My LHR Adventure

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

This is my adventure with Laser Hair Removal (LHR). I will update this post as I progress through my treatment. I have been following HairTell for a while as a lurker. What a great resource for Hair Removal.

I am not a hairy beast by any means. I don’t have a hang up about hair on my body either. I have hair all over but for the most part it is very light or fine. I have pale skin but dark brown hair. My legs, arms and private parts have dark brown hair.

I would shave my girl parts to be completely bare all the time, if I did not have an issue with ingrown hairs which is why I decided that I was going to treat myself to LHR. I found a Chicago Med Spa offering 8 LHR sessions for $150 total per area. Sounds way to good to be true but this would be my first try at LHR so I thought this was a good chance to try it at an amazing price. I called to verify the information and was told that since I wanted to be complete hair free on my girl parts, I needed to purchase two certificates for a total of $300. All treatments will be completed by a licensed esthetician employed by the spa.

I then meet with the nurse practitioner soon after getting my certificates. After a few minutes of conversation and her review of my paperwork, she determined that I would be a good candidate for LHR. She did not look at my skin or the hair in the area that I wanted treated but I did not question this. I probably should have but I guess I am not that cautious since I did a lot of research before I went in to the appointment. Thank you Hair Tell Forum!!!

At this meeting, I found that I am skin type II (which is what I thought I was before I went) and this spa uses the Soprano XL laser machine. I know from this forum that it is not ideal but for this price it is really hard to not give it a try. I can also add later on my lower legs and underarms at the same deal (8 treatments per area for $150)

At my treatment appointment, my esthetician brought me back to the laser room and after letting me get changed out of my clothes, we started the procedure. There was no discussion about what we were going to do, she just spread the gel and off we went. I did ask her some questions but since I thought I was familiar with what to expect, I did not ask to many. Again, my fault and I will make sure I ask more questions about machine settings and options as we go on from here.

I have now learned that there is a difference between painless and pain less. Painless implies that there will be no pain. Pain less means that there will be pain but not as much as other options. LHR using the Soprano XL is pain less. At least my experience is pain less. I bought numbing creme for next time.

Wow, that kind of hurt. I wonder how bad the other laser hurts if this is supposed to be less painful. As the device is moved over my body, the laser zaps my hair follicles. I assume that it hurts in places that have hair in the follicle as it felt like small electrical shocks all over the places I normally shave but no shocks when she moved the device in areas that I have no hair and never have. It’s not all bad though since as soon as the laser moved on, the pain was gone. At least until the next spot was reached. The tech swept an area with the device and then would move on to another area to sweep.

I can say that I felt like the process was rushed but I know the procedure was supposed to be fast. I guess I will see what happens. Entire procedure was 5-8 mins.

The Soprano XL machine display said from top to bottom
II
40 j
3 hz.
I assume this was on pulse mode instead of SHR mode since it hurt. I could be wrong though.

My concern over the next few weeks will be hair growth especially over the labia area since I am not sure she even hit that area very well. I had to ask that the backside be done. Luckily I have 7 more tries with this. I will make sure that the tech gets in there good as I want to be completely hair free. My next appointment is in 7 weeks. I know I should wait 8-12 but I think my pubic hair grows in pretty fast so I will do this one at 7 weeks and then modify the time between as I determine how the hair is growing.

Thanks for reading my story, I will keep you updated as I go along.

#2

Generally, most people here report that Soprano hurts just as much if used at good settings.

Let us know how shedding goes in 3 weeks. That will be the best way to tell if things are progressing.

Don’t schedule your next session until you have enough hair to treat after shedding. Who knows? You may even need a touchup in 3 weeks from now if more than 10% doesn’t shed.

#3

It’s good to hear someone who felt they were treated well with a gift certificate type situation! I’m from chicago as well (as the name implies) and have my first consultation tonight at a new place! I tried Hair Today Gone Tomorrow before they went out of business a few years ago, hoping this yields better results! Good luck, looking forward to hearing how much shedding you get.

