My laser consultation

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#21

I wasn’t too sure what that woman was talking about when she said that they all test at low settings, it’s amazing to think how you can be taken for a ride.

I have just booked a consultation with laser-clear for next week so will see how that goes, she has the GentleLASE Alexandrite and the YAG and said it costs £270 for 6 treatments which sounds good. It’s just a pain as I will have to go after work.

I looked at the derma-active website but it isn’t really easy for me to get to.

Here’s the link for the place in Edgeware Road: http://www.londonlaserhairremoval.com/ website isn’t the easiest thing to manoeuvre around so I just called her and she was really nice.

Completely understand about what you’re saying about how helpful this forum is, I have spent the last 3 hours researching good laser places and using this forum to find any experiences with the different types of lasers. Extremely helpful

#22

They sound really cheap. Let us know how it goes and remember to get your test patch settings so the experts here can tell you whether they’re good enough or not.

Renew Medica is good but I guess us Lightsheer people need to be careful.

#23

Santi sounds like she’s promoting her clinic. I would ignore that “recommendation”.

LightSheer has eitehr 9 or 12mm spot size. Do you guys know which one this clinic has? The newer machine has a larger spot size. 30ms is a pretty standard “auto” setting. With joules, generally, if you can’t handle at least 25J and up, it’s not a good machine for you. I wouldn’t agree to be treated at anything lower than that. And avery light skin type should be able to handle settings well above teh 25J minimum on eitehr 12mm or 9mm. But 12mm is more effective, i.e. “higher settings” than same joules on 9mm.

A Yag would be fine on underarms if the price is so much better. Yags work just as well on very coarse dense hair. Alex lasers would be better all other things being equal, but at least ont he first 4 treatments or so, it shouldn’t make that much of a difference.

#24

Also, I think from a previous post, I saw that Laser Clear has GentleLASE.

#25

So today I had my second consultation at another place! I wouldn’t even call it a consultation as it lasted about 15mins including the patch test and she didn’t really tell me anything, I wasn’t too fussed as I’d heard it all before from Renew so she saved me time there but she was saying that it’s really rare that anything wrong will happen.

She has 3 years experience using their machine which is a YAG and I got the settings from here which were as follows:

45 Joules, Pulse shape 15 - but she said I was skin type IV rather than III so not sure what that means.

The machine sprayed some cold water or spray after each laser bit so slightly eased the pain.

She said that she has tested me at the highest setting she would go up to on my skin - what are your opinions of the settings she used?

#26

It sounds to me like she’s “making” you a type IV so that she can use the YAG on you, if that’s all they have.

Those settings are really quite high for the YAG, so I would guess that you are a type III, not really a type IV.

#27

What machine was this and what spot size? Settings aren’t equivalent across machines.

Skin types are approximate.

#28

It was a Syncro HP Laser machine, I don’t know what the spot size was unfortunately but I was tested at 45 Joules.

Is the accuracy of choosing what skin type I am important? i.e. what impact could there be if she is treating me as a type IV when I’m ‘really’ a type III?

#29

This machine has the largest spot size of 20mm. Do you know what they used on you? http://www.dekalaser.com/product.php?type=ENG_prod_83

Hopefully, you find a clinic who doesn’t need to follow a chart to know what settings to use.

#30

Nope not a clue what spot size was used on me as she didn’t write it down. Do you think 45J was a reasonable test patch or you can’t really comment unless you know what the spot size is?

#31

A “setting” is a combination of all three variables: joules, spot size, and pulse width. It’s not possible to judge by knowing only one variable.

I would call and ask.

#32

Thanks LAgirl, I will have to call them tomorrow and find out what the spot size was.

In the meantime, today I went for a consulation with Laser Clear, the consultation was rushed and when I asked her to write down the settings for me she said she doesn’t do it at the consultation but will do it when treatment begins (strange or not?) anyway I managed to badger her and she told me the following:

She used the GentleLase YAG at settings varying between 20-26 joules, she said something was ‘15’ - I’m assuming spot size but not sure, and she didn’t give me the other variable but hoping you can tell that from the machine?

