shedding question???

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

hi all,
i just came upon this site, and it seems like some of you could help me with a couple questions…
i had my first treatment on August 25, i got the full body package. i am 36, female, right now i’m about a type 3(because of summer tanning), and i have dark coarse hair. i don’t know what the settings used were. i started noticing some shedding about 6 days post my treatment, so i’m wondering how long does it take to fully shed???
also after my treatment my tech said i may notice some red bumps on my legs and not to worry because this is a good thing, and this is what we want to see. needless to say by that night when i was getting ready for bed, my lower legs were covered all over. the bumps looked like the type you would get after a shave when you would get ingrown hairs, most even looked like they had a little puss in them. i also had some on the bikini area, but no where near as bad. i called the office that did my treatment and the lady who answered the phone said my follicles were inflamed and this is not that unusual, and her legs did the same during her treatments. its been 9 days now post treatment, and i still have about half of them left(which is still a couple hundred bumps per leg). has anyone whos had there legs done had this experience? i went on vacation this week and couldn’t even wear shorts…that was a bummer, but i’m sure it will be worth the sacrifice.

thanks,
rose

#2

run a search and you will find the answers to your questions.

short: this is normal. you are only 9 days post treatment and shedding can take up to 3 or even 4 weeks. you should leave the area alone, don’t shave and also you should not even think about wearing shorts, specially as a type 3. the last thing you need now is sunlight for that area. did’t they tell you to avoid the sun ?

#3

shedding takes 3 weeks or so. bumps are not ok 9 days post treatment. you should go in and show them the reaction. could be a histamine reaction.

also, as hairborn pointed out, you NEED to stay out of the sun throughout your treatments. your skin needs to be as light as possible to avoid burns and for the treatments to be effective (they have to use low ineffective settings if your skin is too dark).

btw, what laser is being used? what settings? what areas specifically are you getting done? how much did you pay? how far apart are treatments spaced? do you really have coarse hair on ALL the areas you’re treating?

#4

first i’d like to say thanks for respoding to my post. i appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.:slight_smile:

the bumps on my legs are starting to go away a little more each day. i did take some pics though so i could show them to my tech at my next visit.

as far as the sun, my tech said i could go out in the sun as long as i used a really good sunscreen.(she gave me a list of recommended ones) i haven’t exposed my legs to the sun yet since treatment because i was afraid the sunblock may infect those bumps.

it was a gentlelase laser, don’t know the settings, the areas i am doing are…big toes, top of feet, legs, thighs, bikini, perianal, happy trail, aerolas, upper neck, chin, lip, and eyebrows. i got the full body package and i do it all in one visit, and it took about 1 1/2 hours, if the place wasn’t an hour away i would have split it up into two sessions. my next treatment is scheduled 9 weeks post my first one.

as far as the thickness of my hair in areas…it is pretty coarse everywhere except the lower front part of my thighs(like right above the knees), for some reason the hair seems finer in this area, still dark but not as coarse.

#5

This is a good machine. Do find out the settings. It does seem a bit quick if you did your full legs in this session since that takes at least an hour usually if they’re thorough. Let us know is most of the hair sheds within 3-4 weeks. It should. Finer hair will be harder to treat and I would be careful to treat any areas on your face where the hair is not as coarse as underarm hair. It can make the finer hair worse.

Where on the eyebrows are they treating? They have to be careful not to treat close to the eyes and I hope you are wearing goggles the entire time during this procedure. I personally wouldn’t areas like eyebrows where precision is important. Electrolysis is much better there as it treats one hair at a time. It’s impossible to be that precise with laser.

Absolutely use sunscreen all the time on all these areas AND do not expose them to the sun. The darker your skin is when you’re getting your treatment, the lower settings they have to use to avoid burning you. So you don’t want to risk ineffectiveness and burns and pigmentation issues.

I’m curious how much you’re paying for this as well and where you are located (can you add your location to your profile please?).

