I’ll ask Sharon about it.
I am doing my own research but a good start is here first. After all, this is a hair forum.
I actually can take it anywhere except lower down the bikini line where of course hair is most dense. But I will use numbing cream in the future.
I still don’t understand any reason for asking to swith to Yag though, because if pain for higher settings isn’t a different, what other reason is there for e switching to it? Just curious to know.
I think I will call them again and tell them that if they’re going to be using the Lightsheer on me then I need it set to at least 25.
The suggestion is not because of the pain but because you DO have pain even at low settings.
I read in another thread that the lowest recommended for this laser is 25J.
In accordance to this, your settings are low BUT yet they are causing you pain.
The clinic usually starts off with moderate settings but since they are very low, it suggests that they are wary of burning you (if they were low and unpainful, then we can assume they are under treating) which suggests that perhaps your skin type is too pigmented for the Lightsheer.
This is the reason for the suggestion, nothing to do with less pain with the YAG.
You can’t just jump to 25J without them test patching you first as it may burn. At the end of treatment on an area, they always test patch you for a higher setting for next time but they don’t tell you.
For example, when I had my test patch on my arm, the 40J/15ms part of the patch caused a mild burn (what they call scaling). However, on my second arm treatment which was 35J/15ms they test patched again for 40J/15ms for next time. This time I did not get scaling as there was less hair, therefore less heat generated.
p.s It will hurt like crazy on that part of the bikini line, you just have to bite your lip.
Yea you know that part of the bikini line has dark skin compared to the rest of my body. I don’t know if that is unusual but it is darker and the Yag will probably work good there. The colour is not like the other parts of my body at all.
It’s normal for some of the bikini line to have darker skin. Yag seems like a good option for you in general considering the settings you’ve posted on LightSheer in the past were too low to be effective.
Is that Yag for bikini, underarms and ars and legs? Or just bikini line and underarms?
I’m going to call them today and ask them if I can havethe Yag done because I have spoken to professionals who say the settings are too low to be effective in the long term.
What is the lowest setting I should be satisified with on a Yag for the above mentioned places? It’s pribably been answered before but I can check back here when I call for easier reference. 
You should use a Yag anywhere your skin can’t handle good settings on a diode.
I wouldn’t tell them why you want a Yag. Just ask if they have one. If they don’t, the point is moot anyway and they’ll just try to convince you that you’re wrong. Everyone will tell you they have the best laser for you. They’re in the business of making money.
There is no “lowest setting”. You need to go to a consultation at a clinic with a Yag and have them test you. Then post settings there. “Settings” are a combination of numbers. You should find out joules, spot size, and pulse width. We can only help with figuring out whether they’re high enough once you post them. Only the person treating you can test for the highest your skin can handle, which is what you should be striving for for best results.
I could probably handle higher settings on a diode but they won’t do it. How can I tell them they need to use at least 25J on my legs and arms?
With the Yag, it seems different but I go to the same place stoppit does if that helps. If I go for a test patch, they will probably do something low and then I’ll come back here and write the settings and you will all say it is low and I will call them and they’ll say sorry we can’t give you another test patch. And they won’t go higher in the appointment until the end. Or am I wrong? I am assuming this from the Lightsheer experience but Yag could be different.
It sounds to me like they won’t restart everything with a YAG because then they will have to admit that the Lightsheer wasn’t the best choice, which they won’t do unless it’s obvious treatment isn’t working.
Anyway, I would be reluctant to assume what does/doesn’t work with the Lightsheer. I hear it’s difficult to use properly and it’s only one guy’s thread that everyone is going by for this 25J info.
Go for a consultation at a different clinic! If you don’t like this place, don’t continue with treatments here. It’s the same mistake people make time and again and then come here to vent that things weren’t right with their Laser/Electrolysis treatments but they carried on anyway.
If you read my thread, LAgirl mentioned more than once that my settings were low-ish but they still worked and worked well. From her position, she was right and advising accordingly to ensure I wasn’t wasting money. But at the same time, I had to assess the treatment based on my own experience as well. It’s just not the same for everyone. One just needs to understand what’s going on and act accordingly.
