My Laser Journey - Starting 2010

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi, :slight_smile:

I went for a consultation today, quite long appointment but everything was explained to me.

After filling out my details and then being taken into a room, I was briefed about laser and shown different pictures of after-effects.

She asked me if I am on medication and I informed her I was on medication for acne but stopped having them (doctor’s orders) to which she said that is fine for laser. I then informed her there is a possibility I may go on to roaccutane and she informed me that laser will not be until until 6 months after a person has completed a course of the medicationd due to photosensitivity and roaccutane increasing it. I am stuck here because I have no idea if and when I will be put on it so if I started laser and got a few treatments done then went on roaccutane and left laser, would that be okay? As I have read on here a significant reduction can be attained even after 3 treatments depending on the individual.

Anyway the places I am looking into are four: legs, arms, underarms and bikini.

I have asian skin (light) and black hair. Although my hairs are coarse, dense and black on my underarms and bikini, my legs consist of thin hairs (even more thinner on the thighs) but they are dense (many hairs there) and black. For this reason she said laser would work fine on me. My arm hairs are thin too but dense and black. I thought laser wouldn’t be good for such hair? But she said it would be. Anyway she informed me that laser doesn’t consist of 100% hair removal guaranteed anyway but on my legs and arms for example, the hair would be much spare after regrowth. She showed me her arm which had laser done and how they were sparse. She is white and had dark hair on them.

She said I would be good for laser as I have light skin for my skin type and black hairs.

As for the test patches, we started with the leg. It was done on the lower leg, a bit to the right and I think this hurt the most. It didn’t feel like a elastic band but more like a pin being pushed through each time. I did feel pain the first time but after that I was clenching myself for every time and it seems okay. If I look at that area now, it looks normal but two small pink dots.

The next place was my arms, just above the elbow I had a test patch done. All the areas she shaved so what happened with this rea is that we looked at it after all the test patches were done and it looked blotchy. She informed me this was a good reaction. Also the hairs were becoming curly and dotty too which she said it a good reaction. This happened underarms and bikini too. I can still see a lot of the fine hairs that she shaved but within those there are some hairs with the above reaction.

I was told if I come an hour beforehand and get cream put on to take away the pain it would cost ÂŁ25 per tube but I think I can do without that.

Right now my arm aches and I can feel a slight pain in my leg too but it’s fine.

I did ask her to write down the settings after as well as my skin type and hairt type. She wrote the settings down but not the skin type and hair type. But I am asian (light skin) with black hair so I must be like any other person with the same.

I will write down the settings if anyone wants to know. If you have any questions do ask. She wrote down how much treatment would cost for me with discount and also the name of the machine but all in all it looks very expensive so I am not sure how I am going to do this but I do know electrolysis is my priority.

peace1

#2

You’d be okay to do laser then go on accutane. I did accutane back in highschool probably 10 years ago now (gosh!!!). It’s brutal but SO worth it, worth its weight in gold. The problem with it is like they said makes you photosensitive. Plus it makes your skin SO dry, I wouldn’t leave the house without chapstick in one pocket and a tube of moisturizer in the other, you will get VERY dry to the point you want to rip your face off. Again it’s so worth it I haven’t had a single pimple since, one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Anyway I’m rambling my point is you won’t want anything touching your skin when on accutane let alone laser. Keep in mind accutane takes minimum of 6 months of treatments. So what I would do is, go for as many treatments as you can now for laser and then do your accutane, but it’s more your preference, smooth legs or smooth face.

#3

Hi, for coarse, thick hair in those areas, you will see results very quickly. A few treatments could get you a nice reduction (I’ve only had two actual treatments on my lower legs and the difference is huge). I’ve heard of many people here who only needed 3-4 treatments for bikini and 5 (or less) for underarms.

What you can do after that reduction is get the leftover hair treated with electrolysis once you go on accutane (you’d prolly want to do that anyway).

Fair warning: Doesn’t matter how DENSE the hair is, it matters how COARSE it is (sometimes the term “thick” can lead people to assume density instead of coarseness). If the laser can’t see it because it’s thin, then all or most of it will grow back after the treatment. Sure, dense hair is good because it’s a waste of money to pay for a whole treatment if you’ve got less than 20 hairs, but that has nothing to do with how effective the laser is.

