The Beginning of My IPL Story

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
1

Hello everyone - I have visited this forum for months as I find it very interesting and educational.

I studied electrolysis several years ago - and am a qualified therapist. Laser and IPL are fields I have no experience in. I thought you may find my story interesting enough to follow.

I visited the Academy where I trained last week - and they now teach IPL and have done away with electrolysis.

My old teacher - who is the founder of the school, has agreed to treat me - free of charge.

Now this person i trust. There is no reason for her to lie to me about the success of IPL - after all - she is getting no money from me. I can understand people swearing by a product - when they are charging for it - yes of course - nobody is going to ‘speak badly’ of a product that is suppose to make them money.

So my treatments are to be done free.

On top of this - I know that there are ‘health and safety’ guidelines that us qualified therapists are told to adhere to - not necessarily because they have to be adhered to - but because by adhering to them we cover our own '**rses so to speak.

So my hair growth situation is this. I do not like my arm hairs id rather they were non existant - they are fine - yet longish and BROWN. They are not BLACK, but brown. She - who I will refer to as Rose, took one look at my arms and said ‘beautiful’. She said ‘that shouldnt take more than 4 treatments’.

I also want my upper lip done - now that is also fine hair - light brown id say - but altogether can give a ‘darker’ appearance.

Im going to get my entire below bits done, and my underarms too. These areas have thick dark hair of course.

Now what suprises me is the ‘negativity’ of IPL on this forum. And that Laser is better. My understanding is that IPL is better. That IPL has little if not any radiation involved - as laser does. IPL works on any hair with any pigment - that ranges from light brown to black. IPL is a lot gentler on the skin and less harsh than laser - and that is why periods inbetween treatments are a lot shorter than they are with Laser.

This is all coming from a teacher in this field, one who is willing to do these treatments on me free of charge too - so I cannot see how or why she would find the need to ‘promote’ it, if it were not as good as she makes it sound.

I asked when i need to come in for the second treatment. I was told that i should shave the areas - then they would zap the areas with IPL - the regrowth will then fall out within a week or so - thereafter as soon as regrowth starts i can come in for the second treatment and so on.

This is what i mean by ‘health and safety’ guidelines. People may be advised to come back in 8 weeks - yes but that is not necessarily because this is how it works. In my eyes its quite logical - After 8 weeks - then there is virtually NO RISK in ‘burning’ the skin. Therefore no risk in a potential court case. Yes theres insurance but rather be safe than sorry type thing.

Again this woman who is not just a therapist - but TEACHES - has told me i can come back as soon as regrowth happens. There is no risk factor involved with me, im not going to sue her for burns.

So that is where my story begins. Of course i may be completely wrong blah di blah - but she reckons im a fine candidate - and is going to do it free - so we shall just see.

I will find out what machine it is that she uses and let you all know- and when i start this all - i will keep you posted. I will show some before and after pics too.

Anyways - just an interesting situation - because i can tell u all how it goes - and im most definately not being ripped off as im not paying a cent - so this should be interesting.

Thanks guys
x

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I personally can’t wait for your next appointment. Keep us posted!

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I foresee Rose’s IPL students asking for refunds in the future.

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I wish you the best of luck. Let us know how it works out. Doubt if you will see the results you expect at 4 treatments. But IPL can work. It is just not as consistent as a laser. But I do want to respond to a few comments.

Look up the definition of cognitive dissonance.

Now what suprises me is the ‘negativity’ of IPL on this forum. And that Laser is better. My understanding is that IPL is better.

What it is is cheaper. I would love to use IPLs. I owned one of the first. I don’t use them anymore for a reason.

That IPL has little if not any radiation involved - as laser does. IPL works on any hair with any pigment - that ranges from light brown to black. IPL is a lot gentler on the skin and less harsh than laser - and that is why periods inbetween treatments are a lot shorter than they are with Laser.

Unfortunately, this is where you are kind of going off into unsupported suppositions. IPL and lasers have the same amount of radiation. It is just that lasers is one wavelength and more controllable. Whereas IPLs have to use filters to control the photonic energy.

Furthermore, IPL does theoretically work a little bit better on very fine hair because you can get lower wavelengths depending on the filter used. But there is no free lunch, so using those lower wavelengths come at the expense of more risk of burning the skin. At the same time, the percent of lower wavelengths that are present in an IPL pulse are pretty low, thereby negating much of that benefit.

