Andrea,
Thought I would give an update on my first laser treatment of a complete beard removal on August 6. The specs are : Apogee 9300 set at 16J, 40ms, and 1 hertz. I asked about the 16J setting since it seems a bit wimpy compared to the numbers that I have seen posted here, but the Dr. said that my medium colored skin and the blistering Kansas sun this time of year forced him to caution. I was hoping that I was not wasting money on these early treatments due to excess caution.
After treatment, salve was applied, and I kept out of the sun, and let the A/C blow full on my face on the way home. I used no pain meds, and do not intend to going forward. The doc checked in three times during the procedure, and everything went to schedule.
I used liberal amounts of Aloe Vera Gel all evening long, which my skin seemed to readily absorb. The day after, my skin seemed to peel a thin layer. The red bumps and itchiness started late the second day. I had another procedure done the same day as the laser, and on day four had to return to the Dr. to get stitches out. He seemed rather indifferent to the progress of the treatment and said that we would go a bit higher next time as I got used to the procedure, and the sun weakened into the fall.
The itching stopped on day 7, and all of a sudden I starting to see changes to the beard on a daily basis. I sit here today to report that about 25% of my beard seems to have disappeared. The skin has never been smoother or more elegant. The progress the last ten days has been remarkable.
Let me preface all of this by saying that I am transexual, 14 months into full hormone therapy. For all intents and purposes, I am now much closer biochemically to a being female than to a male. This may explain the progress in spite of supposed weakness of the laser energy. Perhaps, Andrea, there is a correlation between success in this area, particulary the beard, and the hormones floating around supporting that hair structure.
Anyway, wonderful results, and will post again after the second treatment in a couple of weeks. Thanks. Deane