Question
It's been about one month since my second LHR treatment on my bikini line and full legs, and I sitll have dots all over my legs. They have faded from bright red to a tan color but I still resemble a giraffe or leopard. Does anyone else experienced this? Any idea how long before they fade away completely? Do you think I should be seeing a dermatologist to get some kind of treatment for this pigmentation change? I'm willing to go for further treatments on the bikini line but am rethinking the legs if this will happen each time. I was treated with a Candela laser - CoolGlide or something like that. My skin type is III. I'm wondering if a Yag laser would do the same thing?

Answer
It's been about one month since my second LHR treatment on my bikini line and full legs, and I sitll have dots all over my legs. They have faded from bright red to a tan color but I still resemble a giraffe or leopard. Does anyone else experienced this? Any idea how long before they fade away completely? Do you think I should be seeing a dermatologist to get some kind of treatment for this pigmentation change? I'm willing to go for further treatments on the bikini line but am rethinking the legs if this will happen each time. I was treated with a Candela laser - CoolGlide or something like that. My skin type is III. I'm wondering if a Yag laser would do the same thing?

Answer
Coolglide is a Yag laser and if you were treated with it, you shouldn't have these issues. It sounds like you were treated with alexandrite by CAndela, called GEntleLASE. Can you find out what laser was used and at what settings before we give you more advice?

Answer
It was not the Yag, it was Candela's GentleLase machine.

Answer
I would recommend you switch to a Yag. It seems that GentleLASE settings high enough to actually kill the hair are too high for your skin to handle. Some Yags out there are Coolglide, Sciton, Lyra, GentleYag, etc

Answer
Hi there having been a laser hair removal specialist since 1997 I have used all the various lasers and Ipl devices on the market. Yag lasers are great but they were made more for safely treating types 5 and 6 skin and treating clients with a suntan due to its longer wavelength of 1064 nanometers. Each type of laser has its own unique wavelength. The coolglide is a yag 1064 and the Gentlelase is an alexandrite with a 755 wavelength. The higher the wavelength the darker the skin that can be safely treated. You could safely and effectively treat up to type 4 skin with a alexandrite.. I was not the gentlelase that was the problem.. I feel that the setting used was just a bit to high and you hair on your legs must have been course and because of that it caused you to hyperpigment by absorbing too much laser energy. On the other side of the scale she could have not had the cryogen spray up enough to cool the skin. The gentlelase uses a spray to cool the skin rather than contact cooling like the coolglide and the Lighsheer diode that we use at my center. Hope this information helps you. It will go away but it could take 6 month or more for them to go away. Important to wear sunscreen if you go in the sun as sun would make them darker.

Answer
So would you recommend waiting until all marks have completely faded before attempting another treatment with any kind of laser? The settings were relatively low - 20 on bikini line and 16 on legs. I had no lasting pigmentation changes on the bikini line. On my legs the spots were darker on the insides of my calves and thighs where the hair is coarser and darker. The person who administered my last treatment was the owner of the center--an RN who previously trained doctors on using the laser. She said I was a "late responder" meaning that the redness didn't show up immediately after an area was treated, and that I had a "histamine response," meaning that my skin responded with red welts I guess.