Question
Help! On Tuesday I received my first laser hair removal treatment with a GenteLase laser. I had the treatment done on my chin, the top 1/3 of my neck, and my upper lip.
Today (Saturday) I still have welting and according to my dermatologist who I saw yesterday, I have a nasty case of folliculitis caused by the laser. The practionner who did the treatment said he used a 15 mm tip at 30 joules, which my doctor said is rather high.
Does anyone have any experience with this? My physician put me on a steroid cream and a topical antibiotic ointment. What are my risks for scarring? My skin is not broken but it is swollen, red, itchy, and painful with raised bumps that look like white-heads. Is this unusual? I am not allowed to take oral steroids because I am nursing an infant.
Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks.

Answer
Help! On Tuesday I received my first laser hair removal treatment with a GenteLase laser. I had the treatment done on my chin, the top 1/3 of my neck, and my upper lip.
Today (Saturday) I still have welting and according to my dermatologist who I saw yesterday, I have a nasty case of folliculitis caused by the laser. The practionner who did the treatment said he used a 15 mm tip at 30 joules, which my doctor said is rather high.
Does anyone have any experience with this? My physician put me on a steroid cream and a topical antibiotic ointment. What are my risks for scarring? My skin is not broken but it is swollen, red, itchy, and painful with raised bumps that look like white-heads. Is this unusual? I am not allowed to take oral steroids because I am nursing an infant.
Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks.

Answer
what is your skin and hair type? these settings are pretty high and your skin seems to have been burned just a bit, but not much. white heads etc are normal for some people on the areas you are getting done. you shouldn't have any permanent scarring from this. it will go away. just use the creams that the doctor gave you, i also like aloe vera. definitely inform your tech about this and make sure they turn down the settings next time. shedding shoudl occur within 2-3 weeks btw, so let us know how it goes. once again, make sure to go back to your tech and show them what happened.

Answer
Thanks for the response. I would say that I have fair skin that burns in the sun but quickly turns to tan. The hairs that were targeted were dark, although not coarse. Based on this, do you think my settings of a 15mm tip and 30 joules were too high?
I am glad to hear that you think the damage will not be permanent, although I must say that I am not seeing any improvement at all at this time, and it has been 4 days since my treatment.
I don't think I will be doing this again, as the risk of looking and feeling like this even for a few days far outweighs the potential benefit of eliminating a few dark hairs.

Answer
yes, those are pretty high. on average, GentleLASE settings used on most with lighter skin are 18-25 joules. you shouldn't have anything similar to this effect with a settings of 20-22 or so. if you only have a few hairs, have you considered electrolysis?

Answer
I had a very similar reaction to yours...
I am a white male in my early 30s and had the Cooltouch Yag (long pulsed Nd:Yag technology) on my entire beard area 8 days ago. After the 3rd night, I started developing swelling and tons of small white pimples primarily on my neck and jawline area -- it even hurt to swallow. I was severely troubled by this condition, as it was never provided as potential side effect.
After finding this site as well as another (http://www.-Company Name Deleted-/forum/display_forum_topics.asp?ForumID=3&PagePosition=1&ThreadPage=1), I discovered that my condition was a possible reaction, but was only temporary. Basically, lymph fluid is rushing to the treated areas to heal the damage skin cells -- that's why your getting the swelling and whiteheads. This reaction tends to occur with darker skined individuals and when non-pharmaceutical grade cryogen is used. Spend some time on the other site noted above and look for posts by Shelby Owens -- she knows a lot about your condition.
It has been 5 days since the hives/white pimples started and things are MUCH better. The swelling is considerably down and I only had 1 whitehead this morning -- there is still a little redness, but is more like a redness associated with dryness.
I know how you're feeling -- it will ease in a few days, just hang in there. I'm with you -- this LHR thing isn't for me either...