You just can’t say “Oh I must be treated at 40J with the YAG because people on the internet told me.”, it doesn’t work like that.
If you’re not getting what you want from a clinic, then you should consider finding a clinic that will do what you need. That’s what we always recommend. If you’re fine sticking here and seeing what happens, then that’s fine too. I just wouldn’t blame the laser itself if you don’t get the results you want because it would be due to settings used, not the machine.
Stoppit, the settings being used on her are not slightly lower. They’re pretty low in general. 16J on a diode is low, no matter what.
See this is what I don’t get - LAgirl is telling me it’s low - and I can understand it is because the Lightsheer is different.
I also know that we can’t just determine it from the Internet because someone said something to me - of course I know if it burns it’s too high.
That is why I am here to ask what to do because by taking answers I can carefully apply them to the situation. So I am assuming if she tries the Yag and the settings stoppit put are used, then they could go a bit higher, that’s if the other numbers are similar too?
What you really need is a clinic who knows what they’re doing and know to be aggressive with settings and are experienced enough to figure out what those are for your skin type. You shouldn’t be basing them on what others are using. Everyone’s skin and undertones and pigmentation is different.
I get you. It’s just odd that I get treated differently to others like stoppit has had good experience and the people she knows as a whole but Sharon (electrologist) said my skin colour is similar to stoppit’s so who knows why they wanted to try another laser on me.
I am going to call the hospital but it is frustrating because they charge £40 for a consultation which you HAVE to have and another £40 for a test patch. They refund the test patch if you book an appointment for a proper laser appointment.
scream
The people I know are all being treated with a YAG and the settings are always within a certain range. Nothing much you can go wrong with on areas such as underarm and bikini. I don’t think my bikini settings were that high at all (although painful) but the hair is so coarse that it responded well.
LAgirl, you mentioned in a post on the previous page to ask them if they have a Yag - I know they have that already so when asking them if they can switch to it, if they ask me why, what should I say?
I would ask THEM why they think a diode is better for you instead of a YAG. They made that decision and should be able to explain it. In the same conversation, you can say that you’d like aggressive treatments because you want the hair gone for good and have read that low settings won’t necessarily achieve that. I would ask for test spots so they can be sure you can handle the settings without issues.
They told me my skin is quite light so that is why they used Diode, but not why they didn’t use Yag, I’ll do that hopefully. Thank you very much for your reply.
Okay I rang and the lady said to me she didn’t know why I was actually on Lightsheer so she put it on hold and asked…
She got the reply (not from the lady who does it on me, she wasn’t in, but from someone else) that the reason why I have been put on Lightsheer Diode is because:
My hair is very dense so to decrease the density she is using diode, after which she will switch to Yag.
I then asked about the settings and that they were quite low compared to 25 (based on my reaesrach) - just to note the lady I was talking to was very understanding and actually talked to me like I was okay to do my own research and ask questions, whereas I don’t get that normally).
Anyway she said that if my skin was pale and white then the settings would be higher as I would be able to take it but because my skin is darker it will burn or leave a mark so she does it at these settings. She said the lady who is doing my treatment is putting the settings at what she thinks won’t burn.
I said to her that I think she lowers it because of the pain rather than burningm because I asked to try out higher for my legs and arms but she said no, and I wanted to know if I would be okay for those settings for the next appointment.
I also said that I know of others who go to the same clinic and their hair is dense too - they started on a Yag.
She booked me in for tomorrow for Yag but I have no idea on what settings. My arms and legs appointment is on Monday on Lightsheer, unless Yag goes okay then I will be able to be treated with that - should I cancel my appointment on Monday for the meantime then? I’d have to do it now as they need 48 hours notice.
And that’s it.
Density of hair should have nothing to do with laser choice. It’s best to treat the hair properly from the start. You don’t want to make the hair finer and thus harder to affect with any laser afterwards. You want to kill it the first time around.
I would either call the lady who treated you before and ask her the settings they would use on you with a Yag since she’s seen you in person before. I would try to avoid going in and just getting treated at whatever they decide on the pot. Is the clinic far? Can you stop by for a consultation first?