Hello! I had my first laser treatment last Wednesday(12/29). It was a gentle-lase at 18j. I am skin type 3, and I got full brazilian, extended inner thigh, happy trail, and arm pits treated. The overall experience was very smooth, the tech was extremely knowledgeable. She has been practicing since the 80s, and I could tell that she knew what she was doing. My question is, she has asked me to come back again this Wednesday to make sure I get a good first clearance. I’m afraid it will be too soon. My skin in the bikini/extended brazilian area is very tender and filled with what looks like ingrown hairs stuck right below the surface of the skin. I have been gently exfoliating and using tons of lotion trying to encourage the hairs to come free but I don’t think the area will be ready to shave by this wed. I have read a lot and follow-ups tend to be 3 weeks out, not the following week. Is this normal or too soon?
Those are pepper spots. I wouldn’t necessarily call it “ingrown” hair as it is burned up nubs of dead hair. Probably too soon for you to be exfoliating, btw. give it another few days to let your skin recover a bit more. Once the hair starts shedding,a gentle scrub every day or two should help the process along.
As to your appt. this week, I think the practitioner is using a euphemism for going over spots that she may have missed (as opposed to re-treating the exact spots that already got properly lasered). It usually take about two weeks for the missed spots to become evident, but when they do, I return for a “touch-up” on those missed areas. Not a big deal, but a good place will not (should not) charge you for it.
They are hairs, not pepper spots, yet. I can tell because some are stuck, some are loose and look like they are growing and some (like 1 or 2) are starting to fall out. And it itches like hell, which is the only reason why I am (very) gently exfoliating.
I was unclear in my previous post, she said “come back next wed, and I’ll go over the whole area again to make sure that we got everything and you get a good first clearance.” She did say there would be no charge for the back-to-back session. She said the reason was because my hair is not only very thick and very coarse, but also very dense.
So basically, 1 week is too soon, 2 weeks is better but 3 weeks is optimal to judge for true missed spots? Thank you very much for responding 
Yeah I think around three weeks is about right based on my experience as a patient (not a practitioner).
It’s too early to judge anything. You need to wait 3 weeks to see what was affected. You can’t tell much otherwise.
Also, what spot size was used at 18J? That number doesn’t mean much without knowing the spot size.
LHR wasn’t really around in the 80s. She couldn’t have been using this machine for more than 10-12 years or so.