A First Time Nervous Client!

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi Everyone,

I have been reading these fantastic forums for a few days now and have decided to take the plunge!

I have a consultation this evening with a lady in Sydney who by the sounds of things (over the phone) is very experienced and did not mind answering my NUMEROUS questions.

I do have a question for everyone out there. I am half Chinese and find that my skin tends to scar (darken) very easily. Should this be a concern for me using this treatment?

I have an upper lip problem and I am thinking of getting my bikini line done.

Many thanks in advance.

#2

You must be very careful on who you pick to do the work. Your type of skin tends to pigment easily.

You may want to do consultation treatment samples on the area under the chin that is usually in shadow. Anything from the crease of the neck to the chin line should do nicely. It will test their skill, and if you do have any temporary pigmentation, you will need a mirror to see it.

As long as you don’t go on a date with Vern Troyer/Mini-Me any time soon, no one you go out with will ever notice it.

Good Luck

#3

Hey Electrobaby!

I’m from Sydney too and looking for an electrolysis. Where abouts is the one you went to and how did your treatment go?

#4

Thank you so much James. You are such a trooper on these forums! It’s fantastic!

Ok, my consultation went exceedingly well. She did do a sample run (before I read James’ response so it was on the outer corner of my upper lip!). However, I took my mother with me who was dead against me having the procedure done but after the consultation, was actually asking whether she should as well! By the way, I’m a 30 yo woman! And yes, my mother still thinks I’m 13 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

She used thermolysis (I hope that spelling is correct!) with a single use gold needle. She also has over 13 years experience and has her own very neat and clinical looking treatment room. It made me feel very safe.

The other thing which made me feel confident is that she has worked on many Asians (like myself) and she understood the pigmentation problem we generally suffer.

I will keep you updated on my treatment. Within a few weeks I will commence the bikini area as well.

Finally, I can see freedom ahead! No more carrying pots of wax and tweezers wherever I go! What a relief!

Cheers!!

#5

Hey Electrobaby!

I’m from Sydney too and looking for an electrolysis. Where abouts is the one you went to and how did your treatment go?

G’day Essess,

I just sent you a private msg with all the details. Will post in the recommendation section in a couple of weeks.

Hey, you would think that there would be more Aussies here with recommendations. The only one they seem to talk about is the clinic in Paddington. I did read on another forum about a lady called Angela in Hornsby so you may want to do a google search for her as well. If the postings are truthful, then she seems very good as well.

Just whatever you do, stay away from beauty salons that offer electrolysis as part of their myriad of services. Too many scary stories - a reason why I’ve waited all these years to finally get something done about my excess hair. I was too fearful something would go wrong. I think the government should start regulating these things as it’s playing with people’s emotional wellbeing should something go wrong. Scary.

Let me know how you go! And also, where abouts in SYD are you?

#6

I was nervous too at first, not anymore! Don’t worry, just think ahead to having nice smooth hairfree skin.

#7

I haven’t waxed or tweezed since my appointment last week and I am really feeling icky. I keep cutting/trimming but it does look embarrassing. I’m avoiding seeing anyone I know as no-one is aware of my problem (apart from a very few close friends). Not even my boyfriend knows! Luckily he’s overseas <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I just can’t wait for my next appointment this Saturday.

I will also book in for next week to have my bikini started on. She uses multi-needle galvanic. Is that ok? For the face however, she uses single needle thermolysis.

thanks!

#8

I’m so excited!

I had my first real appointment this morning on my upper lip. Most of the hair has gone and I’m feeling fine! The redness died down after an hour. I still have a tingly feeling but I think that’s just me because I’m aware of what I had done.

I can’t wait till my next appointment. It is so thrilling to think that I will never have to use my wax pot again (for my upper lip!) and that I can go on holidays, see my boyfriend etc and not have to worry about such an embarrassing problem.

There is light at the end of the tunnel!

#9

Hi Everyone,

This morning was my second appointment. Again, everything went smoothly.

Last week after I posted I did suffer several whiteheads which remained unsightly for a few days but by Wednesday had almost cleared. I have not suffered any scarring but just a little hyperpigmentation on the areas which had very tough hairs (which are all gone now!).

I am due to go back next week and also start work on my bikini line. I am thrilled!

My only regret is that I did not do this years ago. But as they say, there is no time like the present.

Cheers everyone!

#10

Electrobaby,
Congratulations!! And welcome to the club. I never bleached, waxed, or tweezed again after i started my electro and it was like being freed from jail…all that time i used to spend before going out trying to “deal” with my hair problem. Ugh! Your life is about to change profoundly, but you do have to keep at it.

