Laser hair reduction for folliculitis
I have suffered for many years with severe folliculitis – where the hair follicles become infected and sore. It had become increasingly painful so I started to look into hair removal treatments.
Initially I rang another private clinic in Brentwood that had a ‘pain free’ laser, but due to an underlying medical condition (separate to the folliculitis) they weren’t prepared to treat me.
When I saw that The Hartswood had started offering laser hair reduction I decided to book a free consultation. I had been to the hospital before (for surgery and physio) and trusted them.
My consultation was with the Clinical Lead Aesthetic Nurse, Nikki, who made me feel very at ease and let me ask lots of questions. We discussed why I wanted the treatment and what areas were to be treated. Due to my medical history, Nikki had to liaise with other medical practitioners to ensure it was safe to treat me. She went out of her way to get advice from consultants on site and from my own GP and thankfully all agreed that I could go ahead.
I also found out that The Hartswood use a monochromatic (single-colour) laser, which can produce better results than IPL (intense pulsed light),
I decided straight away to book a course of treatments, which started in July 2013. I will have 8 sessions in total and am only half way through but it has already made a real difference. I have not had a single case of folliculitis since starting the treatment and I also have the confidence now to wear a swim suit on holiday.
My recovery after each treatment has been very quick and almost pain-free. I’ve had some sensitivity on the area treated but nothing that couldn’t be soothed with some Aloe Vera gel and an ice pack.
Overall, I’ve received very good care from everyone at The Hartswood and would recommend it to anyone. I am so pleased with the results even after four sessions - it is well worth the money. I wish I had gone to The Hartswood earlier, instead of living with Folliculitis for so long.
The expert's view, by Clinical Lead Aesthetic Nurse, Nikki Cambo
A patient’s consultation is the first step into finding out about how their treatment will be planned. It’s a sort of fact finding mission to enable a tailored experience. At Michelle’s consultation she informed me of her medical background and there were a few parts of it that would have meant that normally she would not have been able to have treatment.At Spire Hartswood because we have a multi-disciplinary team at our disposal I was able to liaise with consultants based here and discuss how we could move forward with treatment. We were also able to get in touch with Michelle’s current consultant externally and take on recommendations and updates he had about her medical conditions.
Because you are coming to a hospital rather than a salon patients will find we as registered health care professional be it doctors or nurses have in depth knowledge and have resources available so that each practitioner is able to go the extra mile and provide the medical aspect of this treatment as well as the aesthetic and cosmetic component