My electrolysis dairy: pcos, dense but not coarse hair, middle eastern

[peachfuzz]

hi guys!
i just want to save my journey here in case someone has doubts about electrolysis or scared to begin this journey. and to be honest, this keeps me motivated as well. my hairs are very dense but not coarse, my body as well as face is like a peach or a cat. for me, that is worse than having coarse but not as dense hair all over but i’m no expert so idk…

upper leg: untouched for at least 6 months, maybe even a year and a half, i have no idea.
March 8th → 3h: right front
March 20th → 3h: left front
March 24th → 3h: right front
March 27th → 3h: left front
March 31st → 4h: right front
April 5th → 4h: left front
April 14th → 4h: right back
April 19th → 4h: right back
April 21st → 4h: right back

due to lockdown, we had to stop and could not get to work on the back of the left upper leg. it took 22 hours for right upper leg (above knee, excl. knee) and 10 hours for the front part of left upper leg.

September 23rd → 3h: right front
September 24th → 3h: left front
September 27th → 3h: right front + back
September 29th → 4h: left front + back
October 1st → 3:20h: right back, 00:40h: left
October 5th → 3:50h: left back

as can be seen, the clearence for the right upper leg dropped from 22 hours to 9h:20 mins.
we spent 11h:30 mins for the left leg but it included first clearence of the back of the leg and second clearence of the front part.

we’ll be continuing with our third clearence starting from january 19th. i believe dropping from 22 hours to 9 and a half is great and i know that i should not compare my electrologist with experts like Josefa or Michael, so i’m happy with the reduction i am seeing.

i didn’t touch the hairs (no shaving or trimming) in between appointments and i’ll continue to do so.

i want to start electrolysis on my back and belly, which are the areas that have never been touched before --“virgin” i guess-- and i really hope i can see much greater reduction than just 50% on these areas.

i want to keep my journey updated. let’s see how the 3rd clearence goes.

[erreichbar_unter]

hey peachfuzz,

your infos are great! are there any pictures available?

i had 2 or 3 treatments on my upper leg - backside. stopped treatment because of ingrown hairs and the success is not great from my opinion.

i guess a numbing cream was necessary, right?

[peachfuzz]

hi!
thanks for the feedback.
i do not think i have detailed pictures before the first session but i’ll try to include the ones i have.

for me back of the leg hurts more than the front part and the difference is truly distinguishable but still i did not use anything to numb the area or soothe the pain.

[erreichbar_unter]

hi peachfuzz,

thx for your respond. do you mind sending some pics to me?

or upload some here.

best wishes

[peachfuzz]

hey! sorry for not uploading the pictures any sooner.

the first picture is actually during the 1st session, the pic is not focused but you can clearly see the intensity of the hair.

second and third pictures are approximately 5-6 months after the 1st clearence.

i believe the difference between the back of the leg that was treated and the once that was not treated is clearly visible on the picture above.

i, unfortunately do not have any photos from the in-between period.
but i have some that are before the 3rd clearence, which is also about 3 months after the second clearence.

we’ll be starting the third clearence late-january and my legs are quite dry and take a long time to heal (you still can see red dots but they are all temporary so no worries) so i think i could take “after 3rd clearence” pictures around mid-april or so. my first session was on 8th of march (international women’s day hehe) so it’ll be interesting to see how much has changed in a year.

[erreichbar_unter]

hey peachfuzz, thx for posting your pictures.

your skin looks exactly like mine after the treatment.

where is your electrologist located? do you suffer from facial hair too?

best wishes!!

[peachfuzz]

hey erreichbar_unter, thanks for your interest in my progress.

i’m in istanbul and my electrologist is also located in istanbul, turkey.

also, yes i also suffer from facial hair but i have seen great progress with it as i did not touch it before the electrolysis and it is now managable but due to lockdown and other stuff the progress has been delayed and i did not recieve any treatment for 1.5 years or so, but still, the reduction is great and promising.

i guess turkey would be too far for you to arrange regular appointments? i do not know where you live but i wish you can find a great electrologist.

[Bono]

Indeed, the numbers of electrologists have dwindled and we’re getting harder to find … everywhere. Before the 2000s there were eleven electrologists in Santa Barbara. Today, just two (well, maybe 1.5?).

In years-gone-by, those at electrology Conventions were young and enthusiastic. Today, while there is a smattering of “new blood,” the majority of attendees are nearing (or well beyond) retirement age. I suppose here is where I could quote T.S. Eliot? " … not with a bang but a whimper." Happy New Year!

[peachfuzz]

Dear Bono,
Thanks for the feedback. I truly appreciate it. Could you please take a look at these 2 pics and tell me what you think? I believe my legs start to look like what you described as “pebbling” (11 months after 1st treatment) but I need you to share your opinion with me so I can either continue the treatment or cease it and either look for another expert or do something about the issue.

