The other forum seems to have gone down, so I will update here! I hadn’t saved my older entries, unfortunately.
I’m currently getting electrolysis done on my cheeks, chin, sideburns, neck, and upper lip. My hair is not coarse, but fine and dense, so I think that getting to first clearance will take awhile. :\
My electrologist uses RF thermolysis and an Instantron Elite machine. I’ve had 6 sessions so far (including today).
I think we’ve found a good setting that doesn’t hurt (except for right under the nose - OUCH!), even though I still get scabbing on the cheeks/sideburns. She asked if the trade off was worth it, and I said yeah, so she’s keeping it on the current settings more or less.
I can see an improvement, especially since she has removed a lot of the thicker hairs, but I still have many tiny hairs. I have no idea if these hairs are just a sort of “down” covering, or if they will grow into longer hairs (I suspect the former, but I’m no expert).
As of right now, she’s removed about half of each sideburn, half of the upper lip, and various hairs along the cheek and jawline.
I suggest you take pictures while you’re just starting out. It will become harder and harder to remember what you started with. Also, I hope you’re using the proper aftercare (witch hazel etc). If you can, please add your location to your profile, so this can help others in your specific area. I believe you’re near Long Beach, correct?
I have some pictures somewhere, and I tried to take a few more the other day. Since I bleach, it’s a bit hard to get all the hairs to show up. :\ Maybe I’ll try it in the sun tomorrow.
I have been using witch hazel after treatments, and for a few days after treatment. The upper lip never has any scabbing, and my electrologist has mentioned something about my skin having lots of moisture, so it might be that’s what’s causing the scabbing on my cheeks. It’s mild though, definitely not noticeable unless your very close to my face.
Yep, in Southern California. I’ll update my profile.
You can kind of see how the hairs are fairly fine, but dense.
And here is a comparasion of what my face looked like when I started, and now (left is beginning of July, right is beginning of August): http://i9.tinypic.com/4lhzdsk.jpg
Witchhazel is more of an astringent, It’s good for cleaning the area immediatly after the electrologist treats it, and then treats it with neosporin and/or hydrocortisone. After that, on the second, and on following days, go with aloe gel, it’s going to be much more effective. That’s if you do use something on following days. Me, I just keep it clean, I apply nothing on the second and following days.
Ya, I’d say you’re problem isn’t that bad at all actually. Seems like most of it is “down” covering, rather than hair of the thicker variety. Regardless, looks like you are on your way. Good luck
I had a 45 minute session today. I didn’t get much sleep last night and the night before because I’ve had to go to work early. As a result of me being tired, the session was particularly painful. She turned the current down as much as she could without it being totally ineffective, but it didn’t help much.
She worked on the sideburns and cheeks. I can definitely see an improvement, and I’m really pleased about the sideburns, because they look fairly normal and not “beardy”. I was so embarrased when a young cousin of mine said a few months back - “How come you have a beard?” (referring to sideburns)!
My electrologist going on vacation, so I’ve got a week off. My next appt is for Aug. 22 (1hr).
All looks good. I can see some pinpoint scabs on the older pictures, which is okay. It looks a little bumpy after treatment and that is to be expected. Does your electrologist have good magnification and a good light source? This is where good tools makes electrolysis easier (and fun) for numerous blond hair such as in your case. She’s doing a great job and you will look wonderful very soon,but remember, you won’t be finished when you start looking good. Put the time in upfront as new hairs keep cycling in and keep punching away.
This is a case where using microflash thermolysis without a footswitch would be awesome as far as client comfort, skin reaction and speediness, in order to get the hair off fast going toward that precious first clearance. It is also a very helpful, comfortable modality for the electrologist who as to sit in one place for an hour or more.
She uses 5x magnification, and a combination of daylight lighting and something else (halogen?). She has a big ol’ lamp that’s right over my face, anyway.
edit: By daylight lighting I mean the lamp has one circular tube (looks like a florescent light tube) that says ‘daylight’ and in the center there is another bulb that looks like the regular ones you put in the lamps at home (but I think it’s different). Not that she parks me in front of a window, lol.
The scabs usually go away in about a week, and the bumpiness is all gone already (about 90min after treatment) so those aren’t huge issues for me. I would love microflash, but I’d have to drive out to LA which is 1hr coming and going, and the prices are significantly higher ($80/hr vs $55/hr) + gas expenses.
Regardless, I feel comfortable with her and confident that she is doing a good job, plus I can tell that she cares about me as a person, so I will most likely stick with her. Thank you guys for replying and being so helpful!
Yes, great. I wasn’t nudging you to find someone who does microflash. I totally agree with you. She sounds great and you will be fine sticking with her. I simply wanted to use your case as example to expouse the advantages of microflash thermolysis. Thanks so much for those pictures. I am excited for you!
Sigh, there’s a been a bit of gap since my electrologist was on vacation.
I’m pleased to report that I had no scabbing at all from the last treatment! woohoo
She worked on the cheeks and upper lip during a 60 minute session (about 45 cheeks, 15 upper lip). Unfortunately quite a few hairs grew on my upper lip while she was gone so we didn’t get it cleared. However, many of the hairs were killed in the growing stage.
It hurt considerably less this time, even though it’s that “time of the month”. I made sure to drink lots of water a couple of days before, get plenty of rest, and take painkillers about an hour before the appt. I was even falling asleep during some of the treatment, that’s how little it hurt!
Eep, I totally forgot about this board/thread. embarrassed
I’ve fallen behind treatment-wise a little because I was sick for awhile, and my electrologist had to attend to personal matters.
I have noticed a good reduction of hairs on my face. I would say about 75% reduction in the hairs on my cheeks, 75% of the sideburns and 50% of the upper lip. The upper lip isn’t fully cleared because I’ve been devoting time to the other parts of my face - and I also need to buy numbing cream! Hurts too much.
Since I bleach, she just waits for the blond hairs to fall out and targets any new black ones she sees growing in.
I am going in this Tuesday and Thursday, Tuesday is 45 minutes getting the new hairs that are growing back on the cheeks and sideburns, and then Thursday (also 45 min) we will start on the underside of the jaw.
I’ve definitely seen some improvement on my sideburns and cheeks. If I was getting only those areas done, I’d say that I would need to go every 2-3 weeks for a cleanup. I think that’s pretty good progress for 6 months time.
My upper lip seems to be the hardest to clear, the hairs just keep coming back! Argh! However, a lot of the hairs on the side of my mouth are very fine, and only noticeable when I look very closely. I did buy numbing cream (lidocaine or something, 4%) which helps a lot with the pain.
I decided that the hairs on the underside of my jaw were not even noticeable enough to bother with - so the areas of my face done are: upper lip, sideburns, and cheeks.
I’m pretty pleased with the results so far… now if only my upper lip would cooperate!
Sorry to be lazy here and not read your previous posts, but is your electrologist using a combination of blend and thermolysis on your upper lip hairs?? That can be helpful. Absolutely no tweezing or that will prolong this hair journey.
She is using thermolysis. Not microflash, but a slower kind - thermolysis nonetheless. The hairs on my upper lip aren’t thick (not even remotely close to what a man’s moustache would look like) so I dunno if blend would help?
I can see that other areas have definitely improved, like my sideburns and cheeks. I guess the upper lip is just a stubborn area on my face.
I have never tweezed or waxed any hair on my face other than my eyebrows.
Oh, those hairs wiil respond well to manual thermolysis. If insertions are not accurate most of the time, then more regrowth than you want can occur.If hairs are treated in the wrong phase and are not “alive”, then you will decide to call them stubborn. Full clearance is necessary every single visit. Give her time to do this and maintain. Don’t lose ground.
At least you are seeing results in other places.
Manual thermolysis is good, you really don’t need blend, but either modality will get you results as long as the human skill factor is present.
Hi Namesake looking at your pictures gives me confidence most of the hair on my face is also fine but I think it is longer with coarse patches on my chin. I bleach it but against darker skin it shows in the light! Your pictures look fantastic. What i find most encouraging about your photographs is that there doesn’t seem to be any obvious evidence of hair having been removed. 15 odd years ago I had the coarse hairs that has appeared on my chin removed and I still have the large holes in my skin! so I’ve not really thought about electrolysis since but reading this board i am tempted to go back(more coarse hair has appeared)but still with reservations but tonight looking at your log I’m thinking wow things have improved! very encouraging. Though I have to hope that equipment and skill in the UK is on par with the US.
