Chapel HIll, NC

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

I have just reached my 1.5 year mark, and I am thinking that I am about to give up. I just returned from an appointment and was left feeling disappointed once again with my experience. While I am seeing SOME difference, it is minimal. I understand that everyone’s situation is different, but as someone who had never plucked on her face but admittedly on her chest, I feel like I should be in my closing stages. I am FAR from that.

Here is my back story. I went to one electrologist who started doing blend on my upper lip and chin and laser on my chest and breasts. I went to her for ~ 3 months every week to 2 weeks. It was so painful I couldn’t bare it. I wrote about this before but it turns out that, even after I asked her about it, she gave me no guidance as to how to make it better. I had to do research on my own and was generally unhappy with her personally.

I switched electrologists and was happy with my current one for a while, but lately, I have been getting an uneasy feeling. For starters, today, she didn’t even get full clearance on my upper lip (admittedly she usually does, but I have no idea why she didn’t today). Also, I have gotten to a point where I go once evey three weeks for an hour. Lately, I can feel like I’m done in ~ 30-45 minutes and that she is stalling to fill the time. She never suggested reducing time which I think is a little…yucky. I realize she’s not obligated too, but when I brought it up, she said she needs an hour to do all 3 areas. It just feels like we’re done and she just starts looking for other blonder hairs that I told her I don’t really care about.

The good news from this is that before, I DID need a full hour, so I know that some of the hair is gone, but I thought that at this point, at the very least, my chest would be done (after 3 laser treatments, and a year of electrolysis). Was it too early to have started treatments so far apart?

I know I do not have a hormone problem. I am of Mediterranean descent and am just naturally hairy. I’m crying as I write this because I am just SO tired of all of this. Waxing my bikini area and my eyebrows. Electrolysis on my lip, chin and chest. Shaving my armpits, stomach and legs. It’s like hair is on my mind all of the time, and it just never seems to get substantially better.

I am a student, and I budgeted to do this for a year, knowing it could be longer. But this late in the game, hair still resurfaces after a day or two on my lip (longer for my chest and chin). But when I think about quitting I think about ALL the money and time I have put in, and I just get so frustrated and sad. I just want this to all be over.

I’m not sure if I’m looking for advice here or just a chance to get it all out, because I feel so sad and tired.
Thank you for reading…

2

Thanks for your post. It’s easy to understand your frustration.

  • Can you let us know what method of electrolysis the current electrologist uses? What is the name of the machine? Where are you located? Do you feel the hair slide out without resistance after being zapped?

  • How long has it been since you started getting full clearances during each treatment?

  • You say you go once every 3 weeks now. Is that how often you’ve always been going or your treatment spacing increased with time?

  • Was your hair dense and coarse on your chest and breasts? Most women don’t have the type of hair there needed for laser to work. In fact, if the hair there wasn’t coarse and dense, it could have induced more hair which could be part of the problem here. Laser works great on coarse hair like on bikini and underarms. It shouldn’t be used on finer hair than that.

  • Have you considered laser on your underarms and bikini? Those are cheap and easy areas to do and I think will make you feel a lot better already. It’s the best thing I’ve done for myself. They respond great to (the right) laser treatment. Underarms cost $50-100 per treatment and bikini ($100-150) and you only need treatments once every 2-3 months. I had 5-6 and that removed 95% of the hair.

3

THE UNDERARMS ARE THE LEAST OF MY WORRIES. IT TAKES ONE SECOND TO SHAVE THEM SO I DON’T MIND. I’D LOVE TO GET LASER ON MY BIKINI, BUT AGAIN, I’M A STUDENT, AND THE THOUGHT OF THAT KIND OF INVESTMENT IS TOO MUCH RIGHT NOW. AS IT IS, I ALMOST NEVER WAX (USUALLY SHAVE) EXCEPT WHEN MY MILITARY BOYFRIEND GETS HOME FROM DEPLOYMENTS.

4

Can you answer the electrolysis questions so we can potentially help you? If you provide your location, we may be able to help with an expert in electrolysis near you.

5

Thanks for your post. It’s easy to understand your frustration.

  • Can you let us know what method of electrolysis the current electrologist uses? What is the name of the machine? Where are you located? Do you feel the hair slide out without resistance after being zapped?

BLEND. NOT SURE THE NAME OF THE MACHINE. CHAPEL HILL, NC. SOMETIMES IT SLIDES, SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE IT’S BEING PULLED.

  • How long has it been since you started getting full clearances during each treatment? I WOULD SAY ABOUT A YEAR.

  • You say you go once every 3 weeks now. Is that how often you’ve always been going or your treatment spacing increased with time? I STARTED GOING EVERY 2 WEEKS, AND THEN HAVE BEEN GOING EVERY THREE WEEKS FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS.

  • Was your hair dense and coarse on your chest and breasts? Most women don’t have the type of hair there needed for laser to work. In fact, if the hair there wasn’t coarse and dense, it could have induced more hair which could be part of the problem here. Laser works great on coarse hair like on bikini and underarms. It shouldn’t be used on finer hair than that.
    NO, IT WAS NOT DENSE. JUST A LOT OF STRAGGLERS. THIS IS WHERE A LOT OF MY FRUSTRATION COMES IN. I UNDERSTAND THAT WE, AS CLIENTS, NEED TO EDUCATE OURSELVES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I FEEL LIKE I GET NO ADVICE FROM THE ELECTROLOGISTS WHATSOEVER. THEY NEVER OFFER ANYTHING. I HAVE TO ASK, AND EVEN THEN THEY DON’T ALWAYS ANSWER. SINCE THEY’RE LICENCSED AND HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS, SHOULDN’T THEY BE MORE HELPFUL?