#6

Regular Price for the full body package is $8000.00. They gave me a deal of $4000.00. I actually only had went in for the neck chin, and lip, but i think the lady who was handling my consultation felt bad for me cause I am disabled, and we had got to talking about areas I had a hard time getting to to shave. Next thing I knew she left the room and came back in and asked me what would my dream package be if I could have anything I wanted done, and I laughed and said well…everything. Then she offered me the deal, I seriously had to hold back the tears. My husband told me to go for it so I didn’ hesitate…which is a good thing cause the $4000 would of started getting to me. Thats a lot to put out when you only have one income coming in.
As for the eyebrows I will admit I was a little nervous about the laser being so close to my eyes. I had a gauze on each eye with the goggles on top of that. She got the strays above the eyebrow, and for under she pulled the skin up to the bone and did what she could. She said she could not go under that bone. I do have a few hairs that were lower that she could not get to, and she did between the eyebrows.

#7

So, you went in for your neck, chin and lip and came out with a full body “dream package”, rosanna? I’m stunned. $4,000??

Please come back and share your progress.

#8

can you specify what exact areas are included in the full body package you’re getting and also how many treatments that includes?

as i said before, i wouldn’t do my eyebrows with a laser. (i had mine done with electrolysis, as well as areolas and upper lip).

#9

yes dfahey, trust me i was stunned too.:slight_smile: and i will keep posting on my progress.

#10

the full body package is anything you want, and its for 9 treatments. i was told that i would be a lifetime member so that if ever later in life i started to develop new hair(due to hormones, meds, etc…) that i could come back in and i’d only have to pay $1.00 per zap with a $45.00 office fee. so i thought that was kind of nice. they also sent me a bouquet of flowers after my first treatment. as far as customer service they are great, as far as results…well that’s still to be determined.

#11

sounds like a pretty good deal then. $8K for full body is over the top, but $4-5K is right in line. how long have they been in business? just make sure they’re around in 2 years :slight_smile:

#12

I had laser on a small area of my chin where there are dark hairs about a week and a half ago. I want to start electrolysis soon but wonder if I should wait 3-4 weeks total so as to make sure all the hairs in that area that are going to shed are already shed when I get my first treatment.

#13

yes, you should wait 3 weeks.

#14

Thanks Lagirl. Also I am really working on not being obsessive about plucking since I know I’m going to embark on this electrolysis journey (and it is very hard for me but I have to honor any progess) and have grown out some of the dark hairs under my chin and on my cheeks. How many weeks need to pass after plucking before starting electrolysis?

#15

If you have hair showing, you can start electrolysis.

#16

As Choice says, if there is hair there and it’s been 3 weeks after your laser treatment (meaning you’re sure they’re not going to fall out from laser), then you can start electrolysis. You’re totally fine clipping or shaving the hairs btw. Just no plucking.

#17

I’m going to wait 1 more week to hit the 3 week mark. Some of the black hairs have been above the surface for over a week now. How long does the anagen stage last? If those hairs are not in the anagen phase anymore does it still do any good to zap them with electrolysis and at least making them weaker?

I know it takes 6 weeks for a plucked hair to come back.If it’s not killed when hit - does it usually take about the same amount of time to grow back when zapped with electrolysis?

#18

Think more generally, 6-16 weeks. Thicker hairs can return much sooner than thinner hairs.

#19

You really need to wait full 3-3.5 weeks after the laser treatment to decide whether they were affected. Mine don’t start shedding until week 2 or so and shedding continues until 3.5-4 weeks. Also, if they’re not growing as usual at the usual rate, they were probably affected.

#20

I just had my first full leg laser treatment 1 week ago and I notice some hairs are shedding or are in the process of shedding, but 50% of the hair are strongly well rooted and don’t seem to have been burned (I tested by trying to pull a couple with a tweezers and they didn’t came out - I felt some kind of pain. Is it possible that in 3 weeks, the same hairs that seem strongly rooted with undamaged follicles may start to fall out?

I need to know because if this is not normal I will go back to the clinic to show them the hair.