Had my 7th treatment today, again with my regular electrologist. Cleared everything in well under 30 minutes – this was a full two weeks’ worth of growth, so I’m pretty happy with that!
And, although I don’t want to restart the whole ‘pop vs pluck’ discussion, I just want readers to know that I’m very rarely feeling any pops or pulling anymore.
So I think everything is going well.
8th treatment done today. I seemed to have more growth this time than I have had for the past few sessions, however, my electrologist still managed to clear everything in 30 minutes. The hair that was there was much thinner than it was at the beginning though. I’m wondering if what I’m now seeing are the thicker hairs which were treated but not completely killed, and are now back thinner. It seems possible to me, as at the beginning, those suckers were THICK.
My electrologist has also recommended that I go for shorter sessions weekly rather than a longer one every two weeks, as it will be easier on my skin (although I think my skin looks fine). I’m going to follow her advice, so I’m back for a short session next week.
9th treatment. Went back after only a week this time (instead of two) and it still took about 30 minutes to clear 
At least the hairs I do have are thinner – I’m not seeing too many of the really thick, dark, coarse hairs I used to have everywhere. Now, they’re thinner and light brown. I didn’t shave or clip for 3 days prior, and the hairs weren’t noticeable unless you were looking for them.
I’m back again in one week.
Made it to treatment number 10! Another week, another 1/2 hour session to clear. I think I’ve discovered the reason why my electrologist wants me to come every week. She’s getting up there in age, and I think it’s uncomfortable for her to sit for so long in one position. So, she’d rather have frequent, shorter sessions. She takes quite a few breaks while she’s working on me as well – really, I think what takes her 30 minutes could be done by someone else in around 20. But I’m okay with it (obviously – if I wasn’t I’d take my business elsewhere!).
Despite it always taking the same amount of time to clear, I’m pretty happy with how things are going. I let the hair grow out for at least 2-3 days before my appointment, and don’t feel self-conscious at all about going to work or out shopping, because the hairs really aren’t that noticeable.
Hopefully soon we can be down to 15 mins weekly though!
Hi all,
Just want to add my 2 cents. I completely agree with stoppit! Having tried a couple electrologists, I believe the feeling is from being under treated for whatever reason. Here is the feeling to me:
Picture grabbing a tweezer and slowwwwlyy pulling on a hair til it slides out. To me it was a horrible sensation that was worse than the zap, waxing, threading and normal plucking.
Having tried other electrologists, I can say I have only felt this with the apilus and the explanation was something about the hair being dry/dormant which I do not buy.
The tugging sensation has nothing to do with the epilator you mentioned, the Apilus. There is no logical correlation. In the beginning sessions, hair growth is not in sync and thus, the electrologist is treating hair in all stages of growth, unless someone was using a temporary measure that pulled the hair out. Some hair is tough to release In those beginning stages when there is very little moisture in the follicle. Apilus claims that their modality MultiPlex can increase the porosity of these kinds of hair follicles, so that the hair releases better. I have found that to be true. If we beat the heck out of hair like this, trying to get it to release, then you the client will have a fit about skin reaction, perhaps. We have to walk a fine line and think about, weigh and balance many things in those beginning sessions. It is still a good idea to get several consultations to compare now it feels.
Yes, tugging at the hair as you described really does hurt more than the zap.
Thanks for the input, FantasyTravels! What you describe sounds pretty painful! Luckily, I think my electrologist has figured things out, because I’m no longer feeling any tugging/tweezing…just a zap and sometimes a light pull, but usually nothing.
I had my 11th treatment today, another 30 min session for clearance. I didn’t think I had enough hair for 30 minutes, as when I was checking in the mirror prior to the appointment there were only about 10-15 dark, coarse hairs. I think my electrologist is now getting the finer, dark hairs that I don’t see when I check casually in the mirror. So that’s a good sign!
I’m off on vacation next week, so I don’t go back for 2 weeks.
Hooray that sounds great!
Dee, I only assumed this because I had treatment by 3 electrologists, 2 with much older equipment and all within a week of one another, so if it was because of initial treatment, I should have felt it with the other two where I Never felt this not once! To be honest I gave it a second try and went with someone who also felt the same feeling!
I would give a different electrologist a try with an apilus machine but for now I think I will take the pain of older machines instead of plucking! I know it is plucking because some very scarce hairs are back (like 3 hairs in a specific area that I have plucked for years).
