This is the journal for my electrolysis journey. I hope you find it informative and helpful. The first thing I had done was a Full beard removal minus about 1.5 inches of lower neck. The first clearance was roughly 30 hours and 17,000+ hairs removed, moving along at a pace of 550+ hairs and hour. The majority was done with Picoflash. It went like this: Insert/ZAP/tweeze/Insert/ZAP/tweeze. The Zap was very fast which is great.
In January, I will also add in back, upper arms, nape of neck, shoulders and eyebrows.
Observations:
Pain- The single most painful thing I’ve been through! It was an ordeal. But, look at the amount of hairs and their thickness and one will see why. My cheek took 3 hours and was a breeze really. The closer to bone, the more painful. The chin and upper lip were the worst. I had about 3 categories for the hairs. 1- I would call my dessert hairs, didn’t even know they were removed. 2- Ouch! 3- Holy @#$% what was that!!?!! (Sorry James if I cursed)
At the 6 week mark, I truly believe a clearance then would’ve been a cinch in comparison. But, I was back in Baghdad and will have to wait until January.
Plucking- I always see this term in electrolysis posts. But, I remember feeling pain with the tweezing of the zapped hair at least 2/3 of the time. I was pretty religious with holding the mirror and watching, and when a hair would stick, James would re-zap and then get it. I just can’t imagine someone with James’ level of experience plucking 2/3 of the 17,000 hairs.
Skin Reactions- I did get a few white bumps. Tea Tree oil/ aloe vera took care of them in a couple of days. My chin oozed like crazy. I would just wash it gently in the shower every morning. By the time I flew home, the crustiness was no longer happening. As for swelling, it happens when you have so much done. In the pictures it will look like I am just eating James out of house and home the whole time. It’s just the swelling.
At this point, shaving was way easier. i could shave against the grain without irritation and actually get a smooth shave. I have also found that the full removal gave me a great exfoliation. Maybe since I could actually get to my skin. J
Since TempleJ posted this, I want to add some info on this case.
This is by no means a typical beard removal job. The hairs had the consistency of plastic, the follicles the depth of dandelions and the bulbs the girth of a potato, now add to that 400 to 500 hairs per square inch average, and we had our work cut out for us. There is no way I would have gone at it the way we did if this client lived close enough to take it easy and spread the work out more. As it was, we had one shot to give some relief and a commitment to make it happen. So we both sucked it up and went in like the Marines at Iwo Jima!
The PicoFlash rate was deemed by me to be too high to do all over the face, and so, in order to cut down the total treatment output, we went in using Syncro for much of the hard heavy stuff, like the jawline, below the corners of the mouth, and some of the neck. As we could, we switched back to a high PicoFlash, and in a few places we did blend for comfort. Before we switched to PicoFlash, the hairs were in fact hit or miss as to coming out on one hit, the way I like it, so the switch to Syncro was done to alleviate that problem.
I knew that we would cause swelling to make the Michelin Man and Pilsbury Dough Boy blush, and I told the client up front to expect this. I also told him him how although the initial treatments would be tolerable, that as the swelling progressed, the sensation would gather steam, and become harder to take, as we would not be able to run the table through an area ahead of the histamine response. Everything I said came true… of course, so did the excellent healing, and the weeks of no hair at all, and the weeks of reduced hair to be shaved over time, and finally, once all the hair we worked on was totally out of phase, the appearance that “it all grew back.” Of course, a casual look at the Before and the After, and the 6 Months After shots prove that one clearance via Electrolysis really DOES garner a permanent hair reduction.
Thank you so much for sharing. I’m also working on beard removal and I’m at hour 10 - I feel like I’m just scratching the surface, but already noticing a difference.
I just want to concur that all James said is true. I will say that the first removal was rough, but if one could go in at the 6-8 week mark, it would be a breeze in comparison, and one could look pretty much smooth faced the whole time if they used a good razor and gel.
The reason I didn’t harp on th eplucking sensation is because like all should, I took an active interest and watched MUCH of the work with a handheld mirror. When a hair didn’t give, it wasn’t just yanked out, pressure was applied, if it stuck it was rezapped.
