Dear all,
I’ve been lurking on this forum for a few years and I began electrolysis because you convinced me! I now want to share my story, because you all inspired me and because I’d like to help out anyone who has undergone a similar experience, with the hope of encouraging them to begin electrolysis.
Here’s my story. I’m a 26F with fair skin and dark curly hair. I am Middle Eastern, so I’m naturally on the hairer side. My journey into electrology actually began as a result of a horrific, botched laser hair removal session on my face.
I’ve always had peach fuzz on my face, and it never bothered me! When I went into a laser session at a local medical office in the summer of 2011 with my mother, I only wanted to have my sideburns lasered off. At the time, I was naive and clearly hadn’t done my research - I was excited by the prospect of a quick hair removal (or rather, “reduction”) opportunity. The woman who administered the laser convinced me to let her laser my entire face, i.e., the peach fuzz, as it would “brighten up” my “pretty face.” I foolishly agreed.
I had one session, and it resulted in a bit of hyperpigmentation, but most of it had faded by the time I went in for my second appointment a month later. The second time I went is where things ended horribly.
I ended up being burned, BADLY, and I couldn’t leave my house for two weeks. My skin blistered, scabbed, and the redness and scabbing went away only to be replaced with big dark brown splotches all over my face. It took nearly 1.5 years for the hyperpigmentation to go away and it was a horrible time. The woman who had administered the laser also didn’t return my calls. When I finally caught up with her on the phone, she said something about how “oh yeah, there was something wrong with the machine, some other people had the same thing happen and it’s TOTALLY okay.” By the time, I went to the office to get my refund, she was no longer working there. I saw many dermatologists who tried to sell me different things or made me lose hope completely.
Now, the worst part was yet to come, and my brother was the first one to notice it, as I stood on his balcony on a summer day. It had been about a month since my second (and last) laser session, and he pointed out a few thick hairs that had begun to grow on my cheek. I tried to shake it off, thinking that this was maybe just some “shedding” or something, and because I had no idea what was going on. Well, it got worse and worse. I began sprouting VERY THICK hairs all over my face - cheeks, chin, jawline, neck. I was 22 years old, previously very confident, and now I had a thick beard that extended all the way to my upper cheeks. I was completely, completely devastated. I’d just moved to a new, big city, and I began to develop a fear of crowds and people who looked at me in the face. I’d cry when I looked in the mirror.
The dermatologists I saw advised me not to try electrolysis. “It will hyperpigment your skin just like laser did, but as tiny dots.” I began threading, waxing, and plucking, but as I have extremely sensitive skin, I ended up with horrible acne and irritation after each of these methods. I even began taking spironolactone, which ended up damaging my liver and I stopped. It took me about 1 hr of plucking my hairs each day in order to even go outside.
Then, I moved to another small town and did more research on my own and finally found an electrologist. The more skilled one was constantly booked, so I saw another woman for a while. We got nowhere, as she was essentially undertreating and plucking my hairs, but I told myself “something is better than nothing.” I had about 1 year of electrolysis done, and while I understand progress is slow, it was like I’d gotten nowhere.
Then I moved to Istanbul and found an AMAZING technician. We’ve been working together for about 8 months now and we went from clearing my face in 1.5 hrs at the beginning to now about 15 minutes every two to three weeks. I’ve also begun working on other areas – the back of my neck, to clean up my hairline, and some other parts of my body. I just have a few stubborn chin hairs left, but I think that within 4 more sessions, they should be totally gone.
I will post some pics soon with before/after shots. 