Electrolysis Diary: SoCal

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Alright so after having a few sessions, I thought that it was finally time to start a diary on here in case anyone was interested or could benefit from this.

For any electrologists which I do not recommend, I will not put them on blast out of respect and only refer to them anonymously. If you really need to know, PM me.

Background
I’m 38 y/o, Asian, born male. I naturally have very little body hair and my entire life what body hair I had pretty much always grossed me out. I’ve been shaving everything consistently for over 10 years and unconsistently since my first razor in highschool. I more or less grew up in the 80s-90s and back then even though body hair was preferred on men, I never liked it (not to mention that I barely had any body hair to begin with). I shaved and tweezed everything intermittently throughout high school and over time this became more frequent until it became daily.

Desired Treatment Areas
Underarms
Face (only a few stray hairs on cheek, less than 10 total)
Legs (handful of hairs on knees, very sparse stray hairs otherwise)
Nipples
Bikini Area (full frontal and possibly Brazilian long-term)

Previous Treatments
About 10 years ago I tried laser with Dr Brandeis in Hollywood (Not Recommended). However, like LA Girl, I also did not have any results with him. In addition, laser triggered a severe histamine reaction. If the laser had been effective, I probably would have put up with the reaction. After 2 or 3 sessions, I quit entirely and basically gave up on the idea of permanent hair removal for a long time. Unfortunately, at the time, I had bought into the misconception that all electrolysis was extremely slow (galvanic) and wasn’t aware of the other modalities, etc, so I never looked into it as a viable option.

December 2015
Late last year I started to get frustrated again with having to shave all the time, all the ingrowns, etc etc. So, once again I started looking into permanent options. My skin also isn’t nearly as “sensitive” or reactive as it was in my 20s so I figured that maybe I wouldn’t have histamine reactions anymore either. Fortunately, when I started searching, HairTell (along with some TG sites) provided tons of great information about both laser and electrolysis. After doing lots of research, I decided on pursuing electrolysis as a permanent “sure fire” option. I didn’t want to waste time trying laser again which may or may not be effective and possibly cause a histamine reaction again. (BTW - I do not get any histamine reaction with electrolysis but I’m also older now.) From there, I started looking into options in the Southern CA area.

#2

Electrologist 1 - [color:#FF0000]Not Recommended[/color]

Week 1 - Dec 2015 (Underarm 1)
I tried Electrologist 1 because they were close to me and had multiple good Yelp reviews which seemed to be authentic. There was pain but I was able to mentally ignore it and tolerate it. Because the whole process was new to me, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought that I felt tweezing but I wasn’t sure because I was dealing with the pain in general. She told me that those were just hairs where the bulb was bigger.

Later, I did a lot more research on this site and determined that this was not normal but decided to keep my follow-up appointment and talk to her about it.

Week 2 - Jan 2016 (Underarm 2)
I went back to Electrologist 1 and paid closer attention to determine if she was tweezing or not. When I felt it again, I brought it up again and she basically just said it was “because of the angle of my hair”. In fact, bringing it up seemed to almost make it worse (or maybe I was just paying better attention). The majority of the hairs were definitely tweezed to the point that the tweezing was painful. I realized that I had initially mistaken this pain as being pain from electrolysis itself.

I paid but decided I would never see her again. Money lost. I really wanted to like her but I knew for a fact at that point that her treatments were severely ineffective.

#3

Electrologist 2 - [color:#993300]Much better, probably average but not great[/color]

Week 2 - Jan 2016 (Face, Nipples, Knees/Legs, Initial Bikini Line)
I tried Electrologist 2. This person was further away but cheaper and had more experience. This person also did the bikini area on males and had more experience working on males in general, unlike the first one. I had told her during the consultation that the previous electrologist was under-treating and that I was looking for good release of hairs. Her insertions were better (didn’t hurt). Overall her treatments were more effective but she was using a lot of power (anywhere from 2-4 zaps per hair) and even then some of the hairs were still not releasing well. Also, post-treatment, my skin reacted worse than the first electrologist but I wasn’t sure what was “normal” and figured that it was just due to using more power.

