need help deciding on a method

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi everyone. My name is kate and im new to the forum. I am a 32 yr old mtf transgender woman. I am looking into having electrolysis done on my facial hair and im going crazy reading stuff trying to choose a method.

Let me start by saying the hair density (hairs per square centimeter)on my face is pretty damn low. Probably the the lowest level of density i have ever seen on a “genetic male” face. My cheeks are very sparsly populated and i only have a few hairs below my jaw line.the only place i have any level of density is on my upper lip and chin. Also my hairs are pretty thin. Not thick and coarse. I can literally go 10 days without shaving and you wouldnt know till you were right in my face. I dont get a beard shadow and i dont need makeup to cover it. All this is pretty funny/pathetic considering i didnt start hormones and testosterone blockers till i was 30. As a male i couldnt grow a beard to save my life. Which i guess bodes well for me now

Which brings me to my decision. I know how much faster thermolosys is (in theory) but i had several hours done last year and my upper lip area was pretty much cleared. Aside from a few random hairs that grew in (ones that were under the skin at time of treatment) it stayed clearish for like 4 to 6 weeks but then 90ish, percent of it, or more, returned. And i know whey were the same hairs bacause my upper lip and chin area are around 90% blonde (my cheeks are darker in color) so i recognice the placement of the specific black hairs that are in it and they pretty much all came back. And thats not even the worst part. I got pretty bad hyperpigmentation on the area that was treated that ironically ended up looking like a 5 o clock shadow and took 6ish months to fade.

So now im a little leary about trying thermo again and am left with milti probe galvanic as my option. But from what i read its painfully slow compared to thermo but it i was only getting a 10% kill rate before so having the area treated multiple multiple times is probably going to cause the hyperpigmintation worse than before and i worry it may end up permanent. But do i take my chances with the thermo with a different tech or do i go with the galvanic.

I guess what im asking is is the kill rate for galvanic really in the 90 plus percent rate and is it really that slow?

#2

Hi Kate
Welcome to the forum, I’ve worked extensively with both thermolysis and multi probe. Both are fantastic but it comes down to the practitioners skill. Galvanic and good thermolysis with the modern computerised units will deliver permanent results in the same time frame though you will need longer appointments with galvanic. Nether will lead permanent marking, with the Galvanic you may get slightly more scabbing.
However the main priority is to find a skilled experienced operator and you will get results regardless of modality used.

#3

But i mean. How slow is galvanic compared to thermolosis. I know thermo a hair is aonly treated for a second or 2 and multi probe galvanic its treated for several minutes but like 16 hairs at a time are done. The tech i used for my thermo apppointments before had 30 years experience. I checked all over the internet and the guy had great reviews and i still got hyperpigmintation and 90% regrowth with the thermo.

#4

Hi Kate,

The upper lip needs to be dealt with carefully. I’ve been working on the upper lip as well, and I’m wondering if you’re seeing what I had as well which is a dark line that is going across. That’s not hyperpigmentation as much as that is blood under the skin in a long-term healing process. My electrologist assures me that will heal in time (I have talked to previous clients of hers who have all gone through the same thing and reassured me it does heal)

#5

Galvanic will be slower than thermolysis. Electrologists will have different approaches how they set out a treatment plan. When using galvanic we would usually leave the probes in for 3-4 minutes, clearing would be spread out over a year, hair being removed in around 9-18 months.
Thermolysis will obviously clear hair a lot quicker with shorter appointments required. However their may be more regrowth, the use of pico flash will reduce the amount of regrowth further.

Again it’s more about the skill of the electrologist and unfortunately it is a bit of a minefield to find good ones, but there is many around do a bit more research, have some test patches before you commit.

I’m not so sure about the blood under the skin theory, however some clients are prone to pigmentation and it will fade though can take 3-9 months for this happen.
As for your regrowth did you have treatment spread out over a year period? If you only had treatment over 2-3 months, you are still only at the first clearing.