Question about American Laser Centers

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hello everyone. so i have some questions about laser hair removal.
let me start by giving you my background.
in highschool i tried going to a laser clinic called Nuvo. i did the 5 reccomended treatments and saw no results. it was way lame. since then (3 years later) i have moved onto elecrolosis, and have been going for a year every week. and for along time didnt see results either, but now i am starting to see results, and its pretty exciting ya know? but its insanely expensive and tediously slow.
i recently entered an online contest for american laser centers and got 3rd prize meaning i get $300 off laser hair removal, and went in for my free consultation and they told me the following:
There have been huge advancements in laser hair removal technology since i went to Nuvo.
Nuvo got shut down because the laser they were using for hair removal was actualy designed for skin rejuvination and occasionaly had hair removal siode effects so they were able to claim hair removal.
They have a guarantee that after 6 treatments if you are not satisfied with the results you can have 2 years of unlimmited treatments untill you are satisfied, and then after those 2 years if you still have hair you get your money back (but the lady said no one has ever asked for their money back, or even had to go the full 2 years of additional treatments).
They are using this machine called the Laser - Lightsheer Diode by Lumenis.
They are giving me 1 free treatment and said that after that treatment i should go 2 weeks in which the hairs fall out, followed by 6 weeks of no hair growth, followed by 2 weeks of hair growth then i have my next treatment. But she said even after only 1 treatment, i should be able to see the results.

So my question to all of you, is if you have any input on this.
It sounds great, and it sounds like it will be much cheeper/faster/effective/less

does anyone know more about this type of laser and this company or really anything that could help me decide if i should stop the electro and try laser?
i just dont want to get screwed out of money again and left with no results, and just be farther behind in my hair removal process.
here is the area i am wanting to get done.

they said they would do the free treament on my stomach and chest becuase i will be able to see the results everyday in the mirror easier (hair type is mostly the same)

#2

this company is constantly discussed here as notorious for high pressure sales and bad customer service (similar to what Nuvo was previously), and often low results due to them caring more about your money than your results. Btw, everyone “wins” these promotions (that’s how they sucker you in) and prices are very often cheaper at other clinics without having to prepay and with better machines. Guarantees are also useless if you’re not getting results in the first place, so it’s important to find a place where you feel comfortable that you will get results. Btw, at Nuvo, the problem was THEIR machines, not that there weren’t good ones available elsewhere (at least this location of the chain you visited uses a diode, and not an IPL as most of their locations, which is one plus here). You just didn’t do enough research that time and I urge you not to make that mistake again.

here are my thoughts on what you should be doing:

  1. If you’re really serious about this, stop now and start doing lots of research. What is your skin and hair type? What areas are you looking to treat? Coarse, fine hair? Dark, light? Dense? What areas have you been treating with electrolysis?

  2. LightSheer is a diode and is not a bad machine, but a hard-to-use machine to actually get you results. So, I wouldn’t trust anyone at those clinics with high turnover to treat me with it unless they have personally had years of experience using it. There are also better machines out there for light skin. Also, there are clinics out there that actually care about your results and their reputation (smaller private clinics). You didn’t provide enough information about your particular case for us to recommend anything specific at this point.

  3. Laser is not the best option for everyone on all areas and skin types. That is why you need to do research. Please read the FAQs first before you start anything. You will also need to visit 4-5 clinics to compare their expertise and prices etc before you make any decisions.
    www.hairremovalforum.com/faq.cfm.

  4. Please expand on your electrolysis treatments. What type are you using? How long are your treatments? How long have you been going?

#3

Whoops. Hi lagirl. Looks like we posted within a minute of each other! We’re just too helpful!!! …

What is your hair color? How long are your appointment sessions for electrolysis. How far down the back are you after one year? Are two people still working on you at the same time? Are areas being maintained once they are cleared?

What modality of electrolysis are you using? Hopefully, microflash thermolysis??? for such a large area.

I certainly remember your post and picture from last January, I believe it was, and have been curious about your situation on and off, so thanks for checking back, Tom. I’m sure our laser people will click in and speak to you regarding the Lightsheer and what it can offer you. My impression is that it is a good laser, but the GentleLASE seems to get more stars. Only the laser experts can serve you on that question. Good luck to you.

Dee

#4

stay away

#5

Hi jimmyjames.

I can’t remember what laser you were treated with and what area was treated. How many treatments did you have? Cost? Can you briefly repeat that information? Did you get treated at one of these notorious chain centers?

Thanks,

Dee

#6

The FAQ link at the top of the forum page seems to be mainly about forum usage and the link you included in your article seems to be down. Does the latter FAQ deal more with hair removal guidelines, machines, skin types, and other useful info to get one’s research started? I was particularly interested in researching what machines are best for different parts of the body, different hair coarseness, different skin types, etc, etc.

Thanks for any feedback

#7

okay, well i will try to be a little more specific with my conditions, here is a picture
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/1053/beforeelectrolsiswk9.jpg

i took of most of my back before i have had any work done on it, since then it is shaved after my treatments so if i took a picture of it right now it wouldnt really be a good one to see how far i have come, but i will let it grow out for 2 or 3 weeks so i can get a better picture of where it is at now for you guys

oh by the way, about that free treatment they are giving me, should i really see results after that one treatment (i mean if it is going to work for me)? i mean after the 10 weeks after my free treament, what should i be looking for to know it is a good laser/technition for me?
i mean after all its free so i might as well try it right?

#8

Big Lou - no, the FAQs at the top are not the same. The same ones as the link I provided are posted as a sticky post on this forum. Yes, they’re about lasers, skin types, etc. The link should be working now too.

TomGraham, your hair is somewhat fine on most of your back. There are some parts of it that might be ok to treat with laser (the most dense coarse parts), but I would leave some for electrolysis. However, it’s also hard to tell without an updated picture of where you stand after the electrolysis treatments. My main concern would be them treating at somewhat low settings and activating some follicles that were already killed. I would recommend asking them first what settings they will be using (joules, pulse, spot size). Also, I would be a bit suspicious about this free treatment. This clinic is not known for such gestures. I would think that they would want you to sign some kind of a contract where the first treatment is free or something. Somehow I think there is some catch here.

Dee, jimmyjames did go to this chain clinic, but IPL was used on his face.

#9

yeah i was pretty surprised that i was getting a free one too, but they said free no strings attached, so im not going to sign any contracts when i get there. im just hoping to see some real results from it.
ill keep growing out the hair and show u guys what its like now days.

#10

i’ve been to 3 places: american laser center, assara laser and skin sheer. don’t like complaining, but did not enjoy the experience at american laser center. and quite frankly, i did not experience much shedding. (i went there for 3 treatments.) as for skin sheer and assara laser, it was a toss-up. had good results at both places. i got a better deal at assara laser, but am doing my last 2 treatments at skin sheer because i live right off grand street. anyway, heard pretty good things on both. so there’s my 2 cents. :wink:

#11

thanks for the input!

#12

kevin, i’m guessing you’re from new york. thanks for the information. it’d be nice to know what kind of results you’re seeing.

tom, i don’t think this is very helpful to you since you can’t really compare chain clinics across the board. they vary a lot by management, laser used, etc.

#13

do you know anything about this particular laser?
Lightsheer Diode by Lumenis.

#14

I am having face and neck hair removal done with that one and it works great. It is mentioned in tons of threads (type lightsheer in the search box and hit go).

#15

okay cool, any chance i can see a pic of ur hair color/skin color?

#16

hey JimmyJames why do you say stay away from this place?

#17

LightSheer is a diode and good for light skin and dark hair, but only in good hands. Since your hair varies from coarse to fine, I would still stick with GentleLASE alex since it has a lower pulse and higher spot size, i.e. much more effective on finer hair. Also, LightSheer is harder to use. I would only trust someone very experienced to use it on me.

Jimmyjames had his face treated with an IPL at that notorious chain and saw patchy results.

#18

Hi Kevin,
Was reading this forum and noticed your in NYC…so am I! Just wondering if you were satisfied with your results from Assara Laser and Skin Sheer. I go to Lynda - Laser Nurse (a recommendation from lagirl) down at her East Village location. I’ve been going to her for a year now and couldn’t be happier with my results (bikini, underarms, legs). She’s not associated with any type of laser center and offers very affordable pricing for her services. Anyway, if you’re not satisfied with your Skin Sheer results, I’d give Lynda a try. Good luck!!

#19

Hi Tom

The LHR specialist that I go to (Lynda -LaserNurse, NYC) treats me using the Lightsheer diode. I have been going to her for about a year now and I am extremely satisfied with my results. I first started with my bikini and underarms and recently just added my legs as well. I am an Italian woman with very dark and coarse hair and saw results with the Lightsheer diode just after my first treatment. I believe Lynda uses 25 joules on 2 different settings: one is called auto, which is stronger and the other setting is 30ms, which is gentler-used for darker skin or really coarse/dense hair like mine. The Lightsheer Diode seems to be working great for my and my hair-type. Hope you found this helpful. Good Luck! -BELLADONNA

#20

yeah thank you very much
is there a way to like search for a practitioner based on her laser machine?