My laser consultation

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

So after months and months of thinking about it, I finally went to Renew Medica in London to get a laser consultation for my underarms.

The consultation went well I think, the woman who saw me was so lovely it really reassured me. Wasn’t so keen on the products she tried to sell me - deodorant, tea tree oil and the aloe vera gel (do I really need all of these?) but other than that she was patient with my million questions!

She said I had type 3 skin and we did my consultation using the Diode machine, she did the test at 3 settings and said that the low setting worked better because she saw carbonisation(?) no idea what that is but it sounded like a good thing!

So overall I’m quite happy with Renew Medica and think I will be booking in for a block of 6 sessions! Oh and it wasn’t painful at all! Even better!

Happy happy :grin:

#2

I don’t know what that lowest setting business means. You want to be treated at the highest settings your skin can handle safely. So I don’t see the point of treating lower if you can handle higher without burning. Do you know the settings? Can you ask for joules and spot size at least? On this machine especially, operator skill is very important.

Also, it SHOULD be painful. Little or no pain is a sign of low settings/undertreatment. Low settings don’t damage the hair permanently. So that’s not a good thing.

#3

Oh no now I’m not feeling too positive. I didn’t ask for settings but I will ask when (or if) I go again.

I felt like a little pin prick when she did the tests and then afterwards my skin felt a little tight - is that right or wrong?

She said that she’s been doing laser for 3 years but I don’t know if that necessarily means she has been using that machine for 3 years…

In the consult she said she wants to push the settings higher and higher to the point my skin can take it, so maybe she wants to start low and then move on?

#4

It’s not beneficial for you to start at low settings. You want to kill hair right away instead of just making it finer, because finer hair will be impossible to target with laser later.

You can call and ask for settings.

Did she use compression? It’s important on this machine.

Some clinics use lower settings to avoid scaring away the customer with the pain that’s supposed to be there with good settings. You should let them know it’s ok and you are willing to handle it. On such a small area, it’s over in less than 1 minute anyway. And you can use a numbing cream if you really can’t handle it.

You don’t need any products. Pure aloe vera, the same you’d use for sunburns, is really all the aftercare you need.

Run a search for BenjiBoy’s posts here. He did an overview of a bunch of clinics in London and preferred one that used Apogee alex machine I believe.

#5

Sorry what do you mean by compression?

I had a look at Benji’s posts and I don’t know if I’m being a bit dim but all his posts were on Electrolysis? I thought that’s different to laser treatment.

Now I don’t know what to do, do you think she might not do it correctly and mean I have to do more treatments? Need to make sure before I commit myself to booking the block of 6 treatments.

#6

Compression means pressing down while treating. It’s important with LightSheer.

You should read older discussions on London. You need to check out 3-4 more clinics before making any decisions. You can’t decide who is good without having something to compare to. Here’s a good site to look up clinics with Candela machines: www.candelalaser.co.uk

Here are some threads I found for you (Benji went to Laser Active and Skin Clinic I believe and a few others):

#7

Like LAgirl said, starting low is a way for clinics to protect themselves and not scare you off, and potentially get you to buy more treatments later on when the 4-6 sessions don’t work for you.

If you don’t permanently kill the hair first try, it comes back finer and that makes it less likely that you’ll be able to kill it easily in the future (laser is for coarse hair). So the best strategy (for the consumer) is to come out with guns blazing and treat each time at highest settings (without burning of course).

This Carbonization comment was total rubbish. That basically means there was sudden high heat applied (duh) and it caused a chemical change. The HIGHER the heat, the more likely you’d see carbonization (we are talking like atomic bombs here, literally). There is no way that lower heat would cause more carbonization than the setting higher than it, that makes no sense. I suspect she doesn’t even know what carbonization is or how to look for it, and she’s just repeating things she’s heard from the manufacturer or who knows.

Call to get the settings. Most people have pretty pale underarms, you should be able to go relatively high.

#8

Well I’ve taken your advice and have booked a consultation with another clinic that is actually closer to me but I have no idea how good they are as I can’t find any reviews, all I know is that they have the YAG laser so when I go I’ll make sure to get the settings!

