Hey. I think I found a decent place for laser, which I just started going to. Very well-reviewed on Yelp, looks nice and well-maintained on the inside (both the office area and procedure rooms), the staff is decent, it has relatively new lasers (the GentleMax), and it's fairly affordable.
The worst thing to deal with for me, in terms of body image, is the facial hair. I don't even like looking at myself in the mirror because of it. So that's where I started, but I'm still kinda worried about the efficacy of the treatments. I could definitely feel it when they were doing my face. Depending on the area, it ranged from a mild, momentary sensation (areas with few hairs) to a brief, sharp pain (upper lip, chin, etc.). So _something_ definitely was happening. I'm kinda worried the settings weren't enough, though.
Nine days later, none of the hair seems to have fallen out (at least as far as I can notice). Is that normal? How much of the hair should I expect to fall out at all? Maybe it just hasn't grown all the way out yet, but it seems like nearly all of it is still growing like normal.
For reference, I've got very dark hair (nearly dark black) and lightish brown skin, and the machines in question have two different laser types, one of which is supposedly able to handle dark skin well.
Edit: I'm going to include updates as I go from here, to give people an idea of what to expect from laser.
Quote from: Kupcake on July 03, 2013, 07:59:36 PM
Nine days later, none of the hair seems to have fallen out (at least as far as I can notice). Is that normal? How much of the hair should I expect to fall out at all? Maybe it just hasn't grown all the way out yet, but it seems like nearly all of it is still growing like normal.
Normal after one round. I didn't notice a change in areas of dense hair until about the third go round. Also to date (I've been in six times) I've never noticed a follicle fall out.
I have never heard of a gentle max.
Medical lasers are far from gentle
Right now as it stands. .almost no laser is good
Unless you get diode or nd yag
And for the first while you will laser ever 4-5 weeks...
For at Least 4 times...
Stay out of sun....until uou stop lasing like maybe a year
And a half...light reacts to pigment . Don't tan...
Don't shave after laser...may get some serious marking
Its not burns will go away...
Remember light sheer diode or high speed duet....
Not many other lasers are so fine tuned for our
Hair requirements
There is a lot of avid laser freaks here. Me being one ..
Head to toe lasing
Oh and it will take s couple of weeks for hair to shed out
Until you hit your 4-6 treatment...just have to bear with it
Just relax & continue with your entire face. It works in time. Be thankful for dark hairs.
Enjoy the changes girlfriend
Thanks for the encouragement guys. It was mostly just anxiety on my part.
After waiting a little while, I've actually found I got noticeable results after the first treatment (face only).
The areas of thickest hair growth obviously still have considerable visible hair, even while shaving. A little bit better there, but it's not a huge difference. That's to be expected, though.
However, the areas where the hair growth was fairly thin (the beard area, excluding chin and upper lip) look far cleaner. In some of the really thin parts, there's no visible hair at all anymore. I'm actually very pleased with the results now, and I feel like I'm making progress.
And to answer a question in the previous post, GentleMax is just a model name. The Candela GentleMax. As for specific laser types, it includes both an Alexandrite and ND Yag laser, the latter of which is what they use on me (more appropriate for people with darker skin). That particular laser has some nice features. It includes a second nozzle right on the laser head which sprays a constant stream of cold air, so it's chilling the skin slightly both before and after the pulse. I think that helps a lot. In areas that hurt the most (upper lip for me), they can wait a few seconds with just the air on you to numb the area slightly before the pulse. That's what they did for me. It also has adjustable spot size, so for large areas, they can go quickly, and for things like bikini area and face, they can do smaller spots at once to make the pain more tolerable.
I also had my second set of treatments today. I had my hands, most of my arms, underarm, full chest, lower back, and bikini area done. Basically, I did everywhere on the upper body where I have hair growth. I'm doing legs tomorrow.
To give a heads up to others doing it: it was painful when they were doing the thickest parts, but it's really not that bad. I probably have a slightly higher pain tolerance than most, given my lifestyle choices, but I don't think anyone would find it intolerable or excessively painful. And my ethnic background is mixed Persian and East Indian, so we have fairly thick hair and hair growth, for reference.
If you find it really gets to you for whatever reason, the numbing creams do work very well. I would especially suggest them for things like the bikini area or face. If you can, I'd go for the cream they sell at the actual laser place. There are topical over-the-counter versions you can buy, but depending on what's in them, they may not be as effective. I used a cream they sold there, and in the areas where I applied a sufficient amount, I barely felt anything. I could feel the heat of the laser getting at the hair, but I couldn't really feel the pain. It's just a matter of applying the sufficient amount, which comes down to experience using it. They tell you to apply a thin layer only, and you do need fairly little, but don't be too stingy with it.
I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. My body shape is getting more to where I want it to be, and my body hair is starting to become under control. It's a wonderful feeling to be moving in the right direction.
FYI, the Candela GentleMax is an excellent laser. Among the best currently on the market, so, assuming the technician knows what they are doing, you made a good choice.
You will get regrowth in those bare patches once new hair cycles in. Just warning so you aren't surprised when it happens. It will be a few treatments before it stays gone. You may also have to finish up with electro in the facial area depending on the makeup of your hair and how obsessive you are about killing everything.