Hello all! I’ve been a reader for a long time, first time posting.
I’m 37, redhead, the chin/neck hairs started when I turned 30 and I was a faithful daily plucker for 7 years. I’ ve heard women say they wax their mustache every 6 weeks and I wondered what was wrong with ME that it grew back every single day, like a man!
It really bothered me… I’m a “high maintenance” girly girl, always made up to the nines etc… This issue runs in my mothers side of the family and they all shave. I had no idea until I confessed to my mom! But even so, it seemed my hair was thicker and more coarse than theirs.
I thought I had it under secret control until a man I decided to stop seeing then sent me a nasty message about how “disgusting” I am, with a “billy goat beard”. It was so horrific to me I thought of suicide and had a very dark period of depression. I was always a very confident woman but now I don’t know if my self esteem will ever totally recover.
I bought a One Touch home machine and started using that but it did not work for me. I would swear it made the issue worse!
I then found an electrologist close to me and (thanks to this forum) stopped plucking for one month before my first appt. I only shave now.
Going to that initial appointment was terrifying for me, I was so ashamed to tell (and show!) anyone my “deformity”. But my electrologist is warm and understanding and has put me completely at ease. I could tolerate the One Touch fine so I wasn’t afraid of the pain and its not bad, I tolerate a high setting and feels good to me because it is progress with every zap!
I started in November, an hour a week for a month and now an hour every two weeks. It is slow going but I am seeing and feeling progress, and with that: hope! The dark red-brown hairs are disappearing and many have turned white and whispy.
When I tried the One Touch on my mustache area just one time I yelped out loud and my face contorted in PAIN! All this time I haven’t had the nerve to get zapped there but last week I applied lidocaine cream and tape to the corners of my mouth 40min before my appt and we started there, did about 15 hairs on each side… I want to do a little there at each session. It was more painful than the chin (used a lower setting) but with the cream I was able to tolerate it well.
Its a slow going process but as time goes on I see results and I’m feeling so much better. I am mostly able to camoflage the damage in between sessions with makeup. I stopped dating after the verbal attack but I look forward to the time the beard will be gone and I don’t have to feel ashamed and scared to let someone close.
I’m attaching some photos… The first one is from December, a few sessions in after the left and right sides of my chin had been cleared, but that swath in the middle was yet untouched.
A pic last month in the sunlight, a lot of the hair is blonde, so it shows up better in sun.
And a pic today, 6 days since my last session. I’ll keep updating this thread as things progress. I have been an avid reader of this forum and the progress threads were such motivation for me to begin this process!
qwerty Attachments
Middle untouched
Last month sunlight
Today, 6 days from last session… 6 months of treatment
