I still don’t get it. I know that each hair is in one of the phases.
Normal cycle:
There are 3 phases and each hair is in one of those phases at a time. The hair will move to the next phase after a certain amount of time. That leads to: (v) = visible , (nv) = not visible
Now if at week 0 you kill SOME of the anagen hair, those can’t switch to another phase since they got killed. Actually at week 12 (lets assume u killed ALL anagen hair) you should see one hair only, the one that was in telogen before and is now switchting to anagen. The hair that was in catagen at week 0 should not show up at week 12 since it has to go trough telogen first.
Sounds a bit complicated, but what I am trying to say is that you should see results (at least temporary) after one treamtent already. It should take 3 complete cycles before all hair (minus the ones you killed in anagen phase) are back.
Well, going in for 2nd GentleLASE treamtent on thursday. I’ll closley watch what happens this time. I’ve not seen any reduction after first treatment, nor shedding which is really confusing me since I had shedding on IPL which is consiedered less effective than laser. One reason might be that I had that IPL treatment 6 weeks before my first gentlelase treatment, so that could be a reason why laser didn’t work. (although there were hairs to treat)
I really hope I will see better results this time cuz I’m sick of trying different places all the time. My next option is a LightSheer at 1.5 hours from here.
what you have lined out is pretty much correct. however, some hair in anagen that wasn’t affected would still grow as usual. also, you DO see a reduction after one treatment, however unless you’re doing very close counts, it’s very hard to tell with a naked eye. you would need to take a 2 X 2 inch square and track every single hair in that area each time.
at 12 weeks after your first treatment, you see hair that was in telogen during your treatment appear and since it covers the same area, it would look similar to when you first started.
in terms of shedding you saw: yes, at 6 weeks there was probably not much to treat. but also did you take into account pepperspots or did all the hair just grew in as usual after that treatment? also, settings would matter. it’s not really about trying many different machines, rather than finding the right setting on a good machine like GentleLASE, which a knowledgeable practitioner should know how to do.
I did have pepperspots but not the sort of shedding I expected. When I used IPL I could take the hair out with my finger after two weeks. With laser I couldn’t, there was always resistance. However, might really was too early. I’ll give it another try at that same place and judge after that.
When I said the next option is a LigthSheer at 1.5 hours, it’s not because of the machine, it’s because of the practitioner. She’s a doctor and has written papers about LHR and also what to expect and what not. I just think she’s honest.
Question: I will insist on 18mm and 20J on thursday. I will not pay unless she goes with that. If she doesn’t agree I’ll just leave. However, is there anything else (other than missing spots) a practitioner can do wrong ? How close should the head of the 18mm be ? Should it touch the skin when fired off ?
It sounds like you just went too early for your last laser treatment when your hairs were still finer, and the reason you got a hairless period before was due to hairs being more coarse (which is when they fall out more easily, rather than stay as pepperspots). Pepperspots are a sign of effective treatment. Those hairs are dead and just take longer to fall out. The reason they stay as pepperspots is usually because they’re finer. The hair on my lower legs does this while the hair on my underarm and bikini easily sheds even when same exact settings are used. The only difference is the coarseness of the hair.
How long has it been since your last treatment? Is there enough and coarse enough to treat at this point?
The doctor who does LightSheer sounds promising. What is her name?
… did u discuss with ur clinic about settings or they decided to use maxumum on their own. If u have talked to them, what did u say?
I also want my clinic to use higher settings next time i go. I am not really sure how to do it…
I discussed it with them. First time I went there they did a test spot with 16J. Since there was no problem there they went with 18J for the first treatment. I wasn’t too happy with the result though and felt my skin can handle more. So I called them the day before second treatment and told them that I’ve been googling about all that stuff and that I’d only come if they go with 20J this time. I explained them that anything below would be a waste of money for me and they agreed on the 20J since they felt my skin type 2 appropriate for that.
If your skin type can handle 20J and you want 20J there is no reason for them to not do it. I don’t know what setting you are using but as long as you don’t get burned I’d increase eacht time you go. I wouldn’t switch from 16J to 20J directly though. I’d try 18J first.
the shedding is better this time (18mm / 20J). it started after about 1 week and went on till the end of week 2. right now i don’t see much shedding anymore. the hair seems to be stunned, might be pepperspots. i’m nowhere near “clear”, i still got about 40%.
however, when i got treated at 18mm and 18J i didn’t shed at all, so this is better. the rest might as well shed during the next two weeks.
pepperspots are dead hairs and sign of effective treatment. whatever is not growing as usual was affected. exfoliate and scrub gently in the shower to help them out.
The result after my 2nd GentleLASE treatment is way better than after the first. I guess it’s due to the higher settings. I had to live with pepperspots for quite a long time and never had a so called “clear” period. I had no hair, but the pepperspots were quite visible which looked weird.
Hair started to come back slowly at 8 weeks around and now at week 11 most of it is back. I do notice it’s less but I can’t really say how much less. Maybe I’m at 80% of what I started with. Those that are left are WAY less annoying though. They are much lighter(still dark enough for treatment) which makes the result of shaving quite good. When I shave now, it actually look clean and I can’t see the dark hair under the skin as I used to. Also shaving does not hurt the skin that much anymore, it’s way faster and I don’t get all those red dots anymore.
I have to say that I’m happy with the 2nd treatment. I’m trying to go to 3rd but haven’t had the time yet. I need to get this going in winter time
Update: I went in for 3rd treatment 3 days ago and for some reason the went with 15mm @ 26j this time. I don’t know why they don’t just max it every time since 18mm @ 20j was just fine.
btw: does 15mm hurt more than 18mm ? I have the impression it hurt more than last time.
The hair you’re seeing now is not the same hair “coming back”. It’s NEW hair from a different growth phase. So you can’t really judge the “reduction” just yet.
Those two settings are not that different. Pain depends in part on how coarse the hair is, body part, whether you drank coffee beforehand, etc.
Are you kidding me ? I drink alot of coffe and I did so about 10 mins before treatment too. I didn’t know that would increase pain.
As for the results:
Although the settings are not that different, the result is. I did not have a smooth period this time. I still have stunned hair that won’t grow and looks like pepperspots. It’s been 6 weeks now and hair is coming back. It’s way thinner than before, which isn’t something I like, because it will be harder to kill.
I’ll insist on max settings again next time. It seem that for me anything below max settings is a waste of $$$ while max settings did a good job so far. Also my body did not see any sun for the last 12 months, so I’m pretty save
