Laser Hair Removal Forum

[Free2B]

When I decided that I wanted to embark on laser hair removal (LHR), I searched the internet to find stories about African American people and their LHR journeys. Much to my chagrin, there was very little information out there.

So I have decided to post information about my laser hair journey/electrolysis in hopes that other people will find the info helpful. I am not an expert on LHR removal and cannot answer questions about the procedure, but I can at least tell you first hand what I went through. If I become more technologically savvy, I will post pictures.

Here are my stats:
Black female, mid-30s (my skin is a dark chocolate brown - I am from Ghana)
Areas being treated:
LHR - Full bikini (i.e. Brazilian), Linea (stomach or happy trail) and underarms
Electrolysis - treating a few straw hairs around the aerola (i.e. breasts)
Laser being Used: Cutera Coolglide ND-Yag - this is the ONLY laser that should be used on dark skin

[Free2B]

My first treatment was on March 28th at Bellair Laser Clinic in Toronto. My Medical Aesthetician (Heather) was excellent and has experience treating people with my skin tone (dark chocolate brown).

The Laser settings were 35j/35ms. It was very painful and the settings had to be reduced when removing hair from the more sensitive areas of the bikini. That said, after the treatment, I did not have any burns, scarring or any problems whatsoever. The skin was tender, but no different than the post-waxing feeling.

I experienced shedding about a week later. Basically, the hairs grew in and started falling out. It took roughly one week for the hair to completely shed.

My treatment was so effective, that I did not have to shave my underarm area before my second treatment (approx 7 weeks). The underarms were hair free for approximately 4 weeks and the hair that grew back was so sparse, you had to be up close to see it.

My bikini was similar - I only shaved once in 7 weeks. However, the area that was treated at the lower setting grew in fully and did not look like I had a laser treatment. The rest of my bikini hardly grew in at all (similar to my underarms).

The areas treated at the 35J/35ms settings were 90% hairfree at the 7 week mark (i.e. right before my 2nd treatment). I was starting to feel a bit of stubble on my bikini, but to look at the area, you would think it was hair free!!

[Free2B]

My second treatment on May 16/09, was at 38J/35ms (they progressively increase the joules by 3 to 5 joules each visit). Though the level was higher, I did not find the underarms as painful - I think I am getting used to it.

I used numbing cream and an ice pack for the bikini. I kept the settings at 38J/35ms for the full bikini - it was painful, but I survived. Again the skin was tender, but after applying some Aloe Vera lotion and in time (30 mins later) all was well.

It has been about a week since my second treatment and I have not undergone any shedding yet. Since the hair was shaved for the treatment, it is just starting to grow-in so I expect to shed in another week or so.

My third treatment is slated for July 11th (8 weeks from the 2nd treatment) and I suspect I will be hair free during this interval.

Prior to starting my LHR sessions, I would only shave my underarms once every 2 weeks. Though my hair grows in slowly, I was told by my laser technician to schedule appointments (for at least the first 3 treatments) every 6 to 8 weeks to make sure the hair follicle is destroyed at the active growth or anagen stage. Many people wait longer in between appointments which decreases the efficacy of the treatments.

I am told that you start to see permanent reduction after the third appointment. Therefore, I will likely wait a little longer in-between my third and fourth appointment (no more than 12 weeks) to see how much hair grows back.

Based on my initial two appointments, I can confidently say that the Coolglide Nd-Yag laser has been very effective at removing my hair. I am thrilled with my results and happy to not have to wax, shave or maintain my underarm and bikini hair. And as a bonus, I am no longer plagued with ingrown hairs!!

[Free2B]

My third LHR appointment was on July 11th. Prior to my treatment, I did not shave at all to gauge the level of hair growth (i.e. did not shave for 8 weeks). Though I did get much more hair re-growth in between my second and third appointment than I did between my first and second appointment, the level of hair growth was MUCH lighter than my typical hair growth. I did take pictures hours before shaving for my treatment to show you how sparse the hair is, but can't figure how to upload them on this site.

The following settings were used on my second treatment:
Underarm – 40J at 35ms
Bikini – 38J at 35 ms (labia 37J at 35ms)
Linea – 37J at 35ms

I had a different technician, which was a bit off-putting. And I was cheesed at Bellair because based on the information given to me during my second treatment, all of the areas were treated at 38J and 35ms. This means my third treatment should have been at 40J and 35ms for bikini and underarms. My suspicion is that the clinic reduced the settings to prolong the number of sessions that I would need to be hair free. Bellair assured me that the bikini LHR treatments were on a lower setting than 38J and 35ms during my 1st and 2nd appointments, and that they have progressively increased the settings. They also assured me that I would still get good results from my third treatment because I had a good number of ‘hair ejections’ – I am not 100% sure what this means, but I will wait and see if the results are satisfactory. If not, they will surely hear from me.

I used numbing cream on my bikini areas and it greatly reduced the level of pain. About 10 days after my LHR treatment, my hair started to shed. It has now completely shed save for an area that was probably missed during the treatment. I will be getting a touch-up to treat this area on Tuesday August 4/09.

All in all I am pretty happy with the treatments thus far. I am interested to see how many hairs grows back after this treatment since you are supposed to see a greater level of reduction after the third treatment. My next appointment is slated for Saturday Sept. 5/09 – this is 8 weeks after the third appointment, but I will prolong up to 12 weeks depending on the level of hair growth. I will keep you posted with my results!!!
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Stats:
Skin Type - Dark brown Fitzpatrick Skin type: VI
Laser - Cutera Coolglide ND-Yag
1st LHR Treatment - March 28/09 at 35J/35ms
2nd LHR Treatment - May 16/09 at 38J/35ms