My Electrolysis Diary: starting October 2011

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I am so grateful to the people who have taken time to write about their electrolysis experiences on this website. Thank you all so much! It is great to know there are others with similar problems, and it has given me hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to my own facial hair problems.

I am female, 26 years old, fair skin and dark hair. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have to spend lots of time plucking, shaving and bleaching. I have dark, coarse hair on my chin, neck and side of face. The hairs grow back quickly and give me stubble by the afternoon. Plucking the hairs on my chin has almost become a full-time job and it was damaging my skin. I also have discolouration, particularly on my chin, as you can see the hairs just under the surface.

So…I’ve given up plucking for good and started electrolysis last week. My practitioner is using an Apilus machine and I am going to go for 2 sessions a week for 30 minutes each. I was pleased with the results after the first 30 minute session yesterday. Of course the hairs are already growing back but it gave me a taste of what it might be like in several months time when my hair is more under control (I hope!).

The treatment didn’t really hurt at all. Only a few of the hairs were very slightly painful when they were removed. The worst part was growing my hair before the treatment. I don’t like having to go outside (particularly to work) with visible facial hair, but I am doing my best to hide the hair on my neck (wearing my hair down) but there’s not much I can do about the obvious hair on my chin. I have reached the point where I am willing to put up with this in the hopes that I can have some permanent results in the future.

#2

Hi there, I’m happy for you and how you have come to discover electrolysis. I have also had a problem with facial hair just like yours. I have been getting electrolysis done for about couple of months now. It has made a huge difference on my face. Electrolysis is slow but be sure that it will permanently remove all the hairs you want. I’m so lucky I have found the best electrologist in my area. I wish you luck! : )

#3

Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that electrolysis is working out well for you. I can’t wait until I’m also a few months into the process and can maybe reduce the frequency of appointments. After a long time of considering my options and feeling anxious about what to do, it feels really good to have taken the first step and started dealing with my problem.

Best of luck to you too!

#4

Thank you. And yes, as you keep going for appointments frequently in the beginning, gradually you will have to go in for fewer time. I started out with 2 hours every week. Now, its cut down to an hour every week or even an hour every other week.

#5

I’ve been for another session. It feels great at the end when you look in the mirror and see smooth skin! I’m using Witch Hazel gel for a day after the appointment, and aloe vera gel after that.

Letting the hairs grow is still the hardest part, but I feel more relaxed about it than I thought I would. Saying that, I must admit that when the growth is at its worst I am keeping a low profile and avoiding standing close to people as much as I can.

On the plus side, I can’t believe what a huge difference giving up plucking has made. If somebody had told me a few months ago that I would stop using my tweezers, I would have thought they were mad. I had to pluck several times a day just to keep things under control! But what I didn’t realise was that a big part of my problem was the fact that my chin was getting so bruised and marked from all the plucking. Now I’ve stopped, the skin on my chin looks much better, with less discoloration, and it’s given me a boost. In between appointments I’m trimming my facial hair with nail scissors and it’s surprisingly effective. It doesn’t damage the skin but makes the hair much less noticeable. Obviously, I can’t use the scissors the day before my appointment as I need to let it grow at that point. I would definitely urge anybody who plucks a lot to try using nail scissors and / or an electric shaver instead for a while to see if that helps improve their situation, even if they can’t start electrolysis yet.

#6

Hi Winter,
I had the same experience–my skin was so beat up and awful looking just from plucking. The hair is bad but I think the damage from tweezers looked even worse! My face also always HURT from all the plucking–was that your experience? My skin is still a little scarred but looks 100 times better and even though I’m not done with treatments I feel so much better about my skin. I am 32 and I’d been plucking for 16 years. Glad you already seeing some of the benefits!

#7

Hello there! “Beat up” definitely sums up how my chin and neck looked too. It didn’t actually hurt me that much…I’m wondering if my skin became numb to it over time. What really got to me was how endless the whole process was. I could pluck morning, noon and night and still it wasn’t enough! Best wishes for your treatment, it sounds like we’re both having good results so far.

#8

When you notice an immediate improvemement in the skins’condition, after commensing electrolysisis treatment,it is a sign that your practitioner is well skilled. No new irritation is happening, and from either the treatment or from tweezing, so the skin begins its’recovery processes, and the effect although gradual, is immediately apparent. Well done,you are on the way to acheiving the hair free,clear skin that you used to dream about!!