Also, as should be impotant with your electrologist, I was shown Every probe in the packaging, how it is inserted into the tip to keep it sanitary, gloves were always used and James likes to use a face mask as well. So there was never an “unclean” or unprofessional atmosphere.
So, though I know the next clearance will be a doozy, the one after it at 6 weeks should be a cake walk.
Also, ladies, please don’t judge any of my skin ractions as a measurement of what you may expect. My beard is a beast. And for those who require only an hour-4 or so, that was easy to do in one whack.
I’ll be recleared mid January, and I’ll post pics and let James post the technical aspects. J
Wow I am so glad I keep coming back here since there is always something surprising and useful.
This post was one of the all-time most useful ones I have ever read/seen templje. Will be the most useful thread ever if you really do update it regularly! Picture = 1,000 words right?
What is that yellow stuff on your chin in that photo where you are face sideways?
So is James charging $100 per hour if you spent $3,000 for 30 hours? Kind of a steep price even if the results are great.
Is picoflash = thermolysis? I got scarring with thermolysis on my eyebrow area, but never with blend.
3 hours is all I could bare without anaesthesia, and I only did that once or twice, so definitely kudos to you.
You went from Baghdad to Buffalo for more torture huh!
Hey Tembo, thanks for looking at my journal. For pricing, it is expensive, but, I bought a package so it was cheaper. I am trying to not make this a huge James advertisement, but, with his setup, I’m actually paying less than if someone charged 60 per hour. James is one of the few who is set up to do marathon sessions. Maybe once I get the majority gone, I will find someone closer, but for now, I actually save now. So, in about 18 months we will all be able to see the results I have.
The yellow stuff is lymph fluid I believe. Dee can tell more. My chin drained for a few days, but afterwards was fine. I had a LOT of deep, thick hairs on the chin.
Picoflash is thermolysis. VERY fast thermolysis. I handled most places fine. The cheeks, and neck weren’t bad at all. The lip, sideburns, and chin hurt, but in the end were bearable.
I plan to bring EMLA or something next time.
As for scars, you can’t tell now that I have had anything done. I plan on using Alpha Hydroxy Acid peels once a month or so anyway. But so far, no adverse reactions. J
I posted the regular hourly price. My flights are about 300 round trip. Some electrologists offer a better price if you buy a lot of hours up front. I see myself getting more hours since I’m adding more areas. Once I get close, I will probably finish up with my machine
If you have five or ten hairs treated, and you have oozing follicles, that is a sure sign of bad overtreatment. If you have 250 to 500 hairs removed from 5 square centimeters or less, then that is a controlled overtreatment by design. If the person had the time to do the work at a slower pace, it could be done in such a way as to avoid this possible reaction, but when sheer force of determination for numbers killed in the shortest amount of time is the supreme directive, then this is the possible (and in many cases likely) temporary side effect.
The important thing is that with proper post treatment care, this result can be cleared up in a day or so.
Not to turn this into an ad for James (oh, ok why not we love him so ) but I started out with a very similar beard and took about 30 hours for my first clearance as well. I am 110 hours in now, have some work to go but what a difference. I almost look like a new person!
I had a similar experience when I first started treatment on my chin. I had the crusting as well. It cleared up in a few days.
James is great to work with and he has the patience of a saint. If he can deal with me I am sure he has no problems with you
Aww 110 hours and still not done? I’ll probably stop face once I get to where I can shave with no shadow. I’d hate to run out of money and still have back hair.
I have pretty severe facial hair, and we are going for total removal. With some electrologists I would have been looking at 300 hours, instead of about 175; in those cases many folks with average beards take in excess of 200 hours. James is awesome
We are about 90% finished above the jaw, with limited time on my part we concentrated above the jaw first and worked on the neck as time permitted. Now we are focusing on the neck and cleaning up above the jaw.
Quite an undertaking! I’ll be happy I’m sure when I can shave and appear smooth for the day. Not sure what % that will be. Once I get to a point of reduction on back/shoulders/torso and legs, I’ll begin using my UC3 for DIY. My partner has agreed to work on me once the learning curve is met. I see you’ve logged a TON of DIY hours!
) but I started out with a very similar beard and took about 30 hours for my first clearance as well. I am 110 hours in now, have some work to go but what a difference. I almost look like a new person!