It sounds like this treatment wasn’t done well and some of the hairs broke off at the surface, thus the black dots.
I would sample a few more people.
Don’t be afraid of laser. Laser is great on coarse dense growth. If you’re considering bikini, underarms or legs, those results are outstanding with good treatments. You just had treatments that you should have never had, i.e. on fine facial hair.
Thermolysis can do the job as well, as Dee has explained.
If I could not find an electrologist who could do the kind of thermolysis necessary, then I would go with Blend. In the right hands of course.
On the facial area, for everyone I personally know, I agree with spaqueen that the only reaction is some redness and swelling that subsides. Perhaps some whiteheads the next day, although this is very rare for me.
However, there are two schools of thought on Blend. Many electrologists I have spoken to say the current needs to be at least X seconds for it to be Blend. I started Blend with my electrologist before I knew much about electrolysis, she performs it at about 3 seconds. Since then, I came across the opposing viewpoint and asked her about it. She said that in her experience, the time can be short. I asked her what she would say about other electrologists claiming she was really then doing thermolysis. She disagreed and said that all the signs were there that the Blend reaction is taking place and that the thermolysis component is still just a trigger (or something like that).
Then I found that one of HairTell’s very expert (in my opinion) electrologists, Josefa (depilacionelectr) also claimed that Blend can be performed in just a second or two. On top of that, I believe that Mr. Bono (author of “The Blend Method”) says the same. I hope that in due course one of them can join this thread to verify or otherwise and explain why.
My point is, you need to find the right electrologist to get the job done. That might be a longer timed Blend or Thermolysis with new tech. Everything works, in the right hands.
Thanks for reiterating that everything works in the right hands. I, too, would like an explanation as to how blend can work in three seconds. Maybe for thin hairs, but I’m thinking three seconds is not enough time for thick deep hairs. Jossie?
^I suspect you’re right Dee. I know my electrologist sometimes does 4 or 5 seconds if the hair needs it. But for the light hair, it’s very rapid. I just wanted to put forward the idea that many say that Blend can still be Blend even when the current is just a second or two.
Hi everybody!! I’m really enjoying these discussions with such knowledgeable electrologists. It is wonderful to bounce our opinions and thoughts against each other. Thanks so much for the input.
On the 6 second rule, please refer to the Michael Bono’s Blend Method book, pg 130, (quote) “use HF levels that cause the hair to epilate in 6 to 20 seconds. Never work faster than 6 seconds on facial hair.”
Now my take on this:
Fuzzybear has Paradoxial Hypertrichosis so it is imperative, in my mind, that the hair has to be completely killed to see long lasting results. Hairs that have been affected by PHALE (Paradoxical Hypertrichosis after Laser Epilation) are stronger/more resistant to current and can (again in my tests with my PHALE customers) rebuild into stronger hairs and continue to grow if treated by thermolysis on any level. This is why I stress to her specifically that I think the blend is best for her condition and that the blend last 6 seconds at a minimum.
Regarding the 6 second rule, yes, you can get turbulence and all the signs of a good blend on finer hairs with less than 6 seconds. I did an extended test on this 6 second theory (honestly hoping to disprove it !!) and found by epilating similar hairs in the same area in less than 6 seconds- then comparing the same type of hairs to a hair fully epilated at 6 seconds…there was a significant difference in the epilated follicle and hair shaft. Now I NEVER epilate a hair on the blend for less than 6 seconds. I encourage each of you to do this test and I believe it will amaze you on the differences of similar epilated hairs under and over 6 seconds.
Also, on the whiteheads I have a great solution to this. Apply salicylic acid 1-2% on the treated skin as your final procedure and use the galvanic roller. This works amazingly and the customers love the results. Many may need to use salicylic for a few days at night (and some day & night) to avoid the whiteheads. Some customers have better results with benzoyl but I never use this unless the salicylic acid doesn’t stop the whiteheads.
I’m limited on time right now, but am curious about one comment here. Why would thermolysis not work on these hairs if it works on 80 unit or larger hairs?
Having had clients who believe their increased growth was from previous LASER hair removal, I have to disagree with this completely.
My clients did not seem to have coarsened terminal hair growth, but they did have denser growth of hairs that have coarsened past accelerated vellus. They were successfully treated with thermolysis. Additionally, one of my trans-clients had LHR for the dense black growth that caused the “blue-beard” shadow on her face - and after she realized that it wasn’t working as well as expected, she began thermolysis. Her last email said that she has only shaved once since her last clearing 2 weeks ago.
Agreed. Hairs that were touched with laser are easier to treat. They’re finer and straight.
Dee, you believe that we can successfully treat a thick hair in less than 2 seconds with 26% of thermolysis only?
I recorded a video with these parameters (I’ll post to YouTube tonight if I can):
Omniblend:
04 s
DC= .99 mA 039 UL
HF= 26%
I had to foot off the pedal before 2 seconds. In the video you can see the ease with which the hair is off.
I will use OmniBlend at those parameters on an 80 unit hair, Jossie. I’ll let you know my thoughts. Thanks so much for that input. We are talking about 80 unit hairs, right? I will use a gold probe.
Why perform OmniBlend, when I can do Synchro, MultiPlex or PicoFlash in less than a second with the same effectiveness though?
Totally agree, Dee.
It is absurd to give up the speed when the permanent removal rate is the same.
My intention is to demonstrate that we can use a blend for thick hair in less than 3 seconds. According to my calculations on these hairs have been used about 20 units of lye. With 26% of Thermolysis for about 2 seconds, the hair would not be treated successfully, however the 20 units of lye make this possible. I wish the engineers Dectro view this video, so maybe they would consider giving greater “autonomy” electrologists to decide if we want a blend in less than 3 seconds.
What program did you use, Jossie? Also, do you use a topical anesthetic or injections with these parameters? I tried this on a couple of clients using the CHIN program, working on very coarse hair on the chin (80 unit). It was too painful for them. I’m going to try it on other individuals, including myself if I can find a very coarse, deep hair to treat. Perhaps other clients will find it comfortable, so I’ll keep trying this.
My thoughts are that yes, you can treat 80 unit hairs in 4 seconds, but you have to use close to 1.0 milliampere of galvanic current with 55 volts, and upward, of alternating current. At least that was the formula I followed years ago. With these high energy levels, the client wiggles and protests. I did use gold probes, by the way.
When I do blend on 80 unit hairs, I usually have to decrease the galvanic current(milliamperes) AND decrease the alternating current, while increasing the time the probe is in the follicle in order to make the treatment more tolerable sensation - wise for the client. So, I end up with something in the range of 8 - 20 seconds per hair using anywhere from .4 milliamperes to .8 milliamperes, with ranges of 15% 20% of HF on the Apilus Platinum. This was close to what I did on my Sil-tone VMC and Gentronics, too, doing manual blend.
Does this make sense to you? I hope I explained it well enough.
Thanks dear Jossie!
Dee, I’d volunteer to provide some coarse chin hairs for you to treat, but I have “iffy” skin, and it’s a bit of a drive for me. 
That would be great, yes, if you were closer! Margaret could do the same for you on her epilator if you give her the parameters.
[quote=“dfahey”]
What program did you use, Jossie? Also, do you use a topical anesthetic or injections with these parameters? I tried this on a couple of clients using the CHIN program, working on very coarse hair on the chin (80 unit). It was too painful for them. I’m going to try it on other individuals, including myself if I can find a very coarse, deep hair to treat. Perhaps other clients will find it comfortable, so I’ll keep trying this.
My thoughts are that yes, you can treat 80 unit hairs in 4 seconds, but you have to use close to 1.0 milliampere of galvanic current with 55 volts, and upward, of alternating current. At least that was the formula I followed years ago. With these high energy levels, the client wiggles and protests. I did use gold probes, by the way.
When I do blend on 80 unit hairs, I usually have to decrease the galvanic current(milliamperes) AND decrease the alternating current, while increasing the time the probe is in the follicle in order to make the treatment more tolerable sensation - wise for the client. So, I end up with something in the range of 8 - 20 seconds per hair using anywhere from .4 milliamperes to .8 milliamperes, with ranges of 15% 20% of HF on the Apilus Platinum. This was close to what I did on my Sil-tone VMC and Gentronics, too, doing manual blend.
Does this make sense to you? I hope I explained it well enough.
Thanks dear Jossie! [/quote]
Bump.
Sorry for taking too long to respond, Dee.
I never usually use preset programs, but I checked the parameters used to match the program 9 to CHIN. Actually time is less than 4 seconds (I would say it varies in some tenth of a second between 2 and 3 seconds. This is what I tried to explain, I close the current flow before the end of the 4 second program.
No, in this case there was any type of anesthesia, or topical or local. When I recorded this video I did another test with the same standard “time”, but with one of my old machines the client stated that she felt more pain.
Hello All,
Update: I went to 2 more electrolysis practitioners. One used thermolysis (APILUS SM-500 Epilator). She only did a trial which frustrated me. I wanted her to clear everything. I didn’t want to hear that I had to “trim”.
A couple days later I went to another place where the lady used the blend method. I got some puckering of the skin and I did scab (it’s def. not hair, it’s scabbing)but I think it was more effective. I’m due for my next appointment soon and it seems like the hairs that were treated with thermolysis grew back but their blend-treated counterparts did not. I can’t be certain of that but I will find out after my next appointment.
I’m not happy that the blend causes scabbing but it does clear up in a week or so. I will try using polysporin next time so stop the scabs. I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks for your responses.
Both methods, blend and thermolysis, work if performed perfectly well by a trained electrologist. Efficacy cannot be determined after a couple of treatments.
I did not go to a fly by night electrologists. I went to practitioners that had clean salons with new equipment. All had been practicing for over 15 years.
I went to the first electrologist for 2.5 yrs, every two weeks. Was she any good? Well, she must have been to be in business for so long. But it didn’t work. (Also, she was a very moral lady, so I’m confident she wasn’t gypping me). With the second thermolysis practioner, I went once, and the hair came back and it was still coarse. The hair treated with the blend method had decreased.
Also, I have not been able to find any reputable scientific study stating both methods work effectively for all types of hair. It’s all anecdotal. And if we are basing it on anecdotes,the transgender community recommends blend for coarse hair and thermolysis for fine based on the collective experiences of its members. My own personal results show that blend seems to be better for coarse chin hair. It might be an “inconvenient truth” but that’s what it is.
One time with thermolysis? Again, you cannot base any conclusions on thermolysis efficacy on one attempt. One hundred and fifty years of electrolysis history is the scientific study. I’m sure many electrologists reading your posts are smiling. I’m sure many trans women who are treated from beginning to end with MicroFlash, PicoFlash, slow thermolysis with a burst of PicoFlash (MultiPlex) and with Synchro thermolysis (with 100 pulses shooting off the end of a moving probe in less than one second, are smiling, too. You see, I offer one of these thermolysis modes to my T-girls and they get finished in less than the 2.5 years you spent with your first practitioner.
Part of the reason hairtell exists is to spread the good news about new concepts and equipment that work very well, whether it be using one of the blend modes or one of several thermolysis modes that were not available in the 20th century. The hard part is getting everybody on board to try and understand these new concepts that are not mentioned in any electrolysis book. We crudely do this by word of mouth, unfortunately.
Take a look at James Walkers website. It’s listed in the signature of all of his posts. He does all his t-girls with thermolysis, either PicoFlash or Synchro - before that, he used MicroFlash. Now that is not anecdotal stuff. I do the same. Jossie will probably pop up with some pictures to prove what she does.
Now, no one is telling you what to do. If you like blend for your particular needs, then I like blend for your particular needs. I believe what you are saying. What I don’t agree with are your other statements about thermolysis because the information is woefully outdated. Many electrologists use thermolysis either manually or with one of the better engineered modern types if they have updated their epilators and it is a fact, that when hair is punched with thermolysis, the follicle can never grow another hair again. Coarse or small, matters none at all. We get 'em by God! The trick is you have to go more than once before you can accurately judge. You also have to have a good understanding of hair growth cycles.