i disagree about anything under 25j being ineffective. that's just plain false and also possibly dangerous. 25j+ on a diode even on very pale skin can burn the skin. i had 23j done on my face, i am a type II-III and this burned my skin a bit, but it also killed the hair that was there.

Settings don't just depend on the joules. There is a spot size and pulse involve which make a huge difference. However, even at relatively low pulse, you shouldn't be burning at 23J if you're truly a type II-III. There is likely something else involved here...a slight tan, medication, etc. Or you're a darker skin type than you think. What is your ethnicity? If you look on the forum, people with a type II-III usually handle even 35-40J just fine on a LightSheer most of the time.

Also, my point was and is that if you can't handle high enough settings to actually kill the hair on a diode (i.e. those above 25J), you probably should be using a Yag laser instead.

i am eatern european caucasean. no meds, no tan at the time of laser. 35j would burn my skin off, i can guarantee you that. and as i said, the lightsheer worked, probably better than the gentlelase, at killing the hair i had. (at 23j) i do not know the other settings but i started at 25j and it burned then went down to 23 and even that burned a bit but it killed that cycle of hair growing.

Do you know the pulse that was used? It sounds like you're darker than a type III or have underlying pigment in your skin. Or you have at least some tan (unless you're using SPF sunblock every day on your face, your face is getting some sun and tan). 23J could work just fine, but for many, it doesn't produce permanent results because it's not high enough to actually disable the hair permanently, rather than just damage it. However, it's really hard to say the exact minimum here without knowing the pulse and spot size as they make a big difference in the overall strength of the settings. If they used 10ms pulse on a 12mm machine, 23J is pretty high. However, at 50ms and 9mm machine, it's not.

GentleLASE is a more powerful laser overall since it's an alexandrite. At settings that are similar to the power of the settings used on you with LightSheer, it would have worked better due to the fact that it's a more powerful machine in the first place with a much bigger spot size (18mm) and a much lower pulse (3ms).

I am still watching the hairs and I have yet to shave them.

I still have no luck trying to pull them out because they resist. However, the hair hasnt really grown so much. I have a short stubble that appeared about 3 days afterwards and is still there, at the same length. Is this a good thing?

I really dont think I could have handled much more in terms of fluency that what I did in my armpits that day. I cant imagine it it already hurt quite a bit.

You need to give it 3 weeks. Please be patient.