In the FAQ under this section, it’s stated that treatments should be 8-12 weeks apart. However, my laser operator said once a month.
Who is right?
Thanks,
sQ
If you disagree with the FAQs listed here, go to www.HairTell.com read up on the research that we all have available to us here, and make your own mind up. (The FDA approved booklets used when LASER was first cleared all said 6 weeks)
Most HairTell posters who do LASER seem to agree that no advantage (other than financial) is gained by having the client/patient treated with LASER every 4 weeks. Some people have not even fully had all their shedding at that point.
Perhaps someone would like to give a reason why one would have a theraputic reason for working closer than every 6 weeks.
First off, are you getting treatments with a true laser or an IPL? What area are you treating? Color of hair? Color of skin? Thickness of hair? How much hair?
Apogee elite device, Type II-III skin, face and neck area, male beard type of thickness, mixture of dark/light hair with patches of lots of dark. The hair has been thinned out a little via electrolysis already (about 100 hours logged). It’s been about 2.5 weeks since my first session and I’ve already seen some shedding.
So you are using a real laser and you have an electrologist already. What does your electrologist advise about the time interval for getting electrolysis after laser sessions.
It would be better if you asked all your questions on one thread so we don’t have to jump around trying to figure out specifics about your situation. Thanks.
There are two separate questions, one is laser-related, one is moreso electrolysis-related. Hence, the use of 2 separate sections.
My original question is about length of time between sessions. 8-12 weeks, do you agree? I gave you the information you asked for.
-
Face has shorter hair cycles, so 6-8 weeks to start is ok. You should be able to judge yourself when enough hair is back (and coarse enough) to go for another treatment. for most people, that’s somewhere 8-12 weeks and longer for some areas like legs with longer hair cycles. Basically, don’t go for a treatment before you have enough hair to be worth your money to treat.
-
Are they using the alex or the Yag setting on this machine?
-
I hope you realize that the lighter hairs may not be affected. Also, I hope you are going to a very experienced clinic with lots of experience in treating male beards as this can be a hard area to treat that is prone to patchiness with sloppy treatments.
-
Let us know how shedding goes in 3.5 weeks please! Also, hope you’re tracking your settings. It can be helpful for others on this forum.
I’m not sure about the setting, I was assuming alex, but I will check next time to be sure. And yes, they were very clear about the lighter hairs will likely not be affected. They say they’ve worked with TG with some good results. I mean, that’s what they say, but I haven’t talked to anyone who have used this place before.
Thanks,
sQ
At 3.5 weeks, I have to say a vast majority of the dark hair is not visible. There are a few hairs here and there, but I am very happy with my treatment. I’m also beginning to assess the damaging effects of the electrolysis I’ve received so far, since I haven’t had electro for a few months now. I will choose a different operator next time around.
I should have followed suit with 99% of all other TG out there, do laser first, THEN electrolysis. I stupidly listened to “helpful” websites such as this when I started the hair removal process that promote electrolysis as the only way to permanently remove hair. Electrolysis has it’s place, but laser is very cost-effective and safe and will not damage your skin for most folks.
sQ
Electrolysis is the only permanent method to remove all colors of hair on all colors of skin, regardless of hair structure. There is no hype or misrepresentation in that statement for anyone to stupidly believe. It is factual. Two more factual statements: there are clients who are not always going to get the best electrolysis care and there are clients who are not always going to get the best laser care. That is why there are thousands of miles of words here pointing out what constitutes a good treatment with a skilled practitioner delivering a healing scenario that serves to warn a client whether there could be long term side effects. You take some responsibilty for this, too.
Being that you are very smart, you already know that laser has limitations and diminishing returns when it comes to beard hair. Any stupidity on your part comes from not understanding that we don’t blindly push one modality over another, but rather look at individual situations as best we can over the internet and suggest one or the other or the use of both electrolysis and laser in combination. This is a helpful website (minus the quotation marks around the word helpful) and your bitterness comes from your own interpertaion of principles repeated here ad nauseum that point out what works and what doesn’t work. I’m sorry this can’t be easier for you.