#4

Its been a week since my first treatment. I have not seen any shedding yet but I know that it could take another few days and up to 2 weeks until it is complete. I shaved this weekend so that might screw with my results but I had to. I could not have hairy bits over the weekend. Since I am not seeing my bf this weekend, I am not shaving again until 3 weeks have past.

I am anxious to see my results after the shedding occurs.

More results to follow in subsequent posts…

#5

It takes 3 weeks for shedding to complete and it often doesn’t start until week 1.5.

#6

The shedding has begun!!!

I have tweezed my eyebrows and the occasional pubic hair in my past so I have an idea of what the hair is supposed to look like with the root attached. The hairs that are falling out are short (maybe 1/4 inch long) but do not look to have the root attached. It looks like how the hairs look after being shaved.

Again, the hairs are coming out of the pores with no resistance while wiping the area with a exfoliating scrub, towel, or even tissue paper.

Is this what normal shedding hair is supposed to look like?

#7

Two weeks have passed since my LHR treatment. I am still shedding with around 25% less hair than before the treatment.

I can say that observing the shedding can be obsessive. As is the entire hair removal adventure.

There have also been more areas of ingrown hairs that have shown their little red spots. I have been able to exfoliate the area and remove the hairs to most of the spots. The majority had loose hair so I can only assume that these were future nightmares for me but getting a good zap caused the hairs to release from the follicle before the real irritation occurred.

So far so good though. I have my next appointment 5 weeks from now and depending on the results of the shedding, I might move the treatment up. I was told by the spa owner that so long as I complete all 8 treatments, any additional treatments will be complimentary. This good to know and I wont feel as though this first treatment was a waste.

#8

You should expect ALL hair to fall out by the 3 week mark. If more than 10-15% is left, the remaining hair was missed, so I would ask for a touchup at that point.

#9

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I sure hope I only end up with 10% so I am going to be as patient (and hopeful) as I can. For the most part, the treatment area is currently patchy, thinner or bare. I say 25% so far has shed because there has been no reduction in or around the labia which is the area that I thought she missed. I asked for a Brazilian and I think I received a tight bikini. My next treatment request will be a “Hollywood” Brazilian And very thorough, at my insistence.

My provider does not do touch ups at no charge but I do plan on contacting the owner though should it turn out that this area was missed all together.

LAgirl…or anyone with this info… Do you know what settings are good for the Soprano XL? I have looked for that info but cant find good treatment settings. My first treatment was set at 40J at 3hz. The machine goes as high as 120J but for my skin type (II) I don’t know what would be a great setting for it. I know that 40J hurt but I could have handled more. It would be nice going into the treatment knowing what ranges would work best for me before they started. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

#10

I’m not very familiar with settings on this particular machine, but I doubt it can go up to 120J without adjusting other parameters to ineffective levels.

The problem with this particular machine, it seems from experiences of others, is that clinics don’t know how to use it properly to achieve good results. 40J is technically a good setting on a diode, but there are other factors on this particular machine that clinics seem to get wrong.

#11

Thanks LAgirl. I appreciate the assistance.

I have been able to find info that a 40J setting in pulse mode for this machine is decent but others have reporting as high as 60J with some discomfort. Since pain and discomfort are subjective, I am going to request an aggressive approach and if I cant handle it, have them lower the settings. Aim High will be my motto. And no missing bits that need to get zapped. :cool:

I will update again once I get to the 3 week mark.

#12

Hi LD27.
It’s nice to see somebody in a pretty similar situation. I too have had Soprano XL treatments with single pulse mode. It was much cheaper than other clinics, so I went for it.

2 treatments so far. I too was treated with the same settings. 40J. It was painful but just like you, I felt like I could have gotten more aggressive settings. I tried to push this matter, but the ‘technician’ just didn’t want to do it because she is a buffoon who knows nothing about LHR. Saying nonsense like the settings don’t matter, and that not all hair is supposed to shed. Jeez. anyway im drifting here lol.

For the treatments, I have to say I got what I paid for which wasn’t much. Both times my shedding was only 3/4 of all the hair. Again, they were too incompetent to give me touch ups cause they know nothing.

