Dark Spots and other issues

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

Hi everyone. I moved from laser to electrolysis to remove what seems like massive amounts of induced hair growth due to the laser. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I’ve been to an electrologist who uses blend and/or thermolysis (slow not flash). With either modality I seem to get very dark brown spots ( i have light olive skin) that don’t seem to fade or take a long time to fade. Not to mention it is taking forever to make any progress as I have lots of hair and I don’t think my electrologist moves very quickly.
So, what can I do about the brown spots (hyperpigmentation?) and what can I do about the speed? Very difficult to balance the speed/kill rate issue. Not to mention she charges a lot (over $80/hr)

A little background. Im a 26 yr old male. I was treated with laser on the upper arms/shoulders and upper back 1 year ago. I noticed more hair after 2-3 sessions. No reduction at all. I was treated with gentlelase at 15mm and 14J-16J (I think severely undertreated) and experienced shedding each time and hairless periods that were great. I dunno, I’m now very very skeptical about laser for me. Maybe I didn’t stick with it long enough? Didn’t treat at high enough settings? The increase in hair just scared me and now Im in a rut.

My hair looks thick to me. Though when you look very closely they are long, fine and very dense. Often more than 1 or 2 hairs growing together from the same follicle. Hair color is brown to black and sometimes in the sunglight, some of the hairs even look blonde or reddish. Does that make sense?

Just looking for some help. I’ve had 4 or 5 1 hour sessions and have not even come close to clearing 1 shoulder. I imagine it will take double that to clear. I don’t mind putting in the time, I just want to be sure the brown spots go away.

Thanks in advance for all your help and advice and or recommendations.

2

Can you post some pictures? The settings you were treated at were very low, so that could have been part of the problem. However, I’m not sure what skin type “olive tone” is by your description. Maybe you were too dark to treat at higher settings (which means you needed a different type of laser that they may not have had). If you post pictures, we can help judge whether the hair is coarse enough for laser to have some results, at good settings this time around.

In terms of electrolysis, you should check out several electrologists and compare things. You also probably need to up your sessions to 2 hr and do them twice a week to start. Getting to your first clearance is important. After that, you just need to come in as soon as you see new hair so that you can kill them while they’re in anagen phase and weak.

There are many electrologists in SF Bay (where are you exactly?), so you shouldn’t have a problem finding a few electrologist to choose from.

3

Photos are at the link below…I thought the settings were low, too. The derm that performed the procedure is very, very conservative. Afraid of buring, etc. At one point, he even agreed not to perform laser on me anymore saying that he wouldn’t increase the settings and that maybe I should consider another form hair removal (e.g. electrolysis).

I’m so frustrated. The hair gene is in my family being middle eastern but it’s clear that the laser definitely woke up some follicles. Way too many hairs per inch. I expect some hair, but not this much on my shoulders and upper back and upper arms and back of neck. At 22 years old I had no problems at all with hair in these areas. Around 24, things really, really changed.

The pictures don’t really show the varying hair colors or fineness/density. Hopefully they will provide some info, though. You can tell I also struggle with acne and have all my life. Acne and excess hair…not a great combination. Guess it could be worse. I used to go to the beach, hit the pool, etc. Not anymore. This hair situation is definitely bothering me. I don’t know anyone else this hairy. This flat out sucks. However, I am determined to win.

The electrologist Im seeing doesn’t do 2 hr windows for some reason. I’m just south of San Francisco. Oh and fyi, it’s been well over a year since my last laser treatment.

Shoulder after electrolysis (1.5 weeks after, 3rd or 4th session):

Other Shoulder now:

Upper back/neck now:

Arm now: (never treated)

Chest: (never treated)

4

Blues, yes , indeed you have a lot of hair and by the way, seeing hair growing in clusters of two or three is not uncommom at all.

You didn’t have enough laser treatments and who knows if that would have been the answer as far as continuing when you noticed laser induced hair growth. It sure puts the brakes on a plan when you notice more hair growing than you had before, but it has been suggested here that you can get more laser treatments for the induced hair growth. I only mention this because a laser physician made the statement, but it is advice that does not seem to get repeated on these forums with any continuity. So, I’m thinking, if this was truly a workable solution, then why is it not advised over and over again?

