hair removal (merged)

ali1972

Sorry to fire 20 questions at you but: was the treatment you had years ago IPL or Laser? You mention having had Laser years ago, you mention having had IPL years ago and you mention SK:N (who only do Laser at the moment as far as I am aware) so I just wondering because if it was IPL you had years ago - that might account for skin pigmentation problems as it doesn't just target the hair but the surrounding tissue as well. It doesn't use a true laser and is not as specific in how it targets pigment. It's generally suggested for people who don't have dark hair who are not suitable for alexandrite laser treatment. Scroll up a few messages for more info. As for Laser treatment there are a certain number of types of laser which are not used anymore so if it was Laser you had years ago, and not IPL, then it's possble that you were treated with technology that is now very old.

My treatment is Laser using an Alexandrite Laser (from SK:N whom I've always been pleased with) and averages out at about £70 a treatment for a similar area to you (I'm on a package of maintenance treatments but the main package I started out on was about the same cost per session as the maintenance one - whenever I buy a package there always seems to be a discount on as well). I probably had around 8 treatments in my first year and since then I've settled at around 3 sessions a year (I have PCOS so will always have some new hairs coming through). Also my patch test was £25 and I paid something for the factor 30 suncream they provide as well (which is actually the most effective sun cream I've used on my face so I continue to use it).

Hope that is some help.

Jelliebeen

I also like nair - and it doesn't smell too bad.

Quite a lot of the time I use an epilator - much less faff than cream. Once you get used to it, it doesn't really hurt. But make sure you use an alcohol free deodorant if you need to use one staright after. Otherwise it stings like hell!

faithless

Dieselhead and Jelliebean,
I've just checked Tesco, Asda and Superdrug and Boots Online, and none have the Nair Microwaveable Wax. Found a stockists online but they are quite expensive when you include P&P. Where do you get yours?

poshnosh

Sorry ali when i say years ago i mean about 5 years ago and it was IPL with sk:n whose name at the time was something else (i can't remember)!! I am of asian origin so have dark hairs which i was told was perfect for the treatment to work on. The hair cleared up in some areas but not in others. I never expected it to go away but at least be reduced which it was not.

Sk:n made a mess of my neck - thats where the pigmentation occurred. Thank God it was not my face! They would give me pigmentation gels saying to apply it liberally, it will go away etc etc! What a load of nonsense! To this day I still have it. On top of all this, they lost my file

I remember coming home feeling really depressed because it was not working! Recently i have been diagnosed as having PCOS.

I am looking into light sheer laser treatment as well as I have heard this is better than IPL. If anyone has had experience of this please comment.

ali1972

Ahhh - that makes sense, the alexandrite laser isn't suitable for use on asian skin so they probably wouldn't have used that anyway. I'm sorry you had such a rotten time with it. I notice that some clinics (possibly also sk:n although I appreciate you had a bad experience) are now offering treatment with an alternative type of laser for darker skin the Nd:YAG laser. I don't know whether that is also worth looking into as well? From what I can make out (reading around) it's not as painless as treatment with the alexandrite laser but apparently it's suitable for all skin types. Just a thought, anyway.

Have you joined "Verity" the support group for PCOS sufferers? It's a really good resource and you might pick up some good advice from others with a similar situation. If you haven't already found them, this is their website: http://www.verity-pcos.org.uk/

ali1972

Lady_Tara wrote: »

ali1972, thanks for that info and the link, interesting and it looks like I was led down the wrong route which is why I've ended up with the dark pigmentation. I am going to go back to the clinic and see what they say... I'd be interested how any other fair/blondes get on as I'd like to see if I could have an alternative treatment.

Yes, and unfortunately Laser is unsuitable for blonde hair which is a huge shame. Very frustrating for you.

ali1972

patchwork_cat wrote: »

OMG ali- I thought I had a problem! 2 hrs, I have enough after 10 mins! was that just face?