I’ll try and call the other clinic tomorrow and find out what settings she used on me, I think I’m getting in a muddle with which setting she said had carbonisation, got a bit carried away talking (oh dear!)

#9

Please do not waste your money.

I went to renew medica and got a number of areas treated with laser.

I let the know what I knew about laser and the woman talks about how she has had 5 years experience (which really isn’t a lot) so she knows better!

I was treated with a diode and the settings were too low for any effect as LAgirl mentioned. The diode is hard to treat with and the left side of my left leg have hairs growing normally. I wouls rather have at least the lowest settings for effective treatment in the long term than low settings which are too low for any effect in the long term. The hair didn’t even fall out at 3 weeks despite exfoliating etc.

I don’t think you have looked through Benji Boy’s posts properly. I went through every single one and he has mentioned a lot about laser and it seems that the laser place he ended with i.e. derma clinic (can’t remember the name but just run a search) is the one that seems to work best. Please stay away from Renew if you’re on the diode I’d say. Or at least get your settings (you can call them and ask them what they used in your consultation) so the experts here can tell you if they’re good enough. Otherwise do what I did, go there, see if you’re comfortable with those settings and unknown results, and take your decision from there.

#10

Thanks for your comments peace1, you’ve definitely left me with something to think about - have you decided not to continue treatment with them? Do they get a bit funny if you ask them what settings they used?

#11

I posted two links to Benji’s previous posts, including his experiences at various clinics above.

Also, here’s another one someone posted a while back. I will add it to Success Stories:

You can find it here:

http://cosmeticenhancementsforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=34312#34312

Hi all,

I’m afraid I’m one of probably many people guilty of using these forums to research treatments, then not returning to give an account of how I got on.

About 18 months or so ago, I used this forum to find a laser hair removal clinic in London. Here’s the original thread: http://cosmeticenhancementsforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5373&highlight=

As you can see, I ended up going with Laser Clear, a clinic near Liverpool Street station.

I have to say, a year and a half on, that I could not be much happier with the results. My hair is not the easiest to treat - being medium brown, but with a bit of red and blonde in there (and grey unfortunately) - but the first six sessions I had cleared virtually everything very effectively.

The areas which showed most resistance were the shoulders (not surprising as it was quite thick there), but even that was pretty clear after the last of my first six treatments in July 07.

I’ve since had ‘top ups’ (these are recommended every six months) in November, and another a couple of weeks ago, but these were only picking up a few stragglers.

Generally, my back looks fine. A bit of fluffy blonde hair, but nothing that looks at all unnatural. I think the laser has also helped clear up some acne scarring left behind by many painful years of waxing.

To sum up, what was once one of my greatest embarrassments is now something I hardly think about.

A sad note to finish on. The lady who runs the clinic, Ann, was recently admitted to hospital, and is quite ill I believe. I can only wish her a very speedy recovery - as I’m sure others will from this forum who have used Laser Clear.

She was refreshingly frank and up front with me at my consultation, warning me that blonde and red hairs were not easy to treat, and that laser hair removal was not a wholly permanent treatment. I trusted her because of that honesty, and I’ve got a great result which I’ll always be grateful to her for.

#12

Thank you so much LAgirl for all your help! I am going to book an appointment with Laser Clear I think, the prices are so reasonable I had to take a double take! Only problem is it’s in central London which will mean going after work but I’m very very interested - looks like I’ll be posting another 2 consultation reviews in the upcoming weeks…

#13

I’m not going to go back, simply because the settings are too low on the Lightsheer (LAgirl pointed it out to me, the professionals on here also told me it is too low, I have read it on other websites too) and they won’t switch me to the YAG.

Yes, she has seen my skin type whereas others haven’t but it seems like a general statement about the Lightsheer so I’d rather avoid it.

I am going to go to derma I think (you might as well reveiew that place too : ) ) because posts on here are positive about this place.

Read my laser topic so you can see what process I went through. It will help you understand more about laser and you won’t fall for what the clinics say.

#14

Umm, the place you mentioned with a yag - a yag laser is NOT a good match for your skin type. Most of the research points to it being less effective. It’s ONLY useful for those who have no alternatives.

#15

I just called the clinic and she said that the pulse width was 30 and the joules were 18,20 and 22. I have skin type III. What does that mean? Too low?

