Need Help

Hi,Im new so let me explain my situation. I am a male with sporadic hair on my back. I am 21 years old and I don’t know if I’ll get any more hairy as I get older but as of right now I think I would be a good canditate for electrolysis on my back since I am not that hairy. I considered LHR but I have heard too many horror stories so I decided to go with electrolysis since it has a better track record and probablly will be cheaper (for my particular situation) I have “baby” hair on my back (like most people) that I guess is not in the growth stage as of right now but the hairs I want to get rid of are hairs here and there all over my back that are darker anf grow very long. Do you think electrolysis would be a good choice for me? Can you refer me to anybody in the NYC area? Also, I had my back waxed twice before and about a week later after both waxings I broke out tremendously with white heads (I guess from in grown hairs) all over my back, is there a chance of me having the same or a similar problem after electrolysis? Thanks for your help in advance.

Electrolysis is a lot more selective than waxing.

In an hour you might only remove 100 to 200 hairs (I think that’s about the expected work rate?)

When you waxed, you’d have removed thousands of hairs - even the tiny little ones that you don’t really see.

So if your white heads were a reaction to the epilation, you should get much less reaction with electrolysis.

I think electrolysis would be a very good option for you to try. Don’t expect miracle results, though, you might have to treat each hair several times over until it’s gone.
And you’re still quite young - you might find that you get more hairs as you get older.

Yeah I understand I could get more hairy as I get older, But Im really not that much of a hairy person (for a man) but I just have weird hair patterns, Im mixed with spanish and black and my parents have extremeley different hair textures so that might be why. I just wanna clear the area now (I really don’t expect miraculously results and its not that much work that needs to be done anyway, so any results will probablly be good) and If I get more hairy as I get older I’ll just continue with electrolysis. But I have a question for you, You say I might have to treat each hair several times before its permanently gone? How about electrolysis centers like Lucy Peters that garauntee permanent hair removal after one treatment on each hair? Is that a money back gaurantee or something? Im leaning towards Lucy Peters right now even though its very expensive, but I feel that with a maximum of three hour long treatments the hairs that I want to be gone would be gone according to their gaurantee. I could actually count the hairs on my back that I want gone if it was physically possible and Im pretty sure it wouldn’t be more than 200.

Hello Moe,
Just wanted to add that if you can count 200 now there will be loads more that are not in the growing stage.

It might be worth trying waxing again and using some kind of antiseptic lotion to prevent infection (as it sounds a bit like an infection) I am not tring to put you of electro, but it takes a long time especially on a man.

thanks beauty therapist but waxing is definitley not an option anymore, If im gonna pay money for hair removal, I want to pay money for permanent hair removal. Truthfully I dont even think I can count 200 hairs on my back but If I do the person above said electrologists can treat 200 hundred hairs in one treatment so If I have about 5 treatments I should see some pretty good results. Also being your average male (im not a body builder or a model etc…) Im not looking for miraculous results that will leave me as bare as a baby’s bottom, I just want those long dark hairs off my back,and I think its very possible… I have a consultaion on monday so I guess I will find out then. After I get my back done I want to get other small treatments like my knuckles and other individual hairs I have on my body. What is the best type of electrolysis treatment for treating indiviual hairs?

Yes, that’s true - the hairs that you see are only a fraction of the hairs you actually have:

Moe - hairs grow in 3 phases: anogen (growth), catogen (change), and telogen (rest).
Hairs rely on the blood supply at the base of the follicle. With electrolysis the aim is to quarterise the blood supply, denying the hair of nourishment, so it dies and doesn’t grow back.

Unfortunately, only hairs in the anogen stage have follicles that reach down to the blood supply.
In the catogen stage, the lower part of the follicle begins to shrivle up as the hair moves up the follicle and out of the skin. In shriveling up, it creates a structure called the dermal cord. It’s impossible to insert a needle deep enough to reach the blood supply, so zapping these hairs has no effect.

Hairs in the telogen stage are ready to fall out, and may have new sub-dermal hairs already begining to grow at the base of the follicle.

For this reason, I would question any claim to permanently remove all hairs that are treated on the first zap.
At best, you’d only realistically be able to get about 33% of them (i.e. those in the anogen phase).
Having said that, I’m aware that there are places where they intensively treat each hair, with the intention of killing it if it’s possible. Electrolysis 2000 in Texas is the only place I’ve heard of, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there are other places.