I was classed in between skin type III and IV.

So at the moment I am most impressed with Renew Medica’s consulation approach as she was so thorough however not so keen on settings, second clinic, not keen on consultation approach and need to find out the spot size before I know that was a good test or not and the third clinic… well I’m not sure - what do those settings say about the test patch? Too low? In my amateur knowledge I thought 26 was really low as I got tested at 45J on the other YAG but is that because settings vary between the types of machines?

It’s all just getting more and more confusing!

#33

I say don’t base it on consultation wholeheartedly. You want the clinic that knows what they are doing and won’t under treat you. Renew Medica had a great consultation, but after that they didn’t speak so nicely and would not go higher in settings, and what they said to me was controversial too. I think I need to go to the hospital in Euston and the laser clinic called derma (the one Benji boy used) but my hair hasn’t grown back properly yet (still sooo many pepper spot looking things and lots of hairs not falling out) so I need to wait awhile.

#34

Settings are not equivalent among machines. You can’t compare them like that. It’s apples to oranges.

On GentleYAG, largest spot size is 18mm and highest joules on that is 30J. On 15mm, the highest joules are 40J because the power decreases as you decrease the spot size.

For your skin type, 20-26J on 15mm is a bit low, but on 18mm, it would be good. Also, pulse width is important since it’s adjustable on Yags. Lowest one on GentleYAG is 3ms and on other machines 5-10ms. The shorter the pulse, the more effective the treatment.

The other Yag you tried had a smaller spot size. Most other machines max out at 15mm and most only have a 12mm spot size. Without knowing that spot size, it’s hard to compare. You also don’t know the pulse width. It could have been 40-50ms vs GentleYAG’s 3ms (or even 10ms). That makes a huge difference.

That’s why it’s hard to tell without knowing all 3 factors for both.

#35

Thanks peace1, I think I am getting a bit too focused on the consultations but I just want to make sure I am going somewhere that will help and that won’t rip me off. I’m going based on the thinking that if they get the consulation right then the rest of the treatment will be done in the same manner, not all this ‘start low’ business.

LAgirl, I had a feeling I was comparing apples and oranges! I have got the settings from the 2nd place I went to and they were as follows, using the Synchro HP Laser machine - which she said was a YAG and she treated me as skin type IV:

45 Joules, Pulse shape 15, spot size 15mm

She told me 45J would be the highest setting she would treat me at.

Is this any help?

#36

Those are fine settings for your skin type on the Yag.

Pulse width is how close together the pulses are fired. So the lower, the better. It’s not the “shape”. The spot size is the size of the applicator.

#37

Do you think the settings will be effective? I’m just worried that if 45J is the highest she would go to what if I need it to be any stronger at some point? Or would I never go any higher?

#38

Those settings are fine - the combination. The thing is that your skin type is light enough for an alex laser, so you don’t really need a Yag. This basically means that you will likely need to switch to an alex anyway after 4 treatments or so, when the most coarse hair is gone.

#39

Yeh, so the question is, why did the Synchro Clinic tell her she was a Type IV and treat with a YAG? Most likely because they don’t have an Alexandrite.

I would go somewhere with both an Alex and YAG, perhaps an Apogee Elite. It’s a shame Renew Medica decided to use the Lightsheer on you - I think it’s just that machine that is problematic. Everyone I know, myself included who has had YAG treatment there has had good results. I’m sure it’s the same case with clients who have treatment with the Alex.

You could just have a few treatments with the Synchro and then look for another clinic with an Alexandrite.

#40

In terms of my skin type, I have so far been told I am skin type III, skin type IV and between skin type III-IV. I don’t know what difference this all makes with the lasers?

At laser clear she had both the Alexandrite and the YAG and she chose to use the YAG - I don’t know what this says about my skin type/their choice.

I think Renew had no option but to use the Lightsheer as that’s the only machine they had at the clinic I went to. She said they would use that and then if necessary send me to another clinic to use the other machines, but that just seems an inconvenience to me, I’d rather just stick to one place with the right machine for me!