Yag Laser. Type IV-V

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi,
I am type IV from the middle east, and I have black hair.

  1. I believe that the Yag is the best for me (PLEASE correct me if I am wrong).

  2. I am not sure what is the 1064 Yag, and if it’s the same like Candela GentleYag. I have 2 optional Groupons(each for different area- bikini and underarm), and I am not sure which will work better for me. Is the 1064 nd Yag is good for IV-V type of skin like the Candela GentleYag?

  3. Also, I went to the laser place where they have the Candela GentleYag to do a test, and she did 40/20 on my skin (bikini area). It was painful, but not really too much. BUT, on my leg near the bikini area I had a little blood spots, while on the upper area of the bikini, everything is good. The leg area was a little sore the day I did the test, but now, a day later, it’s fine but still red/pink.
    What power should they use on that machine? Is 40/20 too much?

I will appreciate your answers.
Thank you so much,
Faf

#2

  1. Yes, a YAG would most likely be the best one for you. If you’re on the lighter side of a IV, you might be able to get away with a diode, but a YAG would be safer.

  2. A yag laser is a laser that operates at a wavelength of 1064 nm (hence where the 1064 comes from.) The Candela Gentleyag is a specific YAG machine (and quite a fine one in my opinion.) Be careful with groupons because a lot of companies that use them tend to give poor results. Depending on where you’re located, someone may have a recommendation of a place.

  3. Unfortunately, I don’t know if that means 40J/20ms or 20J/40ms. Also, without knowing the spot size (on a GentleYag, you would probably have seen either 10, 12, 15, or 18mm), it’s impossible to tell you if your settings are good. As for what settings they should use, it’s impossible to tell. What you should do is call and ask for the joules, spot size, and pulse width, and post those here and we can tell you if it’s strong enough to experience any reduction.

Good luck!

#3

Depends exactly on your skin colour but as said before your options are either diode or YAG. Sound like both should be fine (assuming you are correct about your skin)
Your next step is to find the right place, i don’t trust those group deals because they cut the prices and sell at a loss. Most of them will need to cut corners on the consumer so why take a risk?

#4

Thank you for your reply.

The place with the Candela Yag, where I took the test on my skin (IV-V) on my bikini area, have a Spot size of 10. The Joule was 40 and the Pulse width was 20. Is it too much? am I taking a risk?
I had the test on Friday, and it was painful but not too much. It looks OK now and not painful anymore. On the upper bikini area it looked fine even just after the test, but, on the area that is close to the leg, I got some blood spots and it was sore for 2 days and now it’s not painful anymore, but looks like I got suntanning at that area (I must say I never suntanning at the bikini area. I never wear bikini).

The other place has the Cutera 1064 nd Yag (24 trailing ??? not sure…)with a spot size of 10. I didn’t yet go for a skin test. I am not sure if this machine is good for me, or if it’s better then the Candela.

Can you please advice?

Thank you very much,
Faf

#5

10mm spot size is very small. Max on GentleYAG is 18mm and you should try to get them to use it. The impact of joules goes down as you decrease the spot size, so on 18mm max is 30J on the GentleYAG, on 15mm it’s 40J and so on. On 10mm, 40J is pretty low, which is why you didn’t feel much. Try to get them to test various settings on a larger spot size so they can find a good high setting that your skin can handle safely.

Cutera makes the Coolglide Yag laser. Once again, 10mm is a small spot size, so they would need to use pretty high joules to compensate.

GentleYAG is technically a better machine because it has a larger spot size. However, if they’re not willing to use those spot sizes, then it doesn’t help you.

#6

Thank you for your answers.
They told me that they used 40J on 20
What means the 20? I think it called Pulse width or MS? What is this number? and is it better when it’s high or low?
(I am type IV from the middle east)

#7

20ms is the pulse width. The lower, the better. Spot size is more important though. 20ms is in acceptable range. Lowest on GentleYAG is 3ms.

#8

Hi again,

Thank you for all your replies.

I went today to a different place, where they have Candela Yag and GentleLase. They told me I am type 4 and suggested the GentleLase, but I was a little skeptic. Although I tan easily, and I almost never get burn, my skin is very sensitive to pigmentation…
Isn’t the Yag safer for me (Then the GentleLase)?

When I asked to have a test on my bikini area, they decided to use the Yag. Spot size and the Joules were 18X18.
The test didn’t hurt me at all! I asked if they can maybe try to change the joules because it didn’t hurt at all, and they said they do not want to burn my skin, and that some people are less sensitive then others. They said that I will see that my hair will shed within 2-3 weeks, which will mean it’s good.
Is that what it really mean? I wonder if it might just weaken the hair, instead of destroying it.

They claim that they are professional and certified and I need to trust what they are doing, and they will always use on me 18x18 because they don’t want me to get burn and sue them (They anyway made me sign some papers and one of the sentences was that I won’t be able to sue them for such kind of issues).

Although the place looks clean and good, and they told me they are certified with 3 years of experience, I am not sure I can trust them, or other places, just because it’s an open market and I am afraid to hurt my skin.

So here are again my questions:

1.Isn’t the Yag safer for me (Then the GentleLase)?

  1. Does the fact that the hair will shed 2-3 weeks after a test, means that they used it right on me?
    My thoughts are, that even if the hair shed, it doesn’t mean necessarily, that they used the right values (because it could be that it’s just weaken the hair).
    Can you please explain so I will understand it better?

  2. Will lower joules are more risky when using 18 spot size? Will lower then 18 joules, can cause burns?
    If it doesn’t hurt me, does it mean I can go for lower joules? Or is the skin color, the only sign for going lower then that?

