14 months of treatments, unsure of progress

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello all -

I’ve been seeing the same electrologist once a week for 14 months, each treatment is an hour (sometimes 1 1/2 hours). She has been working on black, course hair on my chin, upper lip, and cheeks. I am a female, and this is extremely excessive hair where a man would normally have hair. There is definite reduction, I am certain of that. One morning, 10 months into treatment, I woke up and had barely any hair on my face - I couldn’t see any in the mirror and could feel just the smallest amount when I ran my hand over my face. This was huge. My electrologist was impressed too. She said she hadn’t expected to see this kind of progress for several more months.

About a month or so later, I had a bunch more hair on my face. And it got worse and worse. My electrologist said it was probably due to stress (I was selling my house and preparing to move several states away at the time). I started going twice a week. It got better but never back to where it was at that 10 month mark. The only thing that has held steady from that time is that when I first started seeing her she only needed one day of growth to treat the hairs but when things got better she started needing 2 days and that stayed the same. Sitting here right now, I would estimate I have 50% less hair on my face than I did when I started.

Now I have moved to a different state so I’m faced with finding a new electrologist. It’s been 4 weeks since my last session and my face isn’t feeling as smooth as it was before - I don’t know if that is normal or not.

What I’d like to know is if what I’ve described sounds within the range of normal. I’ve spent a ton of money on this and expect that I’ve still got a good amount more to spend which I don’t mind, as long as I feel like there’s an end in sight. I’m also starting to wonder if I should consider switching to laser because my hair is dark and course and I am very light skinned. Electrolysis seems to be really hard on my skin, basically my skin has looked horrible ever since I started.

Thanks -

#2

It is hard to give you a definite answer because the skill factor varies from electrologist to electrologist. I don’t know if you have a medical problem that is causing hair to grow. Are you getting cleared of all bothersome hair at each appointment? How much hair did you start with? Did you tweeze or wax while you were having electrolysis? It could be stress related, but how do we know that for sure? What medications are you taking? You see, your progress or lack of progress is intertwined with so many variables. This is hard for some people and for others, big changes for the better are observed at the six to nine month period. Others may need two years worth of treatment. I can tell you the norms for my practice, but that does you no good because you won’t be able to duplicate what I offer because we all have different skills, equipment and strategies.

Ask your new electrologist what she thinks. Get several consults if you can. You will be surprised at the differences you encounter.

#3

GoneBatty,

In my opinion, one of the reasons why it is so hard on your skin is because 1 and half hour every week or twice a week on face seems rough. Every electrologist I’ve gone to refuses to work on the same area of face more than once a week, and my current one only 15 min on upper lip. That may be one of the reason your skin has looked bad? I agree, try a few consults and see how you feel.

#4

Many electrologists now, with the right MODERN set up and SKILL, routinely work on faces for several hours at a time. I routinely clear upper lips and I am working beyond 15 minutes. I don’t work on the same area less than seven days apart, but honestly, I don’t have to because one is usually cleared in one long session and then we see each other on an every 4-6 week basis after that. Rarely am I seeing the same person once a week . If I can’t get a first clearance in one long session, then I may have to see them once a week for two or three weeks until I do get a first, full clearance. Again, this is about strategy, skill and how we use the tools we like and thus, this underscores why you should check out different electrologists. We do not offer the same kind of treatment speed, sensation and skin outcomes. Those can all be very different, but we all do deliver permanent hair removal in the end.

#5

I would agree that 1 1/2 hour sessions once or twice a week seems like a lot. However, I have so much hair on my face that she really could work that long and never spend too much time in any one spot. Also, my face looked better later in treatment when I was doing twice a week than it did in the beginning when I was only seeing her once a week.

I understand there are a lot of variables, I will get plenty of consults and talk to each electrologist. But no, I did not wax or tweeze once I started treatment and I don’t have any medical conditions or take any medications that would cause the hair. I also did not usually get anything close to a clearance on any area. A few times, towards the end, she would clear maybe 95% of one area (like my chin) but it didn’t stay that clear for more than a few days.

#6

Dee, what do you consider to be a “long session”?

#7

I’ve realized that witch hazel with aloe helps heal my face heal the quickest. I even skip moisturizer on my upper lip the first 2 days after treatment. I’ve used neosporin as well…take a look at the products you are using after electrolysis and see what works for you. Finding the right electrologist can be very difficult, hope you find the right one!

#8

Thank you Fantasytravel -

I actually took all of the products I used on my face into my electrologists office so she could go through them and tell me if I should stop using any of them! The good news is that in taking a 4 week break, my skin has healed up pretty well. I have a few spots on my face where there isn’t any hair at all anymore (really small spots like a dime sized spot here and there) and in those places, my skin looks great. So I guess I shouldn’t get too worked up about the condition of my skin during treatment. :slight_smile:

#9

long gone too! 6 years ago…