Question
Got a Coolglide treatment this past Saturday on my belly with Cutera Coolglide laser, setting 45J and 35ms below and 45J and 30 ms above the belly button, I have type 4 skin.
Ice pack was applied beforehand for about 5 min, the tech applied a gel and glided the handiece for cooling prior to shot and then another quick gliding action for cooling after most of the shots, this after-action really helped. In the area below the belly button, it hurt quite a bit in many spots and not so much in others. above the belly button hairs are dark but fine, I did not feel a thing, I asked if that means its not working and she just said not necessarily, that area will just respond late. There were no bumps, very little redness around some of the hairs.
She missed a few spots, but overall I am satisfied with her technique. Nothing was applied after the treatment. I now have pepperspots on most of the area below the belly button but also many hairs are growing out , I tried to tug on a couple but there is resistance. So maybe these were missed, I can tell after a week or two at which point I have to expect shedding.
Above the belly button, most hairs are growing back, there is no pepper spots, maybe a couple spots where hair is not growing back yet.
I will update again once I notice shedding. I hope this works, because I am thinking of signing up for a package of 5 for other areas.

Answer
Got a Coolglide treatment this past Saturday on my belly with Cutera Coolglide laser, setting 45J and 35ms below and 45J and 30 ms above the belly button, I have type 4 skin.
Ice pack was applied beforehand for about 5 min, the tech applied a gel and glided the handiece for cooling prior to shot and then another quick gliding action for cooling after most of the shots, this after-action really helped. In the area below the belly button, it hurt quite a bit in many spots and not so much in others. above the belly button hairs are dark but fine, I did not feel a thing, I asked if that means its not working and she just said not necessarily, that area will just respond late. There were no bumps, very little redness around some of the hairs.
She missed a few spots, but overall I am satisfied with her technique. Nothing was applied after the treatment. I now have pepperspots on most of the area below the belly button but also many hairs are growing out , I tried to tug on a couple but there is resistance. So maybe these were missed, I can tell after a week or two at which point I have to expect shedding.
Above the belly button, most hairs are growing back, there is no pepper spots, maybe a couple spots where hair is not growing back yet.
I will update again once I notice shedding. I hope this works, because I am thinking of signing up for a package of 5 for other areas.

Answer
thanks for the update. give it a good 2-3 weeks before you start tugging on hairs and actually notice that they slide out easily.

Answer
Hello!
Your thoughts are in the correct direction as far as what your observations have been so far. I'd like to add a few points to help you a little more.
The shedding with any type of yag laser will take up to 3 weeks. As tempting as it may be, you should try not to pull the hair out with a pair of tweezers. In the intial consultation we go over the whole procdure of laser hair removal from start to the end with each and all our clients. We tell them although they need to see a reduction between 8% to 15% (depending to what body parts they are treating) after each treatment but one should see all treatments will work together to give the end result. Due to hair going into different stages from one moment to next you can not judge a laser specialist's work as this is out off her or his hands.The hairs that were in dorment stage can become active hours or even minutes after each treatment,that is why it is recommend to repeat each procedure after 4 to 6 weeks.
As far as fine hair goes it all depends on the abilty of the equipment, some coolglides have the abilty to work on fine hairs and some do not.
The brown spots are something that does not happen often unless the skin pigment on those areas were darker before starting the laser. In that case, more energy got absorbed and causes hyperpigmentation which can also can be avoided with the skill of laser specialist.
We hope we have been some help.

Answer
Just an update - I am at 12 days past treatment and am seeing the following -
above belly button where hairs where fine and dark, barely 5-10% of shedding, rest of the hair is growing out at different lengths. should I not treat this area any further or keep trying since its treated as part of the naval line?
below the belly button, 50-60% still pepper spots, although they look smaller, I am afraid these may sink under the skin and never come out, does this happen?
of the rest that were growing out, 80-85% are shedding, I just pulled them out with 0 resistance, I don't see any follicles on these hairs though, is this normal? Rest 15 - 20% still have resistance. Considering shedding sometimes continues till 3 or more weeks, there is hope these may still shed.
I am now thinking of starting on other areas. Is full legs and bikini too much in one sitting, should I break it up?
hert9

Answer
Wait full 3 weeks, even 3.5 to make any conclusions. you'll probably see more shedding in the next week. no, pepperspots won't "sink in". they will come out eventually, some take longer than others. some can take a month or 2. just ignore them if you can. some will even be burned at your next treatment. i do squeeze some of mine out after 3 weeks and they come out easily. but be careful as it may cause scarring (as with squeezing pimples). the shedding hairs don't have follicles, that's normal.