Increase in Hair Growth Since Beginning Electrolys

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I have never seen as much visible hair appear on my chin at one time until I began electrolysis.Please note, that I am not exaggerating but reporting my personal observation.

Prior to electrolysis, I did not have many hairs appear at one time on my chin. I used to have a few coarse hairs come up that I would then pluck (2-4) and I would not see them again for a while. Now, I am seeing 10-15 coarse hairs at one time appear in between sessions every single week (or 4-5 days after my treatments, like clock-work). This never used to be the case for me prior to beginning electrolysis. I have never had to pluck that many hairs off of my face ever. Now, if I were plucking, I would be plucking over a dozen hairs in one setting. Therefore, it appears that the process is either causing new hairs to grow that did not exist before, or is causing rapid accelerated regrowth of hairs under the skin.

I found the following on an electrologist’s website about thermolysis and regrowth:

“Thermolysis (the preferred method by Tami) is a quick process taking very little time with each hair. A large area is able to be covered in one appointment. There is a slightly higher rate of re-growth with Thermolysis but the faster treatment time allows them to be caught quickly when they grow back finer and lighter. After a series of treatments the hairs will not grow back and will then be permanently removed.”

I don’t know what method my electrologist uses but the machine is an Aepulus 5000. I also don’t believe that the majority of the numerous hairs I am seeing is regrowth of hairs that were removed prior, but rather newly stimulated hairs or hairs that are rapidly growing faster and becoming visible quicker due to electrolysis.

Also,

A reputable electrologist on the hairtell.com web forum said the following in a post some time ago:

"I do believe that poorly treated hairs can take a week to return. Do not forget that electrolysis brings extra blood to the area (making it all happen faster), and therefore, the time it takes a hair to return is not the same as when the hair is removed with tweezers. "

Isn’t she then saying that because blood is rushing to the area, it could be stimulating sleeping hairs just like tweezing would do? I would imagine this would be the case whether or not the hairs in the area are “poorly treated” since blood is rushing to the same region regardless.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? I believe I am able to notice this more because my chin hair growth isn’t dense and began as sparse, and thus I can observe this occurrence more than someone who has a full beard growing in a concentrated area. What are your thoughts and opinions on this? If this has been the experience of some clients or electrologists alike, does it eventually taper off or will this problem continue to exacerbate for a time?

#2

It is not possible. The injury to the skin from electrolysis is so tiny that there is no chance of stimulating growth (compared to say laser where a large amount of heat and light strikes the skin and scatters.) A properly treated hair is dead the very instant it is treated; that “grows back finer and lighter” stuff is outdated and untrue, though it still pops up in patient handouts for some reason. It sounds to me like that “reputable electrologist” you quoted was saying that a poorly treated HAIR can come back, not that blood flow will make new hairs appear out of nowhere.

I think you need to see a doctor. If you do indeed have a rapid increase in the amount of facial hair you have, that can be a sign of a medical issue including hormonal problems, ovarian tumours, etc. some of which are obviously serious but have nothing to do with electrolysis. In the meantime, I stand by my other suggestion that you stop electrolysis until you get a full medical check-up and get your anxiety and paranoia under control. Even if your medical exam doesn’t show anything physically wrong causing the hair growth, your rotating list of accusations and fears directed toward your electrologist and electrolysis in general is likely to make for a poor operator/client relationship and will render you unhappy no matter how good the treatment might be.

#3

Correlation does not equal causation. That is, just because you’re doing electrolysis doesn’t mean electrolysis is responsible if you’re growing new hair. More likely than not, there’s something going on in your body that is causing the hair to start growing (menopause, changing/starting birth control, and a bunch of other things could be contributing to it).

Let me also point out, that you’re at the point where you are significantly obsessing over your hair and it’s possible that you aren’t seeing new hair, just obsessing over what you think is new.