I have a consultation with a clinic that uses the YAG but emilily are you saying it’s not an ideal laser to go with if there are other options?

#16

I think if the yag is the best price by far, with the most experienced technicians who are willing to treat aggressively, you couldn’t do a lot worse.

But I think type three skin is much more suited to a diode or alexandrite laser (e.g. Apogee, GentleLase or Lightsheer) which would have a better reduction. :slight_smile: But in the end its what you can find near you and what suits you best, who has the most experience and who is willing to use the right settings for you!

#17

I just spoke to another woman in a clinic and said I had my test patch at quite a low setting and she said yeh test patches are done at a low setting, and that when the hair is thick you don’t need to use high settings because the low setting takes care of it - is she talking nonsense?

On the other hand I called another place called ‘London Laser Hair Removal’ which is based near Edgeware Road, ending up having a 10 minute conversation with the lady that runs it who seemed really genuine and warning me of places from October as lasers won’t be regulated any more (I didn’t know that). She uses a YAG laser so peace1 you may be interested and she said it costs around £300 for 6 sessions. Although she is very very busy and the next Wednesday appointment I can get for a consultation is 1st September!?

#18

Or you could try Santi in South Ken - I recommend this place - and have had four treatments using their yag laser… www.santilondon.com

Happy with staff and the practice manager is incredibly knowledgeable and leads a team of therapists.

#19

You need to insist on the highest settings your skin can safely handle. Settings that are low may not be able to destroy the hair follicle. The low setting will probably cause the hair to shed but only stun the follice rather than destroying.

Test patches - there’s no reason for a test patch to be done at low settings. At the point of doing a test patch, you should be in the mindset that if you go with the company where you are getting a test patch, you are planning on getting your laser treatment done there, nd the test patch is a way for the technician to find out what settings your skin can handle, by “testing” a small area to look out for any reactions. What you want to see is what happens after a good laser session - usually a rosy hue, darker red around the follicles of the hairs in the area that has been treated, and hopefully no pigmentation, blistering or other adverse effects… So technicians should be looking to use a setting that they believe will be effective and what they are planning on using in your sessions.

But clinics do differ :frowning: maybe ring her and tell her that you are only interested in the treatments if the settings are high, because otherwise you will take your business elsewhere… I wonder what her reply will be??

#20

I had the same test patches and from research you should be treated with at least 25 (but can go much higher), if not, another is better.

To be honest they won’t even treat you at those settings. If you get underarms done they will go down to 16, and even lower witht he most dense areas. When I got my legs and arms done they did it at 18 max, maybe once they went up to 20 (can’t remember but you can check my thread). So if that was the case then why didn’t they start at 22 if my skin recated well?

Actually I can’t remember if they use YAG or not but it’s whatever is in stoppit&tidyup’s signature. As emilily said, we’re probably better off finding another place with another laser, if the one we go to won’t put the settings up.

My elecotrologist recommends a hospital near Euston who do laser hair removal, I want to go there but not had the time. http://www.skinlaserclinic.co.uk/

But I think first i will check out http://www.derma-active.co.uk/ as Benji boy went there and found it really good I think.

You want the highest settings you can get so that the hair falls out permanently and doesn’t grow back a year later or something.

Low settings can work in making the hair shed but it doesn’t mean the hair will go forever. Yes, maybe it will, but you don’t want to risk it.

Don’t listen to them. After I had my underarms treated a week later I had my arms done and I was really concerned about the settings so I rang them up before I had my appointment. The person I talked to first seemed really understanding but then when the person who does my appointments called back, I felt I wasn’t being listened too. The next day I had my appointment and she said to me “are your hairs shedding then?” or something like that, to which I said “yes”. She then said “see, your treatments are working then”. IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE AT ALL! Just because hair sheds, it doesn’t mean it has worked in removing hair permanently! Please don’t be fooled. I am so glad I found this forum so I knew I couldn’t be tricked. You are part of this community so take on the advice you get from people here as it will make you so much happier and at ease. It took me awhile to understand but I hope you can learn from my experience.

Could you post the link to the website with laser hair removal that you mentioned so I can check it out?

You seem to be promoting this lady a lot : ) Have you posted an experience thread or are you from there?