I have really bad cases of ingrown hairs and trichotillomania. The ingrown hairs get so bad (even if I do not wax or shave, they just happen!), that they cause infections and grown parallel to my skin, sometimes up to a cm deep! The trichotillomania is a form of OCD that causes me to pull out my body hair. When I wax, I am freed from the OCD! My hair is also dark, but on some areas it is very fine. Would it be appropriate to have electrolysis done on my whole body? I know it’s very time consuming and expensive, but my self confidence is just shot. The only time I feel good about myself is when I wax my body and it’s gone. I’ve tried bleaching the hair, but it doesn’t work. Is body hair a concern for women here? I’m just worried about an electrologists perceiving me as being petty. I know it might seem silly, but it just really matters to me. Have any electrologists done the full body? I’m willing to go through the pain, time, and money to just have more self confidence.
Most electrologists won’t judge you for what you want to do. If they can see the hair, they will treat the hair. Many people have electrolysis performed all over thir body and they don’t have trichotillamania. Obviously, you would want the areas that bother you the most to be treated first. I would sample several electrologists so you can learn about what they can offer you. In your case, speed is important. The newer kinds of thermolysis modalities would be something to consider since you have a lot of territory to cover.
Are you getting treatment for your ODC?
Thanks for the advice! I guess I’m just a bit worried about how intimate you’d have to get with a provider when doing your whole body. I am receiving therapy. My OCD used to be full of different compulsions, but the main one I have now is the hair! I know it may never “cure” me, but trich seems to be extra resilient to any sort of therapy/medicine. I can stop doing every other compulsion except that, and I’ve had OCD since I was 8!
I understand your modesty. As a very busy electrologist and a nurse several years before that, I have seen it all. Truthfully, nobody memorizes and thinks about body parts and characteristics. It is all one blurr, over and done, onto the next challenge… I do as much as I can to cover people who seem to be uncomfortable. Others just bare all and don’t really bat an eye. Either way, all I care about is the hair and getting into the art of the zen once I set my my epilator and zero in on my targets…
You can start out with less embarrassing areas as you get to know the electrologist and kind of work your way into the more intimate ones later. That’s one strategy. Yes, as you said, for whole body hair removal, it will take time, money and effort.
Do you belong to a trichotillamania support group? Sounds like you are in good hands otherwise. We are all OCD as the saying goes - some more so than others.
Sounds like you answered your own question!
Dfahey-At the moment, I don’t belong to a support group. However, I do kind of lurk around a lot of ones, and I think maybe I should join one. Who knows, if this really helps me, maybe this could be of help to other people!
ILikeDIY-I guess I kind of did answer my own question. 
Given that not a lot of people understand OCD, I was afraid I would be judged for my reasons of wanting this. However, maybe I just need to do a lot of looking around to see who fits my needs best.
Thanks for responding, guys!
Snap! I’ve had a couple and one replaced another which replaced another. I used to pull out their hair from my scalp. Thankfully, I grew up in a time when there weren’t camera phones and digital cameras everywhere so it’s not documented except in one school photo which led to my siblings taking the mick out of me. That was enough to actively kick the habit! It’s possible for you too, but seeing as yours involved body hair and it is far more serious, go for electrolysis if you have the time and money and can find a decent one. Sample lots, pick the best and start. Although, you will have to stop pulling the hairs out once they grow back or there will be nothing to treat!
[color:#CC0000]Just FYI, I have a slight issue with trichotillomania. Its hard to say how severe it is, because I’m so used to the impulse to pluck. I sometimes think using a rotary epilator years ago made it worse. It’s like plucking on steroids, and it gave me a gratifying surge when I used one, like plucking X’s1000.
My slight trichotillomania is a factor in what drove me to waxing, laser, electrolysis, and now, back to electrolysis. Recently I found myself plucking more and more and told myself, ‘Enough of this, I have to get back on my machine.’
What I do is I pluck at areas I haven’t yet got to, areas I shave, but i can still feel stubble. I pluck every single day, some days aren’t as bad as others.
If you read my posts way back, I recommend shaving first thing in the morning. That helps. But to answer your question from my own Non-Pro perspective. I say yes, because it is a key solution I have found in keeping from plucking hair. I no longer have any issues with treated areas, and can’t wait to finish more work. Once the hair is gone, the impulse dies with it. And yes, this may mean my whole body.
What I had to deal with as well is; once I got equipment like magnifyier loupes (glasses), good lighting, and fine-point tweezers, I found I had gained an ability to do ‘super-plucking’, plucking where the hair had barely broken the skin’s surface. That is a bad road. I really marked my skin up from digging at hairs. It took focused effort to quit the behavior, part of which was replacing it with actual electrolysis.
I know where you’re coming from. There is an area of this forum dedicated to trichotillomania, but I wanted to answer your question here at least.
btw: I took Adderall (amphetamine) for several years. That made it worse. And, I read that it was more common in people who take Adderall. Now that I’ve stopped the Adderall, it’s diminished, but still lurks. I have this theory that trichotillomania is a subconscious manifestation. I experiment with self-hypnosis to work with it.
Take care,
sorry I got to the posting party late.
Mantaray[/color]