Laser Hair removal on my lower arms

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I am going to be getting laser on my lower arms in a

week from now. I went in to my consultation today. The owner of the Med spa told me since my skin tone is in between the border line of using and Alexandre and Yag that she would start me off with Yag with a concentration of Alexandre. I’m not too sure what that means. I will give her a call if I don’t hear anything from experienced laser users here. I will attach a picture of my lower arm as well. I’m just concerned if a Yag will work on my skin tone? I’ve heard somewhere about it being bad to use on Light skin. Also the laser used is the Apogee Elite


Thank you in advance.

#2

I have no idea what “Yag with a concentration of Alexandrite” means. That to me already raises a red flag. YAG is safe for all skin types but will be less effective on pale skin than an alexandrite. What settings did they use during your consultation? That will be very valuable information.

I can’t tell since I’m guessing you shaved your arm before going in, but I’m wagering that your hair is not thick enough for laser to be effective

#3

They didn’t do a spot test on me. I will know the settings come next Tuesday when I’ll have my first session. I am just concerned that it won’t work at all. You can see my hair even after a close shave. The RN mentioned that because of this I would get good results since the hair is thick. I will also be doing at least 5 sessions each scheduled 6-8 weeks apart.

Do you know if the Apogee elite is a good laser? Have you been treated with a Yag?

#4

I would think you’re light enough for an alexandrite from the picture, but sometimes pictures give different lighting. Apogee Elite is fine (it’s not my favorite, but it should work at high settings). The only time I’ve been treated with a YAG is when they used both the YAG and the Alexandrite on me (i.e. went over the area twice), but never with a YAG by itself

#5

What would you say are good settings for this type of area?

#6

See page 4:

http://medlasersolutions.com/media/ApogeeElite.pdf

#7

Brenton,

Any reason you do not love the Apogee Elite laser? Do you prefer Candela (or another one) more?

#8

I personally prefer Candela more (namely, the Gentlelase and GentleMAX). First, I like the 18mm spot size instead of 15mm, though some of the new apogee lasers can do 18mm. My hair is deeper so the extra penetration depth is more effective. Also, the apogee elite glides whereas the Candela laser are more press onto the skin and fire. I feel the technician is less apt to miss spots than they would with gliding.

#9

So I received my first treatment, and I’ve been reading different answers to my question regarding shedding. Will shedding occur in 1-2 weeks? And if I see no shedding those this mean I wasn’t treated with high settings?

#10

It usually takes around 3 weeks. It’s a little misleading in the sense that your lower arm won’t look completely bare. You’ll notice hair will fall out, but other hair will grown in so usually as long as there’s about <10% of hair, you’re fine on shedding. If there’s no shedding, you weren’t treated with high enough settings. Did you find out what settings they used on you?

#11

Brenton,

Those are good points. Thanks for sharing. I’ve had success with both (Candela and Apogee), but when hair starts getting significantly less coarse (after several treatments), I find the Candela works best for me.

#12

For me, shedding usually starts on day 10 and lasts for 2 days. Yes, if you don’t see any shedding I would say the settings are not high enough.