Question
Okay, this Friday it will be three weeks since I got my first LHR on my bikini line. I didn't shave because I wanted to see what was going on with the hair growth. I would say about half is gone, half stayed. It is patchy. So ... this is not right, right? Wasn't it supposed to *all* go away? Did my Doctor miss spots and I need to get a touch-up or will it be caught at my next session?
Thanks!

Answer
Okay, this Friday it will be three weeks since I got my first LHR on my bikini line. I didn't shave because I wanted to see what was going on with the hair growth. I would say about half is gone, half stayed. It is patchy. So ... this is not right, right? Wasn't it supposed to *all* go away? Did my Doctor miss spots and I need to get a touch-up or will it be caught at my next session?
Thanks!

Answer
it depends. technically, only hair in anagen is killed and at one time about 30% of hair is in anagen at most. normally, most hair should shed though, even the hair that's not in anagen. but you might see a bit more shedding over the next week or so. of course, a few spots were probably missed as well. personally, i experienced about 90% shedding after the very first time. i did wax about 2 months beforehand though, so maybe all hair was in anagen. do you know what laser was used and at what settings? also, your skin and hair type?

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Also, sometimes it might take just a tad bit longer to shed. However, after three weeks, I'd tend to think that if the hair is sliding out easily, then there were some missed spots.

Answer
Hello. In my experience and what I tell my customers at ExcelLase in Raleigh, NC is: if they see any of the hair that they had shaved before coming for laser comes back within 2, 3or 4 days after the laser treatment and is not sliding out, then I probably missed it. So I ask them to come back for a free touch up.
Sometime if the patient shaves very closely right before coming to the office, then it is hard for the technician to see where the hair growth is. So they may miss a spot while lasering the area. In that case, I believe the clinic should offer a free touch up.
Blink888 and others with more expereince, do you agree with the above or would you think they should wait till their next appointment?
Thanks.

Answer
a lot of clinics offer a free touch-up 2 weeks after treatment when most of the shedding should occur. i would say a free touch-up is necessary about 2-3 weeks after treatment if there are obvious and a lot of patches of missed hair. usually, the hair that will shed starts to grow in very slowly after treatment, much slower than it normally would, and it can also seem more coarse.
a good way to avoid missing too many spots is to have the patient shave about 1-2 days prior if the hair is thin enough that if they shave the same day, there is not shadow and it's not visible where to treat. I shave 1-2 days before so that there is just a tiny bit of stubble, so my doctor has no issues seeing where the hair is. hope this helps.

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I thought you had to shave the day of treatment.... I read somewhere that it can cause burns? if there is stubble because the laser is concentrated where there is more pigment... I'm not an expert, was just wondering, should I shave the day of treatment or just the day before (it will be my first visit, treatment and consultation the same day so I was thinking I should let the stubble grow for a day just so the tech knows how coarse and the color of the hairs... is my thinking right???

Answer
I think this might depend on what type of laser is being used or the experience of the tech. Some places like things freshly shaven because the just systematically zap an entire area. Others like to have about a day or two of growth so they could see where the hair is and zap those areas. The burns come from the hair being long above the skin line because the laser will burn the hair next to the skin. If it is at or below the skin line, this shouldn't happen.

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a tiny bit of stubble is not going to hurt. burning can come from treating hair when it's somewhat long because as BRR said laser can burn the skin while burning the long hairs.
Personally, I would recommend leaving about a day's worth of stubble, depend on each person, but just anything just enough for the tech to see where to treat exactly because it's not recommended to treat areas where there is no hair (would be accidently in this case). there are some instances where laser will burn those little invisible vellus hairs on those seemingly hairless areas and stimulate them to grow in darker. so why risk it?

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Cool, thanks for clearing that up !