Skin Type III: Need Advise

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I’m a light skin Asian (Chinese) and is interested in doing an underarm laser hair removal. I’ve narrowed my choices to two medspa after going through consultations and would like your input in making my final decision:

Medspa A is offering 6 underarm treatments for $300.00 using Cynosure Elite. The consultant indicated that though my skin type looks like a III she would prefer to use the ND:YAG laser given my ethnicity which indicates a IV skin type. When I expressed an interest to use Alexandrite, she stated that she’s willing to do so at lower settings of 20j/cm2 fluence and 25ms pulse duration. I think the spot size is 12mm.

Medspa B is offering 6 underarm treatments for $400.00 with 1 year warranty up to 3 additional treatments using Lumenis and/or Gentlelase. She also judged my skin to be type III and indicated that she would start me with Lumenis at 30j/cm2 at level 10 intensity increasing it to 12 depending on how I react. I’m not sure what the intensity means. Anyway I believe that the spot size is 9mm for the Lumenis machine and pulse duration is 30ms. She indicated that I could also try the Gentlelase later and see which one I prefer.

Concerns/Questions:

  1. Type of Laser: Given my type III (IV?) skin, which laser is the most appropriate.
  2. Effective Settings: I’m currently leaning toward Medspa B because I’m a little worried that the alexandrite settings indicated by Medspa A is low. On the other hand, I would rather save the $100 if the setting from Medspa A is appropriate.
  3. Number of Sessions: Does one need more than 6 sessions? If so, Medspa B could be a better deal despite the higher upfront.
  4. In between session: Medspa A indicated 6 weeks and Medspa B 5 to 6 weeks increasing to 6-8 weeks on the latter treatments.

Any input would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

#2

Nobody can tell you for sure how many sessions you will need, but 6 is a good indication. I think the settings at place 1 sound low as well. 20j on an 18mm spot size is the maximum for another brand of Alex laser but as you decrease the spot size, you need to increase the joules. If she refuses to increase you will need to go with the second clinic.

But, the lumenis sounds pretty lame. Plus a 9mm spot size is just painful Be careful because some clinics will tell you they have both lasers, but either only have the other laser for part of the week or don’t have the proper laser at all and just want to lure you in, It’s shoddy business practice but it can happen.

I think even with a darker skin tone, with an area like the armpit where you have no sun exposure, you should be able to do higher settings.

#3

You’re Asian, so you have underlying pigment. That’s why they’re trying to be conservative. However, if you stay away from the sun, you may be able to handle good settings on an alex just fine.

6 GOOD treatments should be enough on the underarms. I only need 5. However, the spacing should be 8-12 weeks. You shouldn’t have enough to treat after shedding happens at just 5-6 weeks.

If you go with clinic A, I would ask them to do test spots at higher settings to make sure your skin can handle it without burning. On that machine, you should be able to handle somewhat higher joules and maybe even lower pulse width. Treating with the Yag portion is fine as well when the hair is coarse. They may need to switch to an alex when it gets finer. Of course, Yag settings should be high enough too.

The Lumenis machine is called LightSheer and it’s a diode. Those are decent settings on it, though the newer machines have a 12mm spot size, which is better. I would ask to see how high they’re willing to go on the GentleLASE on you, at least for the test spot. If they’re willing to do at least 14J and up on 18mm on GentleLASE and your skin can handle it, then I would go with that.

#4

Thanks for replying.

emilily, I’m pretty sure that clinic B owned both the Lumenis and Gentlelase machines which is confirmed by yelp reviews.

LAgirl, I called clinic B and re-confirmed the Lumenis settings. They do have the newer machine and the spot size is 12mm not 9mm as I thought. The level 10-12 that the consultant was referring to is the pulse width. Based on this new information, is the setting more appropriate?

As for Gentlelase, the consultant said that I may need 3 to 4 treatments using diode laser before she would use the Gentlelase for the finer hair given that I have a darker underarm than my general skin tone.

On a separate subject, I have asthma and takes Qvar everyday. Clinic A said that Qvar is fine with the LHR but prednisone is not. Is this correct?

#5

If she thinks you’re light enough for the GentleLASE, there is no advantage to using the LightSheer in the beginning. If she is willing to test the settings I mentioned above on the GentleLASE, that’s what needs to be used from the start.

The LightSheer settings are fine. The main problem with LightSheer is that it’s harder to use, i.e. they need to use compression and not just glide it lightly on the skin which many tend to do. It’s also slightly less effective than the GentleLASE, which is an alex and has a pulse width of 3ms and spot size of 18mm.

Photosensitive medication is not ok with LHR. You can ask the doctor or look it up online.