We have been very happy with our Lumenis LightSheer XC lasers for many years now and are seriously contemplating purchasing the Lumenis Duet to bring on board. We have been practicing with the Duet on the staff but would like feedback from anyone who owns this equipment. We are leary on how low joules will be effective on the lighter and finer hair. As well as the efficacy overall. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Katie,

I think that you would be underwhelmed like most from the lack of fluence with the Duet. It is a great idea/concept. But if you have lighter finer hairs. It just wont work well. If you like Diode. Look at Palomar Vectus or Lutronic Advantage platforms. Both Diodes: both fast.

We are in the same boat. Beginning to look at new lasers to upgrade. We have been extremely happy with the results we get with our Lightsheer XC but have had issues over the years with continually needing it under warranty because the diodes go out. We worry how low the joules are on the Duet as well, and it seems very slow compared to other lasers out there due to the suction motion. We are demoing the Cynosure Vectus, Asclepion Mediostar NeXT, and the Lutronic Advantage. They are all diode lasers which is important to us and I believe all have higher energy capabilities. Have not had too much time to research yet but I will let you know how it goes after our demos. Have you looked at any of the 3 I mentioned?

We also need to find a new laser. We love the Lumenis and the results from the diode laser but we are still unsure about the duet because of the low energy...

We looked at the Cynosures elite MPX laser that has a yag and Alex. It was ok.. But had huge consumables, my friend's clinic was always replacing the lamps, they were replacing the lamps every 2 months and they had to do the lamp change on site during business hours, this took 3-5 hours depending if it was both lamps or just one. Its also not a diode..I have not looked at their diode laser yet.

All I have to say is the market of selling lasers now is all about consumables, warranties (that come at different levels.. Bronze,silver and gold) Then you have your service agreement. Be sure to know all theses numbers for the next 3-5 years when buying from any of theses laser companies. Make sure your service agreement/warranty covers some of the consumables per year...

You could not be more right! We have specifically been looking only at lasers that have little to no consumables. The Duet has the disposable tips which knocked it right off our list besides the low energy capabilities. The Cynosure Vectus so far seems really nice and easy to use. Also it has a skintel reader which helps you choose settings which would be great when training or getting new employees started. They are bringing it back and letting us keep it a day to try out on some patients. They let us try it out on ourselves but we have all worked there for almost 9 years and really don't have any hair left to treat. LOL! Makes it hard to see if you get the desired results working on hairless people. Aslepion comes tomorrow and hopefully Lutronic in the next few weeks. The price points on these seem all over the board also. So far everyone says the initial warranty is only 1 year. Wonder if that is something you could negotiate in the initial purchase, a longer warranty? The 3 we are looking at seem to have similar cost and coverage to continue with the warranty after.

We've had the Lightsheer Duet for over 3 years now and have had consistently good results. We use it on all skin types with the exception of very dark 5's and 6's. We love it and the patients love it. We have had technical problems, though, and had to replace the larger handpiece after only 2 years for a cost of almost $15,000. Our advice: make sure you keep up the service contracts!!!

Vectus is actually a Palomar system and they have had some issues with the large hand piece. I tried all three and for the price point/performance, the Lutronic Advantage is hard to beat. Not sure however on using Diode on dark 5's and 6's but we do have a YAG

I was involved with the development of the Duet and have been working with original and upgraded models since 2006, and I love my device (you can find my name in the brochures and in their videos. Disclaimer: I no longer work with Lumenis). The results are excellent and comparable to the ET but the tips are costly and it is expensive to maintain. The warranty Lumenis offers is ridiculously expensive and I would confirm you service fees and cost of tips prior to purchase. Since you already have lasers, they may take a trade but you will get more money if you sell it to a laser trader. It is a wonderful device if you can afford the upkeep.

I have used the Duet since 2010 and LOVE it. To deal with the consumable, we give each patient their own insert and clean it and store it between uses.

I've not had an issue with the low joules, but I am pretty heavy handed and tend to turn it up on everyone (never had an issue with burns at all). Very effective treatment.

Agree about the expense of the warranty too. And Lumenis is awful at customer service, at least in my experience.

Was just looking around for others who may have had problems with their Vectus handpieces and found this thread. We have been using Palomar/Cynosure's Vectus since Oct 2012. Since then the handpiece had to be replaced after 8 months (thankfully it was still under warranty) and then again after 14 months. This time, no warranty so, $9000 down the drain. I am considering selling this machine if I am going to have to spend $9000 approximately every year to replace their unreliable handpiece. (Their service plan is ridiculously expensive and I don't want to buy into it but may...) I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience?
Thanks!