I finally did it. I had the LHR today on my underarms. I’m asian, skin type IV with very coarse hair. I used Gentlelase machine. Here are the settings: 18mm, 10j/cm2, 40/40.
What do you think? Are the settings too low?
Thanks,
Because your skin is a darker type that is probably the reason they started you at 10j, but if you can handle it, 12 or 14 would probably be more appropriate. Ask them to do a test patch at 14j and see what they say. Sometimes using settings that are too high on darker skin can cause pigmentation.
Yes, those settings are too low. If you can’t handle at least 14J on 18mm spot size safely, you need GentleYAG instead for your skin type.
Ahh, I see. Thank you. I kinda know it when she told me the settings. Also, I’m wondering if you could post the minimum settings for each type of lasers, so that I can know it right off the bat whether or not my physician use effective settings.
Thanks again.
Lol, the problem with “minimum” settings is that they vary really widely. Like, if she’d used a 15mm spot size instead of 18mm they’d have to up the joules again anyway. Also it really varies with the skin colour, as to what each person can safely handle on their skin. That’s why you have a consultation first, then come back to this site, post the treatment settings and then go back for your treatment later, after making sure that the settings are high enough (i.e. in this case, 10 joules is pretty low and we can safely say that you could handle going higher).
Settings are a combination of variables. And skin types are approximate with underlying pigment in some people. It’s not that simple. What is most important is finding a clinic where you can be confident they know what they’re doing and don’t need to direct them. At the very least, they should know to test your skin to see how high they can go safely.
I just had another LHR done again at a different place. This time I used Apogee Elite Nd:YAG.
For underarms setting was: Joules: 30, Pulse Width:40, Spot Size: 15mm
For Brazilian setting: Joules: 25, Pulse Width: 40, Spot Size: 15mm
What do you guys think?
Thanks in advance
For a type IV, those settings are on the low side, especially on the bikini. Lowest pulse on this machine is 5ms and yours is 40ms. Joules are also relatively low for your skin type unless they think you’re darker than a IV. What’s your ethnic background? Did you ask them to test higher settings?
I’m chinese, so my skin is very light. I’ll ask her for a higher setting next time. What setting do you think is effective for this machine?
If you’re Chinese, you have underlying pigment. So that’s a factor. They need to test settings. The highest joules, largest spot size and lowest pulse width your skin can handle safely is best.
I’ve used Apogee Elite Yag at two clinics now and my settings were similar, plus I’m skin type 3. They used 30ms at 30J on 15mm this was on face though. From the two places I’ve gone to though even though the machine goes down to 5ms, both clinics basically acted like that’s unheard of, that they would never go lower than 20 or 25. I switched clinics because of this but both were different places and both acted like going under 20ms would cause the world to end. So just from my experience, yes the lowest is 5ms but most places won’t go there.
Also, from my experience with Apogee Elite MPX, to get to 5ms you need a very low repetition rate or whatever it’s called, the one that’s measured in Hz. Lowering this to the point that you can use a very low pulse width makes the machine VERY slow, like each pulse of the laser fires maybe once per second or so, so again most places don’t want to use the settings that put the Apogee into 5ms.
Face is more sensitive and hair is more dense there. Bikini should be able to handle higher joules than 25J with the above parameters, and 20ms vs 40ms should make a considerable difference.
This place is treating you as though you are African American. The settings are VERY LOW.