Is this how intensive electrolysis is supposed to work?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I’m receiving intensive electrolysis, ~6 hours every 4-5 weeks. I am entirely new at this, so I wanted to ask if this is normal / usual practice:

I’m hearing a series of beeps from the machine when the tool is inserted and removed, in groups of 5 or 6, then getting a series of hairs pulled by the practitioner without hearing beeps, in groups of 5 or 6. This seems to be a 1:1 ratio. I wish I could tell you for certain whether the hair is being plucked or not, but with lidocaine injections, a high pain tolerance and next to no experience with plucking, waxing, etc., really anything but shaving, I just don’t trust myself to know whether I’m feeling the “right” amount of resistance or not.

I can see two possibilities here:

  1. The accepted practice is to insert the tool, deliver the treatment, remove the tool, move on until 5 or 6 hairs have been treated, then go back and remove the hair afterwards, in sequences of 5 to 6 hairs. (I wouldn’t know if this is accepted or not. I am, again, entirely new to this.)

  2. My practitioners are treating some of the hairs and plucking some of them to make it appear like I’ve received a full clearing each time; what I’m feeling is 5 or 6 hairs being treated and removed, and then 5 or 6 entirely different hairs being plucked. This is what I’m worried is happening, but I know that fear may be entirely wrong on my part.

I don’t really know how to broach this topic with my electrologists. If they’re doing (2), then I would essentially be accusing them of fraud. I certainly don’t want to disrupt the relationship if it’s just my pure ignorance of what I should be experiencing.

Is what I’m describing normal practice? How can I tell the difference between the two?

#2

The first possibility is the most likely. This is my normal approach to clearing large body areas with a high density of hair. It can be much more efficient, which means you save time and money. However, to take this approach effectively, the electrologist has to be confident that the energy levels are right and the insertions are on point. If not, you end up going back to treat too many follicles a second time which can defeat the purpose.

The second possibility is really not likely, especially with an electrologist offering marathon sessions of 3+ hours. I don’t know a single electrologist who isn’t almost always fully booked, we definitely don’t need to manipulate clients in this way.

It seems like this is an area that you’re not able to watch while being treated, so I think the only option is to forego the local anaesthetic so you can feel the sensation of being plucked (or not). More realistically, you will know if it’s working because the hair will visibly decrease over the months of treatment.

How often have you been receiving treatments and how many hours in total to date?

#4

Every 4-5 weeks, and about 30 hours total.

I’m rewriting this reply to note that I haven’t noticed any reduction in any area treated, which is likely pertinent information, though I don’t know that I would at this point; that’s also what has me concerned, though I don’t know what to expect in this case.

Thank you for the reply.

#5

I would recommend taking progress pictures of the treated area. Just before each treatment and just after each treatment.

If your electrologist is clearing the whole area of hair each time, then I would expect to see a reduction by now. Having said that, what we notice as electrologists is often very different from what the client notices. I’ve seen posts here and clients in my work who say they don’t notice any reduction, and yet it’s very clear to me that there is. In the end (after 18 months), these people are all free of hair.

In fact, sometimes a reduction of ~30% can go completely unnoticed by clients for two reasons. Firstly, your brain fixates on the hair that is still there rather than the empty spaces. Secondly, after 30 hours of treatment over 6 months, you expect to see more dramatic results.

Keep going for now, and make sure to take some photos.