frustrated, last resort?

I’ve never posted, so I dont know where to start. I guess my main area of concern is my upper lip. The hair is not coarse but it is slightly long(er) and just dark enough to look like a smudge in the right lights which makes me incredibly self conscious. My skin is light, the kind that tans some but mostly freckles on the face. I thought bleaching would be a good idea and was happy it didn’t react badly with my skin but with the length and amount of hair it is more visible and shiny than before in every light so i’m even more self conscious until if fades/grows out.

I really want to go straight to an effective treatment and i’ve been reading everything on here. (I’m so glad I found this place it saved me from a lot of errors and pain) I can’t deal with stubble or burns so I dont want waxing or laser. I’ve read that electrolysis is permanent but what i’m most afraid of is how long will the side effects last? I know everyone is different, but any guesses or experience with the skin/hair type I described? Maybe I have unreasonable expectations but I can’t go around for weeks with bumps and scabs! I’ve also read that in some cases “permanent” can mean only one year. So how permanent is electrolysis, really? I want it dead and gone forever! Thanks for any help and suggestions

Electrolysis is permanent. That means lasts longer than a year. Permanent, like, in forever. Once a GROWING hair follicle is properly treated, it’s long gone.

You either need to get a recommendation from some one who has been to a skilled electrologist and had good results within a 9-12 month time frame OR you need to interview as many electrologists as you can, meaning getting sample treatments, too,so you can see how you heal. Do tell him/her at that first consultation that you would expect not to walk around for days or weeks with scabs or redness on your face. If she is skilled and understands the energy and timing levels on her epilator and her insertions are good, you will be flying high real soon.

Your expectations are NOT unreasonable. It is hightly possible to get permanent hair removal, meaning the one and only -electrolysis, and not have anyone know what you are up to. No clues. Skill, and in a lot of cases, investing in up-to-date equipment helps clients better achieve results and good skin reaction in a decent time frame. Now if you are a hormonal mess, it may take longer. I just know what is possible because I do the same thing day after day with great results. I do not accept comments like, ‘one needs to have scabs’ on her face for electrolysis to be effective or that scabs are inevitable, or no pain no gain. It just ain’t so!

So do shop around and let your expectations be known. Pay for a ten, fifteen or twenty minute treatment and see how all goes. Do this with a couple or more electrologists. You will see a wide range differences most likely.

Dee

From how you describe your upper lip hair problem, it should not take you long to overcome it. Remember that you must start seeing good results within approximately 4-5 months after starting treatments. Be sure to let us know how your sample treatments go. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

it doesn’t sound like you have a lot of hair either. your problem can be relatively easily resolved. I had mine done. you shouldn’t have any side effects most of the time. Sometimes just some scabs for up to a week at most which fall off. nothing a little makeup won’t cover if need be. it won’t be noticeable. and use proper aftercare to make them go away even faster. it’ll take you 9-12 months to be done with regular treatments. you should get clearance quickly on such a small area in one sitting. after that, you’ll need to come in as new hairs come out of dormancy to zap them. you’ll always look like you’re “done”, but no more hairs will be coming in at all after 9-12 months, and after 4-5 months, you might only have a couple hairs every month to treat. good luck and keep us posted. electrolysis is permanent.

You should be able to get treatment on the upper lip with no scabbing. If you are concerned, tell your electrologist that you would like to be conservative in progressing with the treatment.

I love it when clients bleach their upper lip prior to treatment. I ask how often they bleach, then we schedule the treatment for the day they would be applying bleach next. What I do is look through the hair for the unbleached hair. The hairs that are bleached to the skin are not growing right now - they are sitting on the skin waiting to fall out. They will be replaced in their own time. The client returns at intervals in which they were bleaching, so that I can pick up the newly growing hairs. After several weeks, those original “bleached to the skin” hairs begin falling out and their replacements begin showing up. We continue scheduling to pick up the new hairs and we eventually run out of hair to treat.

thanks everyone i’m feeling much more knowledgeable and prepared so i’m very optimistic that i can do this!