soprano xl and shedding question is it effetive???

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

I have been treated with a soprano xl laser settings: shr fluence 10 and prr 10. i am skin type I or II. treatment was to my back shoulders and upper arms. the technichian was very competant and did 10 passes on each area. i also did a lot of research myself and have experience with other forms of medical lasers.
It has been 3 days since my treatment and i have noticed that there is no shedding. Now i know from what i have read that this process usually takes 1.5-3 weeks but the hairs have slightly grown and when i pull on them there is resistance in about 80-90% of the hairs comprable to resistance of untreated areas. I am assuming that they should be freely mobile and that shedding is just a process of just falling out of loose hairs. i have previously had two treatments several years ago with a conventional diode which caused full shedding.
my questions are

  1. should the hairs be loose 3 days after laser or is it too early to tell if shedding will occur?
  2. do treated hairs with damaged follicles still have resistance or is it safe to assume that they were not effectively treated and shedding will not occur?
  3. if complete shedding does not occur is this a sign of ineffectivity?
  4. should i go back to traditional (much more painful) diode laser if complete shedding does not occur?
  5. is it reasonalble to ask for a discount or free next treatment if shedding does not occur?

thanks for any help!

#2

Shedding STARTS at 1.5 week. You’re trying too early. Try tugging it in 2 weeks.

#3

We treat people with the Soprano XL, and don’t recall anyone not noticing the huge difference after 2-3 treatments. Just give it time, if done correctly you should come back to your next treatments with a smile on your face.

#4

You said that you only started using the machine in December. And you treat too often at 6 weeks. This is not nearly enough time to judge any type of “difference”, huge or not. You need to see your customers’ results 6-8 months AFTER their last treatment, i.e. treatment number 8. So you have at least a year to go before you can judge whether you’re seeing anything at all.

The person above is asking about shedding. They don’t need to wait out 3 treatments to figure this question out.

#5

sweet … thanks LAgirl. I was concerned because i have read in other posts that shedding may be a problem with the soprano xl and was surprised that the hairs were not loose after the treatment. so i guess what you are saying is that immediate post laser resistance to plucking is not an indicator of non-shedding.

I am still curious though if nonshedding (if i give several weeks)is an indicator of ineffectiveness of laser therapy.

also i have to say after trying out both types of lasers conventional diode laser and soprano xl i am amazed at the difference in discomfort. the soprano was significantly better. i almost did not feel it at all. in fact one of the reasons i did not pursue further treatments in the past was because of the discomfort. if it does cause good results it is definitely the way to go in my opinion! well we will see.

#6

Lack of pain is usually an indication that the treatments are not powerful enough. Shedding should happen on coarse hair. On some areas, there is no specific shedding, but the hair should stop growing for several weeks at least, i.e. you should not be seeing everything as usual 3 weeks after your treatment.

But yes, at this point, you are trying to judge too early. Wait 2 weeks for shedding to start.

#7

Are you saying the same area of skin was hit with the laser 10 times?

#8

I tried to explain to you guys how the Soprano XL works.
You divide the treated area into 150 by 150 CM and you work on that area by going IN MOTION across the area for a number of passes depends on various factors, usually 8-12 passes will do.
The Soprano XL fires pluses at a rate of 10 per sec and at that mode you can choose from 1-10 joules, where most people with skin types 1-4 wont feel a thing on 10 joules while people with 5-6 will need to lower the setting so it wont burn them.

I usually agree that no pain no again when it comes to laser hair removal, but as the CEO of Alma Lasers told me in a conference, “No pain, I gain”.

#9

“No pain, I gain”. That’s a catchy counter attack for the “not pain no gain” phrase. How long have you used the soprano xl and what does “XL” stand for?

#10

I’ve had it since December, i know it’s not that long, but EVERYONE we used this machine on was very happy with the process so far.

Alma Lasers made this mode in their machines called SHR (Super Hair Removal) So what they did was taking all the names they already had and just added “SHR” for the IPL machines and “XL” to the Soprano and Harmony.

#11

Well, one thing for sure is, you are truthful, odi. I would be interested in hearing about the long-term comments (client satisfaction) with this device after a year or two of use. Six months of use on how many clients? means the jury is still out!

So does XL mean extra long results for hair reduction? I’m still not sure what XL means?

I just remembered that you I never answered your private message. I’ll try to do that today. Sorry.

Dee

#12

I have no idea if it actually has a meaning, it’s just an add on to the name they added after they developed their SHR mode in 2007.

#13

When you get a chance, maybe you can e-mail the CEO of Alma laser and ask him or her. What if one of your clients asks for an explanation?

#14

Once again, you’ve been using the machine for 6 months. It takes at least 1 year and usually 1.5 years to complete treatments on any one area, and then you have to give it another 6 months to judge what the true reduction is. As far as you can tell right now, every hair may (and probably will) return within a couple months after your clients stop treatments. I don’t think you have the necessary data yet to recommend this machine AND to say that it works even though it painless. You don’t know that yet. It’s misleading to say that you do.

Btw, what the manufacturer says about their own machine is not in any way an unbiased source of information. Every manufacturer of every laser and IPL says their device is the best. It’s called sales.

#15

hey well its been about a week and a half after my first laser and i wanted to give an update …
shedding in the
shoulder area ~90%
upper arm ~20-30%
back 30-40%
the remaining hairs grew back a couple days after treatment and are firmly rooted.
i am a bit hesitant about the efficacy of treatment so i called the company regarding shedding and efficacy
they told me that shedding does not occur in a similar way relative to traditional diode laser.
not quite sure what to do at this point whether to stick to the soprano xl or choose conventional diode???
also since it appears that shedding in the arm area is not occurring im wondering if i should call the laser center to see if it would be reasonable to redo the area with the traditional mode.

#16

From my experience working with the Soprano XL, people are mostly thrilled after about 2 sessions and think that they don’t need anymore treatments after 4. I suggest giving it a shot, if you are unhappy by treatment number 4 then something is wrong. So far i haven’t seen people who think something is wrong by treatment number 4.

Of course it is up to you.

#17

But, remember, odi you have only been using the soprano xl for six months. Hair removal/reduction cannot be evaluated until a minimum of six months after the last treatment. A year after no treatments would be better.

#18

1.5 weeks is not long enough to wait. You need to give it 3 full weeks before judging.

What they’re saying is bs. Shedding doesn’t depend on the type of machine used (only on HOW the machine used, i.e. correctly or incorrectly)

The hairs that are not the coarsest may not shed, but will not grow as usual and will sometimes remain as pepperspots. If you’re seeing that, it’s fine. Basically, they shouldn’t be growing.

#19

sorry i guess i wasn’t clear in my description
the remaining hairs that have not shed are growing and appear uneffected. i figure if they are growing per usual and firmly rooted they are unlikely to shed. seems like a large percentage of hairs especially in the arm region.
oh well i will be patient and hope for the best

#20

Wait 1.5 more weeks like I mentioned. Then give us an update. It’s only at that point, that you can judge what was missed.