Question
Hi everyone,
There are so may clinics/spas that offer laser hair removal. Each is using a different laser method.
Aesthetic Laser Clinic - LightSheer Diode Laser
-Company Name Deleted- - Radio Frequency (RF) therapy.
dermalase - CoolGlide Excel Laser from Cutera.
Key-Whitman Laser Center - PhotoGenica LPIR (long pulsed infra red)Alexandrite laser and the Light Sheer Diode laser.
Light-Speed - LightSheer diode laser, Candela GentleLASE
Renaissance laser - Lumenis Lightsheer Diode
Smooth Solutions - dont know what they use
The Institude of Aesthetic - IPLT™ (intense pulsed light) technology
Texas Laser Clinic - CoolGlide Excel Laser from Cutera
PLano Laser Care Clinic - GentleLase
Plano Aesthetic Center - The Comet from Syneron
Derm Aesthetic & Laser Center - Lyra 1064 wavelength laser
Advanced Laser Clinic - LightSheer™ Diode
Does anyone have any expereince with any of these clinics that can share with me?
I have light skin and dark, coarse hair. Which one of these lasers would best suited for me?
Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hi everyone,
There are so may clinics/spas that offer laser hair removal. Each is using a different laser method.
Aesthetic Laser Clinic - LightSheer Diode Laser
-Company Name Deleted- - Radio Frequency (RF) therapy.
dermalase - CoolGlide Excel Laser from Cutera.
Key-Whitman Laser Center - PhotoGenica LPIR (long pulsed infra red)Alexandrite laser and the Light Sheer Diode laser.
Light-Speed - LightSheer diode laser, Candela GentleLASE
Renaissance laser - Lumenis Lightsheer Diode
Smooth Solutions - dont know what they use
The Institude of Aesthetic - IPLT™ (intense pulsed light) technology
Texas Laser Clinic - CoolGlide Excel Laser from Cutera
PLano Laser Care Clinic - GentleLase
Plano Aesthetic Center - The Comet from Syneron
Derm Aesthetic & Laser Center - Lyra 1064 wavelength laser
Advanced Laser Clinic - LightSheer™ Diode
Does anyone have any expereince with any of these clinics that can share with me?
I have light skin and dark, coarse hair. Which one of these lasers would best suited for me?
Thanks in advance.

Answer
For your skin type, either alexandrite like GentleLASE or diode like LightSheer are best. from these, choose either GentleLASE, LightSheer, or Comet (best for lighter colored hair). To narrow these down, choose based on tech's experience.

Answer
I'm in DFW and use Smooth Solutions. They use the Alexandrite and YAG lasers. So far with 4 underarm treatments, its mixed for me, but I'll give it several more tries as I have a 6 visit package (for $190 total on sale) and its about $33/ea for extras after that (both pits). I have one thread on these guys:
You can find my new thread on Laser Perfect (which I am now considering) here and is operating in the DFW area:
PM me if anyone is interested in comparing notes about DFW salons. Thx.

Answer
T what kind of mixed results are you getting on your underarms? that area is usually pretty easy to treat because the hair is usually coarse and the skin light since it doesn't get much sunlight. let us know. do you know what settings were used? maybe we can make suggestions to make the remaining treatments more effective for you. good luck.

Answer
I'm skin type II/III and dark brown hair using an Alexandrite at 18j/15mm/40ms for underarms; we started at 14j and have increased it over the four treatments (every 12 weeks now). I get about 70% shedding now, so it appears to be getting better (1st time was 20% shedding), but when it grows in, its only slightly reduced overall. Next appt is 11/20, so I plan to confer and want to bump it up to 20j. The lower power settings have not hurt at all; at 18j, I feel the snap, but the skin is fine and not getting red or swollen. Thanks for any feedback u have, Blink!

Answer
you can probably go up to 30 joules or so. also, 12 weeks is a bit long to wait in between treatments. some of the hairs might be already in catagen phase by then. you should try to get treatments within 2-3 weeks after the new hair appears, which for most people is around the 8 week period after the treatment.

Answer
Good thanks for the advice on power. I think that they are cautious in regard to using more power than minimally necessary. I understand, however, that just "stunning" the hair is not effective. They have a firm policy of only treating at set intervals which increase to a maximum of every 12 weeks. They will not treat more often (except for missed areas) and I can respect that they are not too quick tho. The hair is back and growing strong in just 8 weeks, but some folks on these boards have said that it may remain in anagen longer than just a few weeks...

Answer
It could remain in anagen for more than just a few weeks, but in early anagen the hairs are weak, thus more vunerable to the laser. If hairs are allowed to remain untreated in the follicle, they feed off your blood supply and regain strength. For successful removal, you've got to attack them while they are weak.