Well… here goes
Background
I am a 32 year old male from a town near Amsterdam, The Netherlands. From my mid-teens I have experienced significant body hair growth. The growth on my back, shoulders and the outside of my upper arms, I have come to consider excessive. The hair is course and quite long, similar to pubic hair.
During my late teens I shaved my problem areas, but that got old in a hurry. Needing someone to shave my back for me especially. When I don’t however, the reaction of people when I go to the gym or swimming pool is more than I can handle: pointing, staring, looking away in disgust. I generally don’t care what people think, but I have no intention of being a circus attraction. The past year I have been considering my options, after seeing LHR on TV. This site and the contributions has been really helpful, thanks.
I have come to realize that I am certainly not an ideal candidate. This has also been confirmed by the clinics I have visited for consults. My hair is dark blonde. My body hair is darker, course and densely populated in the areas I want treated. My skin type is II or III. It is quite sensitive to sun, burns easily, but tans with proper sun care. The skin in the areas I want treated has not seen the sun for years and is milky white. I simply do not go outside without a shirt, because of the hair.
Selecting a laser and clinic
Using the information on laser types from this site, I researched the possibilities in The Netherlands. To my surprise, I could not find a single clinic offering Alexandrite.*
I made my choice based my assessment of the clinic and brand of diode laser. The first clinic I visited for a consult uses the Lightsheer, which seems to a well regarded diode on this forum. The technician made an assessment and confirmed that I was not an ideal candidate. He did however guarantee(!!) that I would be completely hair free after about 8 sessions on high settings. Obviously, alarm bells rang. Although I had already decided against this clinic based on his statement, I asked to have a test area treated. The treatment bordered on painful (and I have a high pain threshold). Not only did I decide against that clinic, I also decided that the Lightsheer was not for me.
The second clinic I visited seemed more professional from the get go. I got a consult with clinic’s manager. She did not only made an assessment of my skin and hair type, but got a medical history as well. She warned me that I would never be hair free and would need an above average number of treatments to achieve significant reduction. As the consult went on, it almost seemed like she was trying to discourage me from getting treated. In doing so, she managed to convince me. This clinic uses the Soprano XL. She explained that I would need aggressive treatment and the cooling system of the XL would be beneficial in that regard. Although I remembered that this diode got very mixed feedback on this forum, I decided to go ahead.
We agreed on fee of 380 euro ($490) per session for my back, shoulders and the outside of my upper arms. This is normal price when comparing to other clinics. The only clinics offering a lower price require a 6-treatment advance payment, which I would never consider.
*Last weekend, one week after my first treatment, I actually managed to find a single clinic offering Alexandrite (cynosure apogee 9300, apogee elite 755 and 1064 nm). Based on the price, it seems they know that they have a monopoly position. 800 euro ($1034) per session for back shoulders and upper arms just seems outrageous.
My first treatment
The technician carefully checked if the areas to be treated were properly shaved and shaved a few spots that were missed. Considering this was my first treatment and therefore unknown how my skin would react, she did not want to go higher than 45J. The only thing I felt was the cooling. Forget pain, I literally did not feel a thing. After applying aloe vera gel directly after treatment, she showed me areas on my back with tiny red spots. When the manager enquired how the treatment went and I mentioned I did not feel a thing, the tech reported that she saw “hair follicles popping out of my skin” (not sure if that makes sense). The manager said this was an indication that I was responding to treatment.
My skin did not react to the treatment at all. No redness or sensitivity. The only thing that struck me was a pinprick sensation in the treated areas when I got goosebumbs. That sensation lasted for a few days and seemed to come from the hair follicles that were treated.
It is now two weeks after the session and shedding is at least 50% and counting. Considering this session was at a setting that proved to be low for me, I am quite pleased. I will insist on a higher setting next time. Although the remaining hair is getting quite long, I am going to try to resist the urge to shave for another two weeks. I want to clearly see the results.
Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this post. Any feedback would be appreciated. If I have omitted any relevant information, please let me know.
