LHR Journal (Brazilian / Underarm)

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I chose to have treatment at Merrill Cosmetics, located in the Kansas City metropolitan area of Missouri. The machine used on me there is a GentleLASE. In the treated areas, I have light skin and very dark, course hair.

Treatment #1:

Received today, 11/15/08.

I forgot to ask which setting were used. We did do test spots. The first setting that she attempted is what we went with, after waiting several minutes, and then seeing the appearance of redness and inflammation. My nurse said that this indicates effectiveness of the laser. We proceeded with this setting throughout the underarms and brazilian treatment.

I had a numbing cream applied, which was a mix of three topical anesthetics (the only one I can remember is Lidocaine.) This seemed to really help. I had previously done LHR on my upper lip, and not used a numbing agent. I know that upper lip is probably a more sensitive area, but, this treatment seemed not only tolerable at the worst but also almost completely undetectable in the apparently more numb areas. The cream was applied 45 minutes prior to treatment.

Some burning right after treatment was felt in the general areas that were done. I took this as a positive sign that the treatments had been effective. Now many hours later, I have no pain, only some strange “catching” of my hair on my clothes, like velcro, which is a little irritating, but not painful really.

I am scheduled to return for a touch-up in two weeks.

#2

It would be great if you could find out the spot size and joules used. It would be helpful in determining if the lack of pain was due to low settings. Even with numbing cream, dense coarse hair hurts, so the bikini area should.

You can’t tell much from just redness. Good signs of treatment are raised follicles for a day or so after the treatment.

#3

The treatment was definitely painful, but it was tolerable pain. My pain scale may be a bit adjusted from having two children. I would say that about 1/5 of the time, I didn’t feel much of anything, but I 3/5 of the time - felt as though it was certainly painful, just that it was bearable. And the last 1/5 of the time was so terrible painful that it seemed as though it might not be bearable. I know the area was pretty darn numb, as I had to wash the cream off beforehand. I could tell that the area which felt the numbest corresponded with the area where I felt the least sensation during the treatment.

As far as the follicle being raised, I’m not sure exactly what I should be looking for, really, except for that some of the area (not all) is obviously swollen.

I will call tomorrow and find out what settings were used.

#4

12/04/08

Settings used: 18 joules, 15 spot size.

Had my first touch up treatment today, 2 days shy of 3 weeks post treatment 1. Had several ingrown hairs that had to be released.

Numbing cream was applied for about 20-30 minutes. About half as long as last time. The difference in pain was very noticeable in the bikini area where I don’t think the numbing had set in at all when we started lasering.

Found out that these settings were the same as last time also.

I was told to come back in two weeks from now for an additional touch up (for free.) My LHR lady said it was because I was starting out with such a great density of hair, that the touchups would help make sure everything got hit, and that we were on track for treatment two.

I should also note that shedding was about 95% complete by this time in the brazilian area. Shedding in underarms was about 50%, maybe more on the left side.

The hyperpigmentation experienced in the inside of thighs went away about 85% from what I first noticed. My LHR lady seemed to think this might have been because I didn’t get all the numbing cream off last time in that area (since it didn’t occur uniformly, in fact it was only in the very inside of my thighs, no where else between entire brazilian or underarm areas.)

After treatment, many raised follicles were observed … the bumps were larger than goosebumps and white. At first I thought they were blisters, but I was assured they weren’t, and I didn’t experienced any associated pain within a few minutes after the ice pack was applied. The area was also pretty red all over, although the raised follicle weren’t all over, pretty much just in the area of the hair that remained above the surface.

That’s all I can think of for now!

#5

Just wanted to give an update.

I completed all but my last treatment. It’s been almost a year since then. I have seen dramatic decrease in hair growth and thickness in the Brazilian area. When I shave or trim, the hair doesn’t grow back anywhere near as fast as it used to. I would say around ten times slower. If it used to take a week to get back to full growth, no it takes ten weeks, and “full growth” is at least ten times less than it used to be. So really dramatic improvements.

The underarms are a similar situation. The growth has thinned quite a bit, and takes a lot longer to grow back.

Ideally, I should return for more sessions, but am too busy at this time, and am so pleased with my current results that I’m not in too much of a hurry to get back in. :slight_smile:

#6

I should also note that I am basically free of ingrown hairs now too, even when I shave, since a lot of the remaining hair is thinner. Still get 1 or 2, but nothing like what used to happen when I shaved. I have to say that getting these treatments was one of the best things I ever did for myself, and that its really changed my life in a way.

#7

How many sessions did you have total? Glad to hear you’re happy with your results :slight_smile:

#8

Sparta, I am assuming all this good stuff happened in 4-6 sessions over a year’s time?

This is why we strongly “shove” people in the direction of getting lased for the UNDERARMS AND BIKINI areas. It works well if all is done expertly. Thick, dark, dense hair is all it takes. You can get the fluffy hair that is left with electrolysis if you want total removal.

#9

I actually only had 3 treatments total … and over the course of about 6 months or so. I will update later with more specific details (need to go back through the paper trail and find out what the dates are of treatments, etc.)

I had touchups in between treatments, but did not go in for my final touchup, so 3 full treatments with 2 touchups in between.

I would say I have experienced 50% reduction in underarms, and closer to 75 - 80% in the brazilian.

I will say however, that I had very course, very black hairs. I also had light skin. So the great results are probably linked to these factors. The settings used on me were lower than what is considered ideal, but I had great edema and shedding after each treatment in the brazilian area. Underarms were NEVER as affected, and I am not surprised my results aren’t AS great in that area. However, I’m still very pleased overall!

I went to Merill Permanent Color in Kansas City. The lady is sweet hearted, and evidently good at what she does, but can come off pretty abrasive at times. Very happy overall though with her service though and would recommend, even though she was a little pricey. I didn’t get any scarring, which is something she prides herself on (0% scarring), or burning, permanent hyperpigmentation, or any other side effect.

#10

Do you know what machine was used?

That’s a typical result for 3 treatments. If you decide to finish with the other 3 treatments needed, you’d get to 95% like I did. :slight_smile:

#11

It was a GentleLASE.

#12

These are the two areas i’m looking at clearing, both of the places i’m considering primarily use GentleLASE and one also has an nd: YAG for the darker skin types. Should I be worried if a place doesn’t have more than one type of laser? they have amazing reviews and seem straightforward and honest about much of the advice I’ve gotten here, thank goodness for those links on choosing practitioners and laser type. but the one kind of laser caught my attention. i think i’m somewhere between a II and III skin type.

(hope that question isn’t considered hijacking! I can start a new topic if needed!)

#13

You should start your own thread and keep all your experiences in it regardless.

To address your question, it doesn’t matter if they only have one type of laser, as long as they’re turning down dark-skinned patients if they don’t have a Yag.

#14

Harriet: Lasers are expensive. Like, “mortgage your house and tell your kids you can’t send them to college” expensive. Most reputable clinics I know DO only have one type of laser (or a 2 in 1 machine) because of cost. That is great in my opinion, because when it comes to lasers I’d rather have an expert use their favorite machine, instead of a jack-of-all-trades use a machine they are only moderately comfortable with.

The problem is what LAgirl said: As long as they are responsible enough to turn down clients who are not good candidates for that particular laser, then there’s no problem.

#15

And it is often trying to pay the second mortgage they took out to get that machine that keeps them from turning down any business, unfortunately. :frowning: