Home Electrolysis Diary

Hair Removal Methods Do-It-Yourself Electrolysis
#1

I just bought one of those One Touch home elec. devices and wondered whether it would be helpful to folks if I posted as I move forward on this project… let you know how it goes. Like this …

Day 1: Took it out of the box, thought it looked very intimdating. Looked more needle-like than I expected. Instructions were frightening. All that talk of “mild currents”, dodging the word “electrical” was kind of eerie.

Tried it on a place I didn’t care about - inside of my ankle. I was clumsy with it, felt like an idiot. At first I couldn’t even tell whether the device was turned on. So I turned up the “voltage”. Felt it (not painful compared to plucking) - counted to fifteen, tested with tweezers … hair came right out, shriveled at the end. Did it on several more hairs then put the device away. We’ll see…

So far, the skin’s pink and a little bumpy but no major complaints.

Shall I keep y’all posted? Is it helpful at all?

#2

Day 2: Rapidly losing resolve.
It’s those darn tips. The device has this tip on the end kind of needle-like that it says not to bend. Well … everything bends it. One little minorly off insertion and it comes out bent. It says to straighten it with tweezers. Well … that sort of straightens it, but once it’s bent, it doesn’t seem ever to become truly straight again. And when I decided to replace it with the extra tip that was included … the new one got bent when I while I was putting it in the device! Grrr.
Skin has healed nicely on the inside of my ankle. Safe to say I don’t have any particular bad reactions? The pinkness and the bumpiness have subsided already.
Still, I got frustrated this morning when it took me seven tries to get one hair because the hair shaft was thin and hard to probe. I was like, “Great. At this rate, I’ll remove one hair per day. In 100 years, the job should be done.” Oh well. Mixed review today.

#3

This is a great idea, Anonymous-- thanks for posting. I think it will help show the difficulties of doing this, as well as the potenetial benefits.

You mentioned bending the probes-- you can sometimes straighten them out with needle-nosed pliers.

The most common way of bending them is to accidentally brush them against something while the probe is extended. Always be carefl when moving ther stylus.

One way to help with insertions of to warm the skin with a damp washcloth prior to insertion. This can help open the follicles.

Defnintely keep us posted!

#4

Thanks for the tips! I’ll try 'em!

DAY 3 - Tried a couple hairs on my face for the first time. Good news - doesn’t seem to be damaging my skin (knock on wood). Even on the sensitive area of the face, it kind of puffed up for an hour or so and then went back to normal. Pretty good.

Bad news - on my ankle, I was looking directly at what I was doing. On my face, I’m using my reflection in the mirror. This makes finding the little tiny hair shaft that much harder. Almost impossibly hard. I got frustrated quickly with all the poking and prodding I had to do in my attempts at insertion. A couple times, I thought I was treating the hair, when I realized the probe really wasn’t inserted at all. I was just pressing it against my skin.

Instructions suggest having a friend do it for the face. What kind of altruistic friends does the manual-writer have? “Hi. Could you find a babysitter for your kids and come over here to stick needles in my skin? Thanks.”

No bad experiences yet, but beginning to wonder whether I’m a hopelessly impatient person. <g>

#5

Anonymous,
I like what you’re doing… So far I bought the one touch and I have just stared at it the last day or so… But in about 5 minutes I’m going to attempt it for the first time… Its not scary, its just seems impossible…

By the way, I bent the needle the sec I took it out of the box…

#6

It was many years ago when I first used a one touch (20 years I think). I since lost the unit. All you say was the same here, but I did get a section done on my leg after I just relaxed. Now my eyes are poor and that doesn’t help, but I do have a frind thathas the patients and will make it much better. 20 years later, there are no hairs in that spot (okay, maybe two or three). :wink:

#7

I’m relieved I’m not the only one, AHHH! :smile: That’s too funny!

And Puff, I find your news very encouraging! At least I can feel maybe somewhat confident that though this is proving CHALLENGING, at least, I hope, maybe, the hairs I’m removing will never come back. Your news is encouraging!

#8

DAY 4 - You’ll notice that “day 4” is actually several days after “day 3”. That’s because the thought of picking up the pain-in-the-butt thing has sort of been losing out to more immediate, simple, temporary methods of hair removal lately.

But, I finally got some extra time and decided to work on it some more.

The good news is I got into a groove with it a little bit today. I learned to treat several hairs boom-boom-boom, and then go back and pluck them. This saves time over the treat, pluck, treat, pluck method. It also increases the sense of progress. As it feels good to go back over the treated area with the tweezers and watch all the hairs slide out.