#9

Congratulations on starting your journey! I started mine Jan 2011 (sides of my face and back of my neck)…for the first few months, I would go every week for as long as I could tolerate it ( I would always schedule last appt)…usually went about an hour and a half…sometimes longer…since July I am now going every other week for an hour and I can see great results! I remember in the beginning feeling kind of deflated that every week there was SO much and wondering if it would ever slow down…I am SO glad I stuck with it…I am definitely seeing progress and a light at the end of the tunnel…I just wish I did this years ago! Best of luck to you :slight_smile:

#10

That’s great to hear! Well done for sticking with it. I also kind of wish I’d done this a few years ago (maybe when I was a student so I could have fitted sessions in more easily than it is to do with a full time job) but, still, it’s better now than never and I don’t think I would have been in the right frame of mind a few years ago to perservere with this treatment. I hope your treatment continues with excellent results!

#11

Update: I’ve been for two more sessions. Before the second treatment my hair grew back with a vengeance and it wasn’t pleasant to look in the mirror and see coarse dark hairs on my chin. But it was bearable and I got through it. Putting some foundation over the top helped a bit. I have a little phrase I say in my head when I get worried about people noticing my facial hair: “My body is nobody else’s business”. Somehow saying this makes me feel stronger. Technically, I suppose I should say “My face is nobody else’s business” - but it doesn’t sound as good! :grin:

I also got the results of my recent blood test and apparently I have “high testosterone”. I’m not surprised, but I did feel quite depressed when it was confirmed as I’m not sure yet what this means for me. Will this set me back and mean that my hairs take longer to remove? I’m going to go back to the doctor to find out what (if anything) needs to be done.

#12

Update: I am still going for electrolysis twice a week. The biggest change I’ve experienced is that I no longer have to trim and /or shave in between sessions. I do not do anything on my chin, neck and side of face other than go for electrolysis. This is great news for me, because in the past I’ve spent countless hours shaving, plucking and bleaching. so to suddenly not have to do this anymore is extremely liberating. The hairs are still there (and I try to avoid standing too close to people when they are at their worst) but they aren’t as coarse as they used to be. My chin hairs are more whispy now.

I’ve only been doing this for just over a month so I have a way to go yet. But I already feel a lot better and I look forward to things improving even more over the coming months.

#13

Glad to hear you have reached the point of having some promise for a new day.

The best thing that I get to participate in is when someone comes in for the first time, and when we are done, they walk out the door completely bare and their whole attitude changed. :grin:

#14

Congratulations! I am glad it is going well! The first few months might be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but the more you do it, the better results you will see and it really is SOOO liberating!! I never thought there would be a day that I was no longer self conscious of my hair, but that day has come! I still have more to do, but I absolutely see the light at the end of the tunnel!

#15

I hear this kind of feedback all the time. I never tire of mt job. Your words are the fuel that keeps electrologists going. Electrolysis simply works and it works simply well.

#16

Congratulations to you too! :grin: Getting electrolysis has been the best thing I’ve done in terms of improving my self-confidence and making me feel better about myself.

And thanks to James & Dee and the other pros for posting in the forum. Your posts made me feel comfortable enough to seek out an electrologist and to understand the process.

#17

You are most welcome and your kind words uplift all the committed electrologists that post here in your and others behalf. We wish you well. Give your electrologist a biorbit for a job well done and don’t get discouraged when a bunch of hairs cycle in over the next several months. Consider that good news because your electrologist can only treat the hairs that are there to see.

Clip those hairs that appear. They don’t have to be that long in order to treat.

#18

Hi Winter11,
I am so happy for you and how you have come to discover electrolysis.

#19

Hi I just wanted to say this story reminded me of myself. I know growing the hair on your chin is tough at first but I think you have an amazing attitude and it is WELL worth it in the long run !

Im 22, a student and i was a serial plucker. I put the tweezers down and I started electrolysis on my chin in march 2011 and had an appointment every week, sometimes twice until October. Now I haven’t been for 3 weeks and I just have a few whispy hairs that you can barely see. I never thought I would be able to get up in the morning and not reach straight for the tweezers so I could start my day. I cannot tell you how amazing it is! :slight_smile: I used to have a chin like a warzone that my mum used to put down to ‘teenage hormones’ but it was the plucking. Now my chin is completely clear of spots and blemishes.

I know next year I may have to go back for a few hairs that were missed or not completely killed off but that is well worth it for how I feel now.

I strongly urge you to continue on your journey and keep coming back to this website. The support and stories on here are what made me start electrolysis and kept me going until the end.

Thankyou everyone! And good luck you :slight_smile:

#20

These stories are music to my ears!
I love my job.