So Aura Skin Spa was able to see me yesterday for a consultation. It was much nicer and I felt a lot more relaxed here than the other places I have been. Thanks again for that tip! Nita only fills in periodically so I will have to go with another nurse, but the one I met with was nice, made me feel comfortable and was straightforward in answering my questions. The only downside is that she will not do the first treatment at a setting higher than 18mm and 16 joules. I even asked that she try the test spot at 18 joules, but she was reluctant to even do that. She said that a larger area of skin would likely react differently than a smaller area. Today I have no adverse reaction to the test spot at 16 joules and 18mm.

I can understand that she doesn't want to damage my skin, as I don't want that either. However, if the entire area is treated at 16, is that money down the drain, so to speak? What would you recommend? Perhaps I should propose an area larger than a test spot, but smaller than my entire back at 16 to see what reaction my skin has? Say, just my shoulders. And if it does ok, ask she move it to 18 or 20 for my back?

16j on 18mm is a good strong setting. It's perfectly fine for your first treatment.

The reason for test spots is to see how the skin reacts to different settings. 16j is the minimum I would start with. I prefer my clients use a numbing cream and 18 or 20j.

Most of my treatments on various areas were either with 16J or 18J on 18mm, and I've had perfect results on all. I would hesitate with anything lower than 14J, but 16J and up is fine.

I had my first treatment at Aura Skin Spa yesterday. Overall, the experience was just ok. I was 5 minutes early, but my appointment started 30 minutes late. If my appointment was at 4:00 in the afternoon, I could understand. But it was at 11:00am. My consultation also started about 30 minutes late. The other issue was the receptionist prepped me (trimmed hair and applied lidocaine) and didn't do a good job. The nurse said that the receptionist was not comfortable doing the prep so she needed to do more trimming, which was difficult with the gooey lidocaine.

The treatment: It was somewhat disappointing. The nurse was adamant about using a lower setting. The test patch was at 16, but she used a setting of 14 and 18mm. She was concerned that the treatment on a large area could react differently than a smaller test patch. Ultimately I agreed to 14. I guess being conservative the first time is the prudent thing to do. After the treatment she cited the edema as a good reason to use 14.

Side effects: During the treatment there was little discomfort, except for a couple of spots on my lower back. Today there is some slight swelling in the form of small bumps and slight redness on the treated spots, which I expected, and it does not hurt at all. Actually, immediately after the treatment I felt no discomfort. I was hoping to have some pictures, but the hair (pre-treatment) and red spots (post-treatment) do not show well.

How to proceed: Should I just trust her judgment with the settings? Will settings at 14 – 18mm be good enough? Will the same clearance at 14 require more treatments than at 16 or 18? As long as it works, I would be happy. Should I start shopping for a new clinic?

Thanks!

IMO- No, 14j is not acceptable. Every treatment causes the hair to get lighter and softer. After two, sometimes three treatments 18mm spot size is no longer the most beneficial and you will need to go to a 15mm spot size and high joules to treat the finer, lighter hairs.

It is true, your body absorbs a lot of heat during a treatment, this is why experienced technicians use ice packs to cool down the areas as they are treated.

Edema is a good sign, but 14j is low, especially while using a numbing cream.

She probably went easy on you so that you wouldnt be scared off by the discomfort, maybe.

You will probably get results, but if they use conservative settings every time you will not get the best results possible.

14J is ok for your first treatment. Mine was at that and didn't affect my treatments negatively. However, for your future treatments, I would insist on 16J and up only.