Question
I am having my first treatment next week and I have two questions:
Will I be able to return to work the same day as my treatment or will my face be extremely red? (I know everyone is different...I'm thinking on the average!!)
I have a Carribean vacation planned in April. Can I have my first three treatments and then put the rest off until sometime this fall so that I can tan on the vacation and through the summer?
Thanks in advance for any advice!!

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I am having my first treatment next week and I have two questions:
Will I be able to return to work the same day as my treatment or will my face be extremely red? (I know everyone is different...I'm thinking on the average!!)
I have a Carribean vacation planned in April. Can I have my first three treatments and then put the rest off until sometime this fall so that I can tan on the vacation and through the summer?
Thanks in advance for any advice!!

Answer
That is difficult to answer. I can't say from personal experience because I haven't had anything done on my face. I have had LHR on my legs and bikini area and the redness isn't that red and it's gone within several hours. Putting aloe on the treated areas seems to really help.

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Oh, the second question. I think I might wait until the fall or not "worship" the sun. I think I would start with my first treatment when I am ready to go through with having treatments at regular intervals so as to getting the hair growth cycles in snych for maximum benefit.
You will experience some reduction only after one treatment but I doubt that it will be very noticeable. I found from my experience that I began to see a reduction after my 3rd and really see it after the 4th.

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I had extreme redness on my legs and five weeks later still have spots all over - pink/tannish pigmentation changes. I'm hoping these will fade with time, but who knows. Depending on how your skin handles your first treatment, you should be able to figure out how close to your wedding you want your last treatment to be. I'm sure you don't want to be on your honeymoon with scabs, blisters, or spots on your legs.

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you shouldn't have any redness for more than 1-3 days after treatment. for the face, if you have a lot of coarse hair, i would suggest using a Yag which is gentler on the skin. but if you have finer hair, it might not work. scabs, blisters, etc are not a result of proper treatment. if everything is done right, you shouldn't have anything more than redness for a day or 2 around the follicles. some people can experience some white pimples on the face if your skin is very sensitive.
tanning is definitely out of the question if you want the most effective treatment. so is staying on schedule with your treatments. letting the hair be for more than 10-12 weeks or so between treatments will cause some hair to go into next phase of growth, the dormant phase. that means, that you will ultimately need more treatments overall to kill most of your hair since hair can only be killed in anagen, first phase of growth. i recommend using sunblock and keeping face away from the sun on your vacation.

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I am getting my chin done for the first time on Monday, I planned on posting the results about 3 weeks post, but I can post something Monday night or Tuesday morning about how much redness I get.
From what I have learned, it will depend on my skin type (II) and how high the settings are on the laser. Lesser settings=less redness but also no hair removal. I'm ok with the redness as long as the hair goes away

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Well, I got my chin, underarms, abdomen, and bikini done last night. My chin and upper lip at the corners of my mouth were red for about 2 hours but not so red that makeup wouldn't cover it up. Everywhere but my chin is still red, not the whole area, just red around the individual hairs.
She used an alexandrite apogee and the settings were:
Fluence: 20J/cm2
Duration: 10/20 Msec
Spot size: 15mm
I don't know what all that means, but I've read that best results are with 30J or above??? I felt it working, like they were sticking me with little needles at a rapid rate. All the hair was singed, but I'll post results in 2-3 weeks. Kaitlyn

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Also, I put hydrocortisone cream on my lip and chin, don't know how much of a difference that makes Kaitlyn

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I had my first treatment yesterday and the dermatologist who performed it said that I treated really well!! The redness was only a little worse than a "good" plucking session and I was able to cover it with makeup and return immediately to work.
I'll be using lots of sunscreen on the vacation because I want to make sure I don't waste money on these first treatments and then have to start over!
The thing that surprised me the most was the smell of the hairs during the treatment, that "singed" smell is so awful but I had a few hairs shed almost immediately.
Thanks for all your advice, I'll update later for those who are reading that are considering lhr.

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kaytlin, those settings are fine to start. they should probably be increased as you go for more treatments with each treatment. 20 joules is the fluence, 15mm is the spot size (area covered with one pulse).

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Thanks, Blink... I was a little worried that they just used low settings because it was a free treatment. She seemed a little weirded out when I asked what settings were used... said only about 2 in 1000 people ask what their settings are.. hopefully I will notice at least a little shedding.
Kaitlyn

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yeah,unfortunately most people just blindly trust the tech to know what they're doing and don't question anything. (then some of those people end up posting horror stories on here )

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Basically, the answer to both your questions is yes. It is true your face will be slightly irritated, but usually only for a short time. Sometimes even for only 10 or 15 minutes. The post-treatment care is very important to keeping the redness to a minimum. We here at Azure Day Spa have been administering laser hair removal treatments for 8 1/2 years, and we know that keeping the area cold by using cold packs right after the treatment is very important.
You can also enjoy yourself and go on vacation. You can do three treatments and then hold out for the rest because each treatment will kill a certain amount of the hair. Plus, nowadays there are lasers for every type of skin, yes even tanned skin. The Yag is what we recommend on tanned skin.


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I have begun to shed!!! I want to say about 95% of the hair I had the day of the treatment has shed, my face feels soooo smooth. It's really unusual to apply makeup to such a smooth surface with no bumps from tweezing. It is so awesome....I would recommend laser to anyone!

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Awesome!!