1st laser appointment

[BrendaOlivia]

 Well hello all. Hope everybody’s having a great day. I have had two electrolysis procedures on my face already with many many more to come. Tomorrow I have my first full face and neck laser appointment. Can I get a few pointers of what to expect and if I should prepare for any issues?

[Terry]

The first session will normally start with a test at the lowest setting, gradually taking it up to the level where it becomes painful, so the proper hair removal can be just about below that level. As for preparation, obviously you need to shave at the right time. Hair needs to be growing, so you should shave a day before, but if your beard grows as fast as mine, the hairs would be too long and make themselves notable by a zipping pain and a burnt smell, so it needs to be done later. You will probably get some instructions if you do it wrong. Also very important, make sure your face is properly cleaned from any cosmetics. Makeup contains pigments that might attract the laser and other cosmetics might too.

 

Otherwise if you want to be prepared for any eventualities you might want to buy some aloe vera and put it in the fridge ready for use. I only ever needed it once and got a bit of it from the salon, but it's probably not bad to have it at hand.

 

A lot will depend on the type of laser and cooling system as well as your hair and skin type. I don't have any experience with electrolysis, but from what I've read laser is far less painful then electrolysis. In fact I would describe it as uncomfortable rather than downright painful.

[BrendaOlivia]

Thank you Terry for all of this information. I read that aloe vera is good to use afterwards. My Electrologist told me that laser is not as bad as Electrology.  I’ve already had two rounds of Electrology on the upper lip. I’ve heard that the upper lip is the most sensitive on the face. So I wanted to start there. I go back Monday to continue on the upper lip.  Great advice. Thank you 

[Kirsten]

Laser isn’t bad. But like terry said, shave as close to your appointment as you can. If you’re nice and smooth it barely hurts at all. With stubble it’s mildly worse. But still not bad. Plan on no sun afterwards for a few hours. And wear sunscreen for a couple days after just to be safe. 

Laser is cool. It really clears your face quickly.  But it’s not permanent. So keep up the electrolysis. That’s what will make it go away permanently. 

Good luck! 

[Raven1981]

Laser is not as bad as electrolysis.  Laser is just really hair reduction where electrolysis is permanent hair removal.  But I would say that if you are like me where you have fair skin, your face might turn red from the laser but it only last for a few hours.  But you wont be able to wear makeup for a while or go out in the sun.  Then you will need some aleo Vera which would be nice.  But I will say that laser goes real fast and will be done with the session in like 5 min.

 

For myself, I can tell you that I do alternating every 2 week laser and electrolysis and it helps me out with cutting my electrolysis time in half and has helped me out to get rid of alot of hair and since I have been doing that, I am about 75% hair free.

 

Good luck on your first laser

[BrendaOlivia]

 Thank you for the good tips! I heard it goes pretty quick. And I shaved yesterday morning but my hair grows slow. Barely any stubble. 

[Kirsten]

I will tell you “none” and “barely any” is a world of difference. Just the difference between shaving the morning of with a new razor vs a used one is noticeable. If you’re smooth, no pain. Anything but smooth makes for pain. But yes the laser is NOTHING compared to electrolysis. 

[BrendaOlivia]

Thanks Kirsten. I took your advise and just shaved again. You’re a doll.

[Terry]

I'm just back from a laser appointment myself. It's been the first one after a while. The salon I used to go to closed down and now I've found a small clinic that does only laser treatments. To my surprise it felt quite different, which is apparently because of the different laser. It was less painful, yet I could clearly smell burned hair. Also some hairs popped out right away, a thing that almost never happened during the previous treatments. I was told this is a good thing that you only get with medical-grade lasers.

 

What was also different was that I got a more detailed introduction how it works. We also discussed the close shaving and the laser tech agreed that it's better when there is no stubble.

[BrendaOlivia]

 I got back from my treatment. It wasn’t bad at all. It was more like a blast of cold at each spot and a little smell of burnt hair when it was done on my upper lip area. Put on some aloe vera and barely any pink. Nothing compared to the electrolysis pain.

[Terry]

Just now, Charley Price said:

It was more like a blast of cold at each spot

 

This makes me wonder if the setting was high enough. Did they try out different levels? "Cold" sounds like what you experienced was just the cooling, not the laser. While there's nothing against a good cooling system, the treatment should be more efficient if it's done using more power.

[DeeDee]

The laser really really hurts me! each zap is like someone flicking an elastic band on my face only it gets warmer and warmer and stings more and more. Even with the cold air which is a godsend. By the end of an hour I am totally at my limit, but it has worked well enough to see a huge difference. I had laser on Saturday and I hadnt shaved since Tuesday. My first session took a week for my skin to calm back down, now its just a day or two. In comparison because of the numbing cream electrolysis is like a relaxing conversation, I go in an hour before my appointment, get the cream on and then wander out 3 hrs later with normal coloured skin. Slow but absolutely my preferred method, and the difference in time means the sessions cost roughly the same and I go once a month.

[BrendaOlivia]

I pasted here the type of laser they use. Apparently there are different applications of laser and this they told me is the latest one out.

 

The Cynosure state of the art laser system contains a tissue surface-cooling device, which continuously blows cold air on the skin surface at the site of the coming laser pulse. This reduces the pain of the laser pulse. 

 

[BrendaOlivia]

Wow DeeDee. I really did not feel much pain at all except near my nose on the upper lip. It’s been four hours now

[Terry]

Oh, that's a coincidence. I've just checked, the place I'm going to now also uses a Cynosure. That said, it did feel warm, sometimes even too hot, which was when I had to ask to lower it a bit. So either in your treatment there was less hair or the setting was quite low in comparison.

[BrendaOlivia]

Less hair. I reshaped before going

[BrendaOlivia]

Just now, Charley Price said:

Less hair. I reshaped before going

Reshaved 

[DeeDee]

At least you have found something that works for you Charley!  

[BrendaOlivia]

Yes ?. Progress is sweet!!!

[Terry]

12 hours ago, Charley Price said:

Less hair. I reshaved before going

 

That's not quite what I meant. Actually I should have written "less hairs", plural, because it's really about hairs per area.The optics always targets the same area, and when there are more hairs in that area your skin heats up more.

[BrendaOlivia]

Got it Terry. Have a great fourth!!