After seven years of countless Laser treatments (using Gentlelase) I have reluctantly decided to go for electrolysis.
Although generally laser has treated most of my problem areas (legs are great, lower back is perfect, bikini is great), I still have facial hair (although it is finer and less dense), and still have hair on my arms (which doesn’t seem to have changed at all, and if anything has gotten worse on my upper arms).
I don’t want to have another several years of treatment. I am fed up! I just want to go to one good electrolysist, with a good machine and get it over and done with. Who/what machine do you recommend? I live in New York and there are so many choices I don’t know which way to turn…also, with finer hairs, it shouldn’t take too many visits, right?
I’d appreciate anyone who can give me light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
Yeah laser hair removal is always iffy (and costly) especially if you are somone with darker skin or lighter, thinner hair. I’ve gotten laser hair removal done for over eight years now and I’m still having regrowth. But for the past two months I’ve been getting blend electrolysis done on my face. I recommend blend for the thicker hairs because I have found that it is usully more effective. Many of the people in this forum say that thermolysis is better because it is faster, but I was having too much of a skin reaction and I didn’t see the results. I dunno, try it out and see what is good for you. I recommend you try out a few places at first to see which one you are more comfortable with. Try to get a place close to where you live because you might have to go in every week for some time.
Where in NY are you located? I am sure I or someone here can recommend an electrologist to you.
Laser is still such an iffy way to go. I have had 9 laser treatments over the course of 14 months on my face, and while the results have been very impressive (even my electrologist was impressed), it does seem to grow back (with a reduction) if I go without a laser treatment for too many months. Some spots (with the most white hair mixed with the black) don’t seem to respond at all.
Laser doesn’t claim to treat finer hair (though some clinics do to make money) and it seems that that’s the kind of hair you have left now, which makes sense. You should have switched to electrolysis as soon as you were left with just finer hair.
Vickie, your settings on the Yag are very low. 33J on 10mm spot size is a very low setting. Do you know what pulse is being used with those? If you’re going to be getting more laser treatments, you really need to have the settings adjusted. Those settings are basically something that’s normally used for skin type VI or so, or only when just starting out on a coarse beard. I would recommend to find someone with a machine that has a bigger spot size too. 10mm is very small. The best lasers out there are almost twice the size at 18mm.
To address the points by LadyContesa, both thermolysis and blend have the capacity to produce great results, without side effects. If you were experiencing serious side effects with one type of machine, it may have been due to the electrologist or settings, not the type of electrolysis. That said, blend is often better on hairs that are deeper and very coarse.
Perhaps better to hedge a little and say “long-term side effects” and “for most people.” Clearly my photos show that some people have short-term (1-year) skin issues.
Actually I have gone to three different places for thermolysis treatments. So for some people there will still be side effects regardless of who the electrologist is. Thermolysis does use more heat so it makes more sense that some people will experience more of a skin reaction. But like I said before, try it out to see what works best for you.
I am surprised that your skin does not heal within a couple weeks. You are getting microflash with an Apilus, right? One year is along time, unless the area is being worked on over and over again. What do you think the problem is?
lagirl, I am not sure what the pulse setting is, I asked but forgot. I will ask next time. In all fairness to my laser tech, at 33J the pain (with a topical anesthetic) is almost unbearable in spots and I don’t think I could go any higher. I had thermolysis for an hour on my upper lip today (with anestheic) and it won’t nearly as painful as some of those 33J zaps on my jawline and chin, they feel like 50 zaps of thermolysis all at once in some spots :sick:
Again, in all fairness, I am seeing results with the laser, and it has made a big difference. It is the long term permanence that I am concerned about. At any rate, it was still well worth the money.
Perhaps better to hedge a little and say “long-term side effects” and “for most people.” Clearly my photos show that some people have short-term (1-year) skin issues. [/quote]
wow, one year. Sorry to hear that. The longest I’ve ever had irritation was for about 3 months. This lady did flash and just burned the crap out of me. Pretty much all of it has cleared up all the way. This can’t be normal, do you have any pictures to show us what you are talking about?
You’re right about the laser - the hair doesn’t disappear completely - but it is significantly less, and finer. This doesn’t matter too much in some areas, but in others, where I’d hoped it would disappear completely, it hasn’t.
I live in Manhattan, on the East side. I’d be willing to go anywhere in Manhattan. I don’t know if I should go for Thermolysis or Blend? And is it better to go somewhere that has a newer machine?