Switching laser machines too often?

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi!
I’m so lucky to find such an awesome forum with a great deal of valuable information regarding laser hair removal :smiley:
I’m new here & new to laser treatments.
I’m a skin type III-IV female with black very coarse hair.
I’ve had one full body treatment so far divided in two sessions. However, the first session was done with a diode laser machine & the second session using a gentleLASE machine due to temporary malufunction in the diode machine.
both were okay regarding the delayed growth of hair with no shedding… but only one treatment is’nt enough to decide which machine gives better results i guess.
Personally, i was more comfortable with the gentleLase, it doesnt hurt as much as the diode & i felt that the covering for areas is much better… but i do want to get great results by the end of my package so i don’t really mind either.
I was wondering if i should stick to one machine throughout my 4 sessions package for best results or it’s okay to try out both machines and switch from one to the other every session?
I want to know too which setting suits me in each machine for the treatment to be really effective…

Thanx!

#2

Switching lasers is OK, as long as the laser wavelength and settings are appropriate for your skin type. If you are closer to a skin type IV, then the Diode would be safer on your skin. Of course, knowing what settings were used on you is very important.

#3

Hey Sweetech,

Can you clarify? You say GentleLASE and a diode for both sessions. Do you mean your first session was GentleLASE, then 6-8 weeks later when it was time for session 2 you then switched to diode? Or do you mean they did half your body with GentleLASE, it malfunctioned so they then finished up with diode?

The other thing is you said both delayed growth but didn’t cause shedding. How long ago did you have your treatment? If you didn’t get any shedding after 3 weeks then something is wrong.

#4

Please read our FAQs at the link below if you haven’t already. Very important.

  • For your skin type, diode is safer. Like Romeo said, settings are important to know. If you can handle high enough settings on GentleLASE, that laser would be more effective. Settings used make the difference, not just the type of laser being used.

  • I’ve never heard of a woman who has coarse dense hair literally all over the body for a full body laser treatment. Can you outline what areas you’re treating specifically? Coarse is the type of hair you see on underarms and bikini. I would warn you against treating just any hair on your body because your skin type is especially prone to induced growth on areas with finer growth.

  • As edokid mentioned, you should be experiencing shedding.

#5

Heyz!

Romeo:Honestly i didn’t pay attention to the settings used on me in both machines during my first session… According to my skin type every article i read recommends diode, however i didn’t get any negative reactions with the gentleLASE… which makes me wonder if they used low settings on me because of my skin type or probably because its the first time & they’re being cautious…
I just dont have a slight idea how high idealy the settings should be on both machines for my type… & would like to have -sort of- a background (a figure… anything…) when i go to my next session (which is tomorrow) cuz’ definitely this time i’m asking about my settings. (Please?)

edokid: They did my upper body with diode & my lower with gentleLASE on the same day. My last session was 8 weeks ago. My hair took TIME to grow back compared to how it normaly does after shaving.
I did a very close shave for the parts to be treated before my first session but when it started growing back (after 4 weeks) i didn’t notice any shedding so i continued to shave whenever i needed to.
Which makes me suspect Again that the power they used was very low on both machines…

LAgirl: The FAQs is very neat & useful indeed :slight_smile:
I certainly dont have coarse dense hair literally all over my body but thats how the (upper lip, arms, underarms,tummy, bikini & full legs) package is called. (Almost full body imo). The full body package comes in a much cheaper price compared to the price if u purchase treatments for each part seperately. Good bargain :slight_smile: . I just highlighted the nature of the hair i got in some parts makin it a good candidate for laser to treat & i dont intend to “shave” the parts with fine hair inorder to laser them cuz hair there will just get thicker & then finer to where it was in the first place! Most probably laser wont even work on it so it aint worth the hassle at all

#6

Just a quick reminder to be careful with your arms - especially the upper arms where the hair may be finer - this area can occasionally have induced growth if the hair is not coarse enough. Even if it is included in the package, it would be safer just to leave it out rather than risk treatment.