Allow me to turn your last statement around and declare that laser has it’s place and is not necessarily cost-effective for some people. Ask all the men and women who have posted here on hairtell, on the now defunct Kitty’s ConsumerBeware website and the great cosmeticenhancementsforum.com, about the surprise big bonus they got after they had some laser or IPL treatments on certain areas of the body and face. They ended up with more hair than when they started on areas like the face, upper arms and shoulders. Refer to poster “Chuck” for his helpful posts on that one. If you think that’s a more cost effective outcome than electrolysis, then we will just have to disagree amicably. “Chuck’s” road to permanency is still not easy or cheap with electrolysis, but he’s doing the best he can with what he has in his locale.
There are many posts and pictures here about laser skin damage that scared the sh… out of many new posters that came to this helpful website seeking answers. Those threads go on for pages with all us trying to reassure them that all will probably be okay given some time.
There is no easy way down for permanent hair removal, but I do agree with you specifically that laser followed by electrolysis for your beard and neck would be a good choice if you don’t have a James Walker or other experienced TG electrologist nearby. If you lived next door to James Walker for the sake of convenience, your concluding statements would be quite different.
Poster “Aliciadarling” could have saved you from the wrong decision. “Aliciadarling” is an excellent example of one of our dearest posters who has told her story based on her experience with laser first and then electrolysis. She has repeated her story many times and confirms what you are saying. I believe her and agree with her strategy. Did you have the chance to read all her posts before you started your beard removal? She was never scolded for her choices. Not one electrologist here argued with her that she should have had electrolysis only. Her story pretty much follows and confirms what you said you should have done. Her posts are very helpful to TG clients and we so appreciate her participation.
This is a website about all methods of hair removal whether it be with temporary methods or permanent methods. We describe the pro’s and con’s of each and we trust that you as the consumer can understand that hair removal is complicated and requires you to do your own research and your own advocating.
Your statements in the last paragraph of your post are unfair and unsupported and I am assuming were said out of frustration.
Calm down Dee. Everything is all right.
I don’t want to hurt your feelings, I won’t throw your words back into your face and make you feel bad. I could, but that won’t help anything.
Take a vacation dear, get some sun. We’ll schedule some time when you get back, 2 hours just me and you, I get to lie down and get my face poked at, it’ll be fun.
Honey baby, I think you interpreted my post as an emotional rant, when in actuality it was a passionate mini dissertation, which was meant to respectfully disagree and agree with your comments. I must apologize for my detailed writing style. I can see how you could interpret such specific degree as me being ruffled and snarky, but I tell you true, if my blood pressure was any lower, I’d be in heaven drinking chocolate martini’s with the Angels of God.
You really don’t need to concern yourself with suggestions for my well-being, but rather, many reading this thread may be interested in listening to your thoughts about the post, that is, if you haven’t already haven’t expressed all that you desire?
Speaking of chocolate martini’s, Happy New Year!
back to the original question of time between treatment…
im still a bit confused as to why the same principles for electrolysis dont apply to laser.
ive heard on here you can leave it for 4-5 months between treatments with laser, or ‘the longer the better’ due to th fact the hair will become darker.
What confuses me, is that surly the lasered hair still needs to be in the correct growth phase for the next treatment? if you leave it 3 months, the hair your getting treated could be on its final growth stage and therefore your treatment won’t be terrible effective…
can someone clear this up for me?
Keep in mind that LASER also changes the natural growth pattern of the hairs in the area that it is utilized. Electrolysis doesn’t alter when the next hair growth cycle might appear.
Laser works by being attracted to the pigment in the hair. The hair usually gets darker by the end of anagen phase, so it can help to wait a bit. However, electrolysis kills hair easiest when it’s still new and weak (i.e. when it first comes out).
To address the comments above: both methods work well and don’t cause scarring or any other issues in good hands. They’re complimentary and what is “best” depends on every individual’s situation, hair type, amount of hair, etc. For larger areas with dark coarse hair, in my opinion, starting with laser first is almost always financially beneficial. However, for areas with finer hair, especially those where laser can stimulate more growth, electrolysis is preferred. Once again, it DEPENDS on the situation.
Thank you for your impartial advice and staying on-topic.
sQ
Yes, thank you lagirl for reiterating what is said here almost everyday about combining laser and electrolysis depending on each unique person’s situation. That’s what makes this such a helpful website to those who spend time here.
I agree. Every person’s situation is a unique case, and the available practitioners (both LASER & Electrolysis) make a big difference in what would be the best thing one should do for the best results, delivered in the quickest, most economical way.