About your whiteheads: They could be a sign of not keeping the area clean enough. What are you doing for your aftercare? I found that cleaning the area with witch hazel often for the first two days kept me whitehead-free. No soap or moisturizer. Only 100% aloe vera gel, and sometimes tea tree oil.

Best of luck!
Susie <----1 year of thermolysis on upper lip and chin. now down to a 15 min appt or less per week (from 1 hour once or twice a week)

p.s. I used to get hyperpigmentation on my chin just from tweezing any super tough hairs, so no surprise that electro did it to me too, and even darker. I had to get a good coverup for the area and used it there (and a little bit right under my nose) daily for MONTHS. Now that my electro appts are cut down so much, the hyperpigmentation has lightened significantly and I only need the coverup now and again. Just a heads up that you might want to get yourself some.

#11

hey susie and all. its been 4 months or more now that i have been doing thermolysis on my chin, side burns and chest bone. I feel real close to quiting! my side burns and chest do good. but the chin looks and feels like it is not improving! well at least not as good as the rest of my face. the hair seems to grow faster and it is still black. my mom looked at me today and she was like, “they are ripping you off! All that money, every week, and your chin still looks the same!” i feel hopeless and i know that electrolysis takes about a year. but you have been going at it for a year and you still go in every week!? do you really see an improvement in your chin thats worth continuing and spending that money every week? its becoming too much for me. anyway, i need some encouragement and i am going to talk to my electrologist today. i got an apointment today in couple of hours. anway, will post later. thanks.

-rachelle

#12

rachelle,

Does your electrologist do the blend? I typically can permanently destroy a lot of hair with thermolysis in the first hair growth cycle,but when faced with many new, dark,deep coarse and curvey hair follicles that can be the norm for chin hair in the second hair growth cycle,I will switch to a nice slow blend when that second growth cycle happens about at the 3-4 month mark. I love blend for those type of hairs and they are usually wiped out for good. By the third hair growth cycle (in 9-12 months),it’s nit-picking some scattered hairs and then you are done.

You are not being ripped off,but any impatience with the plan you have had in motion for 4 months, and stopping when you can turn the corner on your stubborn chin hair very soon, will leave you nowhere or ripped off in another way.

I was very happy with your statement about talking this over with your electrologist. Many need encouragement as we get to the halfway mark with electrolysis. You’re right to keep that one year mark in mind - DON’T LOSE SIGHT OF THAT. The body puts many obstacles in our path as we try to get rid of hair that the body is programed to repair and keep. Your best bet is to stick with this and if your electrologist is ammenable to the idea of using blend for those stubborn chin hairs, in my opinion, that would be in your interest now. Thermolysis will still work for you, but the blend will get you there a lot faster.

This is just my take on things after hearing what you said. Your situation reminds me of clients I see in my daily practice of electrolysis. I see a lot of chin hairs, that look more like wires than hairs,and this strategy works very well for me. These chin hairs can have unbelievable root structures that must be broken down gradually in order to protect the upper skin,so going through a couple hair growth cycles to gradually reduce these “oak trees” to mere saplings that can then be permanently destroyed when they are smaller, makes sense. I think this is what your electrolgist is trying to do. Even if she doesn’t use blend, a couple to several passes with thermolysis will get you there,rachelle.

If you had complained that you have been going regularly for over a year and you had these gross chin hairs with little improvement,then you would want to search for a new electrologist or be suspicious of a changing hormonal climate within your body that keep targeting hairs on your chin. Four months isn’t three hair growth cycles, so don’t panic and despair. You really should see the end to all of this by a year’s worth of consistent treatments so ALL hairs can be caught and killed when they are in the proper hair growth cycle. There is no other way to do this permanently.

Dee

#13

thanks so much dee. i just came back from my appointment and i did speak to my electrologist. she said that i was doing really well in the beginning and that then the hairs felt shoft, but now, they seem to be not as soft and more than before… she said that it was normal and said that it happens and that it is key for me to keep going with electrolosis. She does use thermolysis and next time i will ask her about blend. but in her room, i only saw one machine. i’ll still ask, or maybe go see another electrolysis that does blend. i wouldnt consider my chin hair wire like, but maybe finer than a man’s beard kind of hair. and its only on the chin area. everywhere else is fine baby hair. (thank god) and we do not work on those hairs with my electrolosis.

please see my updated post for more detail on today’s appointment.

thanks!

