LHR progress- Gentlemax, olive skin

I had my first full bikini treatment 3 and a half weeks ago with the Gentlemax Alex at 18mm 12J 3ms. I know LAgirl and others on this forum do not recommended these settings as they’re too low, but due to time constraints and my own worries about skin damage, I decided to try it for my first treatment. I went back for a touch-up 3 weeks later and she increased the settings to 14J since I did not show an adverse reaction. She went over a lot of areas. Everything looked fine to me - the redness faded soon after I left, but yesterday I felt a burning sensation around my more delicate areas. I noticed that a couple of my moles had been burnt and now there are scabs forming on them. She treated ALL the hair down there, some of which grows inside the labia majora which is darker than the rest of the skin in that area. Does this mean we can’t do the next treatment at 14J or does she need to avoid the moles?

Also, I noticed a couple very small white spots where she did the touch-up. I assume this is hypopigmentation and will not go away.

I do have one other major concern and that is hyperpigmentation caused by ingrowns from years of waxing and my extremely sensitive skin. I scar very easily and it takes forever to heal. About a year ago I noticed I was getting an insane amount of ingrowns and scars around my bikini area, which had never happened before, and that’s why I decided to start the laser treatments.

Here are some pictures:

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/2010-Laser/LaserProgress/01-pre-tx01.jpg the morning before the 1st treatment (there are no scars in the bottom left. this is the “landing strip” that’s never been waxed.)
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/2010-Laser/LaserProgress/02-tx01.jpg an hour after the 1st treatment
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/2010-Laser/LaserProgress/03-post-tx01_01.jpg three days after the 1st treatment
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/2010-Laser/LaserProgress/04-post-tx01_02.jpg eight days after the 1st treatment
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/2010-Laser/LaserProgress/05-post-tx01_03.jpg two weeks after the 1st treatment
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/2010-Laser/LaserProgress/06-post-tx01_03-patch.jpg
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa440/2010-Laser/LaserProgress/07-tx01-touchup.jpg 3 days after a touch-up done 3 weeks after the 1st treatment

As you can see, almost all of the hair shed except for a couple patches which were treated three days ago. I’m happy with how things look now, but concerned about 1) my moles and 2) the white spots. I’m wondering if I’d be better off with a different laser?

Also, I would like to know if anyone has advice about the many scars and ingrowns in my bikini area. I exfoliate several times a week and use aloe daily. I’m not sure what else to do. I would really like to help my skin heal as quickly as possible, but I know this will be a slow process. Thanks.

Are they using the alex part of the GentleMax? If so, 14J and up on 18mm with 3ms are ok. 16J would be best.

Don’t worry about the moles. This is normal since they’re darker in color. Most get lighter or get burned off after treatments.

Pigmentation issues are all temporary. Your issues from previous ingrowns will also get a lot better after a few laser treatments. I would leave the area alone now that you’re getting treatments and hair sheds each time. Not touching it much will help the skin heal.

Based on your skin tone and hair coarseness, I would recommend the YAG portion of the Gentlemax.

Yes, they are using the Alex. I am afraid that 16J would be too much for my skin. The touchup that was done at 14J left one mark that looks like a scab/burn. I don’t understand why out of all the pulses, only one of them left a mark on my skin.

Romeo, during my consultation I asked her if she would use the Yag because of my darker skin tone, and she said no since I’m considered “light” for laser. Still, next time I will ask her if she thinks the Yag is better for me. Perhaps she could treat me at a higher setting with that machine.

If those settings are too high, they should be using the Yag portion of the machine.

Usually it’s the opposite, everyone prefers to use the yag over the alexandrite! No one wants to burn anyone.