She probably wasn’t as effective as she should be so I decided to keep looking but would return to her if I didn’t find anyone better.

#4

Johanne Fortier Gonella - [color:#009900]Highly Recommended[/color]

Week 4 - Jan 22, 2016 (Bikini - Entire Mound Area)
I had heard praises of Johanne on multiple posts here on HairTell, so I decided that she would the third person I tried before I made a final decision. She was a little more expensive than some other options and also a longer drive from my house but I figured that if she was more effective, it would be worth it in the long run. I’m really glad that I did. Johanne had the nicest facility of the electrologists that I tried. Her bedside manner was also just as good if not better than anyone else. Most importantly, her treatments were by far the most effective. During the consultation she showed me her machine and how everything works. She is using the latest Apilus (I believe it is the xCell Pro). During the treatment, she explained every step and how she was tweaking the settings and probe used to find the best “formula” to get my hairs out. Not only did she get a great release on every single hair (no tweezing at all), but the pain level was also less than either of the two previous electrologists that I tried. I had kind of been dreading doing more of the bikini area due to pain but her treatments were completely tolerable. I decided that I will do the entire front area (not just the mound). I don’t think I will need numbing cream at all. Post-treatment, I didn’t even need a cold compress like I did with the other electrologists.

One other note - I know that Johanne used insulated probes on me, so that probably contributed to the less painful treatment. I’m not 100% sure but I don’t think that the other electrologists were using them.

I’m super super super happy with how things went with Johanne and now that I know what a good electrologist is like, I definitely wouldn’t settle for anything less. I’ve already scheduled my next appointment with her and I’m going to go ahead and do the “full bikini area” (front) with her as well as have her take over all the other areas that were already started.

I’m really excited because for the first time in my life I feel like I finally have a plan for being hair free in those areas and will get to say goodbye to razors and irritation. I only wish that I had looked into electrolysis more seriously 10 years ago (if not before then). I can’t wait for this hair to be a memory.

#5

Previous session took 1h30m. I’m only going to count the time spent with Johanne towards my total treatment time for the purposes of these entries.

Johanne Fortier Gonella

Week 5 - Jan 30, 2016 (Hairline, Underarms, Bikini) [1h50m - Total: 3h20m]
First, I had ONE hair along my hairline that’s bugged me for years. I had Johanne start with removing that. For whatever reason the few hairs on my face I’ve treated don’t hurt that much. I could barely feel it.

Next, Johanne cleared both underarms. At this point, it had been 4.5 weeks since my right underarm and 3 weeks since my left (previously cleared by Electrologist 1 using thermolysis). It took about 45m total for this clearance (30m on right, 15m on left). Johanne switched to using the Synchro modality for my underarms. She explained that it works better for deep coarse hairs. Synchro definitely hurt more than Picoflash which I believe she had used for most of last session but she was getting good releases.

Finally, Johanne resumed the bikini area. She cleared up any new growth on the mound and then started new area below. Mound didn’t hurt much and was totally tolerable. Sack hurt more, about the same pain level as underarms and still tolerable. However, shaft was extremely painful for me and barely tolerable (I actually whimpered for a few of these). Fortunately, I don’t have that much hair there so I grit my teeth through them. For the lower areas she also asked me to help hold the skin tight. I found that my fingers got tired easily holding the skin in this position. For the most part, that was the hardest thing to do (moreso than the pain mostly).

Made great progress through the bikini area and we expect to be able to complete clearance of the full bikini next session.

I made a strong mental note to remember to take ibuprofen before the next appointment (I had forgotten before this one). I also decided to purchase the 5% lidocaine to finish up the bikini area.

Throughout this session she definitely tried these modalities: Picoflash, Synchro and MeloFlash. She started with Pico and I believe she ended up using Synchro mostly. I believe that she also mentioned MultiPlex to me but I don’t recall if she actually used it other than maybe as a test.

#6

Pain Scale
My pain level scale so far (least painful first):

[color:#33CC00]Hairline
Bikini - Mound
Face (Cheeks)[/color]
[color:#FFCC33]Legs (Mainly knees)
Underarms
Bikini - Sack
Nipples[/color]
[color:#FF6600]Bikini - Shaft (Worst by far)[/color]

I may need to readjust this later once Johanne has hit all of these areas because some areas were done by the previous electrologists so I can’t eliminate the difference in pain level being due to skill.

Interestingly, I found that the bikini mound area was probably one of the most tolerable areas for me. I’d definitely recommend that people considering this area at least take down the mound area significantly even if they don’t want to do “everything”.

#7

Johanne Fortier Gonella [color:#009900]- Highly Recommended[/color]

Week 6 - Feb 5, 2016 (Cheek, Underarms, Bikini) [2h - Total: 5h20m]
First, I had 2 hairs on my left cheek done. Really easy, basically no pain.

Next, Johanne cleared both underarms again. Minor pain since she was just treating new growth mainly. This went fast too.

Last, Johanne continued the bikini area. The clearance of new growth on the mound, etc was pretty painless - the sensation for me was more of a tickle/itch. She did a good job hunting down all the hairs that she could find. She also got out some ingrowns. Once she got to areas we hadn’t covered before, though, that’s when it started to hurt. At first it was tolerable but towards the end, especially in some areas like creases and toward the perineum it started to hurt more. I took Ibuprofen beforehand this time and I think that probably helped take some of the edge off. I also used a little bit of numbing cream before the appointment (but not nearly enough).

Once again made great progress though. Completed all of the hair on the top of the bikini area. Next week need to do the perineum as well as keeping other areas clear. I definitely expect that area to hurt so I’m planning on using a good amount of numbing cream next time.

Throughout this session she mainly used MeloFlash but also used Synchro. I found MeloFlash pretty comfortable and it seemed to be effective on most hairs too.

#8

Joanie

Week 7 - Feb 13, 2016 (Bikini) [2h - Total: 7h20m]
Johanne was out of town so this week I saw her daughter Joanie to finish the bikini area.

I was expecting a bunch of pain so this time I used 4% lidocaine numbing cream (OTC). For me, the cream took about 2 hours to really kick in but once it did, the area was completely numb. So numb that it was surreal. I could barely feel anything. I definitely recommend it to anyone having issues with pain. I don’t need it for most areas but I definitely needed it for some areas of the bikini… at least for the first clearance. I could probably handle future sessions without it. Although, now that I know how well it works I’m considering using it on other areas anyway.

Not much to report, treatments are about the same each week and my healing is going great. :slight_smile:

Future updates will probably be minimal since things are going well. I’ve taken a bunch of before/during/after pictures that I might upload one day.

#9

Johanne

Week 8 - Feb 19, 2016 (Cheek, Underarms, Nipples, Bikini) [2h - Total: 9h20m / 560m]
Did 1 hair on the cheek/chin, re-clear underarms (2 weeks since last treatment, sparse hairs), 2nd clearance on nipples (1st clearance was done in January by Electrologist 2), re-clear front bikini, re-clear perineum, completed almost all of perianal area.

This time I used 4% lidocaine on more areas but used a little less in each area. It helped a lot on areas where I had never used numbing cream before. I will need to use a little more for perianal area next time. Otherwise I think I got the “dose” perfect in most areas. I applied the cream 1h30m before my appointment; timing perfect.

Skin is healing/reacting better each visit. I assume this is mainly because there are fewer hairs each time or maybe I’m just getting a tolerance for it. I brought an ice pack but barely had to use it this time.

