NEED HELP...

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I posted here before but I have some important questions.
First of all I am a swimmer and I’m seeking for less leg hair so I don’t need to shave every day for tournaments.
I’m not seeking 100% hair removal all I want is maybe 60% gone and the remaining hair lighter and thinner.

Ok well I started doing ipl hair removal. The procedure was done by a doctor and they were using the Quantum. I had 2 treatments. First treatment 40J and short pulse range (not sure what number short pulse on the ipl is). And now 4 days ago I had my 2nd treatment with 42J. Well after my first treatment my hair shed within 4 weeks and after 7 weeks it slowly started re-growing but the growing hair was really thin. One of my problems was that I had small red bumps on some places on my leg and they didn’t go away for the entire 9 weeks.(I had my 2nd procedure after 9 weeks).
Recently a new clinic opened in my town. they offer GentleLase and GentleYag laser hair removal.

Now should I stick with ipl or after 8 weeks should I go and get laser instead. And seeing that I already had 2 ipl treatments would another 2 treatments be enough to get the results i want.

Btw I am a Fitzpatrick III. My legs are quite white in colour and my hair is thick and dark.

#2

If you have an opportunity to get GentleLASE treatments, do it. BUT make sure they will use good settings. ASK what settings they will use. Max on 18mm spot size is 20J. On your skin type, you can get close to that.

IPLs are not best for hair removal and not always permanent.

For 60% removal, you will likely need another 2 treatments. Legs have long hair cycles, so you should wait at least 12 weeks between treatments to judge true reduction.

#3

Thank you lagirl.
Im going to get my other 2 treatments with the laser than.
Just one more small question.
Does the hair come back thinner after every treatment and also does it stay thinner (as in permanent)?

#4

Usually when doing treatments with an IPL that is what you will see, thinner hair. When doing treatments with a true laser, the outcome should be less hair growing every time.

As Lagirl mentioned, IPLs aren’t meant to do laser hair removal. To give you an example, for laser to be effective, the hair needs to be coarse and dense but if everytime you do a treatment the hair becomes thinner, then it will be impossible to get good results with IPL after a number of treatments.

#5

Well i already had 2 ipl treatments done.
So i gues there is no point going to laser hair removal the hair that grows back now is quite thin.
Is the thinning permanent ?
LHR cost so much money and it’s so hard to decide what to do :stuck_out_tongue:

#6

Maybe i didn’t make myself clear, IPL also targets the same thing, it also needs dense coarse hair to be effective. So it is shooting your own foot in a way.

If the machine that was used is effective then it should be permanent, if not then given few months, you should see it grow back to the way it was.

If the treatments are effective then you should be able to get your goal on both IPL and laser but usually takes more treatments with IPL.

But bare in mind that I’m being very broad in here, every machine is a whole new world.

#7

You should wait about 2-3 months and see what kind of growth you see. The hair needs to be coarse to be affected. However, when i first shows up after a treatment, it can look fine. If you wait a few months, it will likely become more coarse as it matures a bit. So do that before you do any more treatments.

#8

Thank you for all the information LAgirl.
These forums are great keep up the good work.
Although i have one more small question.
Well after i waxed me legs once i had this problem the same problem i get from the laser hair removal.
See even if my hair is gone i have round red dots all over my leg witch are really obvious.
The dots are around the hair folicides and they don’t seem to go away.
I tried using aloe vera gel but diden’t do much.
Any tips how to make them go away?

#9

It may be an histamine reaction. Have you tried taking an anti-histamine?

Instead of aloe, I would apply witch hazel or tea tree oil (at night).

#10

Thank you.
Anyway i was reading through the forums and you said somewhere that if you do laser hair removal on fine hairs they get coarse,
So should i rather stick with ipl than gentlelease beacuse i have alot of fine hairs on my legs as well.

#11

You shouldn’t treat fine hair with either laser or IPL at all. It won’t work. I wouldn’t waste your money. Laser and IPL are only for COARSE dense hair.

#12

I think I didn’t make myself clear sorry I try to explain what I meant.
80% of my leg hair is course and long while 20% is quite thin and short.
Like I said I had 2 ipl treatments with quantum and my hair sheds but the most of my hair just stays as pepper spots.
The settings they used are low spot size (not sure what that is on a quantum) and 42j.
But after my 1st ipl treatment all the hair that was growing back seemed thinner and i only waited 8 weeks before I had another one.
So now I am not sure if I should stay with ipl or get Gentlelease! Like I said I want my hair thinned not completely removed.
And if I do switch what settings should I aim for? My legs are really white so I guess 18mm 16-18j?

