should I give GentleLase a try..?

[cookiemonster1]

Hii everybody
I’ve been lurking for a little while now, and have that maybe it was time to get a little more involved.

I’ve been trying to get rid of my very unwanted body hair for some time now, but I haven’t had any luck so far. I’ve had around 7 or 8 treatments on an ellipse IPL, and 4 treatments on Elos machine, and all it’s done for me so far is IHG.

I’ve heard a little about GentleLase, and have found a place called “London Premier Laser Clinic” has anybody ever heard or has any experience with this place?

I’m not quite sure yet, if I should invest any more time and money, after the bad results I got from the other clinics, please help…

[Deedra]

I think it’s worth a try if you are a good laser candidate and actually use a good laser(not IPL) to match your individual hair and skin needs. GentleLASE is one of those great lasers, but there are a few others that may serve you well. I would advise you to read the Laser Faq’s if you haven’t already. Educate yourself really, really well. I’d hate to know how much money you have spent for laser induced hair growth, thus the name, Oscarthegrouch???

Dee

[lefty2g_LE_CPE]

If you are an explorer or a mad scientist try it. Keep in mind for every person who tries laser hair treatments you are a guinea pig, because there are virtually no fully trained or licensed laser hair removal technicians. Also ask if they are licensed to do this and by who. Ask to see their license. Ask if they have malpractice insurance and by which company.

FDA clearly states “lasers are a prescription device that can not be sold to or used by anyone other than those licensed to use it in the state where they practice.” “If a doctor allows his assistant to use it he/she MUST SUPERVISE the treatment”. This can not be done when he/she is not standing there actually supervising (look up “supervise” in the dictionary . You will find the definition used to define “supervise” is “OVERSEE” . If the doctor is not on site there is no supervision. If the doctor is not in the room there is no supervision. If the laser wielder is not licensed or properly trained there is no legal authority to use it. These are only a few of the reasons you hear about failure of treatment. Pictures seen here show patients with scars all over the treated area. Pain is not something to trifle with. Pain relievers used on laser patients have caused 2 deaths that have been reported. One class of pain reducer can cause coma, seizures, irregular heart beat (all this is on the FDA web site).

If you can find a patient who is happy with the results you may be safer, however, this does not mean too much because her skin is different, her hair is different than yours. The make of laser is not important if the operator is well trained. The experience and TRAINING IS. ASK TO SEE THE LICENSE. CALL YOUR STATE LICENSING DEPARTMENT TO SEE IF THEY ISSUUE LICENSES FOR LASER OPERATORS. LASER PROCEDURES ARE SURGERY BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK BELOW THE SKIN TO KILL LIVE TISSUE THAT MAKES NEW HAIRS.

MEDICAL LICENSING DEPARTMENT IN CONNECTICUT CLOSED THE OFFICE OF A DOCTOR WHO NEVER VISITED THE OFFICE. HE HAD A WOMAN TREATING THE PATIENTS. A PRECEDENT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. EVEN IF THE DOCTOR OWNS THE OFFICE…IF HE IS NOT THERE THERE IS NO SUPERVISION. A MEDICAL DIRECTOR WHO IS NOT THERE CAN NOT SUPERVISE. THERE IS NO INSTANT TREATMENT FOR YOUR PROBLEM, HOWEVER, YOU CAN CREATE A BIGGER PROBLEM.

[cookiemonster1]

I think I might be a good candidate, I have dark hairs and very light skin, although I am a mulatto.

I called a clinic in stockholm, and the first person I spoke with didn’t even know that they did laser hair removal, the second one I talked to told me it would be around 1200 dollars for one session of back hair removal, and that I would need from 10 to 20 sessions…

The clinic in London sayd I should expect around 8 sessions.

Are there anybody with any experience with back, shoulder and upper arm hair removal with the GentleLase?

[gaudiora]

They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Why not do electrolysis since other methods have failed?

and 10-20 sessions is ridiculous!

[cookiemonster1]

Thank you all for taking the time to help me decide what to do.

I have a lot of unwanted hair, but the ones that bother me the most are the ones on my back, shoulder and upper arms, don’t you think that it would be difficult to get rid of all that hair using only electrolysis?

