So, here is the issue. I live in an area where I do not think (but am still trying to find) there is an electrologist who uses ideal equipment. There is one who I am seeing tomorrow who has alot of experience, but I have seen electrologists before who also had experience but who knew too little/did too little.
So, I might have to travel to London every other week to see what gather from this forum is a good electrologist, but cannot necessarily afford to do that all the time.
Is it reasonable to
a) only go once a month (if I can deal with the hair between)
or
b) go to my local person (assuming she is not TERRIBLE) once a month and then london once a month.
I need to figure out a way to balance feasibility, sanity, and results.
If you can do enough work to get full clearances, you could go once every 4 to 8 weeks. In the beginning, the hard part is getting to full clearance, but after that, it is easy to keep it off, if you get full clearances. So in that case, traveling is not an issue.
How you want to do it is to get as much hair as possible removed(all being the best case) and then, you can reclear them out again in about 6 weeks. In the time between, you can shave. Many of my clients find that they need only shave once a week during this period of time in between appointments.
A first, full clearance means all the hair that is bothersome hair is removed in an area of concern as soon as possible. You will then look like you do not have a hair problem after that, but hang on to your hat because you will see several groups of hairs cycle in every three to six weeks after that for about a year. The amount of hair gets less and less each time.
Many tell me that they dont have to shave as often and within a few months, they don’t have to shave at all in between treatments.
Get the hair off fast and keep it off. The faster forms of thermolysis allows this kind of plan to work well. Clients feel the joy and are very hopeful about becoming hairfree when they find a skilled electrologist that knows how to do this right. A slow, unskilled electrologist causes much frustration and despair for her clients.
You should be able to guage if 4 weeks is too long or
not based on the amount of growth you get in the interim.
You could also shave in between if you had to,
and then let it grow out a bit before treatment.
I agree with James and Dee that full clearance is the best
way to go.
I had a friend who went to two different electrologists,
one of whom she referred to as L*** the Destroyer!
I know nothing about a sterex epilator. I have never used one.
The mantra around here is, if the practitioner is skilled and uses any epilator with skill, then you are in good hands. There are advantages beyond using basic epilators for the client and electrologist when higher tech epilators are used. We’ve already explained that many times before, but basically, those advantages include decreased sensation, skin reaction and healing, and speed to completion.
If she uses her sterex well, you will get pemanent hair removal. Watch for things like hygiene, sensation of being tweezed while having treatment and her ability to remove a decent amount of hair. If she does an area the size of a dime in one hour, then you are in for a long ride.
Watch that healing and give her feedback even if she doesn’t ask for it. Give her a chance, no matter what epilator she uses.
Inuk, Just to put your mind at rest…the Sterex Machines are good machines, it’s just that Sterex is widely used in the UK. If you go to the Sterex website you will be able to see a picture of all their machines and get an idea of what each machine does. I would have to say though…after having been treated with both Sterex & Apilus, I much prefer the Apilus!
Who is the person in London that you were thinking of seeing?
I have had two sessions with my local electrologist and I am very happy with her skill level. NO scabbing or irritation, no plucking sensations, and she does work quickly.
I am really scared about my induced hair growth. My fear is that I haven’t seen the worst of it. I am just trying to remain calm and remember that as long as I keep going in weekly the new hairs can be zapped as soon as they come in, and I may never know the full extent of the damage so long as I go in for weekly treatments for as long as I can.
I hope that within a few months I can see an improvement. I am so miserable about having ever allowed a laser to touch my face. I cannot believe how much damage a single crappy treatment can do.
Electrolysis is the net that laser failures fall into and you will be just fine. Stay with a good electrologist and give her enough time up front to get to that first clearance. This is another example why I never recommend laser hair reduction for a woman’s face. A skilled and properly tooled electrologist can bring visual relief within a session or a couple of sessions if the client gives her time up front.
thank you d and thank you for being here to reassure us. I appreciate your, James’, and all the other experts’ sincere dedication to helping people cope with the difficulty of having unwanted hair in a fairly trichophobic society. Unlike the a-holes who perform laser to get a quick buck and get you out the door, you guys seem to really give a damn about the emotional state of your clients (and of course their appearance).
Thank you.
It feels good to be told I will be ok because its hard to remember that. Every now and then I feel soooooo scared about this but I try to remember that there are worse embarrassing problems and ones which cannot as easily be fixed with time and money. still, its really hard.
Just come here when you have doubts and fear - it will be just like therapy and far less costly. This hair removal is tough, but it really goes well if you hook up with a professional. Your electrologist sounds good so far!
I am a firm believer in holding businesses accountable. If you are unhappy, talk it out with the laser place you went to and even make suggestions if you have any. Ask for your money back and say you have to use it for electrolysis now. If they didn’t tell you that more hair could be stimulated and then let YOU make the choice as to whether to proceed, then they should put something in writing for the next poor soul that comes in hopful about solving their hair problem. I’m sure many are thinking I’m naive, but why not run a business with honesty?
I thought that the average time for a single hair to reappear after treatment is supposed to be a 4-6 weeks
I know for a fact how much hair I have in a certain area- they are countable. I am pretty certain that these hairs keep coming back ever 2 weeks. Is there a problem here?
If the hair is being removed properly, you are only seeing the next group of hairs coming in on schedule. A hair that was not in phase, but treated properly would not come back until the next year.
If the hair was not treated properly, and/or broke off beneath the surface of the skin, you could see the same hairs in that amount of time.
Well, I think that is a matter of perception. Just because the hair count is the same in two weeks, doesn’t mean they are the same hairs. I don’t think it is possible for the same hairs to come back if they’ve been removed as in plucking.
I’ve had some areas which seem like no progress has been getting done. Over quite a period of time, the amount of hairs in those areas have slowly decreased. Besides that, they are much lighter and thinner in comparison to when I started.
I’ve been getting my shoulders and upper arms done with electrolysis for 10 months now after induced growth occured with many IPL treatments. It’s starting to get frustrating because I get them cleared every 3 weeks and sure enough another batch pops up 3 weeks later. I was hoping to see more progress by now.
This is where you need your progress pictures.
No one who takes a Before, and regular During pictures ever doubts that they will make it to the After picture phase. As you are doing the work, you can’t see the forrest for the trees. As a matter of fact, when it comes to hair, the statistic is that you must lose at least 50% of the hair you have in an area before anyone notices there is a difference.