At a loss!... Any suggestions?

I am a 33 year old woman, and for as long as I can remember, have had soft thin hair on my upper lip, which to be honest, never really bothered me much.

However, in my early 20’s, three very pesky and persistant “whisker” hairs decided to take up lodging on my chin… 2 on the left, 1 on the the right. Disposing of them, with Mom’s advice of tweezing them, I did dilegently every few days for years.

Eventually, every few days, became every few hours. I found myself holed up in the bathroom at work, feverishly doing plucking “touch ups” during my breaks, despite and a full hour of tweezing before leaving the house in the morning! Every part of my public day, was consumed by the hyper-self conscious state that a stray whisker might emerege and God forbid, someone would notice! This hair thing had taken its toll on me, and my self esteem… This hair thing had gone too far!

Now, some 10+ years later, those angry three hairs have managed to spawn themselves, reproducing at rates that would make even the friskiest of rabbits jeleous, - to such a degree that tweezing is no longer an option… I just couldnt tweeze fast enough!

For the last 5 years, my life has been ruled by the hair on my face. Preparing for social outings
meant an additional hour of “de-furring” aside from the usual primping, not to mention that this condition now hindered me with a curfew. I could only safely be “out and about” for 4-5 hours, before having to return home, to stare my nemesis in the mirror and pluck again!

I started waxing at home a year ago, with seemingly much success, initially leaving me hair free for a week if I was lucky. However, I am now waxing daily, and the hair seems to be getting progressively more stubborn, thicker, darker, and having over populated my chin, are now taking up root, sprouting suburbs down the full length of my the front of my neck!

I tried electrolysis briefly, 6 years ago, but found the treatments unsuccessful on 2 counts - during the 3 months that I went weekly, hair growth did not decrease, and in order to grow the hair long enough to actually work on, meant spending my weekends as a shut in, and missing 2 hours worth of work every Monday morning, in order to make the appts. worthwhile.

Additionally, over the years, I have sought the advise of 2 endocrinologists - one who poo-poo’ed me with the “there’s nothing wrong with you” schpeel, to which I agreed saying “Youre right! Guys go crazy over a girl with a full beard!”

And another who noted that I have low estrogen and high androgen levels, which result in symptoms similar to elavated testoterone, and prescribed birth control pills to which also rendered no effect… well, not unless you count acne!

The hair on my face is so thick and dark, and the rate of growth within a 24hr period is approx 1/8 inch! Its insane!

Although I have looked in to them extensively, I cannot afford laser treatments, at this time.

The bottom line… I’m getting married in Aug, and managed to keep my fiance in the dark about this dirty little secret of mine - until we bought a house together this past Nov. Despite his being very understanding, and supportive, I am, in a word: mortified!

Thinking forward, I’d like to be able to actually enjoy my honeymoon (and the rest of my life) free of this shame and preoccupation. What are prices per session running on average these days, and more importantly - what are the chances that I’d see results in the next few months if I tried electrolosys again? Are there perhaps other alternatives or suggestions you could offer?

Any ray of hope to my dark, dire strait would be much appreciated!

Fondest regards,and many thanks!

You are obviously an intelligent and articulate person, and like a lot of us, you are troubled by your excess hair. I think if you want to have one chance at permanent removal, look to electrolysis…

If you want to get as much as possible done in the period before your marriage, then you will have to schedule the time and budget for the treatments.

As has often been suggested here, you need to find someone who is competent and professional in their application of electrolysis techniques.

You will be able to discuss your treatment plan and hopes with them, and you should see significant results if you are committed to the time needed.