#10

Johanne

Week 9 - Feb 27, 2016 (Underarms, Nipples, Brazilian 90%) [2h - Total: 11h20m / 680m]

Week 10 - Mar 4, 2016 (Underarms, Nipples, Brazilian 100%, Knees) [2h - Total: 13h20m / 800m]

Everything has been going great! Today we cleared everything including my knees which had last been done back in January by Electrologist 2. Had about 40 hairs total on both knees. This session we also started to notice what appears to be true regrowth on my underarms from Electrologist 1.

I perfected my recipe for numbing cream (4% lidocaine) for the lower Brazilian area. Almost no pain at all. No occlusion used.

  • Apply 3" strip 120 minutes prior
  • Apply 1" strip 90 minutes prior
  • Apply 1" strip 30 minutes prior

Healing, reactions and pain get better every time. I barely even have to use ice afterwards anymore.

Next appointment in 3 weeks.

#11

This is great info. I’m about two-thirds of the way through my “Brazilian” and agree that the shaft is the most painful area. I have stopped using any numbing creams since they never seemed to do anything for me. I just grin and bear it.

I started the process about a year ago and went quite often (weekly) for about 6 months. I just went back again for the first time in half a year and have about 10 more hours scheduled in the next 2 weeks. I want this to be over with. I’m not sure if my results are normal or if I should have had better results by now. There is definitely less hair growing but also more than I would have expected after the number of hours I have put into this. Oh well. :slight_smile:

#12

Yeah I know that everyone is different but I’m hoping that this information will be useful to someone to at least give them an idea of how long the whole process takes, etc.

I read some of your older posts and it sounds like you either have a lot more hair/density than I do or your electrologist is using a slower technique. My mound area took a total of maybe 1h45m to complete first clearance and it sounds like for you, at 4 hours you were only about halfway through the same area. So, I’m guessing you have about 4x as much hair as I do in the area? FWIW, I didn’t have any hairs on my inner thighs and my “happy trail” consisted of like 5 hairs total.

Do you know how many hours you are in at this point? Also, I’m curious why you took off half a year since it sounds like you have a lot of hours left?

#13

Great to hear so much detail! I assume they are using the management system? How many insertions so far?

#14

What is the management system? I’m not familiar with what that means?

I actually never asked so I have no idea.

#15

You can ask them next time. They will know what that means if they are using the XCELL Pro, which I am assuming they are?

#16

Johanne does use the XCELL Pro now. I know she keeps charts of all her clients but I don’t recall her writing down the number of insertions, but now I’m kind of curious myself

#17

Yeah, Johanne definitely uses the xCell Pro. I’ll have to ask if she’s using the management system and if she has a record of the insertions. I don’t recall her keeping track of the number of insertions on her paper chart. IIRC she mainly uses it to track the minutes used and she also adds some notes about treatment modality/strength used for future reference.

#18

It’s fun to watch the insertion count over the process. Insertions don’t mean hair count because some hairs need a second blast, but it gives you a decent idea of how fast she is and what was accomplished in a session. She can make a file for you and then print out the statistics for you to take home.

If you look on the screen of the XCELL Pro, you can see the insertion count. It is located in the upper part of the right hand corner. After I clear someone’s chin, I can look on the screen and tell the client how many insertions were made. I also give them a copy of the stats to keep after each session. Very cool and high tech. Here is an example of what I give my clients after a treatment:

#19

I just went back through my calendar to when I started and I’m shocked and somewhat dismayed to see that I have about 45 hours invested so far :frowning:

I think I need to have a chat with my electrologist when I see her next. Over $4k invested so far. Ugh.

#20

A friend of mine did a training course in a Dectro school in Canada. She is licensed. There she tried the XCell and she said this is not painful at all because of the 27.12 Hz…

Also the official distributor of Apilus in Spain did perform a demonstration in class with the XCell, saying that electrolysis is not painful at all with this new machine.

So I wonder why you need to use lidocaine ?