I just need clarification and answers

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I have been going for electrolysis on my beard since early November. I skipped a few weeks here and there. I have had 5 15 minute sessions and 4 30 minute sessions on the sides of my chin. My facial hair is course, but not as course where my electrolysist has started.

After my session is finished I see where she worked very clearly. The area is 95 percent cleared. However within the week the areas get hair again and if I miss an appointment by 5 days the areas are fully grown back again.
I am going for a 30 minute session today, I have spent hundreds of dollars and 3 hr 15 minutes on my face and barely see any results. I am just frustrated and can’t believe how slow this process is.

I just don’t understand when will she finally clear these areas for a decent amount of time, so she can work on other spots.

I need help because this is driving me nuts. I hate my facial hair and seeing barely any results upsets me.

#2

Beards take about 100 Hours. You are just beginning your process.

#3

Thanks for your response. How many hours does it take for one section to be cleared for more than a week?

The area she did today are cleared, when will the hair stop returning in those spots, so we can finally move on to other areas?

I really appreciate your time and response.

I also have some blood dots, is that okay?

#4

Have you asked these questions to the person who you trust to treat your face at the moment? What were the answers to your questions?

#5

to clear any area completely, takes a minimum of 9-12 months, no matter how many times they treat it. Ideally the area should be cleared 3 or so times, about 4 months apart.

The chin is an area that I fought with the most ( called it my nemesis!) it seems to see a lot of regrowth.

It’s not really possible for one electrologist to split it into areas and give time estimates on another electrologists work, we all work differently.

Michael would be the first to tell you what you are after is a TOTAL TREATMENT TIME and that’s what he has given you, roughly 100 hours, though this number can vary up or down a bit by how dense the hair is , the speed of the electrologist, and their kill rate. The chin is an area generally of very dense growth.

I generally recommend for a beard removal about 2-3 hours a week for the first 6-9 months then dwindling down from there. With 2 hours a week, not missing any weeks, 100 hours computes to just about 1 year ( 52 weeks in a year).

He’s also correct that the little bit you have done so far is a drop in the bucket. Be patient,aand dont let the dysphoria get to you… 4-6 months in on the 2 hour plan is generally the time where people get very down on themselves that they arent making progress, but really they are. You have to force yourself to believe that you are sometimes. Also, take some pictures ( now if you havent already) so that when you get to that 4-6 month mark, you can compare them with your face and visually see the difference.

Seana

#6

Thanks so much for your reply, I really appreciate it.
Well I try to go every week. I can only tolerate 30 minutes of treatment though. I can’t go more than once a week. If it really takes that long to clear a single area I’ll never get done. This is just disappointing to hear. I really thought this would be the answer, but the process takes so long.

I wish I saw improvement as I went along though. I would get encouragement that way.

My problem area is not on my chin though. I have finer hair there and more course hair on the sides of my chin. My problem area is on my jawline up to my cheeks.

I can’t wait for that area to be treated.
It’s like when she clears dark hair you can really see a difference, but when she clears the lighter brown hair I don’t see the difference as much.

It’s just by the next week the area has hair again.
It’s very discouraging.

I just wish the hair didn’t grow back in those areas for at least 2 weeks, so we could get to other spots.
I just am stuck and don’t see an end in sight.

So, in a few days it’s normal for these areas she treated today and has multiple times to be full of hair again?

#7

fenix, my electrolysist is very nice. I asked her in the beginning will this hair return and she just said I had a long way to go. She told me the hair will return, but not right away. She said the hair will weaken over time. She doesn’t like to be questioned about her treatment though.

#8

Also, the first 6 treatments didn’t hurt that much. The past 4 have been very painful. Did she raise the settings or something because she sees that’s what the hair needs to be released or since I’ve been going months now she thinks I can handle it?

I thought the pain was supposed to lessen as you get used to it?

#9

I don’t know how much hair you have, but for me (with a full beard), I was basically done after 9 months going 3-4 hours per week (sometimes I missed a few weeks here and there). After that it was basically touchups. It’s a huge time commitment but well worth it if you stick with it.

As for pain, tbh, it’s somewhat random. There were somedays I could go for hours no problem, and other days I could go 5 minutes before twitching in pain. My advice: just get a good night’s sleep beforehand and stay hydrated. That’s basically all you can do

#10

I have alot of course dark brown hair from sideburn to sideburn wrapped around. I don’t have much on my chin. There’s alot on the jawline to cheek.

I can only go 30 minutes a week for financial, time and pain reasons.

I guess it will take years for me to be even close to being finished.

