Hi all, I just wanted to relate my first experience with laser. I am an Asian in the SF bay area and I wanted to have hair removal in the Bikini region. I had Electrolysis for a while and it didn’t seem to be very effective and was VERY painful and slow (even with EMLA- which only lasted 30 min). My husband’s doctor friends started a laser dermatology practice a couple of years ago so I thought I’d give it a whirl - despite my misgivings about it being really permanent.
They did a lot of research and settled on a Lyra Nd-Yag laser because of its applicability to a wider number of skin types.
Because the person treating me is a doctor, she can use a numbing agent on the region. She also used an ice pack to ensure that pain would be minimized. I had shaved just prior to going in and she treated the area taking care to monitor my pain thresholds (faster shots if you can stand it, slowing down when it starts to get bad) – the pain was very bearable due to the care she took. I didn’t pay attention to Joules or anything, but at the beginning of the treatment she started low and asked me if I could feel it and worked to where I could feel it.
Immediately after treatment, the area was reddish, but I didn’t have any scabbing at all (no burning hair etc). It wasn’t sore and the redness went away (but YMMV). After about a week, the shedding started and the area currently has some missed hairs but most is gone for now.
My next treatment is in 7 weeks… so we’ll see what grows back in. The region I am treating is supposed to be 30% anagen at any given time, so we’ll see what comes back.
[ January 27, 2004, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: bogeymail ]