Hopefully you get full shedding. I think this is important, and please do try to get higher settings than 40j, if your skin can handle it.

I can’t say if it’s working yet after only 2 treatments. It’s been 8 weeks since my last session. I will post some pictures tommorow to get some second opinions if you don’t mind.

#13

Hi Johnson, Thanks for the post. I am going to do my best to be as insistent as possible to get exactly what I want. I am glad to know that 40J is a reasonable treatment setting (even if more could be used). Once I get to 3 weeks I will try to post some pics, G-Rated of course, to show my results. I don’t have any hairy before pics since I not left this area fully grown in years.

I hope that you get the results that you are looking for. I would appreciate pics to see where you are at after 2 treatments. Hopefully your next treatment can be more aggressive as well.

#14

Yeah, and if you do get to be treated with more than 40j, please share let me know about the pain level there compared to 40 as I’m pretty interested to know.

anyway here’s my progress so far.
before
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/7579/foto005p.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/504/foto006rj.jpg

now 8 weeks post treatment #2
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/9573/treatmenttwee8weekspost.jpg
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9573/treatmenttwee8weekspost.jpg

i think more hair will be back in 2-3 weeks and i havent even gotten to all the hair cycles yet. still, looks like ok results but i don’t know.
Soprano XL might be a great machine if used perfectly.

#15

Thanks for the pics. I can see a good amount of reduction from your before and after. I think it looks good. Maybe its time for another treatment since you have a good amount of growth there. Did all of the hair shed after each treatment? How many more treatments are you suppose to have remaining?

When you go back in, maybe you can ask that they up it a little bit, to 43J or 45J just to see what happens. That is how I am going to approach it, at least. I should have no problems with going a bit higher since i was able to make it through the 40J setting with no numbing cream. I have that now and will surely use it before the next treatment.

#16

Last time I went back at week 10 so I think more hair will grow in the next 2 weeks. And no not all hair shed, more like 70/75 %. How is your shedding going so far?

As for the total amount of treatments, I think like usual 6 to 8 should be enough. I don’t think I will continue if most hair is gone anyway.

#17

Bummer that you did not have complete shedding. I know we are all hoping for the best but reduction is good also. I think if I get a significant reduction, I will be happy.

For the areas that I know she lasered me, I think I have about 70% shedding. The hair that has not shed is in patches in 4 areas. Still better than having hair all over. Shaving is a breeze.

I still have 7 treatments to go before I call it quits but so far, I am pretty happy with the results.

#18

Yeah sounds so similar to my situation. Just out of curiousity, did you experience some side effects? What I noticed afterwards was that my skin was just a bit pink, like 15 minutes or so. After a few hours you couldn’t even notice anything. Unlike most people with succesful treatments who have pretty red skin for quite a few hours.

I think it’s working too, just maybe not as well as it potentially could. The single pulse mode on the Soprano XL is very similar to the Lightsheer Diode which is known as a very good machine.

#19

I did not check the treated area for a few hours after it was treated since I had appointments after my treatment so I cant really say.

I did get some advice from a user of the machine. I was told that 40J on the brazilian area is pretty high because the skin is darker. So maybe 40J on the hands or paler skin of the bikini area is pretty decent.

As I said, I am happy with what I have so far. I will just stay patient and see what grows back between now and my next treatment.

#20

So its been 3 weeks since my first treatment. I have been patiently waiting for the shedding to finish but since last week there has been very little change. I am at around 70% shedding for the treated area. I have had several ingrown hairs come to the surface so there is quite a bit of damage to the skin. Even though the skin looks bad now, I am patient and am looking forward to the time that I will have no more hair, ingrown or otherwise. Given that I shaved and waxed this area for years, waiting this process out will be my punishment for all the damage I did.

The area that I have complete shedding is very smooth.

So far so good. Next treatment is 4 weeks from now. If I have enough growth to warrant moving the treatment up, I will do so, especially given I have areas that did not shed and an area that was not treated at all.

Thanks for allowing me a place to document my progress and discuss the hair removal process.