ELECTRO. an option?: Shaving FOREVER & skin damage

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

Hello, I’m a newbie to this great forum…and so glad I found it. I am a Eurasian female, and inherited my hairyness from my Eastern European father (my Asian mother is hairless…on legs/arms/face/pits). I have been shaving FOREVER–probably for 16 years or so…with maybe 10 x TOTAL or so with plucking dark hairs on my chin and upper lip.

I have always felt ashamed that I had this facial hair…and so kept shaving EVERY DAY–without considering my options for permanent removal…until now. (Also, was so ashamed, I didn’t want to grow it out and be seen, to get the treatment. With also partners who shamed me…so I tried my best to keep my facial hair/shaving a secret.) I would now like to get electrolysis and I finally have the money to do it (I think?–another question–how much?)…My only concern is that it might be too late because I may have damaged my face from too much shaving/improper plucking. So…I wanted to get your advice (men, ladies, and trans-folks) on if this is possible…

I’ve noticed lately (after this summer of one-time plucking all of the hairs on my upper lip and chin [the hairs on my upper lip are mostly very thin, with just about 10 or so dark ones) that I grew a very noticable 5 o’clock shadow on my upper lip…that WON’T GO AWAY even with the daily shaving. I just recently found the dark hairs on my upper lip and plucked those. Now, I am only left with very thin hairs…so why has this shadow stayed on? It seems lighter after plucking the darker hairs, but is still there!

Is is because I have permanently damaged my skin with shaving for so many years, and so electrolysis would not even be an option?

OR is it because my other hairs have grown in darker, creating the shadow? Are there hairs I can’t see that are in mid-growth?

Weird thing is–upper lip shadow seems like it would have gone away after plucking the darker hairs…and the lighter hairs are so few that the darkness of my skin in this area doesn’t seem to match up (so it seems that there is more dark skin than hair on my upper lip).

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? I feel I have no other option than to try waxing/continue plucking. I also have had two shadows on my chin that are darker now…and THIS mixed with the dark moustache shadow…I sometimes feel so uncomfortable/ugly that I don’t want to go out!

Also, I am aware that all of this is societal…but I believe this is relevant or else we wouldn’t have this forum on how to deal with this societally-unacceptable condition of having facial hair and wanting to be female…etc.

I just need advice as to your predictions based on your experience/medical experience on what could be causing the shadow…

ANd will my condition only worsen if I turn to plucking/waxing? I feel I have no other recourse because of the darkness, and feeling so uncomfortable in public. And I always shaved because I believed this would not cause the hairs to grow in darker (at least not in the extreme sense as with plucking seems to do…)

I am waiting to get the electrolysis until I move to an urban area (there is no one here to do it…but I do have a few thousand $ and hope it will be enough.)

Desperately…and thank you for reading,

Eurasian Help!

2

Can you submit a picture of your upper lip?

The shadow may be new hairs underneath the surface ready to spring forth to the surface. It can be hyperpigmentaion caused by tweezing. Hyperpig fades gradually with time, different for each person, after the area has been left alone. You may get temporary hyperpig with electrolysis as well if this is the way your body reacts to any trauma to the skin. At least with electrolysis, the hair is permanently removed and then the skin is left alone to heal, pigmentation and all.

Use sun screen as well to protect those cells that cause color in the skin and hair.

You will not need a couple of thousand dollars for electrolysis if you find someone competent. Most of my upper lip cases are completely finished under $500 using microflash thermolysis and some blend electrolysis in combination.

Dee

3

Thank you, Dee,

For some reason, my digital camera’s pics are so fuzzy that it is hard to see exactly what it looks like. The thing is, I tweezed 4 months of so ago…so it seems as if this would go away by now?

Maybe I am further exacerbating the condition by shaving? Also, the hairs underneath haven’t been tweezed since July…except for the few I recently tweezed that were dark.

I just slapped on some sunscreen, and am hoping for the best.

Do you think it is okay to continue to tweeze my chin/shave my upper lip for the next couple months, until I settle in my new place and get electrolysis?

Thank you again. It feels so good to speak about this with someone instead of just trying to hide the fact…etc.

Eurasian

PS I may also seek your advice when choosing an electrolysis therapist. I will be in the North Carolina-Chapel Hill area.

4

I would suggest Ronda Roton-Jones, Margaret Wingate, or Electrolysis by Myrtle if she is still working.

http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/18138/Searchpage/1/Main/3722/Words/ronda/Search/true/North_Carolina_electrolysis.html#Post18138

http://www.electrolysisbymyrtle.com/

5

  • You may want to see an endocrinologist to make you don’t have any underlying hormonal conditions.

  • Shaving is better than plucking or waxing as a temporary method as it doesn’t affect the root.

  • You may want to see a dermatologist as well as pigmentation on the upper lip can be caused by several things, and they can potentially prescribe something to help.

  • Electrolysis is the way to go to remove this hair. You do need to not pluck for at least 3-4 weeks or so (only shave) before you go in, and you need to stop plucking and waxing after you start, which shouldn’t be a problem since you’re supposed to come in for another treatment as soon as you see new hair pop up.

6

None of those electrologists are in Chapel Hill. Margaret is in Charlotte, Ronda is in Kernersville or Danbury, and Myrtle is in Cary. Linda Anderson is in Chapel Hill in a dermatologists office. I’m not sure if she is doing electrolysis there, or just laser. The closest to Chapel Hill that I recommend my UNC clients to is Thelma White in Durham. You can also check the licensing board web page, but it is a new site and several names that should be in the directory have been omitted. You can email the board and ask if someone’s license is current if you find someone’s name who is not in the directory. The secretary only works 2 days a week, so it may take a few days for a reply. www.ncbee.com

7

Thank you so much everyone! I am on my way hopefully relatively soon! :slight_smile: Eurasian…

Also, may sound like a bad commercial but… I can’t wait to get rid of this hair that has plagued me my whole adult life…and made me feel bad about myself/self-conscious. It will be a dream come true for me!