#7

I can not help you with settings without seeing you. Just ask them what they are using ( Settings ) and report to us and we can then try to guide you.

#8

Regardless, what you’re describing is not correct. Laser doesn’t just slow down hair growth for a month. If you want that do waxing then. After 3 weeks all the hair should have shed out and you should have at least a month with zero hair. As lagirl said most women don’t have hair dark and coarse enough over their entire body to be able to do laser…

#9

Shaving doesn’t change the structure of the hair. That’s an old wives’ tale. What DOES induce growth in women of your skin type is treating hair that’s not coarse and dense with laser. We’re warning you so you can avoid treating areas like upper arms for example. Once again, induced growth has nothing to do with shaving. We’re talking about LASER itself stimualating the growth. Shaving is irrelevant to this.

You can easily call your clinic and ask for settings, even right now. Ask for joules, spot size, and pulse width that was used.

Once again, you should be experiencing SHEDDING of ALL treated hair. Anything growing as usual past 3 week mark was either missed or undertreated, i.e. that’s wasted money in a sense.

#10

Oh gosh I need to correct this old wive’s tale: Shaving will NEVER EVER EVER cause the hair to grow in any thicker. That’s a scientific and physical impossibility. It is literally identical to trimming the hair. It does not affect the papilla/root/bulb of the hair in any way because you are not entering the follicle.

The reason people used to (wrongly) attribute the thicker hair with shaving is because most people start shaving around puberty, which is when your hormones cause your hair to grow and thicken anyway. Some confused people once upon a time just assumed the growth was related to the shaving. Another reason is because shaving causes a blunt tip on the hair instead of a tapered one, so it can be an optical illusion that the hair seems “thicker” when it’s not.

Shaving is actually the BEST way to get rid of hair. Plucking/waxing can sometimes cause the hair to get thicker and darker (especially on the face) because it stimulates the follicle and increases blood flow to the root, but shaving will never do that.

#11

Hello everyone! Thanks all for the replies, warnings and corrections! Hope all is good :slight_smile:
Sorry it’s been a while & i havent added any updates…
So i had a session on the 5th of september, treated my upperlip lower arms, under arms, tummy & full legs with a Candella GentleYAG machine.
She used a 30j, 3mms, 18 spotsize for all the areas i mentioned above except for the upper lip she reduced the spot size to 15.
Are these settings suitable for my type of skin? Should the same settings be used on all parts? Mark that it was very very painful, i even felt the pain on my teeth when she was doing my upperlip. Im a bit concerned…
I had a bikini session on the 14th of september, using the same 30 joules 3mms and 18 spot size… i used emla before my treatment but still it was extremely painful and i had the area swollen for about 2 days after the treatment.
Is that normal? Are these settings okay and safe?
She had me undergo a patch test on my inner thigh before these two sessions with these settings saying its the most sensitive area to make sure i wont get any burns using this high power. My skin apparently tolerates the power with no burns with this machine. However, the treatments hurts so much even with emla on.
Another Q… I heard that using laser on a skin with emla on makes it darker. Is that true?

Please advise…

Thanx

#12

Those are aggressive YAG settings with 18 mm spot size and 3 msc pulse width. It must have hurt alot. Those settings could cause pigmentation and purpoura, if not properly administered.

#13

Oops… So… any advice? whats the best settings for my type with less pain?

Any replies are appreciated!

#14

Those are basically max settings, so they’re definitely aggressive. If your skin is not getting burned, the settings are fine. LHR should hurt. The most important thing is that you’re not getting burned.

Pain decreases as your hair gets finer and less dense.

Use aloe vera gel on the areas for a few days after. Swelling is ok for a couple days. After that, you shouldn’t have any side effects. Icing helps with swelling too.

If you can handle those settingsm you should also be able to handle an alex laser like GentleLASE.