Laser removal on shoulders -question

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hello,

I’m thinking about having a laser treatment for the hair on my shoulders. After reading the preliminary posts on this forum I gather that I have a (pale) IV type of skin. The hair on my shoulders is fuzzy and downy. Which troubles me, because it seems that I have a chance of inducing new hair growth rather than making it disappear. How big are the chances of that happening to me?

I have visited a dermatologist, as I don’t want to go the dubious beauty parlours, and he suggested an IPL-treatment. He talked about it as if it were a laser treatment, but I’ve read here that IPL is actually not a laser. Anyway, my question is: what type of laser or hair removal system suits me best, given the description above?

I’m male, 40 years old. I asked the dermatologist if I’d not better wait some years, because the hair on my shoulders might still grow and become coarser and less fuzzy. He said that at my age it’s not very probable that that will happen. Is that true? I thought that hair growth on shoulders and back often peaks between 40 and 50 years old and that it would be better to wait some time to see if it still grows or not.

I’ve also read that the male shoulders and back are a difficult area to treat, due to hormonal influences, amongst others. What does that exactly mean? More treatments or more chance of regrowth after some time? Or complete regrowth after some time? And how long is ‘some time’ exactly?

Kind regards,

D

#2

You are gambling for the areas you want done. Your hair structure makes the decision to do laser or IPL all wrong. Don’t allow yourself to be ripped off.

#3

You don’t have the right type of hair for laser (or IPL). They only work on COARSE DENSE hair. And yes, treating this area with this type of hair has a high chance of stimulated growth – and most importantly almost no chance of getting you any results.

You need electrolysis on this area.

There is no reason to wait. If you get a few more hairs down the line, you can go for an electrolysis touchup then.

Trusting a dermatologist with LHR is not the right way to go as you can see by his wrong recommendations already. There are very few MDs who actually specialize in hair removal. Most of them do it on the side in spare time to make an easy extra buck. You need someone who does hair removal all day every day - not someone with MD after their name – for LHR purposes (which is not the right way to go for you anyway).

#4

Thanks for your answers. So, the best solution for me would be electrolysis? More costly, but also more effective, right? The dermatologist told me one session for my shoulders would cost me 150 € (I’m European). How much would that approximately be for electrolysis?

Is it likely that hair on my shoulder will no longer grow, now that I’m 40, as the dermatologist said? It seems to me that body hair (especially on the male back) still grows after 40. If it does grow, it could make the hair more suited for laser. Does it btw sometimes happen to hair growth on the body decreases from 40 on?

Anyway, the dermatologist is not going to see me anymore, as I already suspected that downy, light hairs are not suited for laser. He said it certainly would not be a problem. Are there other types of lasers that would be suitable for my problem?

Kind regards,

Dominique

#5

Male hair patterns on the back are usually established by age 35-40.

There are no light-based hair reduction systems that would be suitable for your structure of hair. I know you wish very hard that the answer would be yes. Electrolysis is your only hope as of the last day of June 2009. We tell this to consumers repeatedly and they demonstrate the highest of hopes that we might be wrong or they just didn’t hear this correctly. Many are desperate for a quick, easy and cheap fix, but there is none.

The other thing that makes consumers almost beg for a different answer is the fact that there are many (but not as many as needed) electrologists that can deliver speedy, comfortable permanent hair removal that works for ALL hair structures and colors. Europe and Asia is densely populated with all kinds of light-based systems, but where do you find an electrologist that can efficiently remove 600-1,200 hairs per hour within a comfort level that a client can tolerate well? The answer: it appears to be a rare thing indeed. The electrolysis market is untapped and needs to be revived in Europe and Asia. I am talking about reviving electrolysis with MODERN TOOLS of the trade and incorporating strategies that can only be used with MODERN TOOLS of the trade. Electrologist’s need to be re-trained and re-tooled in order to satisfy laser non-responders like yourself.

Let us know if you find an electrologist in Belgium that meets or comes close to these standards.

Dee

#6

Thank you.

I wasn’t exactly wishing very hard, ‘hoping’ fits the description better. I’m not in a big hurry anyway; don’t want to pressurize myself and I want to get all the information I can get before I plunge into anything. So this forum and your answers are a great help, thanks for that.

I know for a fact that finding an electrolysis expert will be very, very hard. I live in a town that’s full of salons, institutes and dermatologists that offer laser treatment, but electrolysis almost seems obsolete. My only worry besides that, is money. As with everyone. But I’ll have to check that out.

Just checking: are you saying that modern electrolysis is faster than before?

#7

The information you gave is more or less the same as I find on Belgian websites. There’s one institute here (half an hour’s drive from where I live - but then, everything in Belgium is half an hour drive away) that uses electrolysis (blend method) for downy hairs. They explicitly say that they only use it for these kind of hairs (for coarser hair they use VPL). The site claims that the person in charge of the electrolysis has 18 years of experience. I’ll check it out.

#8

Do careful research to find a good electrologists. Blend is fine, but it’s not the fastest method. A good electrologists can remove about 2-3 hairs per minute using it. Thermolysis, especially microflash type, could remove 5-10 hairs per minute. So it’s not that slow at all.

