I an a male with pale skin, dark, fairly fine hair, and I had IPL on my back done twice 2 years ago. First time wasn’t told about numbing cream, had to stop after 10 minutes due to excessive pain. Second time a “fast-acting, 15-minute” cream was applied, the dermatologist came in after 5 minutes and said I was ready, had to stop again after 10 minutes due to pain. Both times it felt I was being stapled to death in certain areas of the back.
Just had IPL done on back, butocks, upper arms, 3 days ago. Took pain killers (Tylenol with Codeine), then had numbing cream on for 45 minutes, then dermatologist did IPL for one and a half hours ($1000 flat charge). Still lots of pain in certain areas of my back and specially where buttocks and thigh join (got red welts/bumps there but they are going away). Essentially same degree of pain as the 1st two times.
Noticed my back getting number as I drove home. It feels like I need to have the cream on for a good 2 hours or so before IPL starts but I doubt the dermatologist will agree to have his operating room tied up that long and there is no guarantee that it would be less painful.
Also, I shaved very closely before IPL and I assumed that any hairs that were actually zapped would not grow along with any that were missed. Three days after IPL I seem to have a significant amount of coarse stubble similar to what I get when I just shave. The dermatologist claims he treated all the areas thoroughly and even asked me if I needed other areas done at no extra charge. Does this mean he missed more hairs than he zapped? Can the IPL operator actually target visible hairs below the skin or does he just make sure that the entire area is covered?
Are IPL and “laser” different technologies? Is laser beter than IPL for me? If so, should I expect less or more pain with laser?
I am scheduled for another seesion 6 weeks after the previous one but after what I read here I may need 8-10 weeks in between sessions but I want to make sure IPL is right for me or am I better suited for laser?
Sorry for the long post and many quesrtions but I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks
IPL and Laser work on the same principle as dark pigment attracts the light/laser. The darkness soaks in the heat from the light and destroys the follicle.
Yes, if a hair is growing and hasn’t broken through the surface of the skin, both IPL and laser will zap it.
There are supposed to be some pretty good IPLs out there. Which ones? I don’t know off the top of my head but they are the newest ones. There are some who say that they work as good as laser.
6 weeks between treatments might be a little on the “soon” side. I would wait for at least 8 weeks.
Laser might work better for you. If you have light skin and dark hair, in theory, both IPL and laser should work. Personally, I think I would go for the GentleLASE. But then, I’ve had IPL treatments and they seemed to work fairly well, too.
The thing with the numbing creams is this; Get the stuff removed right after the treatment. Tell the operator or the assistant to remove it. If you have to, bring in some sort of disposeable towellettes, liquids, or wipes to have them do it completely. After the treatment, the numbing cream has done it’s job, and anything that stays on your skin is just absorbing into your skin, getting into your system, and forcing your liver to work harder. That is what caused the two deaths, absorbing too much. And back is a big area.
I personally have found the opposite of you. I find Ibuprofen works better, and is better for your liver, the spray ons like Lanacaine wrok very fast and peak at the 5-20 minute range, and gels vary on what’s in them. If just lidocaine, they’ll take longer, gels with Benzocaine will act quicker. But they both seem to fade in about 60 minutes.But that’s just me and my experience.
Your experience with IPL sounds familiar to a poster that used to post here GDubber. He said his IPL treatments were so excruciating, theyr were near torture levels. I don’t know, me, I think IPL will advance as the technology is refined, but until it does, I agree with BRR, go with the trusty Candela GentleLase. Overall, that laser has prevailed.
what IPL is being used on you? on average, a true laser in good hands will give you much better results. how fine is your hair? it might be too fine for laser in general, a picture would help.
it takes 3-4 weeks for the treated hair to fall out. the stubble you’re seeing should shed within that time frame. only then you can tell what was missed. i would be questioning this doctor’s skill if he didn’t tell you this will happen.
6 week is also too soon for another treatment. especially considering the areas you’re treating. 8-12 weeks is minimum between treatments. you shouldn’t have anything to treat earlier than that.
what areas do you cover in that 1.5 hrs? $1000 seems pretty steep to me. have you looked around and compared? also, i would start with one area and see how the results are before spending so much money on such large areas.
The kidneys filter by means of the glomerular apparatus and the nephrons, they don’t metabolize. It’s a common misconception. Renal failure/shutdown can be caused by excessive intake of many, many things. The most pronounced risk of excessive ibuprofen intake is more of ulceration of the digestive linings.
Don’t recall the exact brand but this is my regular dermatologist so I will check during my next visit.
He didn’t mention anything about anything and this has been my experience with the other 2 practitioners as well. They always seem to be too busy herding patients (clients?) in and out as fast as possible.
glad you said that. I will wait 10 weeks for the next session assuming that I don’t find someone better. How does one do this though? I would only have this done by a dermatologist but it’s $150 a pop for every “consultation”!!
I got my whole back, buttocks, shoulders, and upper arms done for $1K. Believe or not this is cheap compared with the first 2 times where they charged $200 for every 5 minutes. This would have cost me over $3500 for 1.5 hours!! Then again this is Orange County in SoCal.
Actually I took a shower right after the session. As far as Ibuprofen I think this might work for somebody with normal sensitivity to pain. If having numbing cream on for 45 minutes plus having taken 2 prescription Tylenol (with Codeine) didn’t seem to help at all with the pain then I doubt Ibuprofen would help me. I will try it next time though. Thanks for the advice.
This price is on the expensive side for Southern Cali. Also, being a dermatologist has nothing to do with being good at laser hair removal. It can actually be a bad thing because most of them don’t specialize in LHR. It’s not taught in med school. You would be much better off with a laser operator who does just LHR all day long and uses a good laser actually meant for hair removal. I would strongly urge you to find someone with an actual laser before you proceed if you want to get the best results for your money. There are numerous clinics in both Orange County and LA area. It doesn’t even sound like these people care about your results.
Hi. I have light skin and dark hair and am getting legs & bikini done with an IPL-- the Aurora. I have responded to it with patchy results (so far total 6 treatments- just had one today and one treatment with a diode laser that I did not respond to at all-- no shedding). I usually take 2 Ibuprofen 30 minutes before treatment, I still feel the pain but it is not as bad. Also, if you are a female it’s better to go after your period not right before because that’s when pain is felt most.
Evee, sounds like you’re at the notorious chain clinic. I would definitely have them switch to a diode. It is more effective than that IPL you’re using. You didn’t experience shedding because whoever was treating you probably didn’t know what they were doing and set the settings too low and didn’t use compression. We can help you with settings if you find out what they used on you.
Also, there are many reputable places in NYC with good lasers specifically for hair removal. I would consider researching those if you don’t get results after you’re done with their “guarantee”.