My Treatments – GentleLASE, Type III

Pavel · September 9, 2007, 5:41am

I had my first treatment one week ago. The areas: Chest, Back and Shoulders. The laser was GentleLASE, the settings were 18mm spot size, 18J/cm2. I am between skin types II and III. I will have my next appointment somewhere in the beginning of December (it will be 13 weeks from the first one). They suggested 8 weeks, but I think to wait a bit longer than that. I hope that 13 wks it’s not going to mess up with the hair cycles or something like that. Also, about the settings. I think I can handle 18mm/20J, (well…… we’ll do the spot test first to make sure that it’s safe for my skin), but is it necessary to go higher than 18J. I don’t want to be completely smooth (especially on the chest), if the hair becomes shorter and finer that will be just fine for me. On the back and shoulders however I would like to be all gone. I haven’t experienced any shedding yet, but I guess is too early for that.

Benji_Boy · September 9, 2007, 9:28pm

18 joules is a good setting and should yield very positive results. Yeah theres the general rule (although it’s not set in stone) that the higher the joules the more effective the laser is on the hair, but if your skin can only manage 18 rather than 20 joules it isnt the end of the world. You can still achieve the smooth look with 18 joules, as long as the rest of the settings are adequate eg. pulse and so on.

Thinking of it, my treatments are done with a GentleLase Alexanderlite set at 18 joules and the hair is becoming much much thinner already and much less dense.

Laser can be used to thin out the hair and 18 joules on an 18mm should do the trick, to do this most people usually have 3-4 treatments rather than the full 8 treatments or more. When doing this though its best to let the hair grow enough between treatments so that you can see the thickness and density of it (basically so that you don’t loose more than you want).

Hope this helps,
Benji

LAGirl · September 10, 2007, 5:49pm

This is a good setting if you can handle it just fine. I hope all the hair you’re treating is dark and coarse, especially on the shoulders area which is hard to treat on men and some men experience finer hair become darker on that particular area. by using these high settings, you do minimize that chance. It’s not necessary to go higher for now if you can handle this just fine and shedding is good. And yes, wait until enough hair comes in later to come in for your next treatment. No reason to do it too early.

Let us know where in Europe you are located as others here always look for clinics with GentleLASE there and find it hard to find.

Pavel · October 21, 2008, 7:32pm

Hi everyone,
I thought it’s time to report back on my progress so far. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been here. I had a couple of treatments with GentleLase. All spaced approx. 10-12 weeks (or even more). The settings were 18J/18mm (I can’t convince my tech to go higher than that, and that’s ok because my skin is not that white). The first treatments were the most painful. Every next treatment was less painful than the previous. The hair now is much sparser than what I begin with. I had 4 treatments on the chest and back, 3 on the arms, and 3 on the legs. I had taken some pictures to track my progress. Below are the links

Chest, Back, Abs, Neck, Shoulders - Sep 2007, Dec 2007, Mar 2008, Jun 2008

Arms, Underarms - Oct 2007, Jan 2008, May 2008

Legs - Nov 2007, Feb 2008, Jun 2008

ROMEONYC · October 21, 2008, 9:46pm

Hi Pavel:

I think it may be time that you switched to 15 mm spot size and tried perhaps 20 Joules or higher in consort with your provider.
That should help the area get even thinner and sparser if you so desire.

Pavel · October 21, 2008, 10:27pm

Hi Romeo,
The hair is sparse and thin enough. I am happy with the density. I just wish if the hair was shorter, but I guess it is impossible to get this result. I am going to discuss the settings with my tech again. Until now we use only 18J/18mm.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/laser/laser_1_resize.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/laser/laser_2_resize.jpg

LAGirl · October 21, 2008, 11:24pm

What is your ultimate goal? Almost complete removal or just reduction?

Professionals here tend to disagree on the spot size/joules issue. SSLHR here prefers the highest spot size for best results, no matter what type of hair. Chris prefers lowering the spot size to target finer hair.

If you do lower the spot size, I would try for higher joules than 20J if you can handle 18j/18mm just fine. 30j is max on 15mm.

