Laser or Electrolysis?(contains images) 56k no no

Hair Removal Methods Do-It-Yourself Electrolysis
#1

Hi all,

This site is becomming a great place for me. Not only am I finding out lots of facts and information about unwanted hair, but I also feel more supported. Amongst all my friends/family I am the only hairy one :(. Following a serious illness it’s had a massive impact on my confidence etc (I won’t whittle on about all that for now - just thought I’d say thanks to all you lovely people :slight_smile: )

Ok so through reading I can’t decide if to go for LASER or ELECTROLYSIS. I was hoping to create a Poll, and let the experts (or people with at least more knowledge than me vote with a comment).

Anyway, someone suggested to throw up some pics of my unwanted back / shoulders and arm hair to help give a clearer idea of my stiutation.

After reading the Laser FAQ’s I would state my skin tone is ‘Skin Type II’ (perhaps even closer to I whilst under medication). So if I went for this method I’d be looking for Alexandrite style treatment (not sure of all the absolute technicalities just yet)

So here’s some pics (my apologies to anyone eating or about to) it’s not pretty :frowning: )

Worst area:

Shoulder:

Overall - you can see the hair on my lower back and sides is more ‘whispy’ or finer…I am sure it is a matter of time for these to get more darker/coarser.

Kind of ‘side view’:

Close up of neck:

Darker Light:

One of my arms (you can see it’s a bit more developed here):

So there you have it.

Should I seek Laser or Electrolysis? I’d ideally liek to try home electrolysis, though there would only be my mum or sister I could let work on me, but I wouldn’t have the faith on either of them not scarring me or something :frowning: If I could work on the area myself I would. (sigh)

Apologies about the size of the images - if they’re too big I can reduce them.

Also is there an FAQ for Electrolysis - I couldn’t quite find one. I’m tempted to make the first few calls to some clinics tomorrow (that’s a MAJOR step for me).

Thanks very much everyone.

#2

The answer would be ‘both’. That is I would do laser on your neck and the top of your back where the hair is coarse and dense. An alex at high settings (your skin looks like it probably is a type II as you suspect) should work well on that area and save you some time. Run a search on this forum. There have been posts about good clinics in the UK.

In terms of the other area, you will need electrolysis. The hair is finer and not as dark and dense there. Also, those areas are prone to induced growth from laser, so I wouldn’t risk it.

In terms of home electrolysis, your mom or sister would have to go through some serious training first before I would let them treat you. It’s very easy to get scarerd by someone inexperienced. Plus, they need to learn how to make proper insertions in order to actually kill hair, which isn’t super easy. Basically, if they’re willing to invest serious time an effort to learn and practice and you’re willing to purchase a used machine for $1-2K, it can be done. But this wouldn’t be simple and would take a while. However, if you find a skilled electrologist using thermolysis method, you can start aggressive treatments to get you cleared as soon as possible.

you can read www.electrology.com and this forum to answer your electrolysis questions. unfortunately noone has yet written an electrolysis FAQs like I did for laser.

#3

You’re not as hairy as you think. Just go with complete electrolysis and you will be cleared permanently, efficiently, and in a reasonable timeframe. If you start with laser, and hairs pop up later that you thought were dead, it’s going to just complicate your timeframe when you mix in delayed/disrupted upcoming hair cycles. Also don’t forget that with some clients, and it’s by no means rare, laser has triggered even more hair growth in areas treated. Just avoid the guess work. That’s why electrolysis is the unmatched gold-standard.

Mantaray

#4

It seems to me that I recall someone on here saying that shoulders and upper back are more likely to result in LASER induced hair INCREASE… Hmmmm, Oh, well, maybe I just imagined that…

Since you are in violation of pet peeve number one of HairTell.com (no location on profile) I can’t offer you any quick advice about who might help you and your family learn to do treatments on your back with a home solution, nor suggest any locals you should try.

You might want to contact the HairTell Member who goes by the name of “HairyBastard”. He has/had a pattern of hair similar to yours.

