SOPRANO !

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#41

There are only two ways permanent hair removal could possibly take place; either you damage the growing structures of the follicle, or you genetically alter the cells growing the hair. Currently, no one has a way to reliably change the growing hair follicle into a non-hair growing pore. This leaves us with damaging the follicle beyond repair. Any way you do this, one is purposely injuring the body. Any bodily injury will cause some sensation, even if not all of these sensations is attributed to the damage causing agent.

In the case of light based hair removal, the stimulation is causing heat in the structures with the target color (in this case the hair) while the practitioner needs the hair to radiate the heat produced to the growth cells around that hair in order to work. Its like holding a piece of wire, and lighting a fire to it on one end, and holding it until the radiant heat burns your fingers, without moving the flame down the wire.

In any case, you can’t do the damage you want done without some sensation either during, or after the treatment.

Enough said?

#42

Honestly edokid, who put you in charge of this board?

You either have blonde hairs or are completely full of it, GentleLase 20Js and doesn’t hurt… Unbelievable!

And that’s all I have to say to you…

#43

Lol all right then, if only I had blonde hairs. I didn’t say GentleLASE doesn’t hurt but I said it’s not excruciating that I can’t handle it like you. It’s not THAT painful just bite your lip and deal with it. You’re missing the point that like James said to damage the hair follicle you have to injure the body, so if you think you’re going to do that with no pain then you’re the one that’s unbelievable. Quit being such a baby and suck it up and either do laser or forget about it if you can’t handle it. Crying on here non stop asking for reviews on 10 different lasers isn’t going to make hurt any less. GentleLASE does hurt, but every time it fires I think, bye bye hair, and I can easily handle the pain until the end of the treatment. Get them to treat your face with GentleLASE then in the same session do the rest of your body, I promise compared to face nothing will hurt. If GentleLASE hurt as much as you make it out to be then Candela wouldn’t be in business anyone since no one would be able to handle it. Maybe you can clarify what exactly you’re trying to accomplish in your thread here then? If you’re waiting for someone to say “Use this type of laser it doesn’t hurt at all!” then you’ll be waiting a very long time…

#44

edokid you said “I’ve had GentleLASE 18mm and 20J everywhere and I don’t find it hurts at all. It’s not pleasant”

Lasers mentioned - GentleLASE, Soprano, Duet…, what were the other 7?

GentleLase mentioned because I’ve had plenty of treatments with it…

Marketing is “virtually painless” for the other two…

I do expected discomfort, I realistically understand this is not a “painless” experience.

No lasers should be marketed as painless…

You can drop the personal attacks…

#45

It doesn’t HURT to the point that I need to take breaks or tell them to stop, it’s definitely unpleasant but it’s not painful like the way you make it out to be. And I’m talking in general, you keep asking for different reviews on here for lasers like as if someones going to tell you the magic one to go for. If you read my original post I said that I don’t find GentleLASE hurts, it’s definitely not pleasant but it’s not excruciating, however you disagree. My point is that there’s no use constantly asking people if they’ve tried this or that on here since clearly from the GentleLASE example if someone asked me does it hurt I’d say not really, not pleasant but doesn’t hurt hurt, where as if they asked you, you would say it does. So what difference does it make if someone comes on here and says oh duet doesn’t hurt? That doesn’t mean anything in terms of how it will feel on your skin.

#46

Okay guys, so haireverywhere is sensitive, and obviously has a low pain threshold compared to some of you. Doesn’t mean he’s being a baby, it could just be his physiology. Sure, he is not going to find some magical answer to his problems, and his ultimate choice is to either accept the pain or forget laser treatment. But he can ask for reviews over and over if he really wants. Sometimes when we get nervous, we just try anything we can to get more information because we don’t feel like we have enough yet. He’s had GentleLASE before, but he is claiming that it hurts too much on his chest/back. Why would he lie? He wants his hair gone more than any of you, so if there was a way for him to tough it out, I’m sure he would since it really is the best option.

Personally I get treated at 18mm 20J without numbing cream, ice, or meds, and it hurts. A lot. Edokid, you are lucky if it’s only unpleasant for you, but don’t be mean to him over it by calling him names, because he’s already depressed and stressed out enough, and to be honest I’ve read your posts and you normally seem very nice.

Haireverywhere: I don’t know why they are so mad at you (to me, your concerns seem normal, even if the answers aren’t gonna be what you want to hear), but perhaps if you asked these questions in your own thread instead of Zala’s thread they would not feel like you were whining so much… I have not been treated with the Duet. Perhaps do a forum search for others who have and read their comments.

#47

I agree that on very coarse dense hair laser hurts quite a bit. However, I think one has to approach this logically. In my opinion, if the hair bothers you THAT much, you’d be willing to put up with some pain. I never used a numbing cream, but did ice afterwards (helps a lot). It did hurt, but it’s fine to stop at points when you need a break (it’s not a continuous pain - it hurts ONLY when the laser is actuall fired). And you can split up the areas. Plus, it doesn’t last that long. They can do a male face in 20-30 minutes at most. I think it’s a pretty low price to pay for permanent results given that you only have to do this once every 2-3 months.

#48

I definitely agree it’s worth the pain LAgirl (obviously, or I wouldn’t be doing it, hehe). But I guess he doesn’t, and is hoping he has other options. You can’t blame him, right?

#49

That’s basically what my point in my reply was as well. All lasers will hurt generally around the same, there’s no magic one that doesn’t hurt at all, and everyone has their own pain threshold so asking which one hurts less is entirely up to the person.

Permanent hair removal is physically changing something on your body, making it impossible to do so without pain. Most people will gladly take the pain if it means being hair free. Every time I go for a session I think of it like, this is so short and easy and will be done soon. It could be SO much worse. Imagine after each session you had to wear bandages, and were in pain for a week, or that your skin blistered or would get all swollen or something? Laser hair removal is really almost the perfect treatment really. A quick burst of pain when the laser fires, which goes away immediately after, and doesn’t hurt again!