  3. What really means the certification? Are 3 years of experience good? What if it was with different laser machine?

I am sorry for being so suspicious with those places. It’s just that after going to few places I realized, I need to understand about it and about what is the best for me, before I am going to put my body under someone else’s hands.

Thank you again,
Faf

#9

  • If you can handle high settings on GentleLASE, then you can use it. It doesn’t sound like they want to test high settings though and are pretty conservative. Skin types are approximate.

  • Max on GentleYAG 18mm is 30J, so 18J is relatively low for your skin type.

  • Shedding is good, but doesn’t necessarily mean the hair was damaged permanently. That’s why using highest settings your skin can handle safely is best.

  • Higher joules means more impact and stronger setting, so not sure what your 3rd question means.

  • Years of experience is just one measurement. You want someone who’s willing to be aggressive and test settings, not just use something relatively low to avoid any complications.

#10

Thank you.

  1. If Max on GentleYAG 18mm is 30J, and they used the 18J which might be low for my skin type, and they are planing to use those setting without changing it, does it mean it wont do the job? I guess I should look for different place in that case, or it’s still ok to use law joules.

  2. If I will be able to use the GentleLase (spot size 15 and/or 18), what should be the range of the joules and ms?

  3. If it doesn’t hurt me, does it mean it wont work well with those setting?

  4. Can it be that the GentleLase will do a better results on type Iv, then the Yag will? I am not sure what the difference between the machines and how can it be that both might be good for me (the first wanted to use the GentleLase).

  5. They told me I must come every 5 weeks, but I read that it should be 6-8 weeks at the bikini area. Does it make sense to get a treatment every 5 weeks?

Thank you again,
Faf

#11

  1. I would keep looking for places that are willing to test higher settings. Treating at low settings may be setting yourself up for temporary results. Or try another tech at the same clinic. Not sure how this one works. Or speak to the manager and explain why you want to test higher settings.

  2. Max on 18mm on GentleLASE is 20J, on 15mm it’s 30J. Pulse width is fixed. You should always try to treat as close to the max as possible. They need to test to figure out what the max is that your skin can handle safely. We don’t recommend treating with GentleLASE on 18mm with anything under 14-16J.

  3. Pain is just one of the factors to this. Once again, max your skin can handle is a goal.

  4. GentleLASE is more powerful and it will make a difference down the line when the hair gets finer, BUT once again at GOOD settings only. If your skin can’t handle at least 16J on 18mm, no point of treating with GentleLASE. Too low for permanent results.

  5. Bikini typically doesn’t need treatments more often than once every 8-12 weeks. But you don’t need to pre-plan this. You go, hair sheds in 3 weeks, then you have to wait for new growth to come in which takes at least another 5 weeks or longer.

#12

Thank you very much.
I have few more question please.
I am trying to understand the different between the GentleYag and GentleLase, so I will know which one I should look for. I understand that the GentleLASE is more powerful, but which one is better for my skin? If my hair will get finer, do both machine be able to do the job?
Non of the places I called, wants to do more then one test on my skin. They said they will do one test using the lowest power and each time I will come after committing, they will use a higher power. Is it the way it works? I want to do few tests before I commit, so that I will know that they try to reach the highest joules that I can handle.

#13

  • If you can find a clinic that will use 16J on 18mm on you on GentleLASE and your skin can handle that setting safely, then use that one. If not, then GentleYAG is your only option.

  • I would recommend approaching them differently (or trying to at least) by saying that you’re looking for a clinic that is experienced and will use aggressive settings. If you show to them that you’re knowledgeable and that you know that only aggressive settings actually give permanent results rather than temporary, they may be more open. But really depends on the tech and clinic.

#14

Thank you so much LAgirl, for all your answers.
It is really difficult to find clinics, but I hope I will find one that I will be happy with.

Thank you again,
Faf

#15

Ok, so this morning I tried the GentleLase-plus for the first time.
Here are the numbers: 15 mm, 14J, 60/40 (waiting 40??? What does it mean?), total 30 pulses.
1.
The technician told me she prefer to use the 15 spot size (not the 18, because she was afraid it would be too much for my skin type). She used only 14J, which I understood from the forum, is too low for spot size 15. Right?
It wasn’t too painful, and it looks now a little red and darker. It doesn’t look like it hurt my skin, but I will wait a week to see how it will look like.

If everything will look fine a week from now, I will try to do a test on only one spot (not a big area), with higher joules.
What would be the minimum joules that will really show results? (I mean like on 18mm, 14-16j should be the minimum to get results).

3.when she did the test on me, I felt like hot droplets squirt on my legs and hand, that were close to the test area (bikini). Could it be that the machine is damaged? So the laser spread all over?

Before the test, she took out a few hairs and showed me that 2 of them had a white root. She explained that the laser “killes” only the dark roots, but not those that are white. Is that true? I thought that if my hair is black, then it should kill it. I never knew that a hair root can be a different color than white. (just to confirm- I do not have gray hair at all. But when I pull out one hair, there is a white piece at the end of it).

Thank you for helping,
Faf

#16

  1. Yes, that setting is way too low to be effective. Max on 15mm is 30J.

  2. If she’s not willing to use 14-16J on 18mm spot size, I doubt she will want to use at least 22J on 15mm. But I guess you can try asking.

  3. The machine sprays cryogen which cools the area right before the laser shot. Nothing to worry about.

  4. Please read the FAQs below - the part about how hair grows specifically. If the root is white, that means it’s not in anagen phase anymore. It would still shed, but it will return later. This is why you need multiple treatments. Hair grows in cycles. You can also wax the area about 3 months before your first treatment. Then all hair during your first treatment will be in anagen. Generally, that makes you have fewer treatments overall.