I need your guidance on this one. If it is any help, this is 3 months post second clearence and 11 months post 1st treatment/clearence.

[Bono]

I’m a bit confused on this one. 11-months … or 3-months? Pebbling usually takes place when hairs are treated over-and-over … or, if they were seriously over-treated.

I think your first step would be to ask your electrologist what’s going on here. Usually I don’t see pebbling everywhere on an area … and, it’s usually confined to a small area (not universal).

Are you seeing this “all over” the treated area … or just here-and-there? I have seen these types of situations from Galvanic ONLY (e.g., multiple needle) … but much less often with thermolysis (or blend) … and most electrologists use thermolysis.

Thermolysis places the treated area well below the skin’s surface. High and prolonged Galvanic can effct tissue too high-up in the skin; so there is less control. Sorry to throw so many questions at you …

[Bono]

Additionally, I have completed many legs and never seen this type of reaction. I know that my colleagues here have probably never seen this on legs either. It is possible that the follicle, in your case, is (as always happens) really filled with “wound collagen” and will, in time, level out. Collagen remodeling “eats up” the mass of scar tissue and levels out the area. My (hopeful) guess is that’s what’s going to happen!

If you have even had a “lumpy bumpy” (discolored) scar that was a concern … and then a few years later, you can’t even find the scar … well, that’s the process I’m talking about … “fingers crossed!”

If you go to my website, you can download the short booklet called “the wound module” (free) and that will probably explain what could be happening?

[Iluv2zap]

I agree with Michael on this. I havent seen such skin reaction and the bumps I do see seem to be from hair follicles. If this was a single clearance then nothing for 11 months with thermolysis, I have not seen this. I would expect this however if a client had perhaps waxed their legs for a significant amount of time before getting electrolysis. Such waxing can be the same as pebbling from under treatment and its likely in such a case that the damage was only revealed when you remove the hair. I think this is the most likely scenario here.
I cant imagine how long it would take to do legs with galvanic. It can take me 20-30 hours on a single leg for clearance on some clients in thermolysis. I think it likely in galvanic that time frame would be in the 100’s of hours for a single clearance over several years.

[peachfuzz]

Thanks for the help. I’m happy to answer your questions.
My last treatment on this area was on Octorber, however the first time this area was treated was on March 2020, that’s why I included two different time-frames. I cannot exactly say when these happened because I had two clearences done.

I’m not sure if that counts as over-treatment but let’s say she insert the probe into the follicle and zaps the hair, the hair does not come up and she zips it again and again. Is this what you mean? Because if that is the case, this happens frequently though not all the time. But if she does not get it with one insertion and one zip, she usually does another 2 insertion and zip on the same hair and gets it on the 3rd time.

She’s not performing galvanic I guess as she zaps one hair follicle at a time.

My electrologist treated so many friend of mine yet they have no problems like mine. I know that because I have seen the skin closely.

I hope I could provide some helpful info regarding your questions.

[peachfuzz]

Hey! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me.

The area has been treated on March and got its full first clearence and then on October its second clearence. I’m not sure exactly whether they have emerged after the first of the second clearence though.

I did not prefer waxing for my upper leg to be honest, maybe I had it like 10 times in my life. Other than that, I always preferred shaving. Before starting electrolysis, I had a good 6 months or so not using any method to remove the hair as well.

The technique she prefers is not galvanic and I’m glad, because the first time my upper leg was treated it took about 20 hours alone by one side.

I hope the info I provided is helpful in evaluating my skin reaction further. Thank you

[erreichbar_unter]

hello peachfuzz,

long time no see. hope you are well. how are you and how are the treatments progressing? a few months have passed already…

look forward to your reply.

[peachfuzz]

Hey! Thanks so much for your interest in my journey.

I’ve had only 1 full clearence after October, which is my 3rd clearence in total for my legs. I’ve also started my arms but arms are hard to track progress due to my previous sessions with another electrologist so I have no idea how to share info about them.

Yet, here is info on my 3rd clearence on upper legs:

January 20th → 4h: left front + a bit of back
January 21st → 4h: right front + back
January 26th → 3:50h: left upper leg done
January 27th → 1:50h: right upper leg done

5h50mins for right upper leg and 7h50mins for left upper leg for 3rd clearence. (I’m mentioning this again but, the time difference the two legs is due to lockdown as I could not get to work on the back of the left upper leg during the 1st clearence.)

Because my skin heals slowly, me and my electrologist decided to continue with the 4th clearence after the summer. And I can say confidently that even though I’m nowhere near the finish line, I’m happy with the results. I only shaved during the summer (and continue to do so) and the comparsion between my upper legs (getting electrolysis) and lower legs (no electrolysis) is remarkable.

The only downside is the white dots I’m seeing which are close the “pebbling” according to my eyes, not so sure, but I try to not pay too much attention to it.