yesterday i went to talk with my laser clinic because i wasn’t happy with the results so far. when i came to get test spots with the alexandrite they have told me that i have medium coarse black hairs and that they dont treat this type of hairs with the alexandrite because it is not effective , and they recommended to me to get a treatment with the lightsheer.
i must say that my skin type is 2-3 , and altough i was fairly tanned they didn’t say that that was the problem , but they commented on the hair type i have.
now , according to what i have read and what i understand , the alexandrite can handle any type of hairs - light fine, medium coarse hairs , and only the skin type is what makes the diffrence with the machines, am i wrong? can it be that the lightsheer with the longer pulse wave is better then the alex ?
another question, according to the lightsheer spec. it have automatic setting for the pulse width which changes with the fluence, which means when the fluence gets high the pulse width gets high , if i am not wrong then for 40 J/cm2 the pulse width is 20ms… now , if i can get a treatment with alexandrite which the pulse width is constant when the fluence get higher wouldnt it be more effective then the lightsheer??
if they actually said this, their logic is wrong. or they might have said this as an “easy” explanation to a consumer without going into too much details, but logically it is wrong.
First, alexandrite is more powerful than a diode due to 755nm vs 810nm, at similar joule/pulse etc settings (they can’t be compared exactly in terms of setting numbers btw. that’s comparing apples to oranges). Alexandrite works THE best on light skin and dark hair, including finer hair. However, this also means that it has the biggest tendency to burn. That means that if your skin is not light enough for effective settings on an alex, you need to go down to a less optimal laser which will have effect on the hair, but will still be safe on your skin.
Basically, the only reason to use a diode or a YAG instead of an alex is if your skin is not light enough. Alex is more effective on all types of hair.
In terms of the pulse, the shorter the pulse, the more effective the treamtent, but also more dangerous. The auto setting on LightSheer increases the pulse when joules are increased to protect the skin.
Basically, there is always a tradeoff. Anything more effective is more likely to burn the skin. You have to find what’s a good medium for you personally, which will kill the hair while still be safe on your skin. For some people, like those who have dark skin and fine hair, laser hair removal is not an option because at high settings that would affect the hair, their skin will burn even with a Yag.