laser hair removal on arms

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi all, after 6 months of lurking and collecting information I finally decided to register and be part of this community. :eek:

I want to remove or reduce my arm hairs. As a male person I’m extremely hairy but my arm hairs bug me the most. I’ve already addressed two clinics but both clinics use a totally different laser. One uses a Nd:Yag laser and an Alexandrite and the other clinics uses a Diode laser.

I’m in between skin type 3 or 4. I’m of Turkish descent/origins, olive skin tone, tan easily and I have extremely thick and black hairs. Although I think I’m closer to skin type 4 than 3.

I don’t know which laser is more suitable for my skin. The Diode or Nd:Yag?

One clinic claimed I needed a Nd:Yag and the other said Diode was the best for me. So I’m quite confused now. Which laser might be better for me, the Diode or Nd:Yag? Which laser is the best overall for someone with an olive skin tone and thick black hairs? I think I’m in between skin type 3 or 4.

Thanks in advance.

#2

My current practitioner has one of each machine so that he can use the best one for each person.

The Nd:Yag targets black. That’s also why it’s the safest one if you’ve got some pigment in the skin. But dark brown hair is on the edge of its range - it’ll treat it, but maybe not as effectively.

The Diode is better for dark brown hair, but therefore not so safe on tanned skin.

For you, it sounds like the Nd:Yag would be the best.

#3

Yeah, my hairs are extremely black and thick. No brown hairs or whatsoever. It probably can’t get blacker than my hair.

Thanks for your reply.

#4

Okay, just visited another clinic. The skin docter said I am a skin type 3 and that the alexandrite laser in combination with the Nd:Yag would be the best.

Ugh, choosing the right clinic is becoming a pretty big deal.

#5

I’d go with nd:YAG. I’m a similar skin tone to you. You should do a patch test for each laser with the services you are looking at using

#6

Yeah, testing is a good idea.

I’ve decided to go to the clinic with the Nd:Yag laser. We’re probably going to do a test patch in the coming weeks and then get a full treatment. I’ll use this thread to keep the forum updated about progress.

#7

Just had a test patch last Tuesday.

I asked the skin therapist to use the setting as high as possible. Oddly so far I’ve seen no shedding of the hairs, they are starting to re-grow and I see some stubbles coming back already.

When is the shedding of the hair supposed to happen after the treatment?

#8

You should start noticing shedding any time now. It helps if you gently exfoliate the area. The hairs appear to be growing for 10-14 days but they are just emerging and then fall out. You’ll know by three weeks post test patch if you’ve experienced shedding (the whole area or parts of it will be smooth and free of hairs) or if the hairs are just growing normally…

Personally, I waited 3 months after the test patch and made others (my sister, relatives) do the same. If the test patch settings are truly effective, you’ll see some difference in the density of hairs in the test patch area compared to the surround hair (providing you don’t shave or wax any of the hair).

#9

post a photo of arms. Both diode and ND Yag are very good lasers for dark skin.

#10

I see, thanks. I’m just quite impatient :grin: . Most of the re-grown hairs seem like black heads on the surface of my skin so far. That’s probably a good sign though, at least that’s what I read.

A photo of my hair and skin (untreated): http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/DeJordaneesVanDeJordaan/media/IMG_0027_zps172da916.jpg.html

You cannot see a lot of skin due to the coarse of the hair but trust me when I say my skin is extremely white

#11

My arm looks like that in certain lighting so I can’t tell for sure what skin type you’d be but if you are “extremely white” then you are unlikely to be Fitzpatrick 4.

#12

Yeah, I think I’m more a skin type 3 than 4. I’m probably going with the alexandrite laser.

#13

Yeah, I think I’m more a skin type 3 than 4. I’m probably going with the alexandrite laser.

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Sweet! Good luck bro!

Have you settled on a clinic? My one uses a combined Alex and YAG so my techie can change settings easily depending on the colour of the region (lol).

#14

Determining skin type is based on more than just the colour of your skin. Other factors such as underlying pigment due to your ethnicity and whether you tan or burn are also considered.

When clients are borderline, some clinics may decide to start off with the YAG for the first few treatments and switch to the Alex later. Even if your skin looks ‘white’ they won’t safely be able to push the Alex to settings they’d use on say, a European type 3 client.

In regards to the black spots, these sound like pepper spots. They might clear up as the weeks go on with a little help, or they might be really stubborn and stay until your next treatment. As long as they are not growing, it’s fine.

Also your hair looks dark brown, not black and fine but dense. Does it feel sort of soft and fluffy to the touch? It’s actually not dissimilar to my husbands and personally I don’t think Laser would be that suitable. For laser, individual hairs need to be dark and coarse. It will be interesting to see what level of permanent results you get.

#15

It does? They are actually extremely black and coarse instead of fine. It doesn’t feel fluffy or soft at all but extremely thick and strong. I think I screwed over when taking a proper picture.

Yeah, I realize now that there are quite a few factors that determine your skin type :smiley:

Yeah, my current clinic has a machine from Quanta Systems that has both the possibility of Alex and Nd:YAG. So probably we’ll switch on a few regions.

#16

Already then. Just had my first session yesterday. Kinda hurts a bit (itches sometimes) and some red spots.

We used the alexandrite laser. 18.5/18 J was the highest the practicer would go. I asked if it could go higher and some parts were down with 19 J but she really would not go higher than that and said it was unsafe.

The clinic said I should come back in 6-7 weeks but that does seem rapid to me? She said it was essential considering the cyclus of hair growth on my arms. Do you guys think 6-7 weeks is good?

#17

Too soon. You should only start seeing growth come through at about week 4-5 post treatment, after a period of being hair free. At week 6 there shouldn’t be much to treat. I’d wait 10-12 weeks for the second treatment on the arms… basically week on week you’ll see hairs coming through, when this tapers off and the growth you have looks ‘stable’, you should go for the next session.

#18

Yeah, I thought too that 6 weeks might be too soon. Wonder why the clinical recommended it to me then…

#19

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#20

previous post did not work (even though the Preview function displayed it)

meant to reply with just the Euro symbol…