LHR diary - Alexandrite laser

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi, my name is Emily. I posted a while ago in the electrolysis forum inquiring whether electrolysis or laser hair removal would better suit my needs.

I have since decided to go with laser and contacted a clinic. I’m going in for a consultation with them on Friday morning. At this stage I am going to go for at least upper lip and stomach for hair removal, and I’m thinking about brazillian and armpits (though these are not as important to me).

I have dark hair with very pale, slightly olive skin. I think I’m a type 3. The laser is an Alexandrite GentleLASE.

Upper lip is $30 a session and stomach is (snail trail - $55, stomach - $95) somewhere between the two, as its wider than a snail trail - I’m guessing I will soon find out.

The other thing is that they offer heavy discounts on buying packages of 6 treatments - $25% off. I was thinking of going for this deal, as they seem to be a fairly stable company not going anywhere, but I was debating whether or not to ask about further discounts if I do end up getting three or four areas treated, and what “guarantees” might be offered - like free touch ups afterwards and the like.

I can’t wait to share this journey… hopefully I will have the same success stories others have had!

Edit: I am in Australia, so all the prices are in AUD - $30 is $27 USD, 90 is around $82 USD.

#2

  • Dark is not enough for laser. The hair needs to be coarse like the hair on your bikini and underarms for laser to affect it and kill it permanently. Often, women’s stomachs (except for the happy trail right in the middle) and most upper lips don’t qualify and need electrolysis instead.

  • I wouldn’t pre-buy any packages. During your consultation, don’t buy anything. Get a test spot done and ask what settings are being used (spot size and joules). Then share them here so we can help figure out if they’re aggressive enough to remove the hair permanently. Some clinics undertreat. Get a test spot and then give it 3 weeks to see if the hair sheds like it should. Only after confirming all of this would I invest in an unrefundable package.

  • Guarantees are not that important. If they’re not good at setting settings and treating, it doesn’t matter how many ineffective treatments they’re willing to do for free. However, a good thing to ask about is touchups, i.e. if more than 10% or so doesn’t shed within 3 weeks, would they do touchup for free on whatever doesn’t at that point.

  • Bikini and underarms are great for laser since hair is coarse.

#3

i was definitely going to ask them about the spot size and joule, because I’ve read a lot of these threads and it seems to be the easiest way to give advice.
The 25% off for pre booked treatments seems like such a good deal - maybe I could do that for bikini/under arms but not for other places where I don’t know that they are going to be successful? The hair on my stomach is thick and dark, but only in the trail bit - I’ll ask them to stick to that then.
The other thing she said on the phone was that if all went well at the consultation I could start with laser straight away… I would assume that would be a no no - I was definitely going to ask for just a spot test on my upper lip as I would want to see the effects first, but obviously I shouldn’t start anywhere before tests? And should I have part of every area tested first, or just one?

Thanks for your reply, there are so many things for me to try and remember that even after reading threads I don’t seem to have all the answers.

#4

Just an update:

I had my consultation today, got a spot test on my upper lip which was 18j at 15mm spot size.
I had the middle of my stomach done for free because I said I wasn’t sure if it was dark enough so I’d like to see the results first.

I then got my brazilian and underarms treatments done, at 16j with a 18mm spot size. I was told that this was probably on the lower end of the joules they would usually use for my skin type (which came out as Fitzpatrick type 2) but because it was my first time they wanted to see how it would go. The underarms were $70 and the brazilian was on special at $60, for the whole thing, including slightly down my legs. Pretty exciting!

They then wanted me to come back in four weeks, but that didn’t sound right to me - even at the clinic their guidelines were 4-6 weeks for face and 6-8 weeks for everything else, so I asked if I could phone and make an appointment myself when it was convenient. The clinic was really nice though, great facilities and the staff were kind. Hopefully have results soon!

#5

Thanks for the update.

If this is GentleLASE, max on 18mm is 16J and on 15mm 30J (effectveness of joules decreases with a smaller spot size). So the 16J on 18mm settings are good. The 18j on 15mm are somewhat low for your skin type.

Those prices are very good.

I wouldn’t even discuss timing. Just got in when you have enough hair back. What I would discuss is whether they offer free touchups at 3 weeks if a lot of hair doesn’t shed, i.e. was missed.

