LHR Gentlemax issues

Hey everyone. Been having laser hair removal on my scalp for quite along time now. Originally with lightsheer which i had 10 treatments with and have had 3 treatments now with a gentlemax, both machines were using the highest settings possible. I switched to the gentlemax because i thought i might get better results as its is supposed to be better suited to my skin type II. What i have found so far however is quite strange.

With the Lightsheer, hair used to shed in about 7-12 days and then my head would be free of all hair for a few weeks and my scalp would feel great and smooth.

However with the gentlemax, even on highest settings and largest head size finer hairs dont seem to be shedding and it may just be an amazing coincidence but ever since i staretd having treatments with the gentlemax ive had very painfull and annoying spots on my scalp that just keep appearing. Im guessing its Folliculitis, my derm has given me antibiotics to take for four months, ive been taking them for about 3 months now without seeing any improvements. Whats worrying me is i got them a few weeks after my first treatment so before having my second i waited over 4 months to let alot of hair grow through and the spots to subside. But they didnt go away, they come in waves and are painful and unsightly, i pick them, they scab and heal and go away, then they come back again in waves and the cycle repeats. Now you may say i shouldnt pick them, but its the only way i can get them to temporarily go away, i didnt pick for the 4+ months and they didnt budge.

I’m worried that it still happens even after months of not having LHR. Unfortunately its making me quite depressed and i feel helpless, im using all kinds of special shampoos, exfoliating, trying Elidel, aloe vera, antibiotis, cider vinegar, all kinds of stuff. Nothing is making a dent on this.

Its put me in a very difficult position because i still need a few more treatments to work on patches but if it is the LHR causing it ill have to stop and have patchy hair + spots for how knows long. If it is a side effect and doesnt seem to go away after months and months how long am i going to experience this for ? the other side of it is, everything i read about LHR and folliculitis, its supposed to be helpful in getting rid of it, so why isnt it helping mine. One thing that is worrying me is that maybe my hair has become so fine that when it grows its alot easier for the hairs to become trapped. Or maybe as i stated at the begining, its just one massive coincidence. Has anyone got any ideas ?

sorry about the long rant but ive been going through this for about 9 months now, absolutely desperate to get some relief from this nightmare.

If the hair is fine, Gentlemax would work better than a Diode. On the other hand, the settings used are very important. Can you advise what settings are used ??? Can you also post some pictures ?? What I would suggest is for your provider to use a combination of Alex as well as NDYAG settings in order to get rid of those bumps.

Will try and get some pictures up later today. Settings wise i cant remember exactly, first 2 treatments were with the largest head size and at 20 fluence i think, then this third treatment ive just had they went down a head size and increased the fluence again. I just cant understand why im suddenly having this problem with painful spots all over my head that wont go away since ive been having lhr on my head for about 2.5 years without any real problems, this is my 13th treatment.

Here is a picture, just the back of my head in this one but its pretty much the same all over. In regards to using yag as combo, do you mean one session with both alex and yag or separately ? I did ask them about yag once, not sure if they will even agree to use it on my skin type but i can ask again.

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9582/sdc10622q.jpg

They can treat that area with a YAG , 12 mm spot size, HIGH ENERGY
and perhaps you can go to them in 1-2 days again and they could use an Alex setting.

Thanks for the replies Romeo. When you say high energy, how high do you mean ? do the spots look like something that could be caused by having laser hair removal in your experience ?

on a quick side not, just feeling over my head i have alot of spots all over really that arent that noticeable but feel alot like water blisters and kind of make clicking sound when they are picked, subsequently i am unable to shave my head as the blade cuts these spots very easily

I would suggest energies on the YAG side higher than 35 Joules. However, I can not be more specific over the internet. Also, I do not think that laser caused those issues on your head.

Thankyou for the replies, having had my last treatment about 2 weeks ago now do you think it is worth me going back as soon as possible to to treat the spots or to wait for my hair to start growing back ? Do you think it would be beneficial to get my whole head done with the yag or just the specific areas with Folliculitis ?

as long as your skin has healed ( I am sure it has ) you can treat the SPOTS ONLY with YAG , small spot size, high energy.