How important is skill when you use GentleLASE ? The only setting you can do is spot size and joules. Now if you get them to treat you with 18mm and 20 joules, what mistakes can they do ? The only thing that comes to my mind is that they could miss spots…other than that I can’t see anything.
Besides…how long does it normally take to do a man’s chest and belly ? It took me about 1 hour. If thats short, she might be missing spots.
The truth is that there are a lot more issues involved than spot size and joules. In fact, there are about 20 different issues and settings that need to be considered. Not all settings are machine related. Overlap is one. Interval is another.
The problem with laser hair removal is that it is much harder than anyone realizes. It is the most difficult of all the cosmetic procedures to do effectively. (Now before Mantaray jumps in here to tell me how I don’t understand anything). I agree that there are procedures such as laser resurfacing that are far more dangerous. But the variables to consider are much greater with laser hair removal. The reason is that the unlike all the other cosmetic laser procedures, the target is deep in the dermis, we have to carefully consider the epidermis and its response, and hair is pretty pesky (i.e. hard to kill).
By comparison, laser resurfacing is pretty straightforward. Yes, it is quite dangerous and yes, one has to consider all the issues of anesthesia and recovery. But there isn’t a whole lot to consider in the procedure itself concerning being effective.
The other way of looking at this is the concept of type 1 and type 2 errors (sometimes called alpha and beta errors). Type 1 errors in laser hair removal are mistakes that are made in choosing a setting that results in a reaction or injury to the skin. This happens immediately. Type 2 errors are errors where the settings and treatments do not effectively remove hair. This takes a long time to manifest itself. Most of the complaints on this board are about type 2 errors. And this is where laser hair removal is so difficult compared to laser resurfacing (for example).
Now there is a balance between Type 1 and Type 2 errors. We can completely prevent all type 1 errors, but to do so means that we are left with all type 2 errors. I can do that by not even turning on the laser. I can also completely prevent type 2 errors but to do that I have to cause a tremendous number of type 1 errors. The goal is to minimize both and that isn’t easy.
In comparison to laser resurfacing, in laser resurfacing type 1 errors are serious and require a tremendous amount of attention (I would never recommend having any kind of serious laser resurfacing done by anyone but a physician). But the chance of type 2 errors is very small. Which is why it ultimately is easier as a procedure than laser hair removal.