#14

but you have been going at it for a year and you still go in every week!? do you really see an improvement in your chin thats worth continuing and spending that money every week?

Hi Rachelle,
I used to tweeze before starting electro. The hairs on my chin, to borrow Dee’s description above, were like wires. I had to tweeze about every 2-3 days!! That’s how much chin hair I had.

When I started electro, we spent a FULL 30 minutes per session just on my chin alone. Today, we spend maybe 5 minutes. So do I see improvement? Hell, yeah! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

In my 15 min appts/week, we work on upper lip, chin, and other random body parts just to fill up the time. The upper lip is why I’m still doing weekly appts. If it was just my chin, I could go much less often.

You’re only at 4 months. I know it’s SUPER frustrating, but just think of this as your hair removal method for now. It has replaced whatever you did before and you really don’t want to go back to that, do you? Because that had no hope to ever change, but this method eventually will. So hang in there!
-susie <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

p.s. The improvements you see now may still be small. I remember reading a post early on from someone who said that around month 7 is when they really realized how dramatic their progress really was. I feel the same happened to me.

#15

Hello, just to put in my two cents as an electrologist client on some of these issues. First, the whiteheads. I used to get them a lot also. The tea tree oil didn’t do anything to stop them and neither did anything else. All the sudden, they stopped. I attributed it at the time to the fact that I had just started using aloe regularly. But now I only use witch hazel and neosporin and still don’t get them. What I was told was that areas that are very moist or oily tend to develop whiteheads (for me it was mostly upper lip and around my eyebrows). The electrolysis itself has dried my skin out considerably (in a good way) and I think over time it does that and then the whiteheads stop coming. If your skin remains oily, though maybe not.

As far as the chin and electrolysis. I have my whole face worked on but my chin was the WORST, so that is what I started with. When I started, it took an hour to clear it with blend. Sometimes there would still be a few hairs bcs there wasn’t enough time. I had been tweezing my brows, lip, and chin every other day for several years so the areas were pretty bad. I started out going 2-3 times a week and in two days, I would look as bad as the day I walked in. Now after four months, I still go for two appointments a week one hour each. The difference is, my chin is cleared in less than 5 minutes. Now in one appointment I get my chin, lip, brows, cheeks, and sideburns worked on. There are still some hairs on my lip and elsewhere that are more like peachfuzz so they aren’t getting concentrated on as much as the rest. Also, if I wait a week for an appointment, there are some hairs on my chin that are visible. But now, they are fine and brown. Rarely are they coarse and black like before. Also, after a week I would say there is 25% of what used to be there 2 days after I had plucked it.
The point is, I see definite improvement. I think it might take me more like two years to be done completely with it because of all the plucking though. But now I have no acne, no ingrown hairs, and the scars from the plucking and acne are fading fast. I keep up with my appointments though, twice a week every week. and I never pluck or wax or anything in between.
Good luck you guys!

#16

Thank you to everyone for your input!

I have one question that I hope you can answer.

When I have had my electrolysis session and come home, what should I do? Do I wash my face straight away and then use the witch hazel? And then put on aloe vera? Or do I wait as the witch hazel has alcohol in it.

I am very scared of scarring and with these whiteheads, I’m getting a lot of hyperpigmentation and as Suzie said, I need to keep the area very clean.

Your input, as always, would be truly appreciated!

Thank you!!

#17

Hi Everyone,

I just got back from my third session on my upper lip. It went very well and I’ve noticed a HUGE difference since my first treatment just two weeks ago. I can’t see any noticable hair now - just some very fine ones. I’m amazed.

I have also had my bikini treated. The area has been fully cleared (WOW!) but I have to say that I found the procedure more painful than my upper lip.

I have another one hour session next week - 15 min on my upper lip and the rest for the back of the thighs. I’ve become an addict already!

Once my thighs are fully done, I will then start on my underarms. I’m putting them off as I’m scared of the pain!

My bikini line is looking red and sore (though there is no pain). As my electrologist used galvanic for the bikini area, I now have to wait for the scabbing (oh dear…).

Anyway, just thought I would keep you all updated.

If anyone is reading this and wondering if electrolysis is the way to go, then I must tell you - IT IS! Sorry to sound so excitable, but truly, the thought of not having to spend X amount of dollars on waxing treatments, having to hide between waxing/shaving etc and the dreaded ingrowns and scarring associated makes me one excited woman! Do your research and find someone who is professional in every sense & you can’t go wrong.

From a VERY HAPPY electrolysis client!

Electrobaby

#18

We are glad that you are now a Happy Baby <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />