Getting a wee bit complicated...

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
1

Hi everyone! Really enjoying reading this section, lots of good unbiased info – priceless!

I have had a decent experience with LHR so far, using the GentleLase. Super light skin, super dark coarse hair = RELIEF WITH LASER!! :o) I have done the six sessions for full brazilian & underarms, along with sporadic treatments of other areas. All areas are to my liking now, save the Brazilian area. I believe in retrospect I probably could have done it a lot better, but I think my technicians have been very upfront and knowledgeable for the most part (even warning me about doing upper legs, possibly fine hair getting darker!). It has been a very pleasant experience, even when I decided to not finish my arm package halfway through – instead substituting upper lip, full happy trail, aereolas, etc.

The only caveat is that several of my treatments were only spaced 4 weeks apart. Thanks to procrastination quite a few were way longer. The thing is, I’m moving to Germany in about 3 months and am not sure where to go from here on finishing up the Brazilian (the rest are adequate). I could either get as many treatments as possible before I go and call it good, or get maybe one more treatment and find someone overseas. I will also be back in the states from time to time, and could just get yearly touchups. But as of right now, there is nowhere near enough reduction in the brazilian region for comfort – all I ask is that I not have excruciating pain during/after shaving. Now that the packages are done, this particular company is 50% off per session. Plus, the dollar is weak to the Euro, and the fact that these guys I’m going to are extremely affordable to begin with. (Not to mention the language barrier…gah!!!) But am I still wasting my money if I get three treatments before leaving, instead of just one 12 week??? Help!

Thanks a bunch!
Aubrey

2

He, would u be so kind and tell me what settings they used each time?
I just started with LHR; had one treatement so far. It is good to hear u are seeing results. Gives me hope too :slight_smile:

3

Yes, would be helpful to know what settings were used on you.

Also, spacing treatments too close together, like 4 weeks, is basically wasting your money. If you really want, you can get at MOST 2 treatments in the 3 months you have left here. And that means one treatment now, and one a week before you leave or so. Spacing should be 8-12 weeks apart. Otherwise, you’re just retreating hair that’s already dead or not even there yet if the treatments are effective.

What reduction have you received on your bikini so far? How is the shedding after each treatment?

4

Thanks for your imput, I could KISS you!!!

I’m not certain of the exact setting each time, only that they increased from 14 to 18 and about the half the total treatments were 18. I guess it’s partly my fault they didn’t go higher, since out of ignorance I ended up always doing my session right before my period. Never had PMS, so I didn’t think it would matter, but now from what I’ve read I think I could have handled a higher setting around the first of every month. I’ve even been taking a Percocet each time. My next session I will plan around my cycle and ask them to go up (with a Percocet :oP). I’m not sure yet how much to ask them to go up these last two times…

This is how the scheduling went for the “full brazilian” – which includes anal (I just had my last treatment yesterday):

november
…
feb
mar
april
may
…
aug

So I guess only really got, like, 3-4 sessions’ worth, right? At least they space out lower legs 8 weeks apart. I’m not too pissed, just because I tend to believe they did it out of ignorance rather than greed. Still pretty sad though, they’re getting paid to know this stuff!

Since I just had a treatment yesterday, I will wait 8-12 weeks till the growth is as coarse/dark as possible before I get my next treatment before moving. At least my hair grows insanely fast, about 8 inches per year. We are also returning to the states a couple months later, so that will be my 5th or 6th effectively-spaced treatment, right? I hope to have a manageable bikini area equivalent to the way my underarms are now – before the 7th treatment yesterday, there were maybe 10-15 hairs per underarm. I do not even want to go for perfection (via electrolosis), I just want shaving to be a breeze – and optional! I’ve been going around without shaving my pits for months now, without shame!! :oP

I’m not sure about the shedding, I didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on after the treatments. They told me not to mess with the shedding hair (pluck it out before it’s ready), or it could potentially scar. So I just ignored it.

Right now I’d guesstimate that my brazilian reduction is 40-60%. It’s hard to tell since I’m such a bad case – before I got married I attempted to shave my bikini line maybe 20 times total, because the hair is so coarse it was basically impossible to shave, even with a good men’s razor. It was a total joke. Now at least there’s minimum pain, and it takes half the time to shave my whole bikini/anal area (approx 20 min).

So I guess that is why my underarms responded so much better than my bikini area – even though the hair should theoretically be just as stubborn, I had one extra properly-spaced treatment last August.

5

14 and 18 don’t give us enough information. if the spot size was 18mm, then they’re good settings. if it was 15mm or lower, they could be higher.

you should really pay attention at what % sheds or remains as pepperspots (doesn’t grow) after 3 weeks. that shoudl give you an idea of how much of the hair is being affected and if the settings are high enough to affect most of it, as well as if any areas are being missed (which you can get touched up at that point). it sounds like they might have decreased the settings when treating your bikini as opposed to underarms. it’s hard to tell without the details. you need to ask them for specifics.

i don’t think it’s worth it to treat your underarms anymore if you have 10-15 hairs left if you’re paying money for it; that’s probably as good as it’s going to get there. although, i would wait 2-3 months before judging clearance. more hair may grow in; you may not be waiting long enough.

lower legs have longer growth cycles and don’t need treatments more often than 11-12 weeks apart.

6

hi again! i called them and asked what size on my chart, and they said 18mm.

nope, i am most definitely done with underarms. that 10-15 hairs was after three months, and i even did one more treatment just because it was the last in the package.

the only thing left to battle is the brazilian area! i am bound and determined to get two more treatments at a 20 setting (18mm), at least 2-3 months apart. that will be 8 treatments, and about 6-7 effectively-spaced treatments from what i gather. i’m pretty sure that will do the trick, making it perfectly manageable. my newlywed husband is coming home in December, so the timing couldn’t be better. :o)

THANK YOU for helping me figure this out, lagirl. :o)

7

sounds like you’re on your way. please don’t forget to come back to post your results after you are done :slight_smile: