Optimal Settings for GentleLase

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
1

Hi everyone,

This forum is such a wonderful resource! I’ve been doing laser and electrolysis in the past year and so far my results have been positive. Here is a little bit about my experiences and a question i have regarding optimal laser energy settings:

I have lasered my underarms four times using GentleLase with settings of 18mm/14j (i’m Armenian, pale and have very dark, high density hair) - the reduction is incredible and the thickness of my middle-Eastern hair has decreased tremendously - it usually grows back thinner every 2 months. Also, i have used these same settings for my facial hair, which used to be terminal, thick, and dark especially in the chin area. After four treatments, the thinning was great and now i am using electrolysis to get rid of the thinner, longer facial hairs which the laser doesn’t affect.

I also lasered my thighs once last year with a different practicioner, using GentleLase at settings of 15mm/14j - the pain was excruciating, which surprised me since i tolerated the same energy on other areas (face and underarms). I ended up with patchy areas of hyperpigmentation and superficial burns - it wasn’t disfiguring, but the spots still haven’t disappeared and it’s definitely not attractive. There was no noticeable improvement in the hair density/thickness, although it was only the first time i had lasered my thighs.

Anyway, i recently decided to try a different practicioner to tackle my legs once again. I wanted to be extra cautious about hyperpigmentation issues and so i shared these experiences with the nurse. She said that 14j is too high, although tempting to use since my skin is so light. Instead, she zapped my legs at 18mm/8j saying that my hair will be impacted at this level, so there was no need to go higher.

There was hardly any pain and very little redness following treatment. However, does a setting of 8j even work? There is some shedding, but it’s too early to tell since i just had the procedure done a couple of days ago. I don’t want to be lasering without any effect so i was wondering what you think the optimal settings are for a person like me (between type III and IV skin tone and dark, coarse hair) for GentleLase. It seems like 14j works for the rest of my body, but i don’t know if i should risk it again on my legs since they didn’t respond well the first time.

Thanks much! I appreciate any feedback :slight_smile:

2

It sounds like your legs are darker than the other areas and GentleLASE is not a good laser to use on them. You are right. 8 joules is not effective at all. Anything under 14 joules is probably not very permanent on that machine. You should find someone with a GentleYAG for that area, or another good Yag type of laser.

You probably will need 2 more treatments on your underarms. If you can stay at 18mm, that is most effective. Basically, the max for 18mm on GentleLASE is 20 joules and for 15mm, 30 joules. The lower the spot size, the less effect the joules provide. So it’s best to use a high spot size and high joules, at a safe level for your skin of course. But if you can’t handle 14 joules at 18mm on any area (and of course that applies to 15mm too since that’s even lower power), then you should be using a Yag laser.

3

Thanks lagirl!

My legs are actually just as light, if not lighter than my face and underarms, which responded well to 18mm/14j GentleLase. Unfortunately, my legs have not seen the light of day since ingrowns developed in my 20’s…so i haven’t been to the beach in about 4 years :)… i know, sad.

However, i will look into the GentleYag. What is the difference between the two, in terms of the pulse, wavelength, and cooling mechanism? Why does the Yag work better for those who can’t tolerate the Alexandrite? Does it have similar permanency results when used at the appropriate settings?

Thanks much for your feedback!

4

Please read the FAQs where the differences are explained: www.hairremovalforum.com/faq.cfm . It is meant for darker skin types and works as well on the coarse hair (just not as good on fine hair). It sounds then like you have underlying pigment in your skin there since you are Armenian. So if you did expose them to the sun, they would probably get dark fast.

On GentleYAG, 30 joules is max on 18mm. Joules are usually a bit higher on a Yag.