After many painful years of unwanted chin hairs i have finally decided to undergo electrolysis. I will be updating this thread regularly, as my treatment (which will hopefully start by next week) progresses.
My problem is not really that large (1 pluck 1-2 hairs a day at most) but it has affected my self esteem upto the extent that I have no job, no social life, and no partner. I refuse to let people get close to my face, as plucking and constantly touching the face has led to a few blemishes in the area. It has literally taken over my life and so its about time I did something about it. At the moment I’m a little anxious but overall I have a feeling that everythings going to be just fine.
My history - I started plucking at the age of 16. I only had about 2 fine hairs on my chin. I noticed that the more I plucked those hairs the thicker they became, but the problem didnt really take over my life as I only had to deal with 2 hairs. This carried on into my early twenties until I decided to take antidepressants. From the age of 22-24 I the went on two different types of medications and quit both of them cold turkey. This probably messed up my system as I developed some more fine hairs on my chin. I then did something that I regret till this day - I decided to pluck those fine hairs. Plucking resulted in thickening of those hairs and I’ve been struggling to deal with them ever since (for the last 18 months). My hair problem is still there even though the side effects of coming off anti-depressants have gone away.
I have done a little research and asked questions on electroysis and so far I’ve learnt the following.
Electrolysis is the best permanent hair removal treatment there is, however success depends on how skilled your electrologist is, the machine used, good hygiene, how balanaced your hormones are, how good your aftercare is, and on how properly timed your schedule is. I’ve decided that to make this work I am going to follow all the rules in the book.
I’ve read that when properly carried out you shouldn’t feel anything apart from the current being applied to the hair. So I will look out for this.
I live in London, and so far have found one electrologist that meets most of the above requirements. She is a memeber of the The British Institute and Association of Electrolysis. From the website her salon looks professional and very nice, and she uses the blend method. I have booked an appoinment for a consultation on Saturday 17th March. I will ask her the following questions when I meet her.
-questions on her experience
-how long the treatment will take and when will I start seeing results
-how quickly will I be able to get appointments
-how painful will it be
-side effects
-sterilisation procedures
-whether a disposable needle is used
-aftercare
Good for you. It is exciting to decide on a course of action, and for most it is a big relief. Great job on your homework, I am sure you will find a qualified electrologist.
yes, great job. you will soon be on your way. make sure not to pluck at all starting now. only slip the hairs. it might help to have them grow out for a week or 2 at least so the electrologist will have more than 5 hairs to treat. That’s only a 2 min treatment at most!
btw, some of those hairs would have become darker on their own. you were at an age when the hairs start developing. it wasn’t all due to plucking at all.
I went for my first electrolysis consultation/session today. The salon was fairly clean, but not as good as it looked on the website. The electrologist was quite nice and a member of the British Institute and Association of Electrolysis.
This is what happened during the consultation-
-I explained my problem to her and she listened and made notes.
-I asked her about how many treatments I would need but she didnt give me an answer and said that electrolysis is a slow process.
-She explained the procedure to me and said that once a hair is removed it takes around 8-10 weeks to grow and that I would probably feel it when it grows back.
-She then asked me if I’d like a quick demonstration. At that point I became quite anxious and asked her if it would hurt. She explained to me that she’d be lying if she said it was painfree and then said that maybe i should think about it. After some conderation I decided to give it a go as I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.
-I havent plucked for the past 5 days so had around 8 hairs on my chin.
-The blend method and a disposable needle was used.
-Surprisingly I didnt find the treatment ‘painful’. I could hardly feel the needle insertion. I then felt a heat like sensation which was uncomfortable but it was far from painful. She them removed the hair, which I couldnt really feel as I’m so used to plucking.
-she removed around 8 hairs in 5 minutes and charged me £8.50.
-after the treatment she applied tea tree oil and recommeded I use aloe vera or tea tree oil on the area. She also told me that I should avoid applying greasy creams.
-she advised me to cut/shave the hairs in between treatments, and to call her if I had any problems.
-Afterwards the area was slightly pink but nothing significant. Its been 3 hours since I had the treatment and the area looks fine.
Overall everything went well and I’m pleased. I’ve booked my next appointment for wednesday. The only thing I’m slightly concerned about is to do with the fact that the elctrologist didn’t give me an answer on how long the whole process would take.
So this is my question - does this lady sounds like a good electrologist. Did she carry out the treatment correctly. All comments would be appreciated.
It sounds like you are in good hands. It is not unusual for an electrologist not to answer the “how long it will take” question. An exact answer can’t be given especially if you are a plucker. Who knows the extent of your problem? She’s being cautious.
I feel personally at ease with giving my clients a ballpark figure and stress that there are variables that can interfer with those figures because permanent hair removal is not an exact science. I think ballpark figures help because some clients feel this can all be done in 3 months and some think it will take five years. You don’t want anyone thinking too long or two short of time. The vast majority of people fall in that “three hair growth cycle” or 9-12 month catagory, roughly, and I bet you will too, if she’s doing her job well and you’re doing your job well.
I do like how your consult went. Congratulations. Does she wear gloves?
hey i am also from the london area and i am thinking of electrolysis…
i am a boy with hair on my cheeks that i have been unhappy about for a long time. i generally have alot of body hair aswell i really would want to get rid or reduce most of it if possible.
i tend to trim my cheek hair very slightly and less often as i can. i really dont want to have stubble all the way that high up. it really affects me and i constantly think about it all the time. to be honest there is still alot of fluff right now and sometimes i just pluck the really thick hairs and leave the rest. i can see in a couple of months i will be shaving the whole area, my question is should i get this treated sooner rather then later whilst the hair is less thick??
Electrolysis is a very good option if you want permanent hair removal on this area. Shouldn’t take long to clear, but you must maintain your gain and keep this area clear for the next 9-12 months. Please, please,please get those consultations so you can find the right fit for you.
I went for my second electrolysis appointment today. The treatment lasted 5 minutes and so far things seem good as I only got slight redness immediately after the treatment which disappeared within an hour. I’m now thinking of removing the finer hairs on my chin so have booked a longer 15 minute appointment for next week.
With regards to removing the fine hairs (I have quite a few of them), I have these questions
-how many treatments will I need per hair? as these hairs are fine is it possible that only one treatment will be required per hair?
-is there a chance that the finer hairs will grow back thicker?
-I dont pluck the fine hairs so are these the only hairs that I have or will new hairs appear once a hair has been treated in the same area?
my advice for you is to read about hair cycles and how hair growth works. what you see at any point is not all the hair you have, even if you haven’t plucked them. hairs go through cycles and fall out on their own.
-it’s impossible to predict how many treatments you will need on each hair. the rule is that it is easiest to kill hair in first anagen growth phase when it’s new and weak. if the electrologist catches the hairs in that phase (which you help by going in as soon as new hairs show up), there is a good chance that it will be killed the first time around if the electrologist makes a good insertion etc. But it can take 2-3 zaps. It’s impossible to tell.
No, the hairs only grow in thinner, never thicker. Not possible. Even hairs that are not killed, weaken after each zap.
once again, please read about hair cycles. all the hairs you have are not showing. at least 60% are dormant at any time under the skin. that’s why you need treatments spaced over 9-12 months, so you can kill all hairs as they come in into the first growth phase.