I wish you luck.

#5

The answer would be ‘both’. That is I would do laser on your neck and the top of your back where the hair is coarse and dense. An alex at high settings (your skin looks like it probably is a type II as you suspect) should work well on that area and save you some time. Run a search on this forum. There have been posts about good clinics in the UK.

…through reading I thought it was the top of back/sohulders and neck that were the tough areas to treat and that they ran the risk of more hair coming back? I think my skin is type two (don’t worry I wouldn’t hold you to it - or any of your wonderful advice and support! :smiley: )

I can’t find any posts of good clinics in the UK on here. I’m based in the North East area.

In terms of the other area, you will need electrolysis. The hair is finer and not as dark and dense there.

Check.

In terms of home electrolysis, your mom or sister would have to go through some serious training first before I would let them treat you.

Awwwh - thanks! I’m beginning to see that I can not do this at home. I have to find someone with a lot of experience and knowledge to perform the work. Thanks for the link. I wish someone had an FAQ on electroylsis. Maybe I could write one if I pursue this area? lol

It seems to me that I recall someone on here saying that shoulders and upper back are more likely to result in LASER induced hair INCREASE… Hmmmm, Oh, well, maybe I just imagined that…

That’s what I was under the impression of.

Since you are in violation of pet peeve number one of HairTell.com (no location on profile) I can’t offer you any quick advice about who might help you and your family learn to do treatments on your back with a home solution, nor suggest any locals you should try.

:open_mouth: My apologies. I am based in the UK (which it should state in my profile at the side there?) I’m in the North East area - Durham/Newcastle. I couldn’t find anything on here for recommended places. I did find someone else asking a similar area though. :S

You might want to contact the HairTell Member who goes by the name of “HairyBastard”. He has/had a pattern of hair similar to yours.

I did that, and man - I ended up spending the last near 2hours reading posts stemming from years back and I just ended up so confuzzled and disheartened. The one thing I can gather from all the posts here is that it is all individual. Nobody can tell me what will work successfully without any worries of more hair returning or worse still - scars! YIKES! I understand that, and I’m mature enough to take responsibilities for my own actions - I just thought it would be easier to make such a decision.

I struggled to find any pictures of other people’s experiences on here either - could anyone help me find some ‘back/shoulder’ pics? I did find some from the guy doing a half and half kind of exeperiment, but they didn’t really seem that clear of both before and after.

Mantaray, you seem very confident that electrolysis is the way for me (and indeed most people). Would you mind me asking if you could guesstimate a time frame to clear up the majority of the hair on my back (the top area - which is darkest). I know it all works in cycles, but do you (or anyone else for that matter) think the bulk could be done in a ‘session’. That way I could get a heap done and at the next cycle continue again - rather than starting with little patches and workign my way across etc. If so - what is the type of electrolysis best needed to complete this? Money is of course a constraint with the time. If it is gradual, I don’t mind (too much) that I pay a bit extra. I’d like to make a good start and then keep on top of it all. I’m really aiming for permanent removal.

Apologies for the long winded reply. I have just discovered a place not too far away from me. They don’t seem to have a website, but they’re called: Institute of Clinical Electrology (which at least sounds promising) I get the impression it is someone perhaps specialising from home or a little shop. I would like to call them and quiz them with the techniques and procedures they can offer - it says they also do laser, so it might be a good place to start asking some questions. See what they try and sell me etc. If I can conjure up enough questions to check them out, I might even be able to pay for a sample of both laser and electrolysis at the same session. Perhaps that would help us all out a bit with the back hair?

Thanks everyone.

