A little about me - male/38 type3 and HAIRY... and won't wear a short sleeve shirt in public... I Look like teen wolf

Some history:
Back in the late 90s I tried LHR, I really don't remember the laser model. I remember goop and a plasic sheet with black dots on it for the tech to shoot through - old school right... Well that did nothing and left me with stripes going down one arm.. I also remember at one point the tech was looking at the laser for something and it kept shoot into my arm - after about 5 shots in the same spot - I said hello look what your doing...

Later on in life, around 2000 I decided to try this again.
Lightsheer Diode - I don't remember the Joules but the tech was obviously inexperienced, burned the you know what out of my arms.. I vowed never to try it again...

Every spring I find myself coming back to this site to look for a news and or updates on new laser tech, home devices etc etc...

From this site, I decided that the GentleLase was the way to go. Found a place I could trust and had my 1st treatment last week, well a few days ago... The tech used 18j shoulders and upper arms, 16 lower arms and hands..

Man oh Man did this hurt, by the time she was done, 50 mins or so , I felt like Homer Simpson falling over a cliff bouncing off of rocks and catis...

Anyways... I'm so freakin happy I finnally did this...

I'm just looking for reduction and my guess is 4 or 5 treatments to get there...

They want me back in 6 weeks but we'll judge that by the amount of hair that comes back...

Drawbacks are, hiding out for the summer...

They said I should be ok with SPF 30 or higher, as long as I put it on every hour... Is that true?

If this works for me, next will be - back, then legs, then chest...

Also, I can't see Tria replacing this professional service...

For one, tria only lasts 250 pulses on one 3 hour charge. My arms took over 1600...

Just wanted to Thank you guys for keeping this site up...

Wish me luck...

It's good to hear that you've finally got a good treatment. Some of the methods you mentioned as well sound archaic, was there any permanent damage left by the diode damage?

Regards,
Benji

Thankfully, nothing major...

Oh ya, and they also prescribed emla cream - good thing they didn't tell me how to use it, I could be dead right now...

I'll never ever forget that day.. Even when I went in the next day, the Doc said "Well thats healing nicely" If I only knew... Swelled up like popeye, crusty blisters, sick for days..

What an idiot I was...

We live, we learn and we grow from our mistakes...

Great to hear you're back at it and now using the best laser out there. Can you find out what spot size they're using with those joules? It's best if it's the max 18mm one.

6 weeks will probably be too early.

EMLA should be ok on areas that have the most dense hair and hurt most. Apply 1 hr before. If you can handle it without it, not reason to use it or spend money on it though.

Let us know whether you see good shedding in 2 weeks.

Good luck.

Its almost a week - I guess its shedding pretty good.. Iches some, feels like 130 grit sandpaper ;o) Looks like pepper. I yanked on some of the hairs just to see how they would come out. Amazes me how long they are. There is no root or bulb to them so i'm guessing those were destroyed... I don't see any missed spots either..

Spot size was 18mm

Question on laser induced hair growth... If this does happen, and the hair does become coarse, won't future treatments resolve this issue?

Also, would laser hair removal be less painfull if you started with waxing the area, then waiting 6-8 weeks for growth?

If you do experience laser induced hair growth/hypertrichosis, ou can resolve this by further treatments. However, it depends on how thick the hair is, if the hair isn't thick enough, you can clear it with electrolysis or keep treating the area so that it becomes thick enough to be killed. Although the clinic needs to know exactly what they are doing and it is difficult to tell how many treatments you would need.

Does the clinic have a policy on this?

In terms of waxing the area then waiting 6-8 weeks, it can make the treatment more effective as all the hairs should be in anagen, however, it will still be as painful. This is because the same amount of hair should be there, which is needed for the laser treatment to be successful. This should only be done once at the begining of the course of treatments.

Regards,
Benji

- You can't wax throughout your treatments. The hair needs to be present and synchronized in the right hair cycles. And the point is for the hair to be coarse so the laser can target it. If you're asking because you think treating less coarse hair is less painful then the logic is wrong here. Less painful in that case would mean less effective because the only reason would be because the hair is finer when it just comes out after waxing. You don't want that because laser can't target finer hair well to kill it. The only waxing we recommend is before you start any treatments to synchronize the hair from the start.

- If you want less pain, use icing or numbing cream. Or take an ibuprofen beforehand.

