Electrolysis 8 months on - advice? hope?!

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi,

I have read a few posts on this forum over the past few months and finally wanted to post my own experiences and ask if there is any hope!

I suffer from excessive hair growth and have had no diagnosis of PCOS. However, my sister has been diagnosed with this so it is safe to say my hair growth probably is hormonal.

I started electrolysis in March of this year on my face. Not the finer darks hairs (though they are bothering me more now) but a few hairs on my cheek and chin and a few on my chest. I am seeing good results I think, and going every 2 - 3 weeks because I have now started getting electroysis on my abdomen as well.

I have read so many depressing stories though that with hormonal hair growth, electrolysis may not work and was wondering if anyone out there had a good experience or any hope for me?! I can see the hair on my arms getting darker and more on my face and I don’t even want to start on my thighs. I am truly miserable and worried these areas are too big for electrolysis? Would anyone with hormonal hair growth issues recommend laser?

I really hope to get on top of this! Thank you all x

#2

The hairs you having treated should be gone permanently.

If you have hormonal issues, it may make the finer hairs thicken up or new growth may be stimulated. But it’s usually gradual. You and your electrologist may want to remove a lot of the finer hairs as well as a pre-emptive strike. We have done this with my sister. Our electrologist removed a lot of the finer hairs on her chin as a priority (over, for example, the cheeks) because she said that this area has a high probability of the hairs becoming thicker. My sister is 21 and from my own experience, I know that in my early twenties a lot of my chin hairs became thick - I bleach but I couldn’t bleach those so I started plucking that ones that wouldn’t bleach. Thankfully when I was 25 I started electrolysis and those thick hairs were amongst the first hairs I tackled. Since then I have removed a lot of the downy, bleachable hair as well.

What PCOS clients find is that they made need short touch up treatments every year or two to tackle new growth.

If you’re electrologist can manage it, you can treat the arms and the thighs too. I would not touch the face with Laser. You arm hair, although it may be getting darker is probably still too fine to respond well to Laser. The same goes for the thighs, and on top of that they don’t respond as well to Laser as the lower leg even if the hair is thick enough.

#3

thank you so much for replying. I did not know electrolysis would cause finer hair to get thicker…even if you aren’t treating that finer hair? Or did you mean fine hair will get thicker because of hormonal issues.

My thighs are definitley the worst area, and definitley dark and thick enough but my electrolysist says its too big an area to tackle and laser just seems so expensive for something not as effective.

I am 22 and worried that with every year, I’m just going to look worse and worse so it’s great to hear from you and your sister something hopeful. You seem to have had great success, do you remain hopeful that an end is in sight for you? I consider one or two treatments a year an ‘end’ for me because that is still less frequent than anything else I could imagine…it would be so liberating.
I just worry that I’m panicing about my entire body instead of focusing on realistic goals. I’m also worried about missing hairs in the correct growth phase. Do you really ruin your chances of permanent hair removal if you leave them longer than a few days?

I hope you and your sister are happy with your treatment and thank you for your encouragement. I hope to learn more and stay positive from the advice on this forum :slight_smile:

xox

#4

p.s the successful laser work done on your full leg, was your upper leg coarse, dark hair or just regular? If you don’t mind me asking, sorry!

#5

Sorry if my post was not clear. Hormonal issues can make the finer hair to become thicker NOT electrolysis. This is why you may want to get rid of the finer hair in hormonally sensitive areas as well (with electrolysis)- before it has the chance to become thick.

I am at a point where I am happy with the hair that I have removed on my body. There are some things I will continue to work on when I have time and money (my chest, tummy, lower back, the hair left on my thighs) but it’s not a priority. I hardly spend any time bleaching or shaving anymore, or even thinking about hair, so I’m happy.

Hair stays in the anagen phase for much longer than a few days… weeks… possibly months. Hopefully an electrologist can answer this. And not all electrologists only work on anagen hair. Ours treats telogen as effectively so as long as you leave the hairs intact for her to treat, she can treat them - and once only.

My upper leg hair was a mixture. On the front thigh it was mainly black and as thick as my lower leg hair. The hair on the sides and the upper back thigh was finer. I never expected the finer hair to be permanently effected and only treated it as it was part of the full leg treatment. Even though I had one extra treatment on the front thighs than on my lower legs, it responded less well. Apparently this is common. So I did not continue further - I got a decent reduction, about 70% and will instead complete with electrolysis when I can.

#6

thanks - i wasn’t sure if getting the fine hair removed was futile because I wasn’t sure if seperate hairs grew thicker, and wasn’t sure if finer hair got thicker so thanks for clearing that up.

You’ve made me feel a lot more hopeful hearing your story and definitley given me a few things to ask my electrolysist tommorow.

Fingers crossed I’ll get somewhere and progress. Really nice to hear that it will work even if the hair is due to hormonal issues.