Start looking now for your electrolygist…

Good luck with the hair and on the big day… let us know how you get on…

Cheers,

David

[ April 24, 2003, 05:41 PM: Message edited by: IHH ]

River,

I can appreciate your concern, and how much your “problem” concerns you. I am a male electrologist, and as such feel that I can tell you first of all that your husband to be is not going to love you less if/when he finds out you have “feathers” on your chin. Now my suggestions:

  1. Find a good electrologist, and stick with her/him. This is not an overnight process, but it has taken some time for the quantity of hair on your chin to reach the stage it is in now as well. Expect it to take 3-6 months after your first complete clearing before you are entirely finished. This assuming that you have no adverse hormonal problems working here…and it sounds as though you do. The second Dr. told you what is probably causing your problem, he/she just stopped short of finding a solution…or you stopped short of going back to him.

  2. Stop tweezing or waxing immediately. I know this is going to cause you to catch your breath becuase you can’t let these be seen by the whole world. Alternatively, you can use depillatories, or best of all you can shave them. Tweezing causes all the problems that are normally associatd with shaving (more will grow, darker, stiffer etc), and shaving cause none of these problems. Shaving is cutting the hair with a razor and is no different than cutting your hair with scissors in a salon. Believe me…if shaving caused more hair to grow, I would have started shaving the top of my head long ago!

  3. Refer to my website www.ahairless.com and select the button “choose an electrologis” for info on what to look for when selecting an electrologist. Most importantly, you should not feel the probe being inserted (pin stick sensation) and the hair should slide out with no resistance if the follicle has been treated properly (no tweezing/pulling sensation). These two sensations will happen with all of us once in awhile, but should be rare during any one session.

  4. Relax, go easy on yourself, you are not your hair. Your fiance will accept you for who the real person is, the one he fell in love with. Start your treatments right away, since even if they have been caused by hormonal imbalance, they won’t go away by themselves by getting the hormones in balance. Immediate treatment will help make the area less densely populated, until new growth is stemmed by achieving balance.

Good luck & congratulations.
:wink:

I just wanted to say that it’s posts like Bert’s and David’s that make everyone here feel that this is truly a safe, accepting place. A place to get sympathetic, real answers to our concerns.

You guys are awesome!

David J.

The meds will not make the hair go away, but if you manage to bring your hormones to a balance, there will be no ‘new’ growth. If you don’t get them in balance, then as you treat some hairs, the hormons will recruit new ‘dormant’ hair follicles to grow new hair which wasn’t growing till now. The hormonal imbalance could cause a wide range of other problems (are your periods regular?), so better get it in order asap. If you are trying to concieve, they will have other meds for you. Taking care of your hormons is the first step in getting rid of the hair. The second step is finding a good electrologist (not as easy as it sounds). The third step is to follow a good treatment schedule.

In the meanwhile, I suggest you shave with a good razor and go for short electrolysis treatments for the thicker terminal hairs as they start growing out. This should keep you looking smooth untill you start your real electrolysis treatment.

I’m not a professional in any of these fields, but based on what I’ve researched thus far, it seems like a very reasonable plan of action.

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention. You can also use a bleach, so the hair will not be as visible for some time.

try straight thermolysis

It has been wonderful to see a thread like this, where neither Andrea, nor I have to post a thing, because the information has already been posted by others on the board. :grin:

The only thing I will add to all the wonderful information given here is that many people find bleaching to be unsatisfactory as it puffs up the treated hairs, making them thicker after bleaching. Do not mistake this information to be saying that bleadhing will make your hairs GROW thicker. That is not what I am trying to convey, rather that the hair will regrow normally in the absence of bleach, but every bleached hair will plump up from the process, and therefore be a thicker blonde hair than whatever natural color and state it would have normally existed.

PS Its great to have another member of The Electrology Super Friends active on the board Bert :wink: If you anyone is looking for someone in the Redding California area, you have to stop in and consult with Bert. For some clients, he may be the only practitioner in town providing the services they want, but of course, check out as many practitioners as you can anyway. This move usually serves to help you better appreciate the practitioner you choose much more than if you just went with the first person you find (even if you find the best person for you in that random fashion anyway).

[ May 01, 2003, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: James W. Walker VII, CPE ]