Prior to electrolysis, I did not have many hairs appear at one time on my chin. I used to have a few coarse hairs come up that I would then pluck (2-4) and I would not see them again for a while. Now, I am seeing 10-15 coarse hairs at one time appear in between sessions every single week (or 4-5 days after my treatments, like clock-work). This never used to be the case for me prior to beginning electrolysis. I have never had to pluck that many hairs off of my face ever. Now, if I were plucking, I would be plucking over a dozen hairs in one setting. Therefore, it appears that the process is either causing new hairs to grow that did not exist before, or is causing rapid accelerated regrowth of hairs under the skin.

When you pluck, you increase the blood supply to an area. That’s potentially going to make the plucked hair grow in thicker as well as bring testosterone to the area that can convert vellus hair into terminal hair. If your electrologist isn’t doing a good job and is just plucking, it’s possible that she could be making the problem worse. Electrolysis itself isn’t likely to be causing the problem… my bet is that you have something going on and should see a doctor if it concerns you this much.

I found the following on an electrologist’s website about thermolysis and regrowth:

“Thermolysis (the preferred method by Tami) is a quick process taking very little time with each hair. A large area is able to be covered in one appointment. There is a slightly higher rate of re-growth with Thermolysis but the faster treatment time allows them to be caught quickly when they grow back finer and lighter. After a series of treatments the hairs will not grow back and will then be permanently removed.”

Thermolysis can be equally as effective as galvanic or blend in the right hands, but it’s harder to do a good job since it requires more skill - that much I can agree on. I disagree on the treat, retreat and retreat “as it gets finer and lighter” part. A properly treated hair is gone in one session, not several.

That said, if you had 4 hairs before and the 4 hairs weren’t thoroughly treated, they wouldn’t multiply into 12 hairs, it would still just be 4 hairs.

I don’t know what method my electrologist uses but the machine is an Aepulus 5000. I also don’t believe that the majority of the numerous hairs I am seeing is regrowth of hairs that were removed prior, but rather newly stimulated hairs or hairs that are rapidly growing faster and becoming visible quicker due to electrolysis.

Sometimes, when you take out the thickest hairs, the old “not so thick” hairs appear to be bigger without the immediate reference of the thick hairs next to them.

A reputable electrologist on the hairtell.com web forum said the following in a post some time ago:

"I do believe that poorly treated hairs can take a week to return. Do not forget that electrolysis brings extra blood to the area (making it all happen faster), and therefore, the time it takes a hair to return is not the same as when the hair is removed with tweezers. "

Isn’t she then saying that because blood is rushing to the area, it could be stimulating sleeping hairs just like tweezing would do? I would imagine this would be the case whether or not the hairs in the area are “poorly treated” since blood is rushing to the same region regardless.

A broken hair could come back in a week, but a fully removed hair isn’t going to come back any faster through regular plucking vs after bad-electrolysis-treatment plucking. The same damage happens either way and the same result happens either way.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? I believe I am able to notice this more because my chin hair growth isn’t dense and began as sparse, and thus I can observe this occurrence more than someone who has a full beard growing in a concentrated area. What are your thoughts and opinions on this? If this has been the experience of some clients or electrologists alike, does it eventually taper off or will this problem continue to exacerbate for a time?

I’m only replying because I doubt you’re going to get much of a reply to your post this time… we’ve all dealt with this situation before in our offices and a case of it earlier this year already pretty much drove me away from hairtell. You’re obsessing and looking for answers that none of us can give you from the other side of our monitors. You need to see a doctor about any potential changes going on in your body and talk to your electrologist about her potentially undertreating you. I could be wrong, but I think you mentioned having anxiety and body dysmorhia issues, and, as such, might want to consider therapy as well.

#4

Thank you WeRNotAfraid, and EmancipatedElect for your input and suggestions which I have found to be very informative. I’m truly appreciative of your responses – I know my hysteria isn’t always the easiest thing to have something to say to or respond to, especially when I tend to seek that constant reassurance.

I do feel like something extremely abnormal is happening concerning the rate and amount of growth (which, as it’s been indicated by the information you’ve both given, may not even be correlated to the electrolysis at all). I agree that I should seek medical advice from my doctor. In fact, I went to my family doctor recently who had ordered some tests, so I will eventually find out what’s going on with my body.