Also, forgot to mention…as a client I should understand that there may be a scab, redness etc. As long as the electrologist is not scarring me forever, I don’t see why a client would prefer to be under treated so not to have a reaction. My opinion is if you do not want a normal reaction, then don’t go for electrolysis.
To my understanding, yes for most places we would prefer not to be undertreated. However, I believe the beard is the exception to this case (see this thread):
Hi Brenton,
Although those photos scared me a bit. I am a female and feel pretty good that my current electrologist refuses to go over 15 min on the upper lip. However, he does not under treat me or at least I never felt a hair being pulled/tweezed. My first time with a different electrologist, she explained that she will do every few hairs in an area so that scabs would not form too close together I assume?
A lot of electrologists seem to only do a certain amount of time on the upper lip. I suppose there are two strategies (this is pure speculation so someone else can jump in with actual non-guessing): Treat hairs at the proper setting but only do a few hairs on the upper lip OR treat more hairs with less current, and then apply less current as they regrow weaker. I suppose both would work in theory. I talked to a very well known electrologist who also teachers and she told me that she won’t do more than 3 hours on a beard because of the increased chance of scarring and pitting. The upper lip is just a hard area to treat in general. There’s a reason for this (which is escaping me at the moment), but has something to do with the collagen in the upper lip and how the upper lip has less “support” than other areas. I’m sure someone else can explain this better than me lol.
Yup Brenton, I agree with you. I’ve had electrologist say they would treat my upper lip for up to one hour, and clear the upper lip and I’ve had those that will not do more than 15 min. The only thing I can say is the one who will only do 15 min uses stronger current… With the longer duration, I know the current is less or insufficient because I can feel the hair being pulled. I think everyone has their own comfort zone. The electrologist who refuses to go more than 15 was shocked that I’ve had 30 min before and redness gone in 1 hour! He claims that if he went 30 min on my upper lip, I would look like I got punched lol! They also use different machines and techniques so I guess that contributes to length of sessions.
12th treatment, after a 2 week hiatus. Lots of hair this time, but was able to be cleared in 30 minutes. I was hoping, after my last session 2 weeks ago, that things were slowing down (and they seemed to be)…but it seems like the hair just keeps coming back. I should probably go look at my ‘before’ pictures for encouragement 
Back again next Thursday for more.
Same old, same old Thirteenth treatment, got clearance. I think it was only about 20-25 minutes this time (with a few breaks to chat). Things still seem to be heading in the right direction, I hope!
Keep it up, and you’ll be hair-free, soon enough.
Hip! Hip! Hooray. You just started electrolysis in May, so you are closing in on the four month mark, so you are not even at the half way mark yet. If you were a tweezing kind of woman, then all the hair needs time to come forth in dribs and dabs over the next twelve months, especially. Usually, somewhere close to the six month mark, you will surely know that all is on the right track. Some people see a big group of hairs cycle in around the four month mark and they get all discouraged thinking this is not working, but IT IS! Keep pushing forward and you will see that freedom is right around the corner. It truly takes anywhere from 9-18 months to see this through to the end. Some people need 24 months, but even then, they are 95% finished by that point and most likely they are very happy for investing al, the time, effort and money into this personal project.
Thanks to Caith and Dee for the encouragement! Had my 14th treatment today, again achieved clearance in about 20 minutes. I’ll just keep chugging along And yes, Dee, I was a long-time tweezer, unfortunately. At least I’m seeing some results…definitely helps me to stay motivated!
15th treatment. This one was only 15 minutes, unfortunately not because that’s all the hair I had, but because that’s all the time that I had So, I’m left with a cleared chin and partially cleared jawline/neck. Luckily I’m scheduled for a full 30 minutes next week, so hopefully I can get clearance then!
Long time (kind of) since I’ve posted. I figured if I was tired of writing the same thing every week, you guys were probably tired of reading it
I’ve been continuing on with my weekly half-hour treatments (that would be treatment 16, 17, 18, and 19, for those keeping score at home). I’m definitely noticing improvement, as this week I had no coarse, thick hair grow in, just darker, fine hairs. I’m convinced my electrologist could have easily cleared it in 15 minutes, but she went pretty slowly, stopped to chat a few times, etc. I don’t really mind, since in the beginning she would at times go over the 30 minute treatment session without charging me, so this evens things out
It’s going so well now that I don’t shave at all between treatments, as I was doing in the beginning, because there just isn’t any hair to shave off. It usually doesn’t appear until a day or two prior to my treatment.
I’m back again next week, but I’ll hold off on updating this thread until something more exciting happens