If it’s not like lower-leg hair or thicker, there is a very good chance you won’t have satisfactory results since laser is so finicky. I’d save your money on those areas if I were you.

#4

I am really concerned about my face and am afraid of my face getting worse (tetracycline kept it under control but after stopping it, I feel like they are coming back but very tiny that you can feel it or just tiny in general) and I want that gone! But she did say the same about hair or looks, and this one is tricky.

#5

I was wondering that too. The thing is she seems very nice but I felt a lot of heir products were being sold to me too.

For example she told me that normally you come for a treatment after 6 weeks and it takes about 6 treatments or 8 for some, sometimes less for others. So she was showing me the packages for treatments and for these 4 areas it comes up to about ÂŁ2500 for 6 treatments for each area which I doubt I need.

I probably do have coarse hairs on my legs but there are a selected number which are like my underarms, and the rest individually are thinner. Especially my thighs, even though they are black and many, they are not coarse. I was thinking my emphasis on coarse + thick to others was incorrect after this consultation. So really I am not incorrect right? Anyway, do you think if I posted a picture of my arms and other parts you would be able to judge (to anyone here) if it is good enough for laser or not?

#6

Yeah, a picture would help us judge whether or not it would work for you much easier than just a description! :slight_smile:

6-8 treatments IS the normal course of treatments. 8 weeks apart is usually better than 6 weeks apart for most areas though, but just go by how much hair has grown back. Don’t go in for the next session until you have enough hair to justify the cost of the treatment. So she was pretty right about that, but the thing is, after a certain number of treatments, the hair grows back so fine that laser doesn’t work anymore. It’s the “point of diminishing returns” as some people call it here. :stuck_out_tongue: So it’s usually cheaper to switch to electrolysis at this point.

It could be after three sessions, or it could be after 8. There’s no way to predict that in advance (which is why laser is a kind of risky investment).

#7

Hi Peace,

Did you happen to go to the Renew Medica clinic for your laser consulation? Because your experience sounds exactly like mine! Right down from the ÂŁ25 numbing cream, to the pictures of what could go wrong etc etc.

The lady was really nice, but I did feel she was trying to sell me things like the numbing cream, tea tree lotion… Also, I told her that I was considering getting laser on my face but I was worried about induced hair growth, however she said that coarse hair could be induced on the face by laser, but then these coarse hairs could then be zapped with the laser. That sort of rang alarm bells in my mind. I didn’t take her advice on the face, and am instead getting electrolysis started there.

Having said all that I still went ahead with the laser treatment on my armpits and I recieved proper shedding after one treatment and am so far please with that area.

#8

Okay so could I ask where you got laser done and how many sessions you went for?

#9

Hello Dionysus,

Yes I went there. :slight_smile: She was very nice but yes she did say we have a range of these products and so on. I’m glad I have been on this forum beforehand because it has helped me a lot.

Is that the only place you are getting laser done and what treatment package did you go for?

#10

I thought it sounded familiar! :slight_smile:

I have dark hair practically everywhere, so I decided before I spend a fortune on my whole body I would try out somewhere small and discreet like my underarms first.

I’m not getting a treatment package, but I’m going on their off-peak times which gives a good saving on the normal costs. Once I’m confident that my underarms are getting a good reduction then I’m going to do my legs and bikini area, and then I will probably go for a treatment package.

#11

Can I ask you what your background is/skin type? I was thinking at the consultation, if she is saying these hairs are okay, then that means I could even do my stomach! But I know I can’t so… let me add some pics.

#12

Okay here are some pics, please DO NOT save these or share them with others, I will remove them soon but just looking for opinions for laser:

This is my arm, where the elbow joins:

More towards the upper arm and also shows test patch reaction to laser:

Another view of arm (don’t know which ones show that they are not thick but just dark and long):

Angle of leg (have shaved and epliated legs before, at the moment they have been shaved but all are at wierd lengths):

Shows the test patch too:

As you can see they may be thicker than arm hairs but they are not as coarse as underarms but I don’t know if it still consitutes laser (sorry about the state of them):

#13

Your arm hair seems similar to mine but mine was a bit coarser.

