My electro journey begins..

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

(long post…)
Hi all,
I’ve been reading on this site for some2-3 months now and it has been a great help for me. I have been thinking of going the electrolysis way for quite some time now but neither did I have the courage nor any idea of how to begin .Reading through the posts on this forum has given me some idea abt the process and also the courage to take the plunge.

Little abt myself: Am an Indian female with medium skin. Have had fine hairs on my upper lip, jawline, under the chin area and a few countable coarse hairs on my chin. No female in the family has a big hair problem… just have little hair which I would consider normal for Indian females. I don’t have any hormonal trouble…got myself checked up with my Gyn and endocrinologist. 7 Years of tweezing/ plucking/ waxing, pregnancy , post pregnancy stress have all taken their toll on this facial hair situation. Now as it stands,I have noticeable hair on the above mentioned areas (some fine and some coarse and quite a few hard hairs too on the two sides of the chin ). For the last one and a half years, I have left waxing/threading the jawline/side of my face …just bleach it . The only area that I tweeze is the upper lip and the chin. But there are these hard hairs on the chin which I end up plucking out on a daily basis and that is giving me pigmentation patches , ingrowns, bumps in this area.

After reading this forum I started my search for an electrologist in / near my area. Fortunately found a few recommendations on this forum itself. Wrote to and called up (left messages) 3 of them . One of them was prompt with the email reply and called me up to set up a free consultation. From a second one , I just got a reply that she is not taking new clients at the moment but will start doing so in May. The third has still not replied.

So went in for my consultation on 03/09/09 with the first one. Her facility is in a residential area (she is the only person working and works mon to wed)- it’s a small house with one cozy room for consultation/waiting and the other one where she does her job. She greeted me, asked me to be seated and gave me a sheet of paper to be filled in and a brochure to read while she was finishing up the job on her last client. Within 5 mins she was done with her client and sat down with me. First, she went thru the paper she had asked me to fill in which had the usual questions about the hair problem, medical problems , medications, allergies, areas to be done, previous methods used etc. Then she checked out the areas on the face where I wanted the hair to be removed in the other room and pointed out that I was already having some pigmentation in the chin area coz of constant plucking. Then we came back to the consult room and she started with what electrolysis , hair growth cycles, about my hair problem etc. Below is mentioned some of the info I got from her while asking her my ques:

-she uses disposable gloves and disposable stainless steel probes and nothing else unless the client is allergic to it. I asked her abt gold probes and her opinion was that they do not work any better on Indian skin as far as her experience is concerned (she has in the past worked on Indians)

  • Her machine- Instantron . It has blend and thermolysis on it. She uses thermolysis (SW) predominantly coz it’s faster and that’s what the clients want for their money. I raised my fears abt tissue damage etc. and whether she could do blend on me. She was of the opinion that it all depended on the skill of the electrologist… She has been using thermolysis all the time even on the worst hair cases and it has worked. But she added that if she felt at any point of time that blend would work better for me…she would do it(the chances being less)
  • she has 33 years of experience(started in 1976)…is a CPE , LE , is a member of AEA, attends annual conventions on the subject and attends classes more than recommended in her area, has been a member of various boards in the past, received awards in the past etc. Had all her certificates on the wall…
  • charges for sessions almost comparable to what other electrologists have
  • missed appt…unless there is 24 hr cancellation notice…she charges a fine
    -her procedure involves cleaning with alcohol, working on the area , handing over a mirror to the client for inspection, ending with aloe vera gel on the worked areas. After the session there could be little redness swelling , hot areas which should go away within 24 hrs, scabbing (chances being less- if at all then leave them to heal themselves…no picking). Aftercare…no touching the face all the time, using witch hazel/aloevera/seabreeze etc
    -betw treatments- nothing to be done to the hair only minimum shaving trimming if required. She suggested no bleaching since it is difficult to distinguish betw vellus and other hair and she does not recommend taking out all the vellus hair which are there for a purpose.
    -Stressed on ‘things not to do betw treatments’ and to be regular with schedule.
    -Also made it clear that the first month is going to be the toughest in terms of satisfaction/ happiness with results. Then there will be phases of happiness and unhappiness depending on hair growth cycles.