  • Have you considered laser on your underarms and bikini? Those are cheap and easy areas to do and I think will make you feel a lot better already. It’s the best thing I’ve done for myself. They respond great to (the right) laser treatment. Underarms cost $50-100 per treatment and bikini ($100-150) and you only need treatments once every 2-3 months. I had 5-6 and that removed 95% of the hair.

THE UNDERARMS ARE THE LEAST OF MY WORRIES. IT TAKES ONE SECOND TO SHAVE THEM SO I DON’T MIND. I’D LOVE TO GET LASER ON MY BIKINI, BUT AGAIN, I’M A STUDENT, AND THE THOUGHT OF THAT KIND OF INVESTMENT IS TOO MUCH RIGHT NOW. AS IT IS, I ALMOST NEVER WAX (USUALLY SHAVE) EXCEPT WHEN MY MILITARY BOYFRIEND GETS HOME FROM DEPLOYMENTS.

6

I don’t know what the heck is going on with your case, but I can tell you that you may want to try these ladies. I have heard good things about them. If you desire to go forward after all this, give them a look. Let us know how things go. So, in this order, you can to give them a call. Tell them your story just like you did here and see if things turn around for you.

Melissa Smith at Elite Electrolysis in Raleigh.

Thelma White in Durham.

I don’t know what else to say.

7

Kathanina, You wrote “I can feel like I’m done in ~ 30-45 minutes and that she is stalling to fill the time. She never suggested reducing time which I think is a little…yucky. I realize she’s not obligated too, but when I brought it up, she said she needs an hour to do all 3 areas. It just feels like we’re done and she just starts looking for other blonder hairs that I told her I don’t really care about.”

One of the things that occurs - as we progress with treatments - is that once we have cleared the hair that appears coarse to the client, we can then see the newly emerging coarse hair - but at that point they do not look coarse (and maybe even not dark) to the client. Treating those hairs as they emerge is one of the “tricks” to giving successful treatments. The electrologist with good magnification will see these hairs - and you might not be able to!

8

Barbara makes a good point. I often have clients say, “I didn’t think I had that many today,” and then when I show them the hairs I’ve collected, they are amazed at the number of hairs that I could see but they couldn’t see or feel yet.

In Chapel Hill, there is only one licensed electrologist, but I think there are 3 in Durham, and several in Raleigh. Consultations are usually free, so it may be worth your time to sample others in the area.

9

You shouldn’t feel any plucking. Whatever doesn’t come out without much resistance wasn’t treated properly.

You should see if you can get someone who will use thermolysis on you. It will be a lot faster than blend. For the type of hair you describe, thermolysis should be just fine and much faster.

  • Not all electrologists are the same and unfortunately not everything has the same expertise and training. That’s why we strongly advise to sample 3-4 electrologists before settling on any one.

NO STRAGGLERS SHOULD EVER BE TREATED WITH LASER. It’s very possible that doing laser on that area on your mediterrenean skin induced more growth.

I would start looking for a new electrologists as others suggested right away. Call around and see who uses a type of thermolysis (microflash, picolfash, etc would be even better).

10

I want to add to this that one of the features and benefits of electrolysis with the full clearance model is that once a person has a full clearance, an electrolysis practitioner with good visual aid can see hairs you can’t see in as little as 3 days after the first clearance. It would take you up to 3 weeks to see the hairs that the electrolysis practitioner is noticing on that 3rd day out from clearance. If she were really looking to “ride the bicycle for extra time” she would leave those until they were large enough for you to notice.

11

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it!

I have looked around and have not been able to find an electrologist in Chapel Hill as you suggest. I have only found one in Durham and one in Raleigh. Could you give me some other names that I may be missing?

Thanks!

12

Clarification:

There hasn’t been one in Chapel Hill that has been recommended on this site.

I have found the following places when I did an internet search:

Certified Electrolysis in Durham

Chapel Hill Dermatology

Chapel Hill Electrolysis

Epicenter in Durham

I am going to call around on Monday but wanted to ask first if any of you know of any of these? I know you suggested Thelma White, but that is where I have been going. The other lady at Elite is a bit far from me but if that turns out to be the best one, then I guess it’s worth it.

Thank you!

13

Is Danbury NC out of your range of travel?

14

I don’t know if the one you go to is one of these, but I found a few more in Durham.

ABC’s of Skin Care‎
1015 Jerome Rd, Durham, NC - (919) 596-7988‎

Certified Electrolysis Center‎
1200 Broad St # 104, Durham, NC - (919) 286-3890‎

Advance Electrolysis‎
2921 Guess Rd, Durham, NC - (919) 477-9011‎

Duke Electrolysis Clinic‎
1300 Morreene Rd, Durham, NC - (919) 684-4470‎

15

I’m sorry, I thought you had gone to the one in Chapel Hill. Linda Anderson is in Chapel Hill. She’s in a dermatologist office. ncbee.com - This website is for sale! - ncbee Resources and Information.

Danbury is a couple hours away.

Steer clear of Duke. They are unlicensed and under trained. There is also another electrologist in either Durham or Chapel Hill practicing w/o license. You can check with the state board if you find someone whose name is not in the directory. The directory needs updating.

16

Thanks “Choice”, I have not spent much time in North Carolina, so I don’t know the relative travel times.

Of course, the time I have spent in NC has been memorable.