Question
I have been getting facial laser treatments since May of 2004 from a certified tech. at a plastic surgery private business. I can hardly tell a difference in my hair growth. On my chin and corners of upper lip I have coarse dark hair, lighter brown hair with mostly blonde hair all over.
Things seemed to be going well until about January. She said she was worried about my hormone levels because of my hair growth and didn't want me to come back until I had seen my doctor. I saw my doctor, had blood work done and everything is normal. When I went back to see her she said she thought my hormones were not right because of purple coloring she saw around my skin. What?!
I told her I had been using Oxy 10 with benzoil peroxide for pimples and she said that was why my hair wsasstill growing because that stuff turns to cement when it makes contact with the laser. What?!
She never told what I couldn't use on my face. Now, she wants me to pay for any extra treatments. What?!
I spent $1650 for something that hasn't really worked and now she wants me to pay more?!
Please help with any info on what's going on with me.

Answer
I have been getting facial laser treatments since May of 2004 from a certified tech. at a plastic surgery private business. I can hardly tell a difference in my hair growth. On my chin and corners of upper lip I have coarse dark hair, lighter brown hair with mostly blonde hair all over.
Things seemed to be going well until about January. She said she was worried about my hormone levels because of my hair growth and didn't want me to come back until I had seen my doctor. I saw my doctor, had blood work done and everything is normal. When I went back to see her she said she thought my hormones were not right because of purple coloring she saw around my skin. What?!
I told her I had been using Oxy 10 with benzoil peroxide for pimples and she said that was why my hair wsasstill growing because that stuff turns to cement when it makes contact with the laser. What?!
She never told what I couldn't use on my face. Now, she wants me to pay for any extra treatments. What?!
I spent $1650 for something that hasn't really worked and now she wants me to pay more?!
Please help with any info on what's going on with me.

Answer
You would THINK that this woman would run thru the "Do nots" of laser treatment BEFORE she began doing it? If she warned you against tanning and the usual precautions, why not let you know that certain blemish fighters create a "barrier" between the laser and your skin? I don't think coughing up every last cent for extra treatments is fair. Perhaps you 2 could meet half-way and you could get some touch-ups for free? I understand if a tech doesn't remember to mention every product someone finds out is bad to use during laser, but if she knew about Oxy 10, you'd THINK she might've said something. Sometimes it's a patient's job to ask these things, or share their skin regimen with the tech to make sure it's OK. I would think a compromise could be reached.

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I've never heard of anything "turning to cement" when it came in contact with the laser.
Hormone levels can be in the "normal" range and still be the culprit.

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laser won't affect blond hair. dark hair should have been affected if proper laser and settings were used. What laser was used on you? what settings did she use? this person doesn't seem too knowledgeable, so I would question her decisions when setting the fluences on the laser and the type of laser (or IPL?) she chooses to use.

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HairyBitch-
Go get bloodwork on all your hormones. I was told my results were normal by my GYN, but my endo said my testosterone, even though it was within normal levels according to labs, was considered elevated. He said if your testosterone is anything over 50 it is considered high. It is always good to get copies of your results because sometimes doctors are wrong.
Hope this helps.

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actually i just got my results back and i guess they're using a different scale here coz it says there that the normal testosterone range is 0.5-3.1. mine is 2.91 which sounds pretty high... so i guess i'll go talk to my doctor and see what he says and if he says it's normal i'll be sure to investigate further with an endo. thanks!
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find out all those things that i mentioned, over the phone even. laser, settings used (joules and spot size), etc. you should be shaving the area before treatments as you want the laser power to go to the roots of your hair and not the surface. laser is attracted to dark pigment, that's why it works best on light skin and dark hair, and doesn't work on blond hair. with light skin, all laser power is going to the roots in order to kill them. so that's the most effective treatment. let me know if you have more questions.