Hi all, thank you for this incredible resource! Just wish I’d found it sooner.
Here’s my story so far: a girl at work was getting her bikini area done and was so happy with her results, so I made an appointment to go and see for myself.
Firstly, instead of a consultation with the laser technician (I’m sure there’s a more correct term, but anyway) I got an appointment with the on-site doctor. It felt very much like “Now we have you through the doors lets see what other procedures we can convince you to have”. So that was a bit off-putting. They made an appointment for me and told me to shave the area 2-3 days before. Now there’s a reason I don’t shave or wax my bikini area and boy was I ever reminded why. I ended up with really bad razor-burn but went to the appointment anyway figuring I could at least find out more.
The woman was very sympathetic and said we’d have to wait till the razor burn had cleared up, they could clip it before treatment to avoid my razor issues and why hadn’t I consulted with her before the appointment? Um, I tried. Oh, and had I taken the painkillers? Eh? She said it was very uncomfortable and handed me 2 tablets of what I consider to be a quite hectic painkiller. I asked if that was really necessary and she did a small patch test to show me. Yeouch! If that is IPL then I’m not sure it’s worth it.
So my first question is: Is this normal for IPL?
Now having read extensively on this site, I realise it really doesn’t help that I have no idea what the machine was or it’s settings.
I’ve checked their website and they don’t say what machine they’re using (they do however mention the ChillTip if that helps?). They do say this: “Lighter, Grey and blond hair can also be safely removed with the Laser after it has been treated with Meladine which is an imported hair dye used specifically for this purpose.” After reading many of the posts on this site I’m wondering if this is BS and I should run a mile?
So that was 11 months ago and I chickened out.
Back to the present…
Still wanting to be hair-free I did some more research and went to another place. They use the Cynosure Apogee laser System 755nm so that’s an Alexandrite laser. So I had my bikini area done 2 weeks ago and have had pretty good shedding (hey, I now know the word to use). It was a bit painful but not nearly as bad as that IPL experience.
I went back today to do other stray hairs on nipples, upper legs, and chin. Now, having learnt so much more from an afternoon on this site I’m paranoid that laser on my stray chin hairs was a bad idea. Please advise.
My details: female, skin type between II and III, hair varies a lot from blond, through reddish to dark.
I’m not too worried about bikini area though I think success will be varied due to the variations in hair colour. I can’t go as far back as I would have liked because while it’s thick and long, apparently it’s not dark enough.
I’m really concerned about the use of laser on the chin hair. I have 2 smallish patches on either side of my chin that while not black are fairly dark and thick. Should I rather change to electrolysis for this area?
My next appointment is in 8 weeks making the bikini time 10 weeks. At least this time I’ll be able to ask about settings etc and have half a clue what they’re talking about. Thank you so much for this site!
