Newbie needs feedback *long post*

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
1

Hello,

I’ve visited this site for a few days and read through as many threads as possible regarding bad laser hair removal experiences. I’ve had 5 laser hair removal sessions staring in November 07 on my face only. Reading through this site has made me realize I made the mistake of not researching laser hair removal procedure/clinics/lasers information in general. The place where i had my treatment done I heard through someone that had great results on the same area as i wanted treatment (HUGE MISTAKE, i know).

I had my first treatment toward the end of November of last year on my entire face. The laser used was NDA -YAG laser - soft touch at 32j, I classify my self at skin type IV and Im a female. Right after the procedure my face became extremely red and a bit swollen, very itchy in some areas especially on the cheekbone area. They indicated it was normal and that it would go away in the next hours. I went home and became very alarmed when the redness had pretty much been gone except on the cheek area, by this time i had red bumps and hives (thats how i can best describe it) on my cheeks.

On the second day I was literally in tears because I thought my face had been burned (not the case). I woke up to red, swollen skin covered in white heads on the cheeks. I went back to the clinic that day and they said i had a reaction to the treatment and prescribed a cream, some sort of cortisone. In all it took about 2 weeks for the “reaction” to go down and for me to look more normal.In those two weeks i literally looked like a teenager with severe acne.

The thing is, I initially wanted to have the laser treatments to treat unwanted hair on my sideburns(sp?)and upper lip. After the initial treatment I had absolutely no reaction on those areas…weird. I opted to have the treatment on my entire face due to cost because it would be the same to do the entire face or sideburns. So I figure that that heck…because i did have visible hair on my face as well, but I was very self concious about the hair on my sideburns.

Fast forward to about 4 weeks later. I went in again because the hair on my sideburns had started to grow and I thought i needed to be treated again and since I had no reaction there I wanted to just have that area treated. I asked for a test patch on one side of my face, 25 min later there was no reaction so i did both sideburns and upper lip. I was fine, no reaction. By this time, on the cheek area where I did have the “reaction” all the white heads were gone, swelling and some redness was gone. What was left looked to me like like mild bruising but underneath the skin…hope that makes sense.

We are now near the end of April and I’ve had 5 treatments on the sides of my face and upper lip which I now know were not spaced out properly because I’ve had them done about 4-5 weeks apart. Each time the j’s have been lowered, last time was at 27j. My skin does react a bit, I get these itchy red bumps/mosquito bites looking things and a white head forms in the middle. After a couple of days, the white head pops on its own, I dont pick, and then its left a bit red underneath the skin a bit dark purpleish and later the spot it gone.The hair regrowth is much finer but it is patchy (according to a member here is a result of bad work on part the person performing the laser treatment). I had the 5th treatment about 5 days ago and I will not be doing anymore treatments. I will have to go back to trimming and bleaching the hair, which make me very sad…what a waste of money.

In the end, and why I came on to this site looking for feedback is due to the after “effect” of laser treatment on my face. My skin has been left in worse shape than before treatment. I still have hair, much finer…but thats about it. I now break out constantly (black heads on forehead and chin random whitehead all over the face)huge pores,and my face is an oil slick basically :frowning: Before treatment I had no breakouts at all and had normal skin. So is it possible these are the after effects of laser treatment? Your feedback is much appreciated. Oh and by the way the areas on my cheeks were I had the reaction are still “bruised”…its like a redness under the skin type of thing, I cant really describe it, but some days its more visible than others especially after a shower or when Im extremely cold…and I HAVE to wear makeup to cover it, which before I could go without it.

Thank you for reading and please excuse typos.

2

Can you post any pictures?

  • What is your ethnicity since you describe yourself as a type IV?

  • Was any of the hair you were treating coarse?

  • Do you use any products on your face? If so, what? What kind of facewash? Makeup? Did you have laser treatments on a clean face and did you apply anything afterwards?

  • Do you know the spot size and pulse used with those settings?

  • What happened 3-4 weeks after the treatment with the hair? Did any of it shed or it just grew in as usual?

  • Do you take any medication?

  • Do you have any underlying medical conditions that have to do with hormones, like PCOS?

  • I would recommend for now to definitely stop treatments until everything heals completely. Also, buy some witch hazel at a drugstore and apply it a few times a day on a clean face. Try to avoid wearing make up as much as possible - for example at home - until everything heals. Also, avoid using any harsh facewashes for now - anything with chemicals.

  • You need to give it 10-12 weeks to truly judge if you received any reduction from these treatments. Since you had so many treatments spaced so close together, it’s really impossible to tell what happened to the hair since you never waited long enough for most hair to actually grow in before having another treatment.

  • You have other options besides laser. First, we need to figure out what happened here and if it’s the machine, their lack of skill, or your sensitivity, etc. If most of the hair is not coarse, you should really be looking into electrolysis instead on this area. And I wouldn’t touch anything with laser that is not coarse on your face.

3
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I wouldn’t use the facewash and definitely not the moisturizer (clogs pores and lots of chemicals). Can washing your face with just water be enough for you? If you have to use one, I would try Aveeno foaming facewash as it’s very gentle. No moisturizer. The witch hazel should be enough. If you have to moisturize, try pure aloe vera gel (clear stuff in the suntan isle at the drugstore).

Are you using make up removers? Those are harsh on the skin as well.

Laser shouldn’t be done on fine hair on your face, especially on darker skin like yours - because your skin needs a YAG laser and Yags don’t work well on fine hair (plus, there is potential to stimulate more hair). When you do decide to restart hair removal, you should go for electrolysis instead.

You can upload pictures to www.photobucket.com and post the links here. You can blurr out your face if you want. SSLHR would probably want to look at them as well.

Good luck.

5

2nd day of first treatment…no whiteheads, but very inflammed

3rd day of first treatmet

Today at about 6pm after cleansing, you can see the “bruising” “redness” underneath the skin…you can zoom…see the nasty pores yuck

I included the next two pics so that you can see hair thickness, and how the hair is growing out 6 days after treatment. To the left is where I’ve had the last 4 treatments, to the right if were I bleach. You can zoom also…see the pepper shots? What does that mean.

Thank you for your time.

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Looking at your pictures and considering the laser you are using, my guess is that it is not going to respond. I am not sure that you are truly a skin type IV but pictures can be deceiving. The problem for you is that the laser they are using, at the settings that they are using it at, does not have a high probability of success. Add to that that your hair is fine (though again, that may not be truly what they are but the timing of the photos makes it difficult to know) and it is less and less likely that you are going to respond.

Assuming that your hair will be coarser if you let it grow out for a few months rather than treat, you may be able to respond to a better YAG with a shorter pulsewidth (3 ms). And you would probably respond to an alexandrite if your skin can tolerate it.

8

sslhr: thank you for your feedback.

I am very discouraged from ever doing laser treatment on my face again.

What is your take on the redness still there, picture 3 and 4 were taken yesterday. Will these go away?

9

BUMP

Based on my pics, does anyone have suggestions as far as if the “redness/bruising” will remain. Could it be that I was burned? The recent pics are from 4 months after I got the first treatment.

10

It looks like slight pigmentation to me. It will go away, but can take a few more months. You can consult a dermatologist if you want to try a fading cream.

11

Been out of town quite a bit so only now checking in.

As far as the redness, photos can be deceiving. It looks like erythema (fancy term for redness) which can last up to several weeks. By now it should be clearing. If not, I would suggest seeing a dermatologist.