Is this working?

I have been getting electrolysis for upper lip for 4 months now, going very regularly. When I look in the mirror at a normal distance, it looks ok. But when I get right in front of the mirror in light and purse my lips, I see lots of dark hairs. When they say that you should get full clearance, does that mean that every hair should be gone or only hairs visible at a distance? I’m feeling very discouraged because I was hoping to have made more progress by this point and I’m wondering if this last resort will even work for me.

There are thousands of hairs on the upper lip for most cases. Your electrologist should be getting the larger hairs first and then refine things to your liking by getting the smaller hairs next. If she cannot see the hairs you want gone, then you may have to look for an electrologist that has quality magnification so those smaller hairs can be seen. We advise with great passion here on hairtell for electrologists to invest in magnification that allows them to see the hairs the client see’s. With that said, the goal is not to make you totally hairless on your upper lip, but to selectively remove hairs that bother you or that others can notice from conversation distance. The middle upper lip has a a lot of fine hair mixed in with medium to coarse hair. The sides clear faster than the middle, so don’t get frustrated. Picoflash or Microflash thermolysis are awesome modalities for the upper lip (and under lip) if you can locate a skilled electrologist.

Four months is too early to be disappointed. Stay the course.

How long are your appointments? Is she using thermolysis?

Dee

Thanks for your response Dee. My appointments are 15 minutes. I have asked about going longer but she says I have very sensitive skin and she worries that that would be too long. I believe it is thermolysis being used.

I’m a little concerned that I feel a pulling sensation with a lot of the hairs. I asked her about that and she said it’s probably because the root was distorted but that it will still work. Is that true?

I guess I misunderstood and thought it would remove all hairs in the area. I have to get my face up against the mirror to see the hairs left (they seem to be less coarse than they were in the beginning) but there are a lot of them and they are also visible in sunlight in the car mirror. I just worry that if I can see them, others can too!

I work on upper lip hair for 30 minutes or more at a time, but I have a great epilator with great modality and probe choices that allows me to do this. Clearing the lip is important. The hair should slide out especially after a first clearance has been obtained. Some hairs are resistant in the beginning, but you shouldn’t feel traction with almost every treated hair.

I do believe that many times the client can’t be satisfied because many electrologists are only concerned with the big, fat hairs that they can see. The fact is, clients ARE seeking service for numerous blond hairs that they see in the car mirror. I believe this is your situation, but I’m not sure if your practitioner can see what you see. This is disappointing. It is so easy to invest in quality magnification. No electrologist should be in business without proper vision aid. Do you think she can see those hairs, but maybe she doesn’t agree with you about the need to remove them? Can you check out other electrologists, kh?

Dee

I’m in an area where there are not many electrologists to choose from. The first lady I went to seemed to have good skill but was very grouchy and unsanitary (no gloves and she even tried to use a used needle on me that she was safe to use b/c it was in the autoclave). The second lady is more sanitary and pleasant yet I feel more pulling than the first. Both have said that what I have is not bad and would not be noticed by others in normal interaction. Still, I think if I can see it in sunlight or up close, others can too. I don’t know if they think they are not bad enough to remove or if they spend the full time removing the most obvious ones and don’t get around to the others. Maybe I should keep looking…

I would keep looking. Maybe you’ll end up going back to the second lady, but at least investigate a little more.

I usually suggest to clients to have weekly treatments until the area looks exactly like they want it to be. Then we do a short check up every 2 to 3 weeks until completion.