Bikini line electrolysis, wondering if my progress is normal

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello!

I started electrolysis a year ago and I’m at 36 hours so far for my bikini line/inner thighs, over the course of 22 appointments. I don’t know how many full clears there have been since we almost never actually fully clear it. I feel like I don’t see a difference yet even in the areas she always gets to zap and I’m wondering if that’s unusual. I foolishly didn’t take any pictures before starting the process, so I can’t actually do a side by side comparison.

I often feel pain when the hair is pulled out, but I’ve read that they should come out easily without pain if it’s working, is that the case? I am trying to hydrate, yesterday I drank probably 80-90 ounces which is a lot for me, I’m also very sedentary and am basically sitting inside all day. I didn’t feel any pain at all from the zapping but the hair coming out part still hurt. I also take ibuprophen an hour beforehand and apply lots of lidocaine cream 30 minutes beforehand and cover it up with plastic wrap until I get to my appointment.

I’ve mentioned the pain before and my technician says that it’s normal to still feel something and that she promises she isn’t just plucking hairs out. I’ve also asked several times if it’s working and she says it is, so I don’t know if it’s just me being paranoid.

I’m frequently getting ingrown hairs as well, is that normal?

This has been my first experience with electrolysis. Before I exclusively shaved my bikini line, never waxed or epilated it. I am pretty furry though, I have to shave or it’s visible since it goes down my thighs quite a bit. To my knowledge though I don’t have PCOS or anything that.

Thank you!

#2

hi fuwafuwa…

since there is no“before“ pic is there any pic after the treatment?

i had 2-3 appointments getting my inner thighs done, had ingrowns afterwards, it hurt like hell and of course zero success.

:roll_eyes:

#3

If you feel tweezing, the hair follicle is not completely “cooked” (disabled).

It does hurt in these areas, so numbing creams may help take off the edge.

If you have coarse, dense dark hair on lighter skin, go for some laser treatments first and then finish up the hairs that laser can’t “see” with electrolysis.

Ingrowns happen because the hairs were not treated sufficiently. They must slide. No need to guess which hairs are in the growing cycle and which hairs are not. Treat all follicles that have a hair peaking out.

1 Like
#4

Thank you for the reply!

For almost every hair I feel a pain when it’s removed :frowning: it’s not always enough to go “ow” but I’d definitely describe it as pain rather than discomfort. If I’m not feeling pain when the hair is zapped, but I do feel when it’s pulled out then that means it’s not being fully cooked? You said it does hurt in these areas and I’m not sure if you mean when just the hair is zapped or when the hair is pulled out.

If the hair isn’t fully disabled, does that mean the hair will grow back? And would the cause of that be due to the intensity setting not being high enough, me not be hydrated enough, or the technician not doing it properly? I’m not sure where the problem lies or how to figure that out.

Also, not every hair comes back ingrown but I’d say there’s usually 15+ per side each time. Is a certain number of ingrowns expected or is any amount concerning?

#5

Too slow Seana! Mike and Dee beat you to it! I of course agree with everything Mike And Dee have said. If the hair is not releasing causing discomfort that hair is dead. Yes not killing hairs is the equivenlent of a “pluck” which has been known to cause ingrown hairs for decades
Waxing and plucking can also cause this issue, but if you didnt have these before, well, then you know your cause.
Hairs that have been properly destroyed should slide out like they are lubricated and not cause pain on extraction, tenting of the skin, or provide resistance to their removal . It may be that your electrologist is unaware that her machine is underperforming, but that is just a guess ( having replaced my HD probeholder on my Xcell yesterday after under 30 days of use, for about the trillionth time ).

#6

“I am trying to hydrate, yesterday I drank probably 80-90 ounces which is a lot for me.” The “drink lots of water” directive is total … near insane … nonsense. Drinking Water and Electrology - YouTube

You should not feel the hair being plucked out.

At 36-hours and 22 appointments and a “year or so ago,” you should be virtually finished.

Ingrown hairs are a hallmark of hairs that were insufficiently treated (and then grow back under the shin).

You may be getting an expensive “tweeze job?”

1 Like
#7

Thanks for the replies everyone. It sounds like you were right and I was getting a tweeze job :frowning: turns out the cable was broken for the previous session which is why I didn’t feel zapping at all. When they replaced the cable I still felt pain with the hair being pulled out and when they checked the hairs they didn’t have a sheathe, so I think the past year has probably been a total bust.

They increased the power to 8/10 and went slower and that seemed to work most of the time, but maybe 25% of the time it would still hurt being pulled out so I’m not sure. They said that if the sheathe isn’t coming out, it’s due to dehydration. I don’t think I’m very dehydrated though, I’m trying to drink a lot and when I do the back of the hand pinch test my skin goes back to normal immediately. Is there anything else that can cause the sheathes to not come out?

I usually take a bath before electrolysis to make sure I’m not gross and sweaty, could being in hot water shortly beforehand cause any problems?

Thank you again for the replies!

#8

sorry to say … that is total nonsense!

#9

I would not return to this practitioner. I’m sorry but if they literally couldn’t tell their equipment was broken for that many days that is horrific.

I’m an electrologist and I’d be so embarrassed to not have caught an equipment malfunction like that for SO long. Equipment breaks but they should know if power isn’t being delivered to the follicle.

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#10

Worse still, it appears they may have switched to another, possibly also broken probeholder. These Apilus machines have really crappy wires, but unfortunately the only thing you can do is buy another probeholder wire. Re-using other ( potentially also broken) probeholders wont do.
I’d let the electrologist know to buy some more of these probeholders from dectro, but I would not be inclined to go back.