#6

LAgirl, is that a typo or is that accurate? You mention the max joules on 18mm spot size is 16J for GentleLASE, but I get my treatments at 20J 18mm. So now I’m confused. :stuck_out_tongue:

#7

MagicalPrincessKitty, just a quick question - does the 20joule setting sting more than a 16joule (assuming you might have had lower settings in the past). I found the pain was bearable, and didn’t linger, but it still had me wriggling my toes while I was getting the brazilian done… :stuck_out_tongue:

#8

Sorry, typo! Max on 18mm is 20J with GentleLASE.

#9

Emily, the pain never lingers. Yes, it may hurt a bit more with higher settings, but that shouldn’t be your concern. If you want good results, treating at max settings your skin can handle safely without burning is the best way to do it.

#10

emilily: Yeah, it hurts more. I’ve also had treatment at 16J and 18J and I noticed a difference. On my bikini line I use numbing cream, but the areas that don’t go numb hurt enough for me to use quite a few cuss words (my poor tech) and have trouble catching my breath. I have a very low pain tolerance normally.

Last time, a combination of being nervous, embarrassed, and in pain during the treatment caused me to break out in hives on my chest! She went “Oh my gosh, what is wrong with your chest?!” And I was like “What are you talking about? OH CRAP!!!” :stuck_out_tongue:

#11

That would be a bit scary! I like knowing a bit about what I’m getting myself into. The pain wasn’t really like anything I’d expected, because while sometimes it was a bit sharp, I felt silly reacting since it was gone so fast.

I’ve included a link to a picture of my stomach replete with hair, to see what you think about how it would do. I was told they probably could clear most of the area with the laser, but I ended up just getting the middle done. Sorry for the yellow colour :S
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af308/strangelyemily/DSCN1812.jpg

#12

I think you’ll get some good results on your tummy. Not perfect, but pretty dang good (especially on the lower middle). The leftovers can be treated with electrolysis anyway.

If the 16J didn’t cause you much discomfort, then I’m sure the 20J won’t be too bad either. I was yelping and jumping for 16J treatments almost as much as at the 20J sessions. So yeah, there’s a difference, but if you handled the 16J, then 20J won’t push you over the edge (or give you hives, haha!)

#13

I’m pretty excited right now! It’s exactly a week since my treatment. Since then the hairs have been slowly coming out, and today I found that when I lightly pulled on the hairs under my arms they come out quite easily - little to no pain. I have been exfoliating for a couple of days. :slight_smile: things are going well!

#14

One weird thing - everything seems to be shedding/coming out exceppt the strip down the middle of my stomach, which is just black spots. Only 4 or 5 hairs are actually coming out. What does that mean?

#15

They’re just pepper spots, hairs that are stuck below the skin. They’ll fall out over time or will be fried off on your next treatment as well. One trick to remove them is use those Biore pore strips for your nose. Or what I do which I find works really well, is I have white school glue that dries clear. I just put a very thin layer over the area, doesn’t have to be thick just very thin, then use a hair dryer to dry it. If it’s thin enough it should dry in 5 minutes. I then peel it off and that pulls all the hairs out that were shedding. Basically a cheap version of what a pore strip would do but I find it works very well!

#16

Shedding takes about 3 weeks to complete. Some hairs may be stuck in the follicles for a while, but don’t worry since they’re dead hairs.

You should get decent results, especially on the hair in the middle which is most coarse. I hope they shaved the area before treating as they should.

#17

Yes she did shave my tummy before she started, we only did a test strip though, since I was pretty unsure about the efficacy :slight_smile: and hey - she did it for free!

#18

Three and a half weeks after my session, my underarms had vellus type hair growing (it wasn’t shedding, still attached). Is that normal? It is very thin/light and dark brown in colour.

#19

It may be missed hairs. Has anything shed?

#20

Well that’s the thing, EVERYTHING seemed to shed - starting by the first week and ending maybe a week ago. Like all the dark, black hairs that I have. So it looks way better than usual and I don’t even mind wearing sleeveless tops because the hair that has grown through is almost unnoticeable. I’m just not sure what it is or what caused it, if it was missed (which would be unlikely since its a fairly even covering) or what. But I thought maybe someone else might have had the same reaction?