#13

Legs have long hair cycles, so at 8 weeks the hair didn’t fully develop. If you waited longer, it would have gotten more coarse and plentiful. It’s similar to when you see hair appear after waxing. It’s thinner at first, but then goes back to normal with time. After a few laser treatments, it will become more fine and more sparse as the most coarse hairs are killed and some become more fine due to the damage to the hair permanently. You probably need to space your treatments about 12 weeks apart for legs to start.

Let the clinic decide on settings, but make it should be at least 16j on 18mm to be successful. Max is 20j on 18mm. Higher is better as long as your skin can safely handle it.

Don’t worry about induced growth. That’s not an issue on legs.

#14

Ok made an appointment with a new clinic and they will perform laser hair removal on my legs using gentlease. I still have another 4 weeks untill im on 12 weeks after my last ipl treatment.

Just to make sure i diden’t completely waste 1000$. Seeing that after my ipl treatments about 80% of hair shed and 20% remained as pepperspots after 3 weeks. Also it takes 9 weeks for the hair to acctually come back i assume the ipl treatment did work and i did not completly waste my money.
i know laser would have got me better results after 2 treatments but seeing that everything worked out fine (shedding, taking over 6 weeks for the hair to slowly come back, huge pain while undergoing the treatment) id assume the ipl treatments did work.

So if i have another two treatments using gentelease ofc 18mm and at least 16j do u rekon i will hav a significant redcution. I just wanna be able to wear shorts! Also does laser hair removal make hair grow back shorter because not only is my leg hair course and dark it’s also really long.

#15

Yes, IPL works. It’s just not as efficient as a true laser, i.e. more treatments are necessary. So you didn’t waste your money. Yes, 3-4 treatments on the legs will make a huge difference. I’ve only had 3 on my lower legs and am happy.

#16

Ok,

the clinic in my town dosen’t have Gentlease. They said they only offer Multilux witch is an ipl.(Palomar).

Do u rekon i should go for it i really cant go anywhere else to far away and im at university.
I heard that Palomar is an ok machine for an ipl. what settings should i make sure they use so they acctually do damage the hair.
And also how long should i wait still 12 weeks after my last ipl treatment or 12 weeks like u said.

My question is pretty much should i go with the Palomar Starlux/Multiplex or just stay with the Quantum ipl and if yes what settings should i make sure they use on the machines.

Like i said there is no way i can make it to the clinics that offer laser not ipl hair removal.
also how long should i wait im currently 6 weeks in my 2nd ipl treatment.

#17

Where are you located? It would be great if you added your location to your profile.

They’re both ok IPLs. If you absolutely have to go with one of them, go with the one that you already had a good experience with, i.e. good shedding.

Legs have long hair cycles. You should need to wait around 12 weeks between treatments.

#18

I am located in New Zealand Dunedin.
There are a only two clinics in New Zealand that offer Laser hair removal with an actual laser the other clinics are all ipl.
Avana is the name of the clinic with lasers but they are really far away from where i leave.
The Avana clinic in my town only have Polamar Multiplex or something like that.
I heard Palomar is a good ipl so in ur opinion does it make no difference if i stay with Quantum rather than the Palomar?
And the Quantm machine im treated with they use the max settings 45j on it with low pulse. Do u rekon i should tell them to set it on high pulse.

And how come every clinic says you need 8 weeks when you actually need 12 (every clinic here said 8 weeks ) do they do so treatments take longer and they get more money.

The doctor doing the ipl on me atm is the only one who said i shoulden’t wait 8 weeks i should just go back once i see my hair growing back and once it gets a bit coarse.

thank you for all the info btw lagirl.
This forum is great thanks for helping us so we don’t waste our money.

#19

  • Both of those IPLs aren’t bad as I said. Go with the clinic that makes you feel best about their experience.

  • Treatment times are not exact. They vary by person and area treated. It’s 8-12 weeks depending. Yes, just wait until you have enough hair to treat. Don’t focus too much on what they say about this. Just go when you feel you need to go back and you’ll be fine.

#20

Sweet thank you lagirl.

I will stay with the Quantum the doctor doing it is really nice and makes the treatments less painful.

Sweet so i gues although not as powerful as a true laser it will still give me a permanent hair reduction so i am not wasting my money.
You said that if i get another 2 treatments there should be at least 60% reduction but that’s when i said i get Gentlelease.
Do u rekon becuz im still doing ipl i would need more than 4 now?

And also should i tell her to change the Pule or wavelenght beacuse like i said it’s set on low Pulse and 45J but the machine has other settings Medium and High Pulse.

Thank you,