So overall I felt she was Ok …she looked confident in her abilities abt using Thermolysis and getting results…though sometimes I did feel that she belongs to the old school types…but if she is skilled at her job…I would not care…

How do u guys feel abt this? Any inputs will be helpful.

Thanks for reading thru the rather long post and pl excuse me for repeating material which has been discussed in other posts.

Will keep u updated.

2

Congratulations for going to it finally. All that really mattersi is good results. Do take the other practitioner’s sample treatments and consultations, so that you are able to compare and choose the best practitioner available to you.

Just a note, I have said before that the best electrolysis practitioner in one’s area may be someone working out of their home, in a basement, and not advertising, and only taking referrals as new clients, and even then one may have a hard time getting on their schedule. Your story proves that there really are people out there who are totally booked up, and just not entertaining any new business.

3

Update : First session

OK so I decided to have a 30 min session (which finally became 45 mins) with the electrologist with whom I had a consult earlier.

After cleaning the area to be treated with alcohol, she started by taking off the annoying hard hairs first from the upper lip and chin then divided the time on thinning the sides of the face and upper lip and chin. Session was Ok with not too much pain/ discomfort. Electrologist had turned down the energy while doing the upper lip so maybe even the upper lip was not that painful. A few times it felt like the hair was being pulled on the upper lip. Session ended with showing me a mirror and then putting some aloe vera gel on the treated areas. Also she told me about aftercare etc.

Immediate reaction- redness and small bumps (swelling) in areas treated and in some areas just tiny red/brown dots
After 10 hrs- redness and swelling almost faded, developed 7 tiny whiteheads on left side of face (used to get these when I used to wax/thread) , on some points (on the upper lip) there seems to be some dried up fluid (scabs??), some areas have brown dots (max on the left side very few on right side) , in some areas skin is clear….and overall skin feels a little tight.

My questions:

  1. Are the tiny whiteheads sign of infection or normal reaction in some people? Here in the forum , from different posts, I have gathered info that these could be due to high energy, the area being too moist, bacteria entering follicles, wrong insertion etc.- I just have these with other red/brown dots only on the left side of my face…right side is clear…so am a little confused….all the time she was working from my right side and while doing the left side , she asked me to turn towards her…so is it possible that these r a result of wrong insertions??
  2. What comes under the category of scabs ?- the tiny whiteheads which will crust over in a day or two, the red/brown spots or tiny dots with some dried up fluid.
  3. If I have to go out in sun the next day after treatment- should I put a sunscreen? (I use olay hydration fluid with spf- is it ok?)
  4. As I understand from the advice of pros- 2-3 days after treatment , put aloe vera gel, witch hazel, tea tree oil (sparingly at night). But in the meantime if I feel dryness, what should I do? (I am used to moisturizing my skin twice a day with olay products)
  5. After how many days of the treatment, can I begin my usual regimen of cleansing, exfoliating, toning, moisturizing the face?

Please excuse me for repeating a few questions but I need to be clear myself so that I can make my electrologist understand. Any inputs will be helpful.

Have another session next week. Hopefully whatever little dots, scabs r there will heal up by then.

Thanks to all in advance.

4

Thanks for the information in your signature. Start date would be helpful though.

In the beginning, when hair is all stages of growth, you may feel some pulling. Some of the hairs are very shallow and have dry, hard, white protein bulbs that are resistant and won’t let go. We need moist growing hair for electrolysis (laser, too). Those hairs slide out easier. They should ease out with no traction as you get more involved with your sessions. Get a first full clearance to speed this along and stay regular with your appointments.

I like that mirror thing and the aloe vera. I have a small refrigerator at my side so I can reach in and immediately put on cold aloe vera gel. It is such an “aaahhh!” moment.

Tell her about your skin reaction, even if she doesn’t ask. The first few appointments can be the toughest as your skin needs to get used to the minor “insult” to your skin.
Tell her about the whiteheads. She may want to turn down the intensity? For your part, don’t touch a newly treated area. Use a warm CLEAN wash cloth to help this along or take a warm shower. These tiny infected follicles usually vanish really fast. Use your tea tree oil (dabs). It dissolves the pus.
It is not unusual to have some temporary side effects. We are damaging tissue on purpose, so you can get rid of the unwanted hair!