There was a reason why the first IPL, Photoderm by ESC, was nicknamed the photoburn. Furthermore, most of the really bad reactions that circulate around in the press are IPL burns called footprints.

Finally, the purpose of the interval between treatments has nothing to do with the skin and everything to do with how the hair reacts and grows. So it doesn’t really matter what you use, intervals should be the same. Shorter intervals tend to be less effective.

This is all coming from a teacher in this field, one who is willing to do these treatments on me free of charge too - so I cannot see how or why she would find the need to ‘promote’ it, if it were not as good as she makes it sound.

It would be interesting to know if this teacher has used other machines and how long she used them. How much real experience does she have?

I asked when i need to come in for the second treatment. I was told that i should shave the areas - then they would zap the areas with IPL - the regrowth will then fall out within a week or so - thereafter as soon as regrowth starts i can come in for the second treatment and so on.

I can almost guarantee you that if you do that, you will need far more than four treatments. Though a few people get lucky.

This is what i mean by ‘health and safety’ guidelines. People may be advised to come back in 8 weeks - yes but that is not necessarily because this is how it works. In my eyes its quite logical - After 8 weeks - then there is virtually NO RISK in ‘burning’ the skin. Therefore no risk in a potential court case. Yes theres insurance but rather be safe than sorry type thing.

Again, you misunderstand how lasers and IPLs work or the risk involved. I can laser someone every other day if I want. I just have to give enough time for any skin damage to resolve before the next treatment. And that is true whether I use a laser or an IPL. The purpose of the interval is to give the next crop of hair time to start growing and to come in. As hair grows is gets thicker and coarser, therefore letting it grow a little makes it a better target for whatever system you use.

So that is where my story begins. Of course i may be completely wrong blah di blah - but she reckons im a fine candidate - and is going to do it free - so we shall just see.

Free is good. Good luck.

5

sslhr basically covered everything in your post that is either iffy or plain wrong. so all I have to add at this point is that we sincerely hope that you come back to us and report your results, especially on the areas with fine hair and after just 4 treatments.

6

Hello all,

Thanks for reading, well - as soon as I am in a position to ask Rose more questions I will let you know more details.

She did say ‘It shouldnt take more than four treatments’. Not it will ONLY take four treatments. She just sounded rather sure of the machine.

I am aware that the ‘time period’ inbetween treatments is to wait for the next hairs to finally appear as regrowth and to give the skin time to heal - but everyones hair growth is different. Some people have hard stubble 3 days after waxing - some have smooth skin for 3 weeks after waxing.

Basically she said that depending on how my hair grows, will determine when I need to come in for the next treatment. Could be 3 weeks, could be 5.

Anyway, I promise to keep you posted - I should start treatment within the next week or two - I will be sure to take some pics for you guys too.

Oh -

‘‘I foresee Rose’s IPL students asking for refunds in the future’’

In response to the comment above - haha - Rose’s students dont pay for treatment either. Only outside clients pay for IPL. So I wont be upsetting anyone at the school, thank goodness.

7

I didn’t mean refund on treatments, I was referring to their education, or should I say lack of education.

I would be beyond PO’d if I spent a few grand on laser school and travel expenses, bought the wrong piece of equipment because Rose convinced me it was the better machine, and then unknowingly duped my precious clients into believing that I was giving them the better treatment than the spa down the road with the GenteLASE because “I went to Rose’s school.”

I can only imagine that Rose obtained her education from an IPL salesman. When I attended laser school, we had various alexandrites, Nd:YAGs, and IPL’s available to use. We were educated on the good, the bad and the ugly of each machine, so that we could make educated business decisions.

Also, if someone has hard stubble 3 days after waxing, it’s because the hair had not yet emerged from the skin at the time of waxing, not because everyone’s hair growth is different. It’s really not that different. No one’s hair grows back 3 days after waxing, unless it was broken when waxed rather than removed by the root.

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Amen, “Choice”! Tell Them On Every Mountain, “Sslhr”!

We appreciate that she believes what she says to be true, but I am reminded of the scene in the movie My Cousin Vinny when the ersatz lawyer asks the question, “Do the laws of physics stop at your stove? How can you cook a grit faster than everybody else?”

9

Great post by Choice here. Agree with every word.

Like I mentioned on another thread, I would urge you to do some independent research and ask Rose how many different types of machines she’s actually tried.