Laser hair removal on underarms

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I’ve been wanting to get my underarms lasered for ages and after reading up on it, I went to my first consultation today. The clinic I went to is Timeless Skincare in kings cross, London, after reading someone’s post about it on this site. They use the Alexendrite Gentlase laser, and the lady there said I had type III skin. The hair on my underarms is very dark and coarse. I asked about spot sizes and she said she would probably use 18mm spot size at 10 or 12J for a couple of treatments, and then increase to 14 or 16…Does this sound too low? The poster who had also been to this clinic has her bikini line done and started at 14J. What would be an ideal setting to start on at 18mm for underarms?

Each treatment costs £70 (so $112), but if you buy them in a course of 6 it’s a 50% discount, £210/$338, which seems very reasonable compared with the prices at other clinics I have looked at. A skin test costs £20, but is refundable if you purchase any treatments with them.

How does this sound? I haven’t yet made any commitment with this clinic as I want to speak to a couple more for comparison. I am also going to book consultations with The Private Clinic and Renew Medica (who use LightSheer diode laser).

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to all the useful information on this forum :slight_smile: hopefully I will soon be able to start a LHR diary on here to help others too!

#2

Waste of money, the settings are much too low. 10 or 12 you won’t get any results. 14-16 is pushing it, LAGirl would know better. You’re not getting any deal if they start at 10-12, you’re basically wasting a session…

#3

Settings don’t depend on the area. They depend on your skin type. We don’t recommend treating with anything less than 14-16J on 18mm on this machine. Anything lower than that probably won’t produce permanent results.

There is no advantage to starting at low settings. It just makes you have more treatments overall. If your skin can handle 16J, there is no point of treating lower at the start. I would ask them for a test spot at 16J and if everything is fine, treat at that.

#4

Thanks for your help :slight_smile: I went for a consultation today at Renew Medica and the woman I saw said they use actually Apogee alexandrite, and that she will typically use settings of 20-25j (I assume this is at 15mm spot size)…is that also low?

I then called Timeless Skincare and asked if I am able to negotiate the settings they use to start on 16j (or at least 14j), but the lady I spoke to was just the receptionist and seemed insistent that I stick to the settings the practicioner had advised, saying that high settings would be bad for my skin type if I’m type III…even though I am quite pale and I’d say I’m more in between II and III :s I’m going to call tomorrow when I can speak to the woman who I had the consultation with and ask for a spot test at 16j, and if she still wants to stick with low settings to start then I’ll forget that clinic.

#5

Apogee has a 15mm spot size, you’re correct. It also has an adjustable pulse width. The lowest is 5ms. GentleLASE pulse width is fixed at 3ms. The lower, the better.

#6

I spoke to the technician at timeless skincare and she was absolutely unwilling to negotiate about settings, and said that due to my skin type she won’t start any higher. She kept going on about how because I am part middle-eastern (although definitely not olive skinned) that it would be dangerous to start on 14j or above. But can someone please clarify this for me: If I apparently have the correct skin type for an alex laser (which has been confirmed by a consultation at renew medica), it should be fine to start on the settings you guys have suggested, shouldn’t it?

I spoke to someone at laser clear (one of the other few clinics in london to use gentlelase) and she said they will do spot tests at a few different settings and see how my skin reacts with each. This seems a lot more promising so I’m going for a consultation with them on friday.

#7

If you’re middle eastern, you may have underlying pigment. Either way, this can be resolved by simply testing your skin first with the higher setting. The confusing part is that she’s willing to go up in settings later, but not from the start. That makes no sense. If your skin is light enough later, it’s light enough now.

Someone else here has recommended Laser Clear before. Sounds more reasonable.