my story

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
1

So I’m a 20yr old female. Dark coarse hair around the “happy trail” fine but dark around my chest and abdomen and lower back.
I went to my first laser treatment for these areas 1 week and three days ago. The person that did the lasering used a Candela Gentlelase 12 or 14 joules on an 18 spot size. I’m seeing like 3 pigmentation marks. Ive experienced SOME shedding. Although I was told that shedding could go for up to three weeks.
The pain was bearable, I only felt like little stings.

I went to see an electrologist today for my sideburns and upper lip area and she took a look at my abdomen and brought the pigmentation marks to my attention and told me to be careful that they could be permanent if the lasering isnt done properly. Although I know its been one week after the first treatment I’ve been having serious thoughts about switching only to electrolysis. She told me that I wasnt light skinned enough for the laser and that I am a type III and showed me her skin color on her legs which were whiter than my abdomen. At the place where I went to get the laser done I was told that I am light enough to get laser done.

The electrologist did a test area on me with a thermolysis on my sideburns and upper lip…It wasnt painful but I did feel the current and i didnt feel any pulling of the hair…id say everything went smooth with that. The electrologist adviced me to go for at least 2 more laser treatments to see if it worked for me because one treatment would not be enough to tell how much reduction I can get.
Im very frustrated with this hair and I know that removal of it takes patience.
Sorry for the long message.

2

  • Laser only works on coarse hair. So most of the hair you describe on the front of your body needs to be treated with electrolysis. Laser will only work on the coarse hair there, so likely just the happy trail area.

  • Type III is not “dark” for laser. On GentleLASE, I would get treated at least at 14J on 18mm and up.

  • Where exactly are the pigmentation spots? They won’t be permanent. They go away. However, you need to avoid getting any sun on the area where you’ll have laser treatments. If you’re truly a type III, you shouldn’t be getting pigmentation from those settings unless you’re tanned there right now. Otherwise, you’re darker than a type III. What is your ethnicity?

  • Yes, shedding takes up to 3 weeks. So you need to wait that long to see if everything treated sheds. But like I said above, I wouldn’t waste time and money treating anything but the happy trail area where the hair is coarse, with laser. Electrolysis is needed for the rest.

3

Thanks for responding :slight_smile:
I’m mexican. I’m not tanned either, I’m light complected and I dont expose these areas to the sun. The pigmentation spots are on my abdomen.

4

If you’re Mexican, you’re at least a type IV because you have underlying pigment due to your ethnicity, even if you don’t look tanned.

Either way, pigmentation will go away. It can take a few weeks to a few months. However, you probably need an ND:Yag laser if you’re going to continue with laser on the coarse hair. Of course, you can also do everything with electrolysis. Laser would take less time on the table for the coarse hair.

5

I think I’ll just switch to electrolysis since its the permanent way to go although I’ve been reading that people have gotten excellent results with laser I’m very skeptical about it. :frowning:

6

Great results are not hard to achieve, but laser only works on coarse hair. So you don’t have to be skeptical about the coarse hair. That part will work. The issue you have is that most of your hair is too fine for laser. So it’s up to you if you want to treat everything with electrolysis or leave that one part with coarse hair for laser.