Feeling discouraged, desperate and depresed

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi Hairtell,

I have been lurking on these forums for 2+ years and would love to get your opinion on something. I have been getting electrolysis for the last 1.5 years every 2-3 weeks (45 min sessions) and I feel there has been very little improvement; I am starting to get very discouraged and feel like giving up. The hairs are still just as coarse and I have not seen any noticeable difference in density. My electrologist says it is slowly improving but my session time and frequency are not going down. So should I give up or look for someone new?? I do like the person I am seeing now, and she leaves no scabbing which is great compared to the person I saw before (left my face a mess) but I am just not seeing the results I was expecting over an 18 month period. Every so often I will think a hair is most definitely gone for good only to have it pop up a few months later.

A little more background info:
Getting chin and upper lip treated and a few other misc hairs; on the chin most of the hairs were distorted from plucking, on upper lip only a few were and not as bad. Mostly blend with some flash for thinner hairs. Electrologist uses an Apilus Senior I think. On an average treatment she will remove 70-90 hairs from chin (yes I count!! haha); usually lose track on the upper lip. I estimate I’ve gotten 15-18 hours total over the last 18 months.

#2

Hi tosot,

If you have been lurking here for 2 years then you know the answer to your question. I guess you just want to hear it from a pro as well. So here you go: Look for another electrologist!
Sorry for being so blunt, but I tend to be quite straight talking. Nothing personal.

List of reasons why you should do that:

  • 18 months seems a reasonable amount of time to give a practitioner to prove herself. You really should be seeing results by now. Even if you are one of those clients that wiggle a lot and make an insertion very tricky, you should see difference by now. Even if you were plucking, before you started electrolysis and didn’t allow a long period of growth prior to first electrolysis to appreciate how much growth there really is, you should notice a difference by now. Even my most pessimistic clients see the light in the end of the tunnel by 18 months.
    *I presume you get cleared every time you get a treatment. If not, then your electrologist should have offered (and you should follow her advice) a different treatment plan where more is done in one sitting or frequency of treatments is increased to address your concerns.
    I understand your concerns with regards to your previous experience, but you need to shop around to find someone in the middle between your previous and your current techs. Some redness, swelling and healing is expected and part of the process of killing hair, but an experienced electrologist can minimise it while still maintaining the effectiveness of the treatment.

Pictures would be helpful to be more specific. Some before and afters would be useful even more.

#3

Also, does it feel like plucking at all when your electrolysis removes the hairs?

I had an early session like that and, yeah, the hairs weren’t being killed at all, I don’t think.

But as geri said, before and after pictures would help! Good luck; I hope you find a better electrologist, if it’s true that the one you’re working with now hasn’t made any difference (even though that seems surprising, after 18 months?).

#4

Thanks for the feedback; not harsh at all haha.On the thicker hairs I feel a tugging but not quite full blown plucking. When I ask her about it she says they are releasing but they are so deep that I still feel it. Yes I am getting a full clearance every time. I don’t have before and afters but my upper lip is honestly not that bad (a little more than peach fuzz with maybe 15 thicker hairs on the edges) and the chin has a pretty dense circle of I would guess around 65-80 thick hairs visible at any moment. I have not plucked at all since starting; I don’t wiggle or fidget.

I guess I will start searching for a new one!! Any recommendations in the NYC / NJ area?

#5

Hi tosot, that doesn’t sound good to me either. I have been receiving treatment for about the same length of time as you (just under 18 months though) and I feel very close to being finished.

I hope you are able to find a good practitioner. Goodluck.

#6

My dear,
I would expect you to be finished by now, if that’s the case.
I will call help from our American colleagues on our FB groups to recommend someone to respond to you soon with regards to NYC based practitioners.

#7

Thank you!! That would be much appreciated.

#8

Arlene Batz in Queens or any of the Lucy Peters offices in Manhattan. I believe Lucy has an office in northern NJ also.