Laser removal for full beard

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi,

I’m Italian and have Type III-IV skin with a very thick, dark beard. By noon I can get people asking me if I’ve even shaved that day and am thus looking to have it removed via laser.

I have had 2 consults so far and have another in the morning. One place uses a Lyra-i, which from what I’m reading here seems to be the best choice for my face. The other place uses a Q-switched Apogee Nd:YAG 1064. The Q-switched lasers don’t seem to be approved for permanent hair removal. We’ll see what the place tomorrow has.

So my question… I would ultimately like to have my whole face and neck done. Both places have warned me about patchiness and it sounds like the best option is to do my neck first and if I have good results with that to maybe try the rest of my face. I am admittedly a little nervious about looking like a dalmation on my face if I have that done. Has anyone here had their entire face done with good results? I’d love to hear any suggestions or encouragement or feelings on how likely I am to end up patchy if I do the rest of my face. Also, one place told me 3-4 weeks between treatments and the second place told me 8 weeks. What is the correct time in between?

Thanks!

#2

For first treatment with heavy beard growth, use the EMLA cream anaesthetic. Otherwise it can sting a bit…

Typical time between for anywhere else is 8 weeks, but the face may require follow-up in 3-4, especially if laser doesn’t quite get it the first time.

#3

treatments on face area usually 6-8 weeks apart. depends on your particular growth rate.

RC2001 on this board is getting his face done with Lyra I believe. He should be able to help you out with patchiness questions. A lot of times, it also depends on the expreience of the tech.

#4

Thanks. How does the experience of the tech alter how patchy you are?

I went to another place today that uses a Lightsheer. She did 4 test spots on the other side of my neck with fluence from 25-33. We’ll see how that goes. Any opinion on Lightsheer vs Lyra-I? I thought I’d read that the Lyra was a better choice for Type 3-4 skin.

Thanks.

#5

Thanks. How does the experience of the tech alter how patchy you are?

I went to another place today that uses a Lightsheer. She did 4 test spots on the other side of my neck with fluence from 25-33. We’ll see how that goes. Any opinion on Lightsheer vs Lyra-I? I thought I’d read that the Lyra was a better choice for Type 3-4 skin.

Thanks.

Patchiness happens because of missed spots or hair not in the growth cycle. A small spot size means more patchiness. That is easily fixed. The patches with remaining hair can be reatreated at higher fluences, or electrolysis if necessary. I would rather have a few patches here and there than a rug covering my skin!

I have had 6 laser treatments on my beard, two with the Sciton Profile and 4 with the Lyra-i. I had no patchiness with the Sciton because it uses a scanner. It provides multiple pulses over a large area. Two lasers are firing in succession one after another. To read more about the scanner, read this description of the ClearScan. If you surf the site you will find a visual animation of the ClearScan.

A 30mm X 30mm spot makes treatment faster, and since the handpiece doesn’t have to be repositioned as often, there is less opportunity for missed spots.

I have had more patchiness with the Lyra-i and its smaller 10mm spot size, but it is not a major problem for me. The Lyra-i has worked very well for me. I did have a test spot with the Lightsheer. It worked great also, but it hurt like hell and left quite a bit of redness. We went with the YAG laser because there is less post treatment redness and swelling with it and my beard was very dense with coarse hair.

If you can tolerate the Lightsheer, it can definitely work for you. It loves coarse hair too! BTW, those are healthy fluences to start out with on the beard.

Not to scare anyone away from the alex lasers, but there have been reports of redness and swelling so severe on the male beard area with an alex that treatment with oral steroids was required.

RJC2001

#6

Thanks.

The Lightsheer at 25 right under the angle of my mandible (right down from my ear lobe) was quite painful. She did 4 spots going downward, ending at 33 a little ways down my neck where the hair isn’t nearly as thick. I imagine its only that much worse with the denser hair up on my face. How well does EMLA work?

Also, here is the dilema between the Lyra and Lightsheer places.

Lyra-i: Done by a LPN trained in laser hair removal. Supervised by a internal medicine doc who is a member of American Society of Laser Medicine (for what that may be worth). $260 for the full face, $140 for just the neck. Around 5y experience. Told me I’d need 6-9 treatments, 4wks apart at that price.

Lightsheer: Done by RN at a dermatologists office, although she still doesn’t seem to be a certified laser specialist. Says she has been doing it for 5 years. $550 for the face and neck, $225 for just neck. Said 3-5 tx at that price and any past 5 times is half price.

So the dilema… Lyra-i is much cheaper and likely less painful, but not supervised by a dermatologist. Although the place is called “Dayton Laser and Aesthetic Medicine Center.” Or, Lightsheer, which is more painful and over twice the price, but supervised by a dermatologist. Has larger 1/2" square tip.

Any thoughts or comments? How significant is the dermatologist behind the scenes if they aren’t doing the actual treatment anyway?

Thanks again.

#7

supervised usually just means they’re required to be around somewhere or on call. i doubt they will be present in the office. so, to answer your question, no it doesnt matter. what matters is the specific person treating you, how much they care about your particular results, how much skill they have not to miss spots, how precise they will be, etc

#8

Thanks.

The Lightsheer at 25 right under the angle of my mandible (right down from my ear lobe) was quite painful. She did 4 spots going downward, ending at 33 a little ways down my neck where the hair isn’t nearly as thick. I imagine its only that much worse with the denser hair up on my face. How well does EMLA work?

It will hurt more in other areas, especially on the chin and under the nose, but those are smaller areas. She should have done a test spot on the chin or on the neck in a dense area. I’m not trying to scare you, but you need to be prepared. It is tolerable though IMHO.

Also, here is the dilema between the Lyra and Lightsheer places.

Lyra-i: Done by a LPN trained in laser hair removal. Supervised by a internal medicine doc who is a member of American Society of Laser Medicine (for what that may be worth). $260 for the full face, $140 for just the neck. Around 5y experience. Told me I’d need 6-9 treatments, 4wks apart at that price.

Lightsheer: Done by RN at a dermatologists office, although she still doesn’t seem to be a certified laser specialist. Says she has been doing it for 5 years. $550 for the face and neck, $225 for just neck. Said 3-5 tx at that price and any past 5 times is half price.

So the dilema… Lyra-i is much cheaper and likely less painful, but not supervised by a dermatologist. Although the place is called “Dayton Laser and Aesthetic Medicine Center.” Or, Lightsheer, which is more painful and over twice the price, but supervised by a dermatologist. Has larger 1/2" square tip.

Any thoughts or comments? How significant is the dermatologist behind the scenes if they aren’t doing the actual treatment anyway?

Thanks again.

The Lyra-i is a better deal and you will have less post- treatment redness and swelling. The Lightsheer does have a bigger spot size for less patchiness. Did the Lightsheer tech use compression? If not, go with the Lyra-i.

having a dermatologist behind the scenes is not as important as it might seem. The skill and qualifications of the laser operator are more important.

RJC2001

#9

I’m not sure if she did compression or not. I have one more lightsheer apointment next week and then am going back for a test spot (which she didn’t do on the consult visit) for the Lyra. I’ll give my 4 test spots (from the 4 lasers (2 lightsheers, 1 q-switched Apogee, and the Lyra) time to grow and fall out. It sounds like the lyra is going to be the best choice though.

Thanks again for your help.