Pavel · October 21, 2008, 11:53pm

Hi lagirl,

My goal is just a reduction. I am very happy with the results so far. I will go for one last time for each area. I read that the larger the spot size, the greater energy delivered and also deeper into the tissue. Is there a laser that will affect the length of the hair (make it shorter) rather than kill it? Stupid question, I know…

LAGirl · October 22, 2008, 12:06am

Can’t really change the length. Sorry. You can trim with a body trimmer.

ROMEONYC · October 22, 2008, 12:15am

Of course, besides having our own choices for spot size, the main reason that I am suggesting 15 mm spot size is because the 18 mm is limited to 20 joules, whereas the 15 mm can go upto 30 joules. I agree, if you are using a 15 mm spot size, go higher than 20 J as long as your skin tone can take it.

Pavel · October 22, 2008, 12:25am

Thanks guys for the answers. I have an appointment tomorrow, and will ask for the 15mm spot size and more joules this time. Thanks once again

vklepil · October 22, 2008, 1:20am

First, thanks for sharing your photos with us. I’ve checked them and noticed we’ve got similar hair patterns after the treatments except I’d started with much more hair and I have more hair than you now. Erratic, sparse, long hair. I see, you are happy with the results and you even go for more treatments. Well, I am not that happy with the look. I’d rather have denser hair with a uniform look. You are bothered by the length but not the non-uniformity. I guess, I am the opposite. But, I’d like to be able to accept my hair pattern the way it is now, but I am not able to.

What are you reasons to get along with your new hair? Maybe, you can help me out here?

Pavel · October 22, 2008, 1:57am

Hi vklepil,
Because most of the hairs are long and sparse that is why they look “strange”. If the hair was shorter then it will look more uniform and natural. I hope that one more treatment on the arms (I had 3 so far) will make the hair look more natural. If things get worse I will try to even things out with electrolysis. How many treatments you had? On which areas?

LAGirl · October 22, 2008, 5:17am

Pavel, it would also be great if you posted a recommendation for your clinic. It sounds like they know what they’re doing and we don’t have that many recommendations in Europe, especially with GentleLASE providers.

Pavel · October 22, 2008, 5:54am

I live in Cyprus. Nicosia. here is the address of the center.
Laser Medical Esthetic Centre
24 Themistoklis Dervis Str., 1st Floor
tel: 22681323, 22681208

There are also some other centers that use GentleLase. (at least 3 in my city)

vklepil · October 22, 2008, 11:31am

I agree, sparseness and lengthiness contributes to strange look. But long hairs on the other hand cover up the bald spots hiding the bald spots.

I’m looking forward to see the results of 4th treatment on your arms. I don’t want to discourage you, but my feeling is that it will get worse. Maybe you should only treat the areas you have denser hair.

I’ve had many treatments: you can read my story at http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/54716/My_LHR_history_male_Need_help.html#Post54716

Good luck.

pdeco1 · October 22, 2008, 1:37pm

I 2nd this. Its time to go to 15mm and up the joules. Those finer hairs are not as deep in the skin, so you dont need 18mm anymore. Finer hairs are also harder for the laser to target, so you need to up the joules.

Pavel · October 22, 2008, 11:27pm

Today I had another treatment on my arms. We spoke about the settings, my tech told me that using 18mm will be better and if I want to up the joules we can use 20J this time. So we used 20J/18mm. Didn’t hurt that much. After couple of hours I sill have some red dots on my skin. I’ve applied some Aloe Vera gel. Hopefully by tomorrow all will be good. I am uploading some pictures I took after the treatment.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/arms/new/LHR_2008-10-2212-14-57.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/arms/new/LHR_2008-10-2212-15-15.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/arms/new/LHR_2008-10-2212-15-23.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/arms/new/LHR_2008-10-2212-15-36.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/arms/new/LHR_2008-10-2212-15-44.jpg
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/pavelny/arms/new/LHR_2008-10-2212-15-54.jpg

LAGirl · October 23, 2008, 12:35am

How far apart are your treatments spaced? I would start waiting 12-16 weeks to really see the reduction that you’re getting.

Pavel · October 23, 2008, 5:24am

For the arms the last treatment was end of May (23 weeks ago to be exact). Too long, I know. I shouldn’t have wait for so long.