I’ve decided I do NOT like using the device on my upper lip. The hairs I have there are very soft, fine, blond. And I’m finding that the upper lip is so sensitive that it isn’t worth the puffing up I get after treatment just to remove a bunch of thin hairs. I’m preferring to use it on places where the hair is more stubborn and the skin is tougher - in my case, the sideburns area.

To note: It’s been one week, and the hair on my ankle has not returned or made any sign of returning. That’s kind of rewarding.

Wish I had more confidence about being able to get a larger area done. Sometimes just looking at the device makes me appreciate the simplicity of a shaving razor. :smile:

Oh yeah - and it says you can’t break the skin with this device. But it turns out - if you’re incompetent ENOUGH … you sure can! <G> Not badly though - but I did manage to prick myself just a tad. Granted, it was complete idiocy on my part. (Had just bent the needle, and decided to go in for another stab before stopping to straighten it. Turns out if it’s bent, you can prick yourself!) No biggie though.

#9

The whole things takes practice. The real trick is not getting impatient. Haste makes waste.

Proper insertion and adequate treatment time, even the right amount of the salt water are really vital to getting it right. It’s also vital to keep yourself hydrated with plently of fluids, moisturizers, etc. to help improve effectiveness.

You’ll find the more you do it, the better you get. Most people (myself included) can’t be bothered with the time-consuming aspect or the potential of doing it wrong and messing up our skin.

That’s not to discourage you, but to point out to those considering this is that it’s not the easiest thing in the world. You definitely have to make a commitment to doing it and doing it well. And to end on a positive if haste makes waste, practice makes perfect! :wink:

#10

This brings back memories. :smile:

I used the One Touch a few years ago. Oh, yes, those bended tips. I couldn’t get a new supply (I’m not in the US), so I ended up using bended tips endlessly. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but I found it worked great for thick hairs, in areas that aren’t too sensitive. I was too chicken to use it on thinner hair with tiny pores, or on areas that hurt bad when I tried.

I always used the lowest setting, never went higher than 2, but often went for double the recommended period instead. When the hair is “dead”, you can tell by the way it slides easily out, with the fatty sheath (or whatever it is) at the end more or less intact. If you have to pull it out by force, it wasn’t successful.

If you have any questions for someone who used that thing daily for eight months, feel free to ask.

Zari

#11

Do you ultimately feel it worked for you?

#12

Yes, it worked for me - on the limited area I used it on. I used it on hair in the sideburn area and under the chin, and it’s all gone.

Today, I’d rather go for laser, and this only if laser didn’t work. This is so time-consuming, painstaking and there is always the risk of scarring (I had none, but I was careful to keep the setting low).

It was definitely worth the effort.

Zari

#13

I have just bought the BaByliss Epiliss device. It looked easy enough to use so, after reading the instructions carefully, I had a go.

After trying it on my legs and not noticing any pain or redness, I decided to use it on some hairs around my eyebrows. While doing this, my vision seemed to go white for half a sec and it scared me tremendously. I turned it off and haven’t touched it since.

I decided to do some more research about the possible side effects and found that you should seek professional advice before using it on tattooed skin. I have a small tattoo on my ankle and have tried it there earlier on today, not knowing this wasn’t meant to be done.

I have tried nearly all hair removal methods and was looking forward to not having to worry about hairs for a long long time. I do not expect the effects to last forever, but if a few months of treatment can provide me with at least five years of results, I am satisfied. Epilators and wax don’t seem to do the trick and have to be repeated every two to three weeks, so this was the ultimate solution for my needs.

I don’t know what to do now. I want to continue the treatment but I don’t know what other risks could be involved. Can you help me, please???

#14

Hi Cecilia–

BaByliss Epiliss is a “trandermal patch” scam. I discuss this under the Transdermal/transcutaneous forum.

You must use a device where a probe is inserterd into the follicle if you want permanent results.

#15

Hello everyone. Zari (or anyone that knows)- I’m wondering which one of the electrolysis processes (galvanic, blend, thermolysis) is similiar to the device discussed in this board? Or if the needles are the same a professional would use, if so which one is that?

#16

Anonymous- What you are doing is great? This whole diary think is very creative and beneficial to others. Good Luck with the rest of the hair!

#17

Oh I have another question…Do you see the root of the hair when you (Anonymous of Zari) pull it out with the tweezers?

#18

Anonymous,

What your doing is great! I myself am weary of electrolysis, especially the do-it-yourself kits. So tell me, is this really working for you? and if so how much does it cost and where can I purchase this contraption?! :smile:

#19

Aqua, One Touch uses the galvanic system :smile: .

#20

One Touch devices can work, but they are not easy to use. The probes are thicker than the professionals use, which means it’s harder to treat finer hairs. In addition, a One Touch is battery-operated and does not allow for the range of power on a pro machine. You can get a permanent result if it’s done correctly, but that’s easier said than done.