- And yes, the induced growth can be treated if the hair becomes coarse enough. However most people don't want to go through this process as it would take a long time with the situation getting a lot worse before it gets any better.

Man I really hoped Tria would for for my arms
I am just 20 and I won't wear a short sleeve as well :'( ( a guy)

Just got back from my second treatement - Maybe its just me but it seemed to hurt more - anyways pain is good ay?

I took some of the advice here - no coffee and some advil (was all i had)

The only thing that did was give me a headache from the lack of caffine...

I was getting the feeling she though 8 weeks was too long??? She wants me in at 7 weeks for my 3rd treatment.. Your thoughts?

She also mentioned that the really fine light hairs that were coming back where hairs in different stages that were confused??

What is that all about?? Was that made up?

Thanks everyone - I really need to take a nap, i'm beat!!!

feels like I just walked 36 holes...

You may want to use a numbing cream. Also, make sure to drink lots of water. And icing afterwards really helps too.

What fine light hairs are you talking about? Stimulated growth that wasn't there before?

I wouldn't ask them about timing of treatments. Just come back in when you have enough hair. There is no point of arguing. If there is not enough hair to treat, don't come in. Simple as that.

I don't believe the fine hairs to be simulated growth, I had very coarse hair in that area.

I made sure I drank pleanty of water, ate 2 meals and gave myself a sugar rush.

I'm still a little swelled up today - expected I guess..

I guess my fear in timing the treatments is that they are in it for the $$$ and i'm in it for my sanity

sitting there yesterday, I wanted to quit and starting thinking what the hell am I doing...

Once again, I advise to get numbing cream to help with pain since it's that bad in your case.

Any hair that's just coming in is new and in the first anagen phase of growth.

You should ice the areas to help with the swelling. Also, buy some pure aloe vera (clear stuff), cool it in the fridge, and apply to help with the healing and swelling.

Oftentimes clinics just get their instructions from laser manufacturers. So they don't necessarily tell you to come in earlier intentionally to make more money. They often just don't do their own research. But like I said, you don't have to consult them on timing. I doubt they will be counting weeks when you call to schedule an appt.

for some reason, today, my arms are itchy, lots of pepper spots, which is normal but what about the itch?

also both arms are lightly bruised.

Does the pain level drop on the 3rd treatment?

Pain level depends on how coarse and dense the hair is. Coarse dense hair hurts most. As you have less and less hair and it's finer, it will hurt less. Once again, numbing cream and icing are your options.

Bruising shouldn't be happening. Did you expose the area to the sun? That's often the cause.

You need to wait 2-3 weeks for shedding to start. It's too early to tell whether the hairs are pepperspots since they haven't started shedding yet.

Are you applying pure clear aloe vera gel to help with the itching?

Yes on the aloe, Zero sun

Make sure your clinic is aware so they can adjust the settings.

Your lower arms are never exposed to the sun? No short-sleeved shirts outside?

no, if so for a very very limited time, taking the trash out or cutting the grass at 7pm ish

I want this over with like you wouldn't believe...

This summer is going to be very lonely

3 Treatment today -- pain was a tad bit less - I tried icing before, 20-25 mins - not sure if it was just the lessor amount of hair or the ice that helped, still hurt like heck...

I really hope this is working...

I'm betting this will work for you,but don't get discouraged if you have some bald areas and some patchy areas. If this happens to you, just be ready to get some electrolysis to even things out. Thanks so much for up dating this thread.

Dee

Thanks Dee, One thing that was kinda stressed yesterday what that I have A-LOT of active hairs and to get to 60% it was mentioned that I may need 6 treatments.

Thing is, that would bring me to Jan/Feb for #6 - which means I won't have a "normal" look for spring/summer - Not to mention the Austin Powers look I have going. My Wife says its Groovey.

Lots to think about - Its been really really hard hiding out this summer from the sun.

I miss my bicycle, cutting the grass at normal hours, yard projects, washing the cars - It kinda feels like I'm under house arrest - like your parants grounded ya but your allowed to play video games and watch tv...

Things can always be worse...

You dont have to hide from the sun. Just use a high spf and wear clothing made for the outdoors. They will be cooler than normal cotton and also have an SPF built in.

Hi:

Just be glad you don't have Austin Powers teeth or
need for that Swedish enlarger he tried to bring through
airport security!