I haven’t managed to read through all the posts in detail but here is my advice:

With Laser YOU need to be in control of your schedule and treatments. The only place I would recommend opting for a course is underarms only. It is the only place I had 6 treatments and after that decided to finish off with electrolysis, which I am also now done with in less cost than a 7th Laser treatment.

Some technicians at Renew Medica are very good in terms of choosing settings and making sure they cover areas fully by drawing a grid with small boxes. However, at the end of the day, the nature of LHR means that they will try and sell you a course and get you in for more treatments than you need. I have not heard of a single clinic that doesn’t do this, so the important thing is that they do the treatments well, which they do. On top of that, they never have a problem with me coming in when I choose. I have heard of other clinics that have literally told clients off for not coming in on the 6 week mark.

This forum gives you all the information you need to stay on top of your treatments (settings wise) and decide when you need to go back for further treatments.

As long as you don’t have more treatments than you require and you can go off-peak, there prices are very, very reasonable for central London. £107 for underarm and bikini thong combined, off peak, is a bargain imo.

#14

Wow yours sounds cheaper lol I was quoted proper high prices. I think I need to re estimate where I want to get it done again. Yea I do understand that it is their job so of course they’re more likely to ask you to come again so I was just smiling throughout because I thought that was normal. I just don’t think my hair is thick enough. I feel I need to meet everyone on here from hairtell lol.

#15

This was at Renew Medica, right?

I have their price list in front of me. The off-peak prices are much less than what I paid when I had most of my treatments.

I paid ÂŁ69 per underarm treatment and ÂŁ95 per bikini thong.

#16

I have a middle eastern background. I have a mediterianian skin tone (but slightly on the paler side) with black hair.

My underarm and bikini hairs are coarse.
My lower legs are also quite coarse, however my upper legs/thighs, whilst still with plentiful amounts of dark, long black hairs are more on the fine side. My arm hair is similar, thin hairs but dark, long and noticable.

Based on what I have read up on laser, I will be working on the coarse hair areas only (lower legs, bikini & underarms).

If you are interested in doing your stomach then you should consider getting electrolysis. I have had a consultation and patch test at a place called Parkside in Islington with a lady called Sharon, she/they have come highly recommended by other posters in the Electrolysis forum, and she didn’t disappoint. I did a test patch on my face, which went well, and will soon be getting regular treatments there. Hope that helps.

#17

I have a middle eastern background. I have a mediterianian skin tone (but slightly on the paler side) with black hair.

My underarm and bikini hairs are coarse.
My lower legs are also quite coarse, however my upper legs/thighs, whilst still with plentiful amounts of dark, long black hairs are more on the fine side. My arm hair is similar, thin hairs but dark, long and noticable.

Based on what I have read up on laser, I will be working on the coarse hair areas only (lower legs, bikini & underarms).

If you are interested in doing your stomach then you should consider getting electrolysis. I have had a consultation and patch test at a place called Parkside in Islington with a lady called Sharon, she/they have come highly recommended by other posters in the Electrolysis forum, and she didn’t disappoint. I did a test patch on my face, which went well, and will soon be getting regular treatments there. Hope that helps. [/quote]

I did think of electrolysis but I decided I will prioritise face then go on to other areas later on as it would all be too much for me. :blush: When you say your lower legs are coarse, are they any similar to the pictures above or are they like your underarm hairs?

#18

Damn, London sure is expensive…
“£69 per underarm and £95 per bikini”
That is more than double what i charge here in Toronto.

Your hair seems to be normal, don’t expect to see amazing results but you should expect huge reduction. I would say ~80% is reachable.

#19

Thank you.

Am I looking to go for full legs and 3/4 arm? The hair is thinner on my thigh but dense.

And yes it is vert expensive, I’d rather spend my money on a much needed holiday and pop into the pros here. :stuck_out_tongue:

#20

The thinner it is, the less effective it will be, up to you.