Hi everyone. I am new to this forum, and have found it very helpful in answering some of my lingering questions about laser hair removal.
About me: I am east Indian female, late 20s, with IV skin type and very dark hair. I always say this and my friends can attest, but I am a hairy monster. :o
Seriously, I am pretty hairy. Now the only part of my body that has really bothered me and has been a point of self-consciousness is my face. I have coarse hair on my chin, sideburns, and upper lip. I have tried waxing, shaving, and tweezing. My chin is a hot mess due to scarring from tweezing and I got to the point where I really needed a solution and turned to LHR.
I found a business that has been around for six years that is located in Fredericksburg, VA (I live in Richmond, VA). I really shopped around before choosing this clinic due to type of laser, cost, and overall appearance/consultation. The laser is Cutera coolglide YAG, I received a special of $999 for unlimited areas up to 2 hours of treatment (full legs cost $400 more) – 6 treatments. I had my first treatment yesterday and wanted to share my experience.
Areas treated: Full face, underarms, bikini, and lower legs (above knee and down). The technician iced each area to be treated with icepacks before treatment. She then used a gel and treated the areas. I definitely felt the pulses, and could see smoke and smell singed hair. The icing before treatment was actually more painful than the treatment itself. In some areas I felt nothing, and those areas are areas that I do not have a lot of hair. The settings were as follows: 40 j for face and underarms, 35 for legs and bikini. The skin on my legs, bikini, and underarms reacted immediately with little red bumps and slight swelling. My face didn’t seem to react at all until later on in the day I looked in the mirror and noticed it was all red. My legs are EXTREMELY itchy and last night I woke up scratching myself. I put on anti-itch cream and went to bed. Bought Aloe Vera 100% gel today and will be putting that on all over after this post. I hope the itching goes away soon!
I am anxiously waiting for the hair to fall out. I know to be patient, but the thought of less hair on my face (and other areas) is very exciting.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll keep posting my results.
Hi monu. Nice to hear you are finally getting rid of unwanted hair. I don’t know much about laser hair removal, but I can only say that it’s best to work with an experienced professional who knows everything about it.
I have one question for you though. You said your chin has gotten scars from tweezing? How is this possible? I didn’t know plucking could cause scars.
Johnson, scarring is usually caused by people picking at the ingrowns that can develop due to plucking, etc.
Monu, thanks for sharing your story. I hope you will keep us up-to-date on your treatments. Glad the forum helped you do your research.
Can you find out what pulse and spot size were used? Without those numbers, it’s very hard to judge settings.
Also, I’m assuming you’re only treating coarse hair. Your skin type is more likely to produce induced growth on some areas when treating hair that’s not coarse.
Do let us know how shedding goes in the next 3 weeks.
I would recommend to cool the pure aloe in the fridge and apply to soothe the skin.
When you say your face is red, what do you mean? Red follicles are normal for a few days, but other than that you shouldn’t be seeing any side effects if the settings are good for your skin.
Hi Johnson. The scars are actually from aggressive use of the tweezers. Because my hair is so dark I would try really hard to get rid of any visible hairs, of which there were many, and took it too far. I haven’t tweezed in weeks, and it’s actually quite a relief to not have to spend the time and energy on it, while also allowing my skin to heal.
LaGirl, I can ask what pulse and spot size were used. There are areas that I am treating that have vellus hair (cheeks and forehead) . . . . I hope I don’t get induced growth! That would be a nightmare! I have heard of that possibility, but I decided to go for it anyway. My sister, who is one year older than me and the same color skin, has had 10 treatments on her face without any issues, so here’s hoping. . .
I’m anxious to see the shedding. I keep hoping that I’ll look down when I’m at my desk at work and see little hairs all around me.
As for my red face - I’m trying to think of how to describe it. It didn’t look like me legs did, which had red bumps around the hair follicles. My face looked like it did if I had rubbed it with a dry cloth, but it wasn’t specifically around the hair follicle. The redness has gone away, but my legs are still red around the hair follicles and itchy. Also, an area on my forehead is pretty sore and looks burnt-I think she got me good there. I can post a pic once I figure out how to do that
I will keep posting updates - I won’t be able to contain my excitement when I start to see shedding.
It sounds like you may have a slight burn on the face then. I would show it to your clinic.
I really wouldn’t recommend treating vellus hair on your face, but it’s your body. We have yet to see any reports of results on vellus facial hair. Most reports only describe induced growth on this area. Does your sister have the same type of vellus hair? How come she has had 10 treatments already? Does she feel it’s working? What is the longest she let the hair grow out to see true reduction?
She does have the same type of vellus hair. She started laser hair removal over one year ago. All of the coarse hair is gone, but some vellus remains so she is continuing to treat that. The clinic she goes to offered 2 years of maintenance treatments for free, so I guess she has no reason to stop. Her treatments are 6 weeks apart, and she says that the vellus hair grows here and there in patches now. She said that it isn’t any thicker than before, and she hasn’t seen any induced growth. Our hair is pretty black/dark brown and our skin isn’t very dark, so maybe the laser has been picking up vellus hair okay.
I have Type III-IV skin and dark hair and I tried the YAG on my forehead hair (which was slightly worse than vellus, but not too coarse). I think I ended up with slightly more hair than before!
Anyway, the reason I am posting is that my skin became darker for a few months after my laser treatment. In the end the darkness went away, but it freaked me out from getting more laser treatments.
If you do get skin darkening, I think it will go away.
I doubt laser is doing anything for the vellus hair. She should try letting it grow for at least 10 weeks to judge at least a somewhat true reduction. If you only wait 6 weeks each time, you can’t tell what’s going on since you’re not giving enough time to let the hair grow in.
