I have been getting electrolysis for white chin hairs for some time, and the kill rate is very low. I feel like my electrologist is using the wrong settings. I’ve printed info off the web on various techniques of blend settings, but she doesn’t seem to understand how to change what she’s doing. Anyway, has anyone had success in white chin hair removal. If so, can you give me any advice?
Settings for different machines and modalities vary, so it’s hard to comment on your situation without more information. Different individuals also have different needs, so you can’t just print off settings from the internet and expect those to be amenable to your hair and skin. All we can tell you vis-a-vis settings is that the best one for you is the gentlest one possible that allows the hairs to slide out without resistance. Hopefully your electrologist knows how to select the best parameters for you.
- When you are treated, do the hairs slide out without any resistance?
- Were you using other hair removal methods prior to commencing electrolysis?
- How long have you been getting electrolysis? Are you achieving clearances each time?
- Are you M or F? If the latter, are you post menopausal?
JMISR: Thanks for your reply and information.
- Yes, she is very careful about not tugging too hard.
- I started with electrolysis about 2.5 years ago on my upper lip, then had a series of 4 full face IPL sessions which removed I would say about 90% of my dark hairs.
3)I’ve done about a year averaging 2.0 hours electrolysis per week (but I had breaks so it is spread over 2 years). The problem is I am not seeing a real significant reduction in the number of white hairs. The dark hairs that are left are not a huge concern. I spent about $1000 this winter alone with a focus on removing the white hairs, and I can’t see that there has been a real change in numbers of white hairs returning. (they are concentrated on the chin area.
4)I am pre-op transsexual mtf. I’ve been on HRT for over 2 years as well.
I thought perhaps I could find someone who is a professional to advise me for a fee, after the appropriate information about the equipment and settings used is exchanged. I’m sure that my electrologist would be willing to work with me in tandem with someone else to achieve the goal. I just don’t think she has the experience with this type of work. Also, I live in a remote small town and she is the only person who performs this service.
Any ideas or leads would be most welcome.
I understand your frustration with all of this. A few thoughts:
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It can be hard to judge results without before and after photos.
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It’s really important that treated hairs slide out without any resistance. You shouldn’t feel any tweezing. Are you sure this has been the case?
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Speed varies by electrologist, your hair/anatomy, and modality. The most important thing is to get clearances with each treatment. Do you achieve full clearance of the grey hairs with each treatment? Keep in mind that if you still have dark facial hair left, it can continue to lose pigment with age.
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You really have to consistently get clearances every 4-6 weeks for about 9-18 (sometimes longer) with no breaks. Because hair grows in cycles, and because what you see at any given time is only 20-30% of the total hair you have in that area, it may SEEM like you aren’t getting results even though you are.
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Blend is slow, and not ideal (time-wise, not effectiveness) for a large number of hairs. Can you post your location (approximate/relative is fine)? Even if you have to drive some distance to a better electrologist, it would be worth it. A faster modality like flash thermolysis would help cut down on chair time.
Hopefully one of the resident electrologists on here will also have more ideas.
Heya, look up posts by Caith. He’s been having excellent results on his white chin and upper lip hairs.
I’ve been quite pleased with my progress. Brielle, you can read my thread here. I’ve included pictures throughout the six months. Some details regarding my treatment:
o Apilus Senior II machine
o Treatment using flash thermolysis
o Electrologist with 30 years experience
o Weekly appointments of two hours each
o Recently switched to using Laurier IBP (needle/probe)
The last item has been a real eye-opener for both my electrologist and me. Before using the Laurier probe, her kill rate was very, very good. After using the Laurier probe, it became significantly better and my skin suffered less. It was a huge win-win for us both.
Thanks to all for your comments.
Caith: I’m still going through your thread, and learning as I go. I was wondering why you stressed Polysporin cream rather than ointment for your treated areas? I do pretty much what you do - using either salicylic acid or peroxide, then moisturizer.
JMISR: I can’t post any photos right now, but I will in the future when I’m having work done. I’m giving my chin a break right now. I just finished 30 hours over the period of Dec to April. The entire area of my chin and neck don’t get cleared every session. I would say that over two sessions they do and I was usually getting two sessions within a ten day period. My electrologist only operates her business part time either 1 or two days a week (usually two). So I would take as many hour long appts as she would give me over the winter. I can’t say where I am because I’m afraid someone on hairtell.com may sus out who she is. She is a wonderful person and has always done the best for me (also gives me a price break which is very reasonable).
I’ve talked to my electrologist about the different methods and settings. She is using blend, the basic recommended settings for white coarse hairs. I printed the blend information from Hairzapper.com Blend Page, and discussed it with my electrologist before the last round of sessions. It didn’t seem to make any difference though - we just continued using the recommended settings and that’s about all she can tell me. I think that we usually treat around an average of 6-700 hairs per hour session.
After reconsidering, the ease at which the follicle slides out may not be 100% no resistance. In the future sessions, I’ll pay close attention.
I really have no other options for electrolysis. The only other technician is an hour away by bus in another one horse town. In that case it would be a full day trip, twice a week, which I couldn’t possibly do. My current electrologist lives two blocks from me!