Yes! Just the face! It was at a clinic in London that just did electrolysis and nothing else (not actually the blend, I progressed to that later). I used to knock back a couple of ibruprofen an hour beforehand and settle down for 2 hours. Provided that it wasn't just before my period it wasn't too bad. The girl who used to treat me at first used to tell me these harrowing tales of how she and her family fled from the former yugoslav republic in fear for their lives... I suppose it put things into perspective and kept me quiet! Those 2 hour slots were really popular - there were lots of us after them.

There must be a database somewhere of people trained in the Blend. I'll look into it.

dieselhead

mine was from superdrug, it was actually one of their assistants who recommended it to me in the first place, I think it was about £7 which is a lot of money but it costs £8 to get a bikini wax at my local salon and I think I tub of nair will do quite a few waxes.

I have also seen it in boots, and savers!

poshnosh

ALI, u seem really clued up about all this. I have just been researching more on laser and IPL by the sites you recommended and am more baffled than ever....getting all sorts of conflicting views.
What really worries me are the costs involved. They would mount upto approx. £1000 over the course of a year. Is there any chance of having this on the NHS?

Another thing, when i went to the consultation the lady who explained all this to me appeared really genuine. She gave me a book full of what people thought - all positive, of course. She also told me about a young girl who had similar hair probs as myself and how she was satisfied with the treatment. I am thinking maybe I should ask her if I could speak to this "young girl" as its always best to find out from people directly as oppose to listening to the staff.
I also noticed the lady i spoke to (who is the manageress) of the place had her sides (on face) bleached and they were really noticable. If IPL was sooo good how come she never treated herself? makes me wonder...

ali1972

Well, I've never been offered any cosmetic treatment for it on the NHS. I had the symptoms of PCOS from my teens and was finally diagnosed at the age of 24 (I was too embarrassed as a young women to get medical advice until I was that age, when I finally hit rock bottom and did something about it - one too many nasty comments from a total stranger on the street pushed me over the edge). I was referred to an endocrinologist straight away. He was very good but once they had excluded all the more serious possible diagnoses (such as Cushings) the only suggestion he had for me was prescribing the contraceptive Dianette. That didn't work out for me - I had an adverse reaction to it - and so I was left with cosmetic options instead. I also, on the advice of my specialist, worked really hard at losing weight and am still very good at eating well and exercising. That didn't reverse the problem but I'm sure it stopped it worsening. One of the cruel things about PCOS is that once the hair is there, it is there until it's removed by electrolysis or laser or whatever. Once those hairs have been stimulated to come through thicker and darker that's it until the follicles are treated.

When I went for electrolysis they said that occassionally they had people who were referred on the NHS but that it was very rare - they quoted the example of one girl who got it on the NHS who, coincidentally, was a GP's daughter. Hmmm. I suppose there may be people who do get Laser on the NHS, but I would be surprised if it's many given that it's hard enough for people to get fertility treatment on the NHS. Again, maybe others on the discussion pages of the Verity group can throw more light on this.

Cost wise, I must have totalled about £750 over my first year. Now I probably pay around £250 a year in maintenance treatments. Actually, my last lot was about £220 because of a discount.To be free of the problem that is, to me, a small cost for having my self esteem restored. But I do appreciate that it's a big outlay and not manageable or such a priority for everyone. The way being hairy made me feel, I'd have foregone holidays, chocloate and Chardonnay for ever to solve the problem - but, again, that's how badly it affected me.

When I first went to sk:n I remember remarking how costs had some down since I first looked into Laser treatment years ago - they said that they owned their laser machines outright which meant they could offer good rates, whereas other businesses sometimes had them on hire purchase which is why their costs were higher.

I can really appreciate that it's difficult to know if the manageress was genuine or a good saleswoman. I think it's really hard to know unless you go to a place on recommendation. Can you locate anyone else in your area via Verity who might be able to give more feedback on local IPL? When I first had electrolysis it was on recommendation of a lady who had been to that place and when I researched Laser treatment it was after reading an article in Verity's newsletter written by a lady who had treatment with an Alexandrite Laser who sounded like her colouring was very similar to mine. Even then I remember trawling through info on the web and finding out about the Healthcare Commission and finally going into that consultation armed with a hugh list of questions. And still, I felt I was leaping into the unknown!