Onto the electrolysis side of things: Electrolysis works and will work for you, but not the way it is being done for you at the present time. First of all, two hour sessions, doing blend or slow thermolysis, is painstakingly slow and you will either give up or run out of money. I have done several men’s backs that range from scant and scattered to extremely dense like yours. For your situation you need a very aggressive electrologist who will give you large blocks of time in the beginning. She or he needs to have a powerful, computerized epilator that offers microflash or picoflash thermolysis. A size 6 probe should be used, because it is the largest. One insertion per hair is enough if the levels of intensity and timing are set correctly. Some hairs may need double insertions. If the electrologist takes advantage of something called the “autosensor mode” then she will be able to move faster and not fatigue as easily. If she has a good light source, like halogen, or another medical grade lighting source, she will go faster because she will see better. If she see’s better, then she will hit the target. If she has invested in surgical magnification, she will see better and hit the target as well. Just like a powerful, computerized epilator, good lighting and surgical magnification will also help in keeping the fatigue levels very low so the electrologist can work much longer that 2 hours.

So the big picture is this:

Powerful professional, computerized epilator utilizing the microflash or picoflash modes + surgical magnification + excellent light source = equals faster progress and results. We need to give clients hope. They need to see progress. Two hours a week with slower, but still effective methods won’t do it. You need to shop around to get this set up with a skilled professional electrologist that is not intimidated by this amount of hair.

Your case is not a piece of cake by no means, but you will get permanent hair removal if you find a professional electrologist that has trained herself to step it up with better tools and techniques. You will need many hours up front followed by diligent care to maintain any cleared areas. You have to be realistic and optimistic at the same time to pull you through if you really want this.

So that’s the laser and electroylsis side of things.
The only other choice you have is to accept what is and live with the hair. It can never be said enough that people will love you if you love yourself first.

5

What about the dark spots from electrolysis? How long do they take to fade if at all? I mean right now, I only want to clear the shoulders, blend the upper arms and get the upper back. I know that is still a lot in my situation but Im hoping to find someone who can help…any suggestions? Seems like most people do blend here in the bay area.

6

If you use Tea Tree Oil overnight and Aloe Vera during the day they fade quickly. You might add a skin lightener to hasten the fading, but that should not be needed.

7

If no one offers recommendations, then get a list of electrologists together, pick up the phone and start calling around for consultations.

8

Thanks for your responses. A tough case, indeed. I am quite determined and optimistic. I hope to get results and stay on top of it. Going back to LAgirls post, are you better able to make a laser recommendation after seeing my pics? Please let me know. Am I a good candidate or not? You know Im amazed that laser operators keep denying the idea that laser can cause more hair in some people albeit a small population. I mean, there are studies that prove it. I think the laser community has a lot more homework to do on why it happens in some people and not others and how to better identify candidates for laser hair removal. (other than spot tests) Right now it seems a bit too aggressive and with not enough understanding. I guess I never should’ve been treated. Shouldn’t the doctor have been able to tell me before I started that this MAY not work at all. MOREOVER, it may leave you in a worse position. I can almost quote him when he said, “In all the people ive treated, people every day, never had one person complain or have any issues. Ive treated people in your situation and they are very happy.” etc etc. I guess im an anomaly?

Thanks!

9

I just took a look. All your hair is dark and coarse,and it’s dense. I really think you will benefit from good laser treatments, both financially and timewise. I even know a good clinic I can recommend in SF. My friend is getting great treatments there - Aura Skin Spa (ask for the most experienced person there). They have the best machine, GentleLASE, and they are not afraid to use high settings. Another place to check out is Zoozlaser in Palo Alto. They may be a bit more expensive, but very knowledgeable. Even if high settings are too high for your skin type, GentleYAG would be able to reduce quite a bit as well before switching to electrolysis. And do count on at least 8 treatments spaced 8-12 weeks apart. Read the FAQs below and then start your consultations.

p.s. the problem with lack of knowledge in the field (which gets passed on to you, the consumer) is that people like the doctor you were treated by are buying the machine to make more money for their practice, but who really don’t have the knowledge or experience to know how to set settings and produce results because this is not their expertise and they don’t do this all day long.

10

On the contrary, when I was living in LA i went to Dr. Babapour on some recommendations found on the internet. He says he does lhr all the time, multiples times a day. He should’ve known better, i think.

Thanks for the recommendations. I will shoot for 18mm 20j if I use the Gentlelase.

11

I have spots, too, from the electrolysis. They are fading but I think it’s going to take 1 year to achieve clear normal-looking skin. It’s quite a commitment.

12

I went to Dr Babapour myself. He’s honest (he’ll send you away if you’re too dark) and I had great results with him, but that was partly due to the fact that he allowed me to tell him what settings I wanted since he knew I knew what I was talking about. On average, he’s conservative with settings. Dr Hamilton in LA has been recommended on these forums. He has GentleLASE and is more aggressive.