I want to do another round of laser this fall and then continue with electrology. I’ll probably start a bit earlier, maybe in October. So I’d like to keep a dialogue going here and use photos etc. I don’t want to make it sound like my electrologist is incompetent in any way. If anything I’ve said so far makes it seem like that, please disregard that aspect. Thanks again for your help everyone. Bree
Why not make a trip to someone who can give you a full clearance, and then, maybe your lady could keep you clear with your once a week appointment?
Because my clients get full clearances, they need only come in for treatments once every 6 weeks or more.
As for your location, why not just give your state? Unless you live in New Mexico, no one could “sus out” who is working on you with that little information.
James W. Walker VII: I’m in British Columbia, Canada - I do get full clearance already doing one hour two days in a row. I’m just getting to know people here and do appreciate all advice given. I will get more info from my electrologist, ie: her machine and the settings we have been using.
Hi Brielle, I think James mentioned that idea if you were not satisfied with your electrologist. If you have been getting regular clearance you should have seen results by now. If not complete removal, at least the time it should take for clearance should be greatly reduced as their should be less hairs to treat.
It is my experience that as long as you are getting full clearance in 3 to 6 weeks, you can keep on top of a treatment plan to bring it to an end in +/- 18 months.
Any help we can give you and your practitioner would be our pleasure.
Thanks James & stopit: I’ll get my records from the electrologist and equipment details so I can pass them along. This is awesome!
Bree:
I prefer antibiotic cream, because it is lighter and thinner than ointment. In my opinion, ointment would be more likely to clog pores, while cream would not. Also, you will find that I stopped using moisturizer for the first three days following treatment. I realized the alcohols in it were causing more long-lasting redness and inflammation than the electrolysis treatment itself. Instead of moisturizer, for the first three days I wash, then rinse the area with Dickinson’s Witch Hazel.
Thanks for the follow up Caith, I’ll try the witch hazel. If anyone else checks back, here’s what my electrologist said:
My machine is called Sequentium 328 by Silhouet tone, and I have been using the program function in thermolysis which is fully automatic on you.
She inserts the probe and hits the foot switch zapper then removes the hair. The probe is only in for a second or so.
I’m back getting white hairs removed from my chin - I usually go for 4-5 months during winter so I can hide my chin with a scarf. I paid careful attention today in an hour session and I noticed that she was tugging quite a bit to pull the hairs out. I mentioned it a few times and she said that she had it at the highest setting for coarse white hairs. Sometimes she does two zaps per follicle and others not. What else can I suggest to her?
In her words, “My machine is called Sequentium 328 by Silhouet tone, and I have been using the program function in thermolysis which is fully automatic on you.”
No tugging allowed. I don’t think you can tell her what to do. She is the professional and should know how to adjust to such situations. If her epilator is not powerful enough, then maybe it is time for an upgrade. It may be as simple as shooting on the left side of the hair, then the right side and then down the middle. Probe choice is important. The probe’s diameter should match the size of the hair. If she had an Apilus Platinum, she could switch to the machine gun thermolysis mode called Synchro (rat-a-tat-tat)! If she was using multi-needle galvanic, it would be mission accomplished with those sturdy, white hairs.There are many paths to permanent hair removal and all should be performed with no tugging or traction.
Have a heart to heart talk with her about want you know. You know that tugging is wrong. She does, too. Either she responds or she makes excuses. Give her a chance to figure this out at the next appointment.
How many electrologists have you gotten sample treatments or short treatments from?
Thank you for your response. Unfortunately I live in a small town and she is the only electrologist. I would have tried others by now for sure. I’ll discuss this with her but I don’t have much faith at this point. I went through the process of trying to discuss this with her over a year ago and I can’t seem to get anywhere. According to what you’ve said about thermolysis Synchro mode and multi needle galvanic, it looks to me like I need to find an electrologist who can perform those type methods in order to have any success. I am seriously thinking that the next appointment may be my last. I’ll let you know what she says.
Rather than get depressed about it, I will try to scout around the internet and find the nearest electrologist who performs these methods.
Thanks again. This helps so much.
Well, like I said, there are many paths to permanent hair removal, which fall under the umbrella of ‘ELECTROLYSIS’. You may not easily find an electrologist that uses a high-tech epilator like the Apilus Platinum with a thermolysis mode called Synchro or one who still performs a tried, but true and highly effective modality like Multi-probe galvanic. The point I was trying to make was that both old and new modalities of electrolysis will take you to the end goal of permanently removing your stubborn chin hairs. Just go to as many others as you can and see what their ability is to treat hair without tugging and traction. Good luck.
Will do. Thanks.
I have used this epilator. If I remember correctly, there are some pulsing options on this epilator. Would like to hear that there is no tugging with extraction of the hair…
One day the mother board of this baby will croak and she will have to replace it. Of all the epilators I’ve ever used - it is my least favorite…that said, it might be the closest thing to the Platinum that I’ve used. When the time comes, you might encourage her to look into the Platinum. It’s pricey, but worth it.