Permanent Hair removal
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free skin care · Sun Mar 29, 2009 1:35 pm

Hello All,

I am a female (27) of East Indian descent and am searching for someone with experience with permanent hair removal. I am doing my research and am very cautious about what method I choose to use as I have pigmented skin and do not want to scar. I would greatly appreciate a reference to a trained and precise professional that someone has had experience with as I am looking to have this procedure done on my face.

I have read about many different lasers and different techniques but it is very hard to determine which is best.

Any help or direction would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

free skin care · Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:05 am

It may be that your only recourse would be electrolysis, as the results aren't dependent on skin/hair colour. Unfortunately, this has always tended to be a slow process and, I believe, can sometimes result in scarring.

However, I did read somewhere (sorry, I can't find it now) that better new electrolysis methods are appearing - faster and covering larger areas at a time. It may be worth you researching further, and I'll also let you know if I come across anything.

I have the opposite problem. My skin is very pale, and whilst some of my hair is suitable for laser/IPL, some of it is too light. You have my sympathy

free skin care · Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:26 am

sweetp wrote:

Hello All,

I am a female (27) of East Indian descent and am searching for someone with experience with permanent hair removal. I am doing my research and am very cautious about what method I choose to use as I have pigmented skin and do not want to scar. I would greatly appreciate a reference to a trained and precise professional that someone has had experience with as I am looking to have this procedure done on my face.

I have read about many different lasers and different techniques but it is very hard to determine which is best.

Any help or direction would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi sweetp - I don't have a reference to a trained professional, however I have had 4 laser hair removal treatments on my face over the past 1-2 years. My skin is of eastern European decent and quite sensitive. The laser used by the clinic I went to was the Altus Cool Glide laser. In the dr's office, there was a sheet on the wall which helped the nurses performing the laser hair removal set the correct settings based on the client's skin tone/race (so that the laser doesn't burn the skin). It was very important (for me) that I was not in the sun 30 days before or 30 days after treatment. As my skin tans very easily (even in the shortest amount of time outside), I was warned it may have an impact on my treatment (i.e. increased sensitivity, possible burns).

Here's the link to the clinic I went to: http://www.drgroot.com/hair5.html

It was a more expensive alternative than going to a spa, however as my skin is quite pigmented, and the treatments were right on my face (!) I thought that was the better option. Turned out, it likely was, as there were 2 appointments I had where the nurses told me they would not perform the laser on me and they felt my skin was too dark (I don't think I would have had the same treatment had I gone to a less reputable clinic).

Hope this helps a bit!
~alice

free skin care · Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:29 am

Forgot to mention - a good salon/clinic should be able to provide you with a consult (usually free of charge) indicating whether or not you would be a good candidate for the laser hair removal treatment. Plus, the consult gives you a chance to ask your questions to make sure you're making the right decision for you!

Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:03 pm

I have to agree with majorb, I tried laser hair removal to no avail (I am very pale with brown hair, but most of the affected areas are too light to treat).

I found that electrolysis worked best for me. I used to go once a week every week for 4 months and then slowed to 1 every two weeks, and then 1 a month. I have to say that 95% of the hair is gone and I have the odd dark hair that comes back which isn't a big problem any more.

I stopped doing the treatment about a year ago and no new hair has grown back. I just bleach the rest and that seems to do the trick for me.

As for cost and reputation, I looked in the yellowpages and found a few places that looked reputable and called the individuals to talk about it. The ones that could answer absolutely all my questions made the final cut (and I used Accutane in the past and asked about the potential side effects) and many didn't even know what that was. It's a pretty important drug to know about when you are dealing with patients' skin. One lady knew so much about it that that's the one I went with. I was also a college student at the time, and she even cut the cost down for me because she could feel my pain and embarassement. She really turned out to be terrific.

Please be careful with laser hair removal as I watched a show about how it damaged the skin and appearance of dark-skinned individuals. After seeing that show, I can't even recommend it to anyone because it traumatized these individuals so much and left them with completely white skin on the areas which were 'treated'.

Please proceed with caution. Best of luck and I feel your pain!!! Smile

Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:13 am

Hi sweetp. Probably the best way to go about this is to first decide whether you want to do electrolysis or Laser/IPL.

Electrolysis is a permanent hair reduction method which targets each hair follicle individually. A thin needle is inserted into every single follicle one by one and an electric current is run through it. Hair follicle die or get damamged. Results are great but it takes a long time per treatment and is also quite painful. There's a number of ethical operators in Melbourne and it's relatively inexpensive although you're looking at about 20 sessions from what i'm hearing.

IPL is also a permanent hair reduction method. It targets an area rather than each follicle which makes treatments a lot faster - larger area can be covered quicker. Best candidates are light skin/dark hair combination. However skins as dark as African American can be treated effectively. The darker the skin the higher the resks and the slower the results. You need someone who had lots of experience with darker skins.

To help you choose the right clinic and a skilled therapist print out a special questionnaire which helps you interview operators and clinics and you can then assess each salon as you speak to them. You can get a printable version of the questionnaire from the FAQ page on shinesandshimmers. com. au website. But read the page first as it explains why you are asking each question and what info you are getting out of the answers.

Please do your research and take your time. Do not accept telephone consultations - your skin and condition cannot be assessed over the phone. Attend as many consultations as you can - they're usually free. Try to base your decision on answers you get from the operators as well as your gut feeling.

Remember one thing. There is nothing in the world that can get us rid of unwanted hair completely and forever. It simply doesnt exist. However, we can get the hair growth under control with only a few maintenance sessions required each year. (My mainenance sessions for face are only once every 7 months, that's after 8 initial IPL sessions) And a lot of people are very happy with an outcome like that. Good luck with it.

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