4 years of electrolysis, hair is still not gone :(

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi everyone,

To make it short, I’ve been getting electrolysis on my chin for 4 years with a number of different techniques and technicians and I still have about 11 thick black hairs on my chin (pretty much the same number I started with).

For the first year I would go every week, then every 2 weeks, and now 4 years later, I still see the hair growth coming back after about 2 weeks. I’ve also have electrolysis on my upper lip and I’ve had great results and haven’t had to have any further clearances for 2 years, but my chin hair still prevails and it’s driving me crazy.

Does anyone know what more I can do in order to prevent this? I’m losing my mind :frowning:

#2

Bumping the post

#3

Maybe nobody responded, because your post makes no sense. You say you started with 11 hairs on your chin and "for the first year [you] would go every week … "

Well, you can’t go every week and treat “the same” 11 hairs. Even if you just tweezed them out they would take several weeks to regrow. Sorry, it doesn’t add up.

#4

And a client finds out what information to convey as part of their question , how exactly Michael? It sounds like a lot of information is actually provided here,more than from most questions we get here? That said, I don’t understand the logic behind "bumping " a post, 12 minutes after the original post when nothiing else had been asked or answered on the board? I cant speak for others but I took the last 3 days off (Gosh I never do that!) and so I was staying away from hairtell. It can take some tme for people to read and understand your question, instant gratification doesnt really work here. I think we forgot to pay the “instant gratification” bill.

As for the original question, the only possibility I see here, is ineffective treatment. Regardless of whether it’s 10 chin hairs or 1000, a year of weekly treatments that clear all the bothersome hairs effectively, should be more than enough to kill most of the hair. I think there’s either something wrong with the machine your electrologist is using, or they are treating with insufficient energy to disable the follicle.There’s also the possibility these arent the same hairs at all, and there is a hormonal problem stimulating hair follicles to generate hair.Any PCOS or thyroid issues?

Try going to another electrologist and if there might be a hormonal issue seek medical advice to correct it.

Seana

#5

Be honest - have you done anything that pulls out the hair while having electrolysis (tweezing, waxing, threading, pulling with your fingers?

Did you feel any tugging on your chin hairs after they were treated?

Did you receive electrolysis with a probe being introduced into the hair follicle? Did you feel any sensation?

If you left an appointment with no hair on your chin, then returned one week later, it could not be the same hair that was removed the week before, unless the hair broke off just slightly under the skin, for which, you were not receiving electrolysis.

There are a lot of factors that goes into having a hair treated properly whether you go every week or every six weeks. Going every week means little without knowing the answers to some very important questions.

1 Like
#6

Nicely stated Dee Dee (as always). Frankly, my post was a set-up for YOU and your statements are 100% (“Good cop, bad cop.”)

Putting on my “ass hat” for a minute, I think the original post is BS! As you say, it’s IMPOSSIBLE for the same freakin’ hair to regrow week-after-week.

(And, I very much like your “Be Honest” introduction. 'Cause I’m not buying it … so far!)

1 Like
#7

Thanks, Michael.

I’m super smug. I know the outcome two seconds after I lay eyes on a new client. Electrolysis works beautifully well every time it is performed correctly, with a compliant client.

#8

Well perhaps I was a little rough on you Michael. The “ass hat” suits you so well though! But this is an old story here on hairtell , someone posts, and we slowly get the information out of them. That’s not really possible to accomplish,if the consumer goes on the defensive because one of the professionals here states they dont believe them. I agree there is useful information missing from this picture, it’s how we go about getting the right information, because most electrologists DONT convey all the information needed or relavent to the issue , how the heck does the consumer know what to provide?

#9

Yeah, I just thought I’d beat you to the punch with the name-calling and just get it over with.

#10

A client that has been undergoing electrolysis (different modalities and multiple therapists) for 4-years, is not tabula rassa on the subject. She has had to have MANY conversations, with multiple people, about “what’s going ‘wrong’.” I can’t believe she has no clue about this atypical situation.

There are, of course, some clients (very few) that refuse to listen to any explanation and continue to say … after months/years of treatment … “ALL the hairs keep coming back!” But, as you say, there’s more to this story and I’m sure we are “all ears.” (At least I am: “all ears” that is.)

#11

Hi there,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Sorry about bumping the post, I’m use to reddit and because of the number of posts, bumping is one of the only ways to get people to read your post.
Here is some more information about me:
I had laser prior to electrolysis, so I understand some of the regrowth may be stimulated from the laser.

I visited a gynaecologist regarding pcos and she dismissed my concerns and told me because I don’t have weight gain and irregular periods my hair growth is "probably’ because I’m of middle eastern descent.

I’ve booked a blood test with a hormone specialist next Wednesday but I figured I would make a post here to get a variety of opinions as to the steps I can take. Regardless of whether or not the gyno "thinks’ I may not have a hormonal imbalance, I still want to be sure.

Ive looked into electrologistthat are further away from me but have excellent reviews and I will start from square one and visit multiple electrologists until I find one that follows some of the guidelines on this forum. :slight_smile: let me know if you need any more information!