#50

Hi guys,

I’ve been doing Laser Hair removal for over 5 years now. I’ve used the Candela (Alexandrite) and LightSheer. I was recommended the Soprano so tried it last week. Worst idea ever… Considering the treated area was shaved, and the Soprano is, in my opinion, a complete scam, I now need to go for an emergency LightSheer session to revert the effects of the shaving.

What happened with the Soprano? Absolutely nothing, that’s the problem. I was at setting 8 (out of 10), and the hair is now growing back like it’s been shaved (not lasered). I can tell and strong and active hair root by the shape of the hair growth and the speed :wink: (experience)

I still don’t understand how the Soprano “works”, and to be absolutely honest, I don’t believe in any method that claims to be painless. As stated by another poster, the application of a “force” to destroy the hair follicule (electrocution, burn) is suppose to hurt.

#51

Your post makes no sense what so ever.

I don’t see the relation between shaving an area prior to treatment and the Soprano being a scam.

What’s your skin type? What area did they treat you? How long has it been since?

It’s not painless but it hurts way less, and the reason for that is that it distributes the heat over a larger area rather than a single spot everytime.

A few years ago people thought that the world was flat and that you can’t fly without being a bird, but obviously it’s not black and white.

#52

Yeah you need to tell us more, like how long it’s been since a treatment. Hair always looks like it’s growing back for a couple weeks before it sheds that’s normal. If anything the settings were too low, but you still need to wait 3-4 weeks to judge before going for a different laser. I don’t really understand anything in your post, what are you talking about with an emergency LightSheer session? You sound like you’ve never even done laser before since even if you did go for a LightSheer session you wouldn’t get immediate results for a couple weeks anyway.

#53

How long has it been since your treatment? You need to give it 3 weeks for the hair to shed. You can’t tell anything at this point.

#54

Well, Like Gabi My results on my test area are the same, the hair is growing in as if the area was shaved.

There is no shedding in the area of treatment

Settings were 10J skin type II

I am very familiar what what the area should look like after laser treatment…

I had a test area done on my chest with Gentlelase 20, 25 pulses, 18J. took 4 weeks for the hairs to completely shed, then the next growth cycle came in…

I’m not ruling out that the person who did the test area with the XL messed up or didn’t make enough passes to really zap the follicles, I’m sure technique is the most important thing here.

I’m definitely will not be going back to that place.

#55

Hi guys,

I apologize for the confusion.

From experience, I “know” what a properly treated area should look like. If the lasering was done at the right intensity, than there should be no hair left in the follicule, it’s that simple. If there is hair left, then the lasering was not strong enough.

What usually happens is =

  1. Shave
  2. Get laser treatment
  3. Completely hairless for 3/4 weeks
  4. Hair starts growing back much thinner

An “adequate” laser treatment (IE a treatment that would not lead to hair removal, just temporary hair loss) would imply+

  1. Shaving
  2. Get laser treatment
  3. Still some hair left in the follicule but hair growth is temporarily stunted
  4. Hair sheds after 2/3 weeks

With the Soprano, not only was all my hair left in the follicule after the treatment, but the hair kept growing as if it had been shaved… this was my point. In my case, the treatment was completely useless.

Once the area has been shaved - if the lasering is not done properly - the hair will react -as if it had been shaved - grow stronger etc etc. It’s almost like taking me back 3 sessions in terms of lasering… thus the emergency LightSheer treatment that I need.

I hope this makes more sense.

#56

It makes sense but this is where you’re wrong though. Immediately after a treatment SOME hair definitely falls out right away, like when I do my face I’ll have the odd hair that sort of falls out. But that’s like TWO hairs out of every hair on my entire face. The hair looks like its continuing to grow and is firmly rooted until around day 10 at least then it starts to fall out. What you’re saying does not make sense, I’ve had several treatments with GentleLASE 18mm/20J max settings and hair always stays in the follicle for a couple weeks before shedding. You still haven’t told us how long it’s been since your session, because you can’t honestly judge how effective a treatment is immediately after. If after 4 weeks no hair has shed then it’s a problem.

#57

What you describe is exactly the way it suppose to be.

If you don’t believe in something from the beginning, why bother spend time and money doing it? Even worse when you go and rant about it.

#58

No, there is often hair still left in the follicle. What usually happens is that that hair sheds within 3 weeks. Some hair is burned off right at the treatment, but the rest will shed within 3 weeks. If it doesn’t, then it was missed or settings were too low. But it’s really hard to tell that even if you’ve had treatments before. It can look normal like nothing happened, and then all shed. Be patient. 3 weeks.

#59

Odi, learn to read.

LAgirl, I don’t understand why the hair would keep growing if the hair root was effectively damaged? I understand the need for the hair to be “pushed” out, but to keep growing?

#60

Trust me that’s how it works. I just had a full face treatment yesterday and my upper lip today looks like a days worth of growth. If I pull on the hairs, they’re firmly rooted and won’t budge and will continue to grow for another week. The same thing happened on my last treatment, then around day 10 using a sugar scrub in the shower all the hair fell out in clumps. I’ve used 3 different types of laser and I’ve always had that exact same type of result. If anything, on my arms especially the hairs stay under the skin as pepper spots and don’t fall out for weeks after treatment, but the result has always been the same. You pretty much look worse for about 10 days or so after the treatment then the hair all falls out and you look great for several weeks until the next cycle starts to grow back. Until you’ve waited at least 3 weeks to see how much hair has shed, then you can’t say Soprano XL is a scam or doesn’t work as everything you have described is exactly what is supposed to happen.