My electrolysis diary - female facial hair

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I’ve had a mustache since I was maybe 12 or 13. I started growing chin hair when I was maybe 20 or 21, and over the next few years it spread and became more noticeable. I would stay home for a few days so I could grow it out long enough to pluck it all out, and the rest of the time I shaved daily. That went on for a few years, and then I decided to do something more about it. I went to a laser hair removal place (American Laser Centers) where I was told I was a prime candidate. I paid for the package, and for the next 3 years got laser treatments every 4-10 weeks. I faithfully followed their schedule, never went out in the sun. I saw reduction after every appointment, but in the end it just kept coming back. I stopped going because my time I had paid for ran out, and I just didn’t have the funds to continue, especially if the treatment wasn’t working. In the next few years, the facial growth got worse and worse. Oddly enough, my upper lip area still remains nearly completely hair free, the only place the laser seems to have been effective. But everything else has gotten darker and thicker and denser. Since stopping laser, I have mostly shaved, on a daily basis. But every 2-4 months since about a year after I stopped laser, I have grown it out and plucked it all out. Painful. Takes forever. Caused ingrowns sometimes, but it was better than the noticeable regrowth and 5 o clock shadow.

I decided about 3 months ago that I couldn’t keep living like this. I want to cut my hair in a short hair cut, but I’m afraid I’ll feel like a dude if I do. I’m sick of thinking about this daily. I’m sick of the razor burn. I’m sick of feeling self conscious about it. I’m sick of wondering if my husband hates what I look like. I’m sick of wondering if that’s what people notice when they’re talking to me. I’m sick of looking bad and feeling ugly and like there’s something wrong with me. I’m just sick of all of it. :frowning:

So I stopped plucking. And I’ve met with 2 electrologists. I had my first longish appointment (an hour, I can’t really afford more time at this point) about 4 days ago. I’m scared that this is going to take forever, mostly from a financial standpoint. :frowning: I know there’s very possibly a hormonal issue going on behind the scenes that could be causing it, but I don’t have insurance and don’t know how we’d pay for both the hair removal (which would need to get done either way) and the testing too (which may show nothing at all or send me down the road of messing with hormones when my body seems to me mostly working well at this point, except for the facial hair). I’m thin, pretty much always have been, and have had regular periods for as long as I can remember. I’m hairier than your average female in other places too. My dad was super hairy, not sure if that could explain it.

I’ll work on getting some pics up when I can figure it out, having trouble with it . . .

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#2

Ok, so looks like the photos did upload after all. I don’t know how to get them to show up in the post. I’ll work on that next. I should have added captions.

The first 2 pics are pre-treatment, with just test patches done. Pic #3 was of the day after my appointment. And pics #4+5 are of this morning, 4 days post treatment. There’s more redness than I was expecting to last at this point.
She used thermolysis, and then some areas, especially around my chin she used micropulse. Which I don’t know what that is. But it seemed to make some of the hairs slide out a little better. She says what I’ve got going on is bad. And that these hairs are hard to remove. :frowning:

#3

Classic post-treatment electrolysis for big hairs. Looks perfect! Your “zapper” is doing a super job! Bravo!

After these nasty “guys” are eliminated, the skin reaction, with subsequent treatments, will be less. Now, stop “fretting” about this (redness), and just stick with the program! You are having permanent hair removal … emphasis on the PERMANENT!

A few electrologists have made arrangements so clients can put treatments on a credit card … if that will make paying for this easier. I say: get this done whatever the cost! Your life will be amazingly changed and ALL for the better!

It’s “what we do!”

Also, Please don’t start micro-managing your treatment based on ANYTHING you read here on Hairtell. Your “zapper” knows what she’s doing! Don’t make this a 10-year affair by trying every electrologist in the country. Just: “git 'er done!”

#4

Thanks so much, Michael. That’s pretty much exactly what I needed to hear. I get so worried when I keep hearing “it’s so hard to find a good electrologist/I got scammed by so-n-so/undertreatment/this magical other probe” etc. . . Like, I feel like this woman is doing a good job, seems really proficient, but I’m a second guesser at heart. It’s good to know that this is normal. Thanks. :slight_smile:

#5

The areas where she did not use the micropulse on are almost invisible now. But those areas didn’t really need the “big guns.” They came out a lot easier.

#6

Just wanted to give a quick update. I’ve done 5 hour long appointments so far. It feels like it’s taking so long, going really slowly as we haven’t covered much more area than shows after that first long treatment session, but I was looking at that first picture I posted, and I can see definite reduction in the cheek area and also some in the chin. I go in for an hour every 2 weeks, because that’s about what I can afford both time wise and financially. The regrowth is mostly fine. Some of them are darker and thick, but I’m not sure if that’s true regrowth or just a combination of laser rebound and hairs that weren’t growing before finally coming in. I stopped plucking last November, so not sure if that’s possible. But I plucked once a month for years before that. I’ve done a lot. I’m really really hoping this is it for me. I’m so ready to have my life back.
I’ll get a progress pic up in the next few days.

#7

So I stopped plucking. And I’ve met with 2 electrologists. I had my first longish appointment (an hour, I can’t really afford more time at this point) about 4 days ago. I’m scared that this is going to take forever, mostly from a financial standpoint. I know there’s very possibly a hormonal issue going on behind the scenes that could be causing it, but I don’t have insurance and don’t know how we’d pay for both the hair removal (which would need to get done either way) and the testing too (which may show nothing at all or send me down the road of messing with hormones when my body seems to me mostly working well at this point, except for the facial hair). I’m thin, pretty much always have been, and have had regular periods for as long as I can remember. I’m hairier than your average female in other places too. My dad was super hairy, not sure if that could explain it.

The quantity of facial hair you have indicates very high levels of testosterone. If it came in recently, you should consider seeing a doctor because you might have an adrenocortical carcinoma (form of cancer). It can also be caused by ovarian tumours. Not to scare you, but this is a common boards exam question for a doctor (suspected diagnosis for someone with your build having excessive facial hair which indicates a lack of PCOS, most bloodwork coming up normal). It’s worth it to ensure through a doctor that your hirsutism is idiopathic and non-malignant.

#8

[quote=tacos]

The quantity of facial hair you have indicates very high levels of testosterone. If it came in recently, you should consider seeing a doctor because you might have an adrenocortical carcinoma (form of cancer). It can also be caused by ovarian tumours. Not to scare you, but this is a common boards exam question for a doctor (suspected diagnosis for someone with your build having excessive facial hair which indicates a lack of PCOS, most bloodwork coming up normal). It’s worth it to ensure through a doctor that your hirsutism is idiopathic and non-malignant.

Tacos, it started very gradually when I was 20 or so, a few chin hairs at that point, and increased slowly over the next few years to what the pictures show in my first post. Though I think the darkness and density was not quite what those pictures in my first post show until AFTER I had laser hair removal treatments done.