#12

Hi there,
By saying "11’ hairs I meant that there is roughly the same amount of regrowth, not the same hairs. When I first started, the hairs were close together (clustered) where as now, they’re scattered around my lower chin, so I understand these may not be the same hairs. As for it taking "weeks’ to grow after plucking, I think it depends on each individuals hair growth cycle. Since I’m middle eastern and my mom had the same issue with hair growth at my age, my hair grows faster and thicker than the average person (e.g if I wax my eyebrows, 3 days later I can see hair growth beginning and within a week it’s long enough to be waxed again.

I hope I was able to provide you with enough information

#13

Hi there,
Thank you for your kind response and interest with my case, I very much appreciate it! Since I’ve started electrolysis I’ve only trimmed the hair with scissors, no form of hair removal has been used.

That being said, when receiving my electrolysis treatments, I have noticed some tugging or resistance. Usually the electrologist zaps the hair again when she notices resistance but I still feel the pulling afterwords, she told me that this is because my hair is "tough’ or the root is too thick.

#14

I don’t think it’s the same hair growing every week, and I never stated that. Instead I wasn’t implying that I believe this to be NEW growth.

#15

To be honest it was rather harsh to read your message as a woman that feels vulnerable about hair growth that makes people visibly uncomfortable when they come near my face. I understand you’re trying to gather more information but simply asking for clarification would have gotten you the information you needed.

Regards

#16

Awesome … well done! Now we’ve got some good specifics.

After I light a few more firecrackers I’ll get onto your post, because now it’s interesting. (Independence Day and all that stuff.)

#17

In your initial post, you stated that you have about the same amount of hair you had when you started (11 or so); and treatments for 4-years with no results … on your chin. Nicely, you upgraded that to noticing the hairs were close together at first and are now scattered … but are dealing with the remaining hairs. So, you had success after all!

I won’t chide you, but at first you were giving us “the business” LOL … I’ve heard it a LOT over the years: “I had electrolysis for 10-years and the SAME HAIRS keep coming back!” To me, that’s “The Business!” I’m happy to see there’s actually more to your story … much more indeed. (How did I know that? Been in the business too long.)

So, what would I tell a client who is having your experience? (And, that was the crux of your question.) Here goes:

Some women continue to develop and grow new hairs for many years. Sometimes for the rest of their lives, they pump-out a hair or two, now and then. Dee will address this question, but sadly, this is the reality of what you’re facing.

I usually tell my “hair growing” women that if we can reduce your treatments to one or two short sessions per year; that’s about as good as it gets. Again, I’m turning this topic over to my very well-informed colleague Dee who specializes in cases like yours.

#18

I think I can add a few things here.
First, your doctor is likely correct. I get a LOT of clients of indian/pakistani/middle eastern descent. They seem to get a lot laser hair stimulation, and hair that does grow contrasts quite significantly with your skin tone and are quickly noticed.
If you had done laser before, one key thing to remember is that laser often puts hair follicles into a dormant state and they return months to years later. My personal experience was I still get bits of regrowth from laser I did 5-6 years ago. I just kill it and carry on. And yes, the scattering of the hairs does indicate they arent the same hairs. So, given the described skin history I think it likely these could be hairs that were dormant for some time after laser.I cant really tell you how long after laser this might continue to happen, maybe a laser expert might be able too tell you.
With your skin type, paradoxal laser hair stimulation is a genuine risk. It doesnt sound likely in your case however, because it usually stimulates ALL the hair to coursen, not just a few scattered ones. So with this reasoning it’s likely that these are not laser stimulated hairs, but hairs you thought laser had killed and really werent.
The answer as to what to do about it,is do what you have been doing. Continue to remove the hair with electrolysis.Eventually it will taper off completely.

You state that you hadnt been plucking, however, waxing as described is the same as plucking. This can/Does cause random hairs to become courser and also waxing during treatment is an absolute nono. If you had been waxing in the 3-4 months prior to commencing electrolysis you will have built up a number of coursened hairs into regular cycles of growth. It can take much longer to remove all the hair as a result, because you dont even get started on some of the hairs till several months down the line. This can/will extend the amount of time over which you must do electrolysis. Anything which affects the hair cycles of growth or prevents you from treating ALL the hair that is bothersome will extend the time over which electrolysis must be performed. Bottom line is, if the hair isnt there, we cant treat it.

Seana

#19

I see many Indian/Pakistani women. The one thing they have in common by the time they come and see me is, they have had laser. Hair was stimulated. I am pretty sure that hair growth cycles have been thrown in array, so I can’t do my usual predicting because there is now too much uncertainty now.

You just got to go in on a good schedule and clear areas over and over again until you run out of active hair follicles. That translates into 12-18 months of treatments.

This type of hair can be tough to release. The electrologist needs to play with her recipes for timing and intensity. Many of my Indian / Pakistani women get pinpoint scabs and many of them freak out about this TEMPORARY side effect. It’s okay. Sometimes it can’t be helped no matter what one does. They heal in one or two weeks.

#20

Good job Dee Dee. Good job Seana.

Does the poster need to find a better electrologist? Probably not. In fact, searching for the quick miracle cure usually delays the progress.

There is no magic to electrolysis and even fewer wizards. It’s just the work.

Sometimes those attracted to laser are looking for a (fast) miracle. After the failures (often trying many different lasers), they still search for the fast-fix and go to numerous electrologists, get disappointed, and keep searching for the pot at the end of the rainbow.

No pots, no rainbows, just “stick to it” and do the work.