[Deedra]

It depends if you have a ketchup slow electrologist or not. An electrologist that uses one of the faster forms of electrolysis where each hair can be treated in less than than a second, and has a good vision wear and stamina for longer appointments, well, that would be what you are looking for otherwise , you may give up. It’s a real effort in the first 6-7 months if you have a lot of hair, but it does pay off in the long run. You can try to knock out a good portion of the hair with laser, but just realize that you risk laser induced hair stimulation for these areas. THe laser specialist has got to use higher joules (power)from the beginning. It seems that lower power could be the culprit for awakening hair follicles. If anyone disagree’s with this, it’s okay to come forth as laser is not what I do for a living. I am just being a little parrot and repeating what I have learned until someone who knows can help out on this board.

[LAGirl]

Lefty - This is not the place to rant about laser. I know you think you’re helping, but you’re not. Most of you say is either completely untrue or exaggerated. Please stop, so we can help people get good results. Thanks.

Oscar! You do NOT have “light” skin by laser classifications. Please read the FAQs on this forum!

Also, we need to know how coarse your hair is and what areas you’re looking to treat. This makes a huge difference in terms of whether laser is right for you.

[lefty2g_LE_CPE]

I will check in Massachusetts to see if insurance companies are writing malpractice insurance to electrologists for laser treatments. They love to take money in but hate like blazes to give it lout. They monitor this very carefully between companies.

I’ll get back to you.

[lefty2g_LE_CPE]

Why is it ridiculous? You have no idea how serious this case is. You have no idea how long a session the patient can afford. You have no idea if the person is tall with a large back or petite with a small back. I do not understand how anyone can tell how many visits it will take without seeing it.

[LAGirl]

The problem is that you know almost nothing about lasers. That’s why you don’t understand that 20 treatments is ridiculous. If the treatment is working, then it’s working. If it’s not, there is no need to try it 20 times to figure it out. And it doesn’t matter how large the area is. This isn’t electrolysis. Each treatment treats the entire area.

[cookiemonster1]

Thank you all again, I can’t tell you all how much it mean’s to me to have you all take the time to help me with this. It’s been a huge problem for me for a very long time now, and it’s something that’s bugging on a daily basis.

As I think I mentioned, I’m looking to get my entire upper-body treated, but I might only start with the back to see how it goes.
The hair is pretty thick and dark, I’ll try to upload some pictures if you want…

[LAGirl]

Pictures would be great. “Pretty” thick and dark may not be enough, so it would be helpful to see. It needs to be COARSE, DENSE, and dark. And most definitely only start with ONE area and see how things go and whether you like the clinic you choose before making a huge commmitment. Start with one treatment on one smallest area with the best type of hair for laser.

[cookiemonster1]

Here are a few pictures, I had some better ones but they where too big.

[LAGirl]

The links don’t work. Please post to photobucket.com and post the HTML tags they provide for each picture here.

[cookiemonster1]

Lets try again…

[LAGirl]

Some of the hair is coarse on the back, but it gets less and less coarse as it goes off in various directions. I think it’s worth a try with GentleLASE at high settings to get a good reduction. DO NOT let them treat any areas with finer and more sparse hair. That can cause more hair to develop. Just treat the areas with dense coarse growth. If you want 100% gone, you’ll need some electrolysis treatments afterwards to get the remaining finer hair anyway, so you can get those sparse hairs then too.

[cookiemonster1]

You think it’s worth a try even though I’ve had around 10 sessions with Ellipse and Elos?
I’m just asking because I so lost, and it’s really nice to finally get some advice from someone how has some experience, and not just trying to get in my pockets.

[Deedra]

The difference in the light-based system you originally used and the GentleLASE are worlds apart in effectiveness. I’m thinking it would be worth a re-shoot with the alexandrite laser, but, yes, do keep in mind that you will need to start your hunt for an electrologist that can remove 10-15 hairs per minute with a powerful modern day computerized epilator that does the faster forms of thermolysis, or otherwise, you will give up as you go broke. It’s a commitment that you need to make for about 18 months. I hope the right kind of laser will finally reduce those hairs to acceptable levels for you. If it doesn’t work, then you got a friend in electrolysis.

Dee

[LAGirl]

Both of those systems are a waste of time. You didn’t have any real treatments. GentleLASE is an alex laser and in a completely different category. You have to find someone who knows what they’re doing of course and knows how to set settings correctly. You need high settings.