Please start a thread on the electrolysis section of the forum. Check out several electrologists and get sample treatments before committing. And read up on electrolysis to know what to expect and what you need to do. You’ll need about 12 months of consistent treatments and it is best to have long sessions up front to get a clearance. Then you come in as soon as new hair pops up to kill it while it’s still weak and to keep your area constantly hairfree.

There is no laser or IPL that will work on you. Don’t be robbed off your money by clinics that will tell you otherwise. I wish there was a machine that could work, but at this point it doesn’t yet exist.

#9

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. There are newer epilators that are speedy workhorses. There are better blend and thermolysis modalities on certain epilators that offer more comfort and less skin reaction along with that speed factor. It is very unfortunate that there are very few electrologists in Belgium. It is probably not possible for you to come close to a practitioner that has the best set up, but it is still possible for you to get permanent hair removal. You probably have a lot of hair, so prepare to be patient.

#10

Unfortunately, I can’t find any specialist or parlor that uses microflash type of thermolysis in Belgium. The newest thing that’s on the market here seems to be the blend method.

How far apart are these technologies anyway? If I need to look for an experienced electrologist, but every few years there’s a new technology, how can one ever become experienced in the newest thing?

#11

ELectrolysis principles are basically the same as they were 137 years ago. You still have to insert a probe correctly into the follicle and deliver enough intensity and timing to disable the follicle so it can’t grow hair anymore.

Better engineered epilators that offer smoother and precise control over energy output are much welcomed enhancements on the modes that fall under the term ‘electrolysis’. Thermolysis can mean manual thermolysis (heat longer than a second) or flash thermolysis ( heat applied for much less than a second). Now we have even better forms of thermolysis as found on several epilators, using such terms as microflash, picoflash, synchro. I am familiar with what I use, PicoFlash and Synchro found on the Apilus Platinum and I gush about it a lot, but others are welcome to come on board and share what their brand epilators can do.

Training or re-training and re-tooling is the responsibility of any Belgium electrologist who cares to investigate beyond blend electrolysis. I actually use blend in addition to PicoFlash and Synchro. The more tools you have in your bag the better because an electrologist is confronted with all kinds of hair structures in her/his practice. With so few Belgium electrologists, how can people ever get hair removed. Laser can’t see all hair colors and structures. Belgium would be a goldmine for any electrolgist that desired to bring this up beyond doing just blend.

Tell the electrologists in Belgium that Dectro (Apilus) and Silhouet-Tone (VMC model) are international companies and will sell them an epilator that will actually increase their business and their overall ease and satisfaction in removing hair permanently. Other electrologists will have to speak about what they know of the companies that they are familiar with as I am not the expert on other products.

If the electrologists you refer to in Belgium knew about all the options available, I would hope they would give them a try. I like what I do because of the tools and modalities I use. The last thing I want to hear is a client complaining about not seeing results or a bad skin reaction. I don’t have to deal with this and it feels good to deliver a service that makes a paying client so happy in the end. It’s a life changing outcome that goes beyond happiness.

Dee

#12

Well, I have to keep looking of course, but an internet search didn’t bring up any microflash/picoflash/synchro … type of electrolysis in Belgium.

I’m a poor salesman, very little chance I’ll be able to convert them. :wink:

Thanks again for the info.

#13

Have them tune in to hairtell. We talk about this often enough and if they are receptive to the information, they can take action if they so desire.

#14

There are thermolysis users in London, so I would think there may be at least a few in Belgium too. Electrologists using the best equipment can be hard to find even in the US, in terms of looking via the Internet. Check with associations, ask dermatologists…don’t limit your search to just using the Internet.

#15

I have two more questions:

  1. Purely theoretical: if I waxed the fuzzy hair on my shoulder, then it would come back less fuzzy and I’d be able to have a proper laser treatment. Is that correct? (I’m not considering this, just asking)

  2. If you have two laser treatments on your underarms, would you get a certain permanent reduction? Would it be a patchy reduction or equal all over your arms?

Thx

Dominique

#16

If the hair is thin, one waxing will not make it grow back thicker.

You are not a candidate for any light-based treatment for your peach fuzz shoulders. You are free to discover this for yourself, though.

Underarm hairs are coarse and usually dark. Laser is a blessing come true for this area for the majority of clients. You need 4? 6? 8? treatments to accomplish 90-95% reduction. Some hairs will be permanently eliminated or reduced in the first couple of treatments. Patchiness doesn’t seem to be a complaint with the underarm area like it is for other areas, like a man’s beard.

Dee

#17

Yes, one wax wouldn’t make any difference. Even years of waxing is not likely to do that.

Yes, you’d still get a reduction on your underarms. It would be even if the entire area is covered well during the treatment. You could also experience the effect of having less hair overall every few months - basically when that phase of growth of hair resurfaces.

#18

Thx, Dee and LA Girl

#19

Would one laser treatment btw already give a certain reduction (20%, let’s say)?

#20

Not on peach fuzz or light hair. Percentage-wise, you can throw out many numbers and you may be correct or may not be correct. You just have to go for it and see what happens for you. We all have different hair “thumbprints”.