The first laser cleared for use in the US for hair removal was an Nd:YAG called SoftLight. This method used a carbon lotion rubbed into the follicles and has largely fallen out of favor because results didn’t live up to their marketing claims.
Newer long-pulse Nd:YAG lasers have since come on the market, but there is pretty limited data on long term results with these lasers. For mor, see:
Do you know of anything, good or bad, about the Lyra XP laser?
(you probably saw my other post, but if not - male, light skin, dark hair, back and chest).
Thanks.
If you have light skin and dark hair, you are better off with an alexandrite or diode laser. I have been treated with both and they both deliver very good results.
My latest treatments with the Lightsheer ET diode laser have resulted in the least amount of hair regrowth. It’s almost all gone!
Still the Apogee is very good too and may have a lower cost of treatment. When my dermatologist started using the Lightsheer, I was fortunate enough to get treatments in at the older cheaper rate charged for the Apogee 40.
The Nd:YAG laser is used mostly for people with dark or tanned skin. It takes more treatments and takes a longer time period.
RJC2001
I had a test patch done with an Alexandrite laser - after one week, there is still quite a bit of redness - not what I was hoping for. I also had a small test patch done with an ND-Yag laser - all signs of treatment went away within a day.
The Alexandrite may be stronger, but it appears to have been too strong - burnt my skin.
My practitioner also uses a Sciton Nd:YAG laser. They mostly use it on dark skinned patients including African Americans. I have read journal aritcles about it being used with success on tan patients. I would like to try it during the summer but the practitioner has seen me during the summer and how dark my tan is and she is not real big on that idea.
I don’t have much chest hair left nor do I have much back hair either. But I want it all gone! I am still considering the idea of electrolysis for my chest as much of the hair that is left is white.
If it turns out you can’t tolerate the Gentlelase the Nd:YAG is an option. More treatments will be required.
Maybe you should try a test patch with a diode laser. At 40 Joules I have no redness at all and at 45 J I had some redness that lasted a few days.
RJC2001
How soon after the test patch do they check you? It would be interesting to see the difference n regrowth between the different lasers.
RJC2001
RJC - regrowth with the Gentlase for me is about 40% (6 weeks after test). Unfortunately, the test patch for the ND-Yag was too small to be able to tell the results. I think I will try a test patch with the Diode, as you suggest (the redness from the Gentlase is gone, but there is still discoloration).
My quandry is that the nurse who uses the Gentlease seems to be the best practitioner around - for men, anyway. He does almost exclusively men. He also seems to have a much better sense of the aesthetics (ie - where to remove hair, where to stop)…the ND-Yag practitioner seems less adept on the aesthetic front.