lagirl or anyone else who can help,
I’ve had laser hair treatment at the london skn clinics (who I believe use the apogee elite) and altogether spent over £4000 on treatment on my full arms, full legs, abdomen, lower back, bikini, underarms and face (chin and upper lip) - so pretty much the whole body as I’ve always been embarrassingly hairy. I’m skin type IV or maybe even III (fair asian). I’ve had about 7 treatments on all areas. some areas have responded well - lower legs, bikini (although patches still remain). some areas i thought had respnded well - underarms, but after finishing the last treatment about 2 months ago, the hair has started to come back. however, some areas - upper legs, lower back and abdomen have had no change at all, and chin has possibly got worse! arms are very patchy. i dont have any known hormone imbalance and would have expected at least some change in these areas for the money I’ve spent. Having told my clinician I don’t mind temporary scabbing if better results are likely, she switched to treating me on up to skin type II settings which did have better results. i’m reluctant to spend more money on these areas if no results will occur. I have had consultations with 2 other clinics who have both said I would have got better results with IPL (one uses the lumenis and/or epilight). can anyone advise me if I should continue with the laser, try IPL or call it a day? im getting married in 6months so really wanted the problem gone by then!
any advice is much appreciated.
Missy83
Can you get your settings from the Clinic ?? I would not go with IPL but try to find someone who uses the GENTLEMAX by Candela. I would then try to guide you through with the settings.
Many consumers have reported negative feedback when they have been treated with IPL’s. True lasers mostly get the positive feedback for areas such as the lower legs, underarms and bikini area. However, one of present clients, who is from the UK, had a lot of IPL treatments on her legs, chest, arms and it actually looking great. The little bit of hair that was left was easily treated with electrolysis. Generally speaking, IPL’s appear to be like long-term waxing whereas, true lasers offer the best hope for permanent HAIR REDUCTION - not permanent hair removal.
What did they tell you at the laser clinic BEFORE you signed up? Did they stress that you will only get a reduction in the amount of hair you have somewhere in the the range of 10% - 90%? Laser hair reduction is a tricky gamble - for some?/many? it brings unbelievable joy and satisfaction and for some?/many? it brings empty pockets with very little results. BUT…People keep hoping and are willing to spend huge amounts of money to try another clinic or another type of light-based system.
You won’t be done in six months. Even if you get better results in some areas, there will be other others that may not respond.
Read the laser faq’s page and think realistically about treating your whole body and what you can expect for each area. Find yourself a modernly equipped and skilled electrologist because that will be what you need to hasten hour final success and it will be cheaper in the long run if you go to an electrologist that uses picoflash or microflash thermolysis.
Make sure you approach this with knowledge about what works best on your hair color and structure. Laser and IPL’s are limited by what they can do for certain hair structures and colors, electrolysis is not.
Hair removal/reduction is not simple, quick or inexpensive. I like the approach of combining laser and electrolysis. If laser can get a bulk of offending hair, then electrolysis can clean up the rest that laser can’t see. I never recommend laser for a woman’s face. Never. A skilled electrolysis using superior technology and special techniques can handle any facial hair (neck, too). When you read the laser faq’s page with the part about electrolysis, I would ignore the opinion that electrolysis is only for small areas and for areas that have about 50-100 hairs. That is not true. Many electrologists would fume about that comment because they are easily treating 500-1,000 hairs per hour IIIIFFF they are adept at microflash/picoflash thermolysis with the newer epilators available today.
So, go ahead and keep trying different lasers and IPL’s if you wish, but don’t run out of money! You will need an electrolgist’s help at some point down the road, and that will cost you more time and money.
Dee
Thanks for your advice and tips. Ive got a review appointment at my clinic in a few days so will try and find out the settings she used. im finding it all a little confusing as i have been told by ‘a 25 years experienced practitioner’ that with laser the hair will return but IPL is more permanent!! and after joining this forum it seems more the opposite!
I only wish i was advised against having laser on the face before hand as it wasnt too bad to begin with but i was sort of convinced into it by my clinician.
before i started, the clinic said they expect at least a 60% reduction, so i am fine with the results of my lower legs. i just wasnt informed there may be no improvement or of the problem getting worse. i am actually not bothered about fine hair or even normal hairs remaining, just wanted bulk removal.
romeo, i have researched gentlemax by candela in the uk and can only find a clinic that offers gentlelase nearby, who, having spoken to them say this is the gold standard for hair removal. and looks like will cost another £4000 or so for 6 further sessions on all areas! which i am willing to spend if it removes bulk hair, but like dfahey says, dont want to run out of money in keep trying to achive this if it cant be achieved!
Gentlelase is a very good laser however try to get me your Apogee settings before we proceed further. I do not want you to waste your money either.
http://www.laser-clear.co.uk/
http://www.derma-active.co.uk/
the only 2 places using Gentlelase in london. (as far as i know)