Hello all!
I have been scouring this forum to try to understand my predicament. Since I couldn’t put it all together, I have decided to just ask.
I live in a very small, almost rural town which has not a lot of choices for electrology, as you might imagine. I am a blatantly pudgy female with PCOS, and thus a fair amount of black hair in a sparse but dark “beard” on very light skin. I am not wealthy by any means and must sacrifice a lot in order for the weekly treatments.
I have been going 6 months now, with one hour a week sessions. (I had 2 hours a week the first weeks.) Around 25-30 hours total. I have not missed a single week in 6 months. I like the electrologist very much, and I know that she uses one of the highest settings on a thermolysis needle on me. I am pretty much ambivalent to the pain, except right under my nose. It stays red on my chin for almost the whole week, but clears up somewhat. It does not hurt, or blister or seem overtly damaged. It just stays red and slightly dimply. I assume this is normal and will fade when given the chance?
My problem is that it seemed like the hair growth had started to slack, and she could do a full clearance in 45 min-1 hour, no problem (the appointments have never been less in all these months.) But the last 2 weeks, the hair seems to be coming back like it did in the beginning. In fact, my last appointment, she finished only half my face and said the hour was up! She said she lost track of time. I was horrified to have to go out with half my face still hairy-- I had hoped she would do the darkest ones in the whole area instead of just all on one side, but I didn’t get the chance to say anything before she announced she was done because she had not watched the time more closely, and there was so much extra growth.
So, is this normal? I am nearly in tears because of the huge expense and time committment of the last 6 months seem almost for naught with the growth being almost just as full and annoying as it was when I began. I thought this was a permanent solution? Am I being duped? I am torn because I like her so much, I don’t want to accuse her of anything if she is doing everything right and it is just me-- she seems very very professional, etc. I do notice many times, I do feel her tugging the hair out, and I understand that is not a good sign-- but I also know she has zapped that hair 1 or 2 times, and still it tugs, so what is to be done? I always feel the hair being removed, either way. Just some hairs require more of a tug than others…I never feel that they are sliding out without any effort at all.
With no other options, and being broke by the cost, what would you advise? I read of success stories online which seem to take much less time than mine…I mean…maybe 6 months to a year, but not necessarily at 1 hour a week. I would not mind making the monetary sacrifices if I felt 100% confident it was leading to permanent removal…but I am just not seeing the results I expected-- am I expecting too much? How much longer do I “ride it out” to determine if it is a waste of time? Shouldn’t there be a great improvement after 6 months? With almost total clearance each week? I am just not sure what is to be expected, or if this is perfectly normal, and I just need to do it for a year. This 6 months of treatment has cost me almost $1500, and it still looks like it did in the beginning and I really am just devastated. Originally, I had only saved enough for 3 months, and she said there would be significant improvement in that time…but there wasn’t, so I continued, squeezing out every extra dollar I could. Now she says at least a year, if not more…am I just being led down the path?
Please set me straight, and give me some clear thoughts on the matter if you could.
Thanks, H. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />