My Electrolysis Journey

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#21

hiya pokka, im getting on ok, started with electro in july 09 so its still early days really. Im definalty getting finer regrowth but i still hate it and you can still see it! We have to stay positive though and listen to the good advice from the professionals on here and know that this will get fixed in the end!! I understand when you say you can only tell your mum. I felt like that aswell but at once point it really was noticable so i had to tell my close friends, theyve been a great support. Keep me updated how you are getting on, im going to nottingham again on saterday for another session.

bec xx

#22

Hi Bec, I know what you mean about regrowth! I have long hair and always have it down - I am hoping someday I can have it up away from my face someday… Well done on sharing with your friends, its good to let people know so they can understand what you are going through and know you better as a result. Best of luck for your Saturday appointment.x

#23

Hi all,

Pic of Test patch 2 (sorry about the motion blur):

DSC02180.jpg1023×682

I had my third consultation with the electrologist in Dorking and all I can say is, WOW! I now understand all the explanations of what electrolysis should feel like. I didn’t feel the insertion of the probe, not once - and she was working on the test area for atleast 5mins - , all I felt was the pulse (or zap, as i like to call it). It was very comfortable. The electrologist said she had it set to 30, which she explained is lower than she has used on other clients, but said that she noticed straight away that a lower energy was needed as my skin reacted pretty much immediately.

Sorry, I’ve done this in reverse in my excitement…

The initial part of the consultation was very thorough. We went over skin type, health condition, personal details, previous treatments etc. We talked about laser, the lady talked about the electrolysis technology and how it has evolved over the many years.

The electrologist then tested an area on my cheek. This was the most comfortable test patch of them all by far. I think this may have been because it felt like how I read it should be, so I found myself more relaxed in comparison to the other two appointments. Plus, before the electrologist started she put on surgical gloves, wiped the area with surgical spirit - it had a very strong whiff - and then started prepping the machine. After the treatment she showed me the hairs to show me a hair follicle that had a slight white bit around the lower end of the hair - she mentioned a term for it, but I don’t remember it now (Here’s a link I found to help me understand: Hair growth cycles ). Then she got me to hold an electrode and wet cloth whilst she rolled another electrode on the treated area until the area began to prickle; this is called Cataphoresis . At the end she applied some tea tree gel.

After I left, the tested area felt a little hot, appeared bumpy and quite red, but soothed by the gel. I have not yet applied anything else. I think I’ll just wash my face with cold water and apply witch hazel on the test patch.

Here are a couple of pics of test patch 3:

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DSC02204.jpg1023×682

I’m really pleased… I think I found my electrologist today :slight_smile: I will post on how my skin heals after a few days.

#24

Your posts are especially helpful because of the detail you offer.

The first picture may be deceiving, so I will be curious if you have any scabbing 48 hours later.

Dee

#25

I know, Dee. The pictures are not good at all, but they are the best I could get. The macro option is not reliable. I thought it better to include them than to leave them out altogether. Dee, what do you think so far? Am I getting too excited?

I have a Q: The electrologist said she can treat a max 350-400 hairs per hour, but I don’t know if I can take more than an hour in one sitting, how can I arrange this considering I can only travel to her twice a month?

I am going to upload the rest of the pics onto Photobucket in the order we took them. I hope a collection of a few will help put the puzzling pictures together. The bottom two in my last post were taken 4 hours after the appointment.

Update after 30hrs on test patch 3:
I applied Witch Doctor Skin Treatment gel to the test patch this morning and afternoon. Today the area is not red at all. No signs of bumps either. I am sooo happy! Just 7 pin-prick-sized scabs so far. They are all on one side of the test patch area, so I’m thinking the electrologist might have used a higher energy or blend on one side and a lower current or diathermy on the other. I didn’t clarify this, but will certainly email to ask- she’s great with email. Will try to get a pic later tonight.

#26

Hey, I find this a bit strange (350-400hairs/hour). I thought the Apilus was supposed to be a lot faster? My electrologist uses blend on an old machine and manages on average the same - 6 hairs/min.

#27

I get in a tick with my macro mode, too. Sometimes it works great and other times it gives me a migraine.

Most people are a little pink/red afterwards, just like your second picture and they should be. This is normal. It is called the inflammation response and should subside in hours if all was done well. I am not seeing anything that bothers me about your sample treatment. A skilled electrologist that can do PicoFlash or MicroFlash thermolysis could knock out all the hairs seen it the picture in about an hour of less. Anyone else can still affect the hair, but it may go slower. Don’t think only about the time - the skill part is top dog and that should be your focus.

Dee

#28

Hi, that’s what I thought at first, but I don’t really mind if it takes longer as the electrologist delivers a more comfortable treatment.

Should I schedule in for and hour or so the first time? Or start out slow? Considering it takes 1hour 30mins driving to get there, plus we’ve done a test patch…

#29

I agree, Dee. I will give it a couple of days and ask about booking in with her. I am just not sure whether to go in for an hour twice a month straight away or ramp up treatment durations gradually?

#30

Hi, that’s what I thought at first, but I don’t really mind if it takes longer as the electrologist delivers a more comfortable treatment.

Should I schedule in for and hour or so the first time? Or start out slow? Considering it takes 1hour 30mins driving to get there, plus we’ve done a test patch… [/quote]

that’s true and I agree with Dee too.

basically, i was hoping to go there too when i start driving for the only advantage of hopefully faster treatment. for me the extra travel (plus associated expense), plus far higher chargers per hour are not beneficial if she can’t do more work in the same amount of time, given that i’m having good treatment with my current electrologist :frowning:

#31

Hi, that’s what I thought at first, but I don’t really mind if it takes longer as the electrologist delivers a more comfortable treatment.

Should I schedule in for and hour or so the first time? Or start out slow? Considering it takes 1hour 30mins driving to get there, plus we’ve done a test patch… [/quote]

that’s true and I agree with Dee too.

basically, i was hoping to go there too when i start driving for the only advantage of hopefully faster treatment. for me the extra travel (plus associated expense), plus far higher chargers per hour are not beneficial if she can’t do more work in the same amount of time, given that i’m having good treatment with my current electrologist :([/quote]

Hey Stopit,

You never know, she may be under promising so as not to disappointment me. I wasn’t counting the follicles treated during the test consultation, but it seemed like a lot was being removed for maybe 5mins. Plus that was whilst she was testing, and checking how my skin was reacting and changing the setting in that time too - which by the way I didn’t even notice. I will let you know how I get on so you can make an informed decision.

edited to add: P.S. this post looks really weird, I think I’ll stop quick quoting now… scary

#32

Just a point… The Apilus allows one to work faster, as the auto-sensor makes it possible to work faster, but it can not force someone to use the machine to the maximum of its possibilities. I have known people who have purchased Apilus products, and used them to emulate a Protius, or a Kree. In the end, it is the operator who is the most important in the treatment result. By the way, the numbers you quote are pretty close to the statistical limit of Blend treatment speed (roughly 450 hairs per hour by my calculations).

#33

Hi James, right that’s good to know. I was very happy with her technique, it was fast enough but also very precise. I will ask which method was used and if she did try both.

#34

Hi,

Here’s a pic of test 3 after 2 days (managed to get a slightly better pic this time):

DSC02207.jpg682×1023

#35

Looking good Pokka!

Just wanted to suggest some things that might help with your macro pictures. Firstly you need good lighting (but no flash), so daylight is the best as you used for the above pic. Secondly, even though macro is for close up shots, most small cameras won’t focus properly any closer than 0.5m-1m. Therefore it’s best to get someone else to take the picture at about 70cm from you. If you can’t get anyone else you can try with a fully extended arm on the trigger but make sure it’s on a flat surface so that it doesn’t move. Hope that helps!

#36

Ah, right… Thanks Stopit!

#37

The new picture you posted above shows scabbing. Show her the picture and ask her if she can make adjustments in her intensity and timing so this is minimized or doesn’t happen at all. Give her feedback. Scabbing does not have to happen on the face, but if it does it should be pinpoint scabs on SOME of the hairs.

Dee

#38

Ok, dee, will do that now.

#39

Hi,

I emailed the Apilus electrologist, :

The test area has calmed completely, this took approximately 24 hours. There are now around 7 pin-prick sized scabs on the area closer to my ear (I’ve attached a picture so you can see), plus, I’ve been applying witch hazel gel twice a day, so hopefully that’ll help things along. I wondered, Is there anyway we could try to reduce this scabbing?

I hope you don’t mind but I just wanted to ask a few other q’s that I forgot about during our appointment on Monday:

How many years of experience do you have with your device?

How many of your clients have been treated with this device?

What is the brand of device/model and manufacturer of device?

How many clients do you treat with my skin tone and hair color and what are the typical results? We went over this briefly, but just wanted to ask properly.

What kind of results can I expect on this particular area in my case and in approximately how many treatments? I know this is hard to say, just a approximation would be great.

Lastly, how do you advise we go from here considering the result so far regarding scheduling treatments?

and she came back to me with the following:

I think you will find that those 7 pi-prick crusts are almost certainly the first few hairs as I was turning the machine intensity down. The settings I ended with are almost certainly ok to start with next time, however, I can also use insulated needles, which may well help as you are very sensitive and the follicles shallow, so that may offer a little more protection. Don’t worry about the crusts though; as I explained it is just part of the healing process, and there should be nothing visible when they are gone. It is good that you are careful with your aftercare, however there should be no need to use the witch hazel gel for more than 48 hours following treatment as it is used as a mild antiseptic and as an astringent to help close the follicles, which has now been achieved. It would now be helpful to gently massage in a light moisturiser.

To answer your other questions:

I have had 2 years experience with my machine, and I use only this machine for treatments as I am very happy with the machine which is extremely versatile and is actually much more controllable than a manual machine. The machine is an Apilus Cleo Blend. I have not had many clients with your skin and hair colour, but I have had some and results have been excellent, and with this depth of follicle and hair on the sides I would usually expect fairly quick results with each hair requiring only a minimum number of treatments. As you rightfully say, I unfortunately am unable to tell you how many sessions will be required. I wish I could but unfortunately I just can’t. I can tell you that I think you will see very rapid results. As regards going forward with treatment, I could start as soon as you would like, I just wouldn’t do the area I did on Monday , alternatively I would expect crusting to have gone and the area healed after 2 weeks, so you could leave the first treatment until then, 26th October and then we shouldn’t have any worries. I would suggest we use an insulated needle and work with fortnightly appointments, although if you find at any time that more time is needed between treatments then you can always contact me and we can re-schedule. As regards duration of treatment I think that pretty much depends on your budget, but I would suggest 30-45 mins to start, and then that would reduce as treatment progresses, as will the frequency of treatments.

Also, can anyone let me know if there is anything else I can/should ask before going ahead. I think I can fit an appointment in mid-monday, and am awaiting the electrologists email to see if she will also be available.

This is beginning feel real now, I may have found someone who can help me…

Thanks.

#40

Her response was PERFECTO!

This is an excellent example of the value of constructive feedback. You are going to be in this relationship for about 9-18 months. You need to communicate well and honestly with each other. She explained everything well and you put her on her toes to be vigilant, because YOU are being vigilant. I am so proud of both of you. You taught her something and she sounds smart enough to pay attention to her client.

Now, your next task is to talk her into moving up to an Apilus Platinum or Pure to match her talent. Wishful thinking?

Dee