I have had a little under 4 hours done on the sides of my chin and within a week the hair is grown back.

I wish that these areas could go two weeks without having to be treated so other areas could start being treated.

It’s like these areas have only reduced a drop, but every week the same area gets treated, it’s been like this since November.

I wouldn’t mind about the time so much, if I saw progress. I would settle for my facial hair to be reduced and easier to manage. I would love to see results that lasted more than a week after a treatment.

I would feel so encouraged to keep going and it would make all the pain and money worth it.

If just one spot was still gone after a week of treatment I would be thrilled.

#11

Yes, going in 30 minutes a week is not realistic to expect to be done in a year.

#12

Well I don’t need to be done in a year.I just want to see progress in a year. It would be great to get to the point where my electrolysist just has to do my problem areas and I don’t have to anymore. I want spots to not return in a week anymore.

#13

There are no shortcuts to the process as you see. A lot of patience will be your key to success. No one can accurately estimate when you will start seeing the results you want because of so many variables involved. But be consistent with your schedule and you will start seeing visual changes in 6 months.

#14

Yes I’m trying to be patient. So, you think in a few more months I will see really noticeable changes even though I only go 30 minutes a week?

#15

Hi GH101, in one of your first posts back in November 2015, you had mentioned that you were struggling with female hirsutism. Do you have photos that you can upload? Electrolysis, correctly administered, will work for you. But it does take time and patience. Best wishes.

#16

Well, I wasn’t diagnosed with anything, I have a high testosterone.

I have dark course facial hair wrapped around my face on my jawline, sideburns, cheeks, neck and some on chin/upper lip.
I will try to post some pictures, I can’t hook my camera up to my tablet.

I have hair on my chest and stomach too, but I can’t afford to get electrolysis there too.

I have hundreds of hairs on my face and I just hope electrolysis works for me.

I just want to see a spot not return within the week. So, at every appointment I can have a different spot done.

Like one week an area is treated, then it would hold for 2 weeks, then at the next appointment another area and that area would hold for 2 weeks.

I’ve been getting the same spot done since November. I put the ice on the sides of my chin then she works there week after week, then within a couple days after treatment hairs regrow in that area.

I just have no idea why these areas get full of hair by my next appointment. Haven’t all these hairs been treated yet, so these areas can go longer then a week without needing treatment.

It’s very frustrating to have spent hundreds of dollars and hours in pain to see barely any changes a week after treatment.

#17

I belive most of us understand your frustration with the new growth of hair cycles that you are seeing. The thing with electrolysis is this : It is NOT instant gratification. I tell all my clients with thick facial hair to expect to continue treatments for about possibly up to a year, or year and a half. On lighter cases, they may take less time, but don’t expect instant gratification because it not going to happen over night. If you can commit to come in on a schedule, and can be patient, then your results in a few months will show you reduction and eventually permanence. The time and money will be well worth it at the very end when you achieve your goal of being hairless.
Best of Luck to you and keep up with the updates!

#18

Yup, that is how it works. Fasten your seat belt and go! The first 4-6 months are the hardest. Stay on a schedule where your appointments are closer together and longer. In most cases, you can get cleared every time you go in. Things slow down around 6 months and you are almost finished by month twelve. Then, it is nit picking from month 12-18. Boom! you are finished, unless Mother Nature decides to stimulate more hair on hormonally vulnerable areas like a woman’s face some time in the future.

#19

Hi, thanks for the answers. I can only go once a week for 30 minutes. She has been able to pretty much clear the sides of my chin. I didn’t see much regrowth last week. Yesterday I felt the setting wasn’t as high because it didn’t hurt as much. However some course hair that was being treated for the first time felt pulled. It seemed she had to treat those hairs more than once. I wonder why the setting was lowered? Do electrolysists change up settings sometimes?

The week before it was a very painful session, but the hair slid out. I rather it be more painful and work.

My new question is if the hairs do feel like they’re being pulled are they not being treated and are essentially just being plucked? I am extremely concerned about these hairs getting worse because the areas she is doing I don’t usually do anything but trim with scissors. I see a few dark hair spots around those areas now.

Also, she still hasn’t gotten to my dark course hair yet. She keeps doing the same spots that have medium hair. Should I just let her work and eventually she’ll get to those problem areas, or should I speak upo and say something?

I feel like I am paying for her expertise and I don’t want to micro manage her job. I feel like she may have a system or something and I don’t want to mess it up. I just can’t wait for her to treat my problem areas already.

Thanks so much for the help!

#20

Talk. To. Your. Electrologist!

Ask these questions directly to her. Okay?