Hi I’m new here and I’ve been reading lots of the posts with great interest. I’ve been having Laser Treamtent on my chin area to remove a few black hairs with some good results. I wanted to move to having Electrolysis in order to remove the fair hair that is carpeting the rest of my chin. I’ve heard that this process doesn’t work for everyone, and my main worry is that if it doesn’t work for me, will the hairs grow back as before or thicker?
Many thanks from a worrier!
Electrolysis works for everyone, but the trick is to find a good technician. See info on www.hairfacts.com to help you with that, and get as many sample treatments in your area as possible.
Depending on a few factors, a hair treated with electrolysis may grow back. However, if it does, it will grow in thinner, lighter and more susceptable to the next treatment.
In fact, there are recent studies that show that laser can cause more hair growth. I have seen it myself, and I’ve heard from people that know someone to whom it happened too. And now this fenomenon is supported by a scientific study. Laser is also not permanent according to the FDA, while electrolysis is certified permanent. Again, the trick is to find a competent electrologist to do the job, a task that is way harder than the way it sounds.
Good luck!
No question, electroloysis is for everyone and should be permanent when done one time. I use the blend in my office and do not get any fine hairs as regrowth.
Hi yb.
What scientific studies are you referring to?
Author, Date, Title, etc.???
Please cite for all to see and read.
Sure! Here’s where you can find that article:
Skin & Allergy News, The Leading Independent Newspaper for Dermatologists (June 2003 - Volume 34 - Number 6)
Article is called “Laser Hair Removal May Backfire, It Can Stimulate New Hair Growth”. By F. Kirn, Sacramento Bureau.
Luckily, the magazine is available online, and the registration is FREE! So here it is:
http://www2.eskinandallergynews.com/
(Click on ‘back issues’, choose issue and click on the article name.)
Enjoy!
Thanks yb for the information. I have located the article.
It makes some sense to me because we know that hair can be stimulated by friction, long term exposure to sun and there are a few other’s that I can’t recall without referring to Hinkle and other texts. Friction produced by wearing a cast for 6 weeks, leaves one with a big surprise when the cast is removed…lots and lots of hair. The follicles were stimulated by the cast to protect and cushion the skin from the cast. Some construction workers develop long hair on the tips of their nose. Again, the body’s response is to produce the hair to protect the skin from repeated sunburning. So it may be possible for repeated lasering to stimulate the follicles each time it is traumatized.
Will keep my eye open for other studies, so I’m thouroughly convinved.
Thanks again.
</font><blockquote><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>quote:</font><hr /><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>Originally posted by hairsgone:
<strong>No question, electroloysis is for everyone and should be permanent when done one time. I use the blend in my office and do not get any fine hairs as regrowth.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>If this is true, then I’ve been wasting money for the last year and a half. I’ve had hairs cleared on my chin, upper-lip, and eyebrows from the very first appointment, and every one there after. But I’m only about halfway done. So I should have been done about a year and a half ago?
Kitties, she meant to say “one time on each hair”. It is not false that a hair treated once will never grow back. Some do and some don’t. It depends on a bunch of factors.
Even in your case, I can’t tell if you could have been finished sooner. While there is no question that electrolysis works, it still remains very much practitioner dependent. Unfortunately. 
Thanks yb.
Question: Does this mean I may never be done, if new hairs can keep coming up? -And- Does this mean that removing the hair is causing new ones to grow?? I’m starting to feel like there’s no end in sight! I think I may try a new technician, unfortunatley.
If you have no new hairs that come up, you still have more “old” hairs than you probably think. All hair goes through 3 stages of growth. During the last “shedding” stage, the old hair is shed and not visible on the surface. However, the follicl that it grows from still remains an active follicle which will produce another hair in it’s place. On the chin, the cycle usually takes around three months. This means that if you had PROPER and TIMELY treatment during this time, than almost all of the hairs were treated.
So why in the world would it take longer than 3 months???!
Well, there are many factors which are responsible for this.
The hair is most susceptable to treatment during the early fist stage (anagen) of growth. Later the hair papilla becomes stronger and harder to kill. Moreover, a percentage of the hair is in transition and shedding phases. It means that the hair isn’t growing at the time and is disattached from the papilla. The papilla could be hiding deeper in the skin, and there is less moisture, which is needed for electrolysis to work. This is why it is advisable to shave the area a few days before treatment to make sure that all the hairs that would grow out to be treated are anagen.
Extra coarse hair or deformed follicle can limit the effects of treatment. Especially if you’ve been plucking before, you may have a lot of deformed follicles. Still, after a few good treatments ALL hair will be gone forever and, in most cases, you should be done in about a year.
Incompetent practitioner is among other possible causes. Unfortunately, this would include most practitioners out there. That’s why as James’s mantra goes: get as many consultations and sample treatments as you can! As a general rule, you shouldn’t feel that the hairs are being plucked. Ideally, you shouldn’t feel them come out at all, but a little tug is sometimes not avoidable.
All this goes if you don’t have your hormones stimulate more hair growth as a result of pregnancy, menapause, puberty, aging, medical condition, etc.
Hi yb,
Thankyou very much for taking the time to explain all of that, I’m sure you’ve had to do it before a few times!
I think I will still try someone else. I really feel that by this point I should be much further than I am. Also, it does feel like plucking most of the time. I’m just baffeled as to why my Dr. goes to her?!
It’s always a good decision to try someone else. In the worst case you’ll end up appreciating your old electrologist more .
Try this: try to pluck one of the hairs in the area and see if the sensation is the same as during the treatment. Sometimes, you may feel a tug during the treatment, which you may confuse with a pluck. If it really feels like a pluck, especially “most of the time”, then most likely that’s exactly what you’re paying for 
.
Why your doc goes to her? How much do you think doctors know about good and bad electrology?? This is after many electrologists themselves are very poorly trained and skilled.
Good luck!