Tell her if you feel most of her insertions. You may feel a couple, after all we are not perfect 100% of the time. What kind of magnification does she use?

For the sun, you can try your sunscreen and see how it goes. If you have problems, then you will have to leave it off for a day.

You can survive without the olay products for a couple days for your moisturizing needs. The aloe is a moisturizer. The tea tree can be drying, that’s why we suggest only dabs. Just do the three day thing and see how it goes for you. Always wash you hands and be clean with the products so you are not smearing bacteria all over your face. Don’t exfoliate until you are completely healed. If there are scabs, do not dislodge them. Let them fall off naturally. This should take place in about a week or so

Glad to respond, but do give her feedback when you are happy or whenever you have concerns. It helps her be all she can be and it helps you get the hair removed properly. Do you know if she has a new epilator?

5

Let me make this clear.

You are supposed to put on the Tea Tree Oil at bed time and the Aloe Vera during the day (as much as you like) from the end of the treatment, and for at least 3 days after your treatment. The way the post was written, it could be interpreted do nothing for 3 days and then use the Aloe and Tea Tree Oil. The fact that you got white bumps suggests that you did not use Tea Tree Oil either immidiately at the end of your treatment, nor overnight on the day of treatment. Usually, use of the Tea Tree Oil alone will keep any white bumps from forming, and will also excellerate the healing process of the skin so that even scabs fall off quicker. That is why we recommend it, even though it makes you smell like a Christmas Tree.

6

Thanks for the answers Dee.

Her magnification equipment- circular glass with a concentric white light lamp (sorry am not familiar with the technical word for this)mounted on a stand and I don’t really know what strength of magnification she uses.

Epilator- Again I have no idea if she has a new one but I guess it won’t hurt to ask her what she has.

My Electro start date- March 12,2009. I already have it in my signature.

A few more concerns:

More than a day after treatment, my skin feels OK now with the tiny whiteheads going down. No other skin reaction except that I have brown dots on half of the treated areas and other half is clear .Is it OK??

I still am a little confused to what comes under the category of scabs ??- the tiny whiteheads which will crust over in a day or two, the red/brown dots or the other tiny dots with some dried up fluid which should fall off themselves.

During the session , what I felt was just little stings which I guess is coz of the heat released at the root.Am I correct??

I will definitely give the feedback to my electrologist.

Thanks for ur guidance.

7

Thanks James for the clarification and ur guidance.

Yeah, I meant “2-3 days from the end of the treatment”…just too many things going on in the mind…so the mistake which got misinterpreted:)

My electrologist put aloe vera gel at the end of the treatment and I also did so during the day. Did not have Tea tree oil with me immediately or for that night…so could not take it’s benefit.I have now bought pharma grade pure tea tree oil…so will definitely dab it over the treated area overnight.

I definitely don’t mind smelling like Christmas tree if it does good to my skin:)

Thanks again.

8

Oh, I apologize if you had your start date already in your signature. Sometimes I move to fast and must have glazed over that fact.

I will never understand how electrologists can use those circular lamps. They never worked for me, however,everybody’s vision needs are different. We do hear a lot of stories like yours and it’s curious how many times this kind of skin reaction is related to those circular lamps.

Energy is more controllable right down to the the most tiniest degree of heat with computerized epilators, that’s why I like them. THere is a true difference, but the human being at the other end must know how to get the best from the epilator they are using.

Your temporary reaction will fade, but the trick to all this is to damage the hair follicle underneath the skin and not have side effects for more than a couple days where people notice that your lip looks angry. This can be accomplished if she can see and uses the correct levels of timing and intensity. It may take her a couple of sessions to settle on her plan for you, so do give her feedback. THe electrologist needs a little time to get to know the unique charactaristics of her new clients skin and hair. Work closely with her so a good balance can be found. If she is flippant, uncaring, and does not explain the process to you well, your eyes should turn yonder.