is they have both Diode and YAG. So that way they should be able to give me a non-biased recommendation on which laser would be safe for my skin type. From what I understand if they can use Diode on my skin with high enough julens, that would be more effective than YAG

Once I visit these clinics I will post pictures of my back hair and their recommended settings.

I was wondering if there are any other clinics that are recommended.

#2

All,

any inputs please? I know lot of people post these kind of messages without reading previous posts. I have spent lot of time going through previous posts and posting this only after due diligence.

#3

Hi there,

I don’t think the London users check the forums daily so you might need to wait a while.

Type IV - Diode and YAG are both fine. Some say the YAG is better for type IV upwards as the you can’t push the settings up as much without the Diode without risks of burns. But the Lightsheer Diode has a complication in that it’s not as straightforward to use as the YAG so results are not only setting dependent but how experienced and how well the tech can use the hand piece. Because of this, I usually recommend type IV people I know offline to go for a YAG where they have used good test patch settings UNLESS they have a first hand rec of a tech being good with the Lightsheer.

Don’t trust them to give an unbiased recommendation though. They have been pushing the Lightsheer where ever possible.

Since I had my treatments at RM and recommend the Royal Free based on the experience of people I know, I don’t have much else to offer.

#4

stopit&tidyup - thanks a lot for your inputs. I was wondering what incentive clinics have to push lightsheer if they have both YAG & Diode. Diode seems to require greater skill and it seems also some of the lumenis machines are more expensive.

Anyway I was looking at a video comparing Sopranos (another diode) and Lightsheer Duet and it seems Duet was significantly easier to operate. Is that true?

#5

so I visited Renew medica’s Oxford circus branch today and me the technician. As I expected she told me YAG would work better for my skin-type.

She suggested following settings:
Laser type: YAG
Pulse duration: 30ms
Energy level: 30j
Spot size: 12mm

She ran a test patch with above settings. She also ran a test patch for 20jules and 25 jules so that in case my skin reacts adversly to 30j, she can use lower settings.

They had Cynosure Elite machine.

I will post pictures of my back later but wanted to see what people thought of above recommendations. Again I am skin type IV (From North part of India - around New Delhi)

#6

These settings are low. I expect your back hair is not overly coarse either (like bikini hair) which means you need really do need more aggressive settings for good results.

Pretty much why I had given up on RM for my sister’s treatments. The remaining techs use too low settings.

Waiting for your pics.

#7

stopit - thank you for your inputs. Not surprisingly there was no adverse reaction to 30j setting. I am still waiting to take pictures.

I also have an appointment scheduled at Royal free hospital next week. I will see what they recommend. Though based on info on their website it seems they are more expensive than Renew Medica. Renew medica quoted me £1300 for a session of 6 covereing full back and shoulders. Royal medical’s site says £300 - £700 for each session. That is a wide range and I will see how much they quote me for a similar package.

#8

You may not need a course anyway. If you space the treatments properly, you may get the max reduction you are going to get with Laser in 3 or 4 treatments. Also, have you read the posts regarding induced growth on men’s upper back and shoulders? You really should not be treating this area unless the hairs are very dark and coarse. Even if they are and you do get rid of them, you may induce more finer hairs.

It’s better to have 2 or 3 well spaced, aggressive treatments than 6 treatments that are only 6-8 weeks apart and low settings.

But all this is only if your hair is coarse enough in the first place.

#9

I’m also interested in having hair removal in London.

I’m torn between Laser Active, Royal Free and Boston Clinic (Harley Street Treatments Ltd) I’ve heard all of these recommended. Haven’t managed to book a consult in any yet as London is quite far for me to travel so I’m researching atm.

Marrduk I would love it if you would report on your consult at the Royal Free.

#10

I was going to recommned the Boston but I see it’s name now includes (Harley street treatments ltd)I wonder why that is. Also it has been years since I went so any comments by me would now be out of date.

I’ve got a small patches of my forearms that still have hair on them and I’ve ignored till now, but am thinking will get it done. As it’s not all of the arm not sure I want to pay Boston’s set price. So would be interested to hear how you get on at the Royal Free.

#11

Just thought Boston’s set price for a whole lower arm is actually lower than that of the Royal Free’s for a small area.

Might just give them a go anyway.

#12

Has anyone tried Boston Clinic in central London lately? I have searched the board and it’s been tough to find updates on how people found Boston. I think it has a rep for being a bit cheaper but the service isn’t as great?