How can I tell if electrolysis on my back is working?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Electrolysis on the back - hourly estimates, how to tell if it’s working or not

Hello,

I have had 72 hours of electrolysis on my back, starting in June of 2020. Unfortunately I did not get a full shot of my back, but the picture below shows a good portion of my back after my very first 30 minute appointment (both sides of my back are roughly the same):

starting-out
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In January of 2021 I started doing 2 hours every week, doing either the left or right side of my back each appointment. My provider is well reviewed but a bit low on experience (2-3 years). He practices in an area with particularly high education requirements as well, so I have no reason to believe he is ripping me off.

My point in posting this is to hopefully get some feedback from more experienced providers and ideally some ideas on how to tell if I am legimately making progress. Despite the FDA approval of electrolysis, I am afraid I will be unresponsive to electrolysis. I have no idea how to really tell if the treatment is working or not. I spent about 5k on laser hair removal about a decade ago and it did nothing for me, not even minor reduction.

Questions:

  • For those with experience doing electrolysis on men’s backs, approximately how many hours did it take before getting 95%-100% removal with no regrowth?

  • My current plan is to continue doing 2 hours per week through 2022 and then take the first 6 months off in 2023 to assess how much hair comes back. By the end of December 2022 I will have had 174 hours of treatment. Given my photos, is ~170 hours of treatment sufficient time to expect 95-100% removal? I understand I may always have some hair back there due to folicles becoming active post treatment but my impression is that this is a relatively small amount of hair.

  • At what point should a client seek another provider? Are there any hourly numbers or specific things to look for when it is obvious that the electrolysis is not working?

I’m asking this of providers but if any clients have experience with getting electrolysis on their back, please chime in. It’s really hard to find accounts of electrolysis on the back - probably because it’s so painful and expensive that few guys bother to do it.

Looking forward to your feedback and thanks in advance.

#2

And below is a picture of my back in August of 2021 after about 4 weeks off (I take a couple weeks off before vacations to allow the skin to look normal when I’m with others)

aug-2021
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#3

Well, I can say, a solid “well done” to your electrologist. They do good work on a massive amount of hair.
People dont give enough creedance to the sheer quantity of hair on the torso areas of those prone to growing hair there. I also know it takes a minimum of at least 3 hair growth cycles ( lasting 5 -6 months in length ) to permanently clear an area. The time frame that you are speaking of is less than a year. You should see some difference, but also remember that 18 months is an ideal. It doesnt come into play unless you are getting enough treatment to removal all hair in the area in each cycle of growth. Not getting enough treatment can mean that your electrologist never accomplishes this.
So a hearty “Well done” to your practiioner. I’m not sure I’d be able to do a lot better.

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#4

People dont give enough creedence to the hairs you “dont see” right now thaat will grow in, nor to how much real estate there is on a big body area like a back. Depending on the client it can be a massive amount of work that an make 170 hours look like a drop in the bucket.

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#5

I appreciate the honesty.

At 170 hours, I will have spent more than $17,000 in electrolysis fees ($100 per hour). I’m still deciding at what price point I will throw in the towel, but even making good money, if 170 hours was a drop in the bucket, you have to ask if it’s really worth it.

#6

You can tell if electrolysis is working by monitoring how much growth you’re seeing and at 6 months mark you should be seeing real visual difference in growth and regrowth. When I was getting my back cleared I used to monitor how many hours it would take my electrologist to clear the flanks and gradually see that it would require less hours after 4-6 months per flank. But I wasn’t 99% cleared until after like 20 months of clearances. I had 2 different electrologists work on me. The first electrologist I started with was great but half way through I felt like I wasn’t seeing as much progress with her because she had basic visual aid and wasn’t seeing the thinning hairs well. The 2nd electrologist that I continued with had surgical loupes and worked with insulated probes which helped with comfort and so I continued with her and got the job done.
Why don’t you try a second electrologist for a few sessions to see if you notice faster work or less regrowth?