#6

In my opinion, the hair on the middle of your upper back and your neck is very dense, dark and coarse and the skin is very light. Induced growth is mostly an issue on men’s upper arms, and shoulders, and most of the time there are 3 things that are present: 1. the original hair is fine and sparse 2. the skin is not very light (darker than type III) and 3. the settings used when starting treamtments are somewhat low. If you find an operator who is knowledgeable and used a good alex like GentleLASE at high settings 16-18 joules at 18mm, I definitely think you can get a good reduction there with laser. You would also need to make sure that they ONLY treat the areas with coarse dense growth specifically. Leave the rest for electrolysis. And yes, it’s a good idea to sample treatments with both methods regardless. You will need electrolysis for the rest of your back anyways.

In terms of cost, this is a large area. You are definitely looking at a minimum of $2-3K in electrololysis treatments, but more likely $4-5K for complete clearance. You can read a poster named “Chuck”'s recent posts as he’s getting electrolysis on his back and shoulders. He also posts how much it’s costing him. Of course, the cost will be high up front because you will need long frequent treatments in the beginning to clear the area, so you can then come in for just zap the weak new hairs that pop up.

p.s. for electrolysis in the UK, you can try contacting “pamd” on this board who’s from there and may be able to point you in the right direction. for GentleLASE clinics, check out the FAQ question about ways to find a clinic. There is a link to GentleLASE clinics search in the UK.

#7

This area:

I’ll look up Chuck - thanks for that.

p.s. for electrolysis in the UK, you can try contacting “pamd” on this board who’s from there and may be able to point you in the right direction. for GentleLASE clinics, check out the FAQ question about ways to find a clinic. There is a link to GentleLASE clinics search in the UK.

I’ll also look up Pam. With regards to the FAQ section, I struggled to find the links to the UK (apologies for being ‘thick’ and causing you to post all the time). Did you mean this thread here?

Thanks as always lagirl - i’d give ya a big hug is ya was here :slight_smile:

#8

I’m salivating! The area you highlighted could easily be knocked out with microflash thermolysis in one long treatment session, maybe 2-2 1/2 hours max. The rest of the hair outside the square is not difficult to treat either. Shaving the area three days before treatment would be very helpful.

I think Pamd has a Silhouet-tone VMC??? Let me know if I’m not correct. The VMC is an excellent machine when tackling any man’s back. It’s powerful, but yet clients find the energy needed to get these man hairs very tolerable.

Dee

#9

Dee (dfahey) could best give you that timeframe. If she states two to two and a half hours max, I’d go with that. What were looking at here in your photo is just simple quick electrolysis. It would be no problem at all. Especially not worth risking more hair to grow from a laser treatment. Not worth it. Go with a quick microflash artiste. You’ll do great.

Mantaray

#10

lol @ Dfahey salivating :smiley:

I love your enthusiasm. Have you ever thought about working in the the UK temporarily? What with this crazy exchange rate, you could earn a mint!
And help some of us out… :wink:

#11

www.crosstechplc.co.uk (found the link on a cached page. sorry, it was on another forum that’s down right now; i forgot to update on this one.)

If it were me (and it’s not), I would do the area you highlighted (except for the very middle with fine hairs) and the parts to the right with coarse hairs too with laser. It’s up to you if you want to do a 3-5 hour electrolysis treatment there instead. Having had electrolysis with 4 various electrologists, I’m not positive that it would only take 3 hours with an average electrologist for your first clearance of that entire area, but 5-6 hours is probably right on average with thermolysis. Dee is fast I’m positive, but it would depend on who you can find in your area.

You would also need to factor in going in every couple of weeks after that for another hour or two to zap the new hairs. It’s a commitment with either method. With electrolysis you do need to go more often. I can only tell you what I would personally do as others are sharing with you too. In the end, it’s up to you what risks are worth it and how much time you are willing to dedicate to this.

you may also want to contact TomGraham, a longtime poster here who was getting electrolysis for 2 years on his back and decided to try laser because it was taking a long time. he had one treatment with good results so far. You may want to contact him for an update as he last updated us in May:

Good luck.

#12

Estrogen therapy and anti-androgen therapy from an endocrinologist would also work to reduce that hair - it has the detraction of making you sterile and impotent, though. :wink: I’m pretty sure guys aren’t fans of that.

Brilala