Please don’t expect miracle results - the guy who invents a ‘one zap and it’s gone’ hair removal method is going to be very rich!!! :wink:

Moe, there are always a LOT more heairs than you think. Many men have had successful treatment of back hair, but for those with light skin and dark hair, it may be worth doing a few treatments with laser for starters. You get a quicker clearing, and it may cause a permanent result if you go to someone really good. However, laser alone will rarely remove all hairs permanently, so you’ll need to switch after a few session of laser (if you decide it’s right for you).

Many men find electrolysis on large areas to be very difficult.

I would think that patience would be the critical factor for having electrolysis done on large areas. My laser practitioner also does electrolysis on backs and it takes a looong time!

RJC2001

Thank everyone for there help, but I don’t think anyone is really paying attention to the details im giving you, or maybe Im misunderstanding how electrolysis works. As far as getting my back cleared with a laser first, It already looks like I had my back cleared with laser because Im not even that hairy and the hairs on my back are so sporadic…You can only tell I have hairs on my back If your standing pretty close to me. Now as far as the thousands of hairs I have on my back that are not really visible to the human eye, I don’t care about those hairs, they can stay on my back for as long as they want. Unless of course those tiny hairs start growing long or something. The hairs Im concerned about are the dark hairs that grow very long here and there on my back, I want those hairs individually treated. Isn’t that how electrolysis works? Treating Individual hairs? Im sure If I go to a good electrologist they will understand which hairs I want treated and which hairs they dont have to waste their time trying to treat. I guess most of you have nevere seen a case of my back hair like mine thats probablly why your having a hard time understanding. Everybody tells me my back hair is nothing and not to even worry about it but it bothers me. Again Im not a body builder or a model so Im not looking for a mircale Job here but I think its pretty reasonable to ask for the permanent removal of about 100-200 hairs you know?

Also, Has anybody been to or know anybody that has been to The Lucy Peters center in NYC? If so can you refer me to a specific electrologist. That would be greatly appreciated.

A coupole of readers have posted about their experiences, I believe-- type in “lucy peters” in the search feature and see what comes up. She and her staff are considered to be very good, although she sometimes gets a little too aggressive for my liking with the marketing hype.

Well, if 200 hairs is all you really need to have removed, then yes, electrolysis would be practical for you. Consider yourself lucky! Good luck.

RJC2001

Moe, if there are just a few here and there, electrolysis is fine. I have had electrolysis on my lower back for what seemed like a few hairs, and it turned out to be more than I’d anticipated. Definitely go for it with the electro (Luvy Peters is a good option), but be aware that you probably won’t be finished after 100-200 zaps. I’m just trying to prepare you to expect it to take a little longer than you might think. That way you won’t be frustrated and will have a more realistic budget and time frame in mind. Keep us posted!

The good news for you is that you sound like you can have first clearance on your first appointment. As such you are a perfect candidate for electrolysis, because you will have the look of being finished from the first day.

If you stay on schedule, you will always look finished as the process is completed, because your electrologist can treat hairs before you can even see them.

It is also correct that if you think you have 200 hairs, you probably have something more like 600 visable, and a total of 1800 or more needing treatment. It will however take 9 months for all those hairs to peek out from beneath the skin’s surface even once during a year.

As for treatment efficacity, depending on the part of the body, and the month of the year, you can have anywhere from 20% to 80% of all visable hairs in a treatment area in Anagen (growth) phase at one time. Obvioulsy, one has better luck when the hair is at 80% than when it is at 20%. Doesn’t matter much however in your case as only the first treatment will this be relavant. If you keep to the schedule, you will have all hairs treated from the 2nd appointment on in growth phase, because they just started growing above the skin’s surface, and all hairs are treated each and every time you come.

I don’t know where you are located, but if you choose to look for someone other than Lucy Peters, you might check out Fino Gior in Great Neck. Of course, I tell everyone to get consultations from as many people as they can tolerate sample treatments from and decide who is the best after having sampled what is available to them in their area. You being in NYC area, it would be impossible to try everyone. Most people however, could really have a consultation by everyone in their area before picking who will get the job of being their personal electrologist.

James W. Walker VII, CPE

Hi, so you are going for electro. We weren’t trying to put you off it’s only electro takes a long time and its best you know before you start. If I was you I would go for blend as from what treatment I have done and also what I have had done I think it is more effective and less painful. What more could you want :grin: