Newbie journey

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#21

Early on, weekly appointments may not be enough. You may have to do twice or even 3 times a week. Usually it’s people who pluck who I have to do this for,but I’ve also had my fair share of folks who will do so, just to get the hair off their face and out of view. It doesnt matter whether we as electrologists think it’s enough hair to worry about being seen, it’s 100% clients own perception that matters. . When it causes that much anxiety for someone, well that’s when I break out the 2 appointments per week and yes I had one lady doing 3 or 4 appointments a week for several months. She’s one of my best clients,and it did wonders for her progress. Despite the frequent and lengthly treatments in the first 3 months, we have not exceeded 90 hours for a beard removal . Time spend treating the hair in the first cycle of hair gowth( 3-4 months) pays off in the end of the treatment. And of that, I have documented proof.That client that did 3-4 sessions a week is still a client, she comes in for 30 minutes averaging once a month.Shes at the end of treatment now.

Seana

#22

I can’t imagine going that often, as it is once per week feels like it consumes my life between growing it out and then aftercare/recovery.

I had session#6 today and have now completed three hours of treatment. I had two swollen cystic like spots on my chin when I woke up this morning. I talked with my provider about my skin issues, she said she was going to try to avoid multiple zaps if she could (however I did feel like she tweezed a couple hairs this time because of that.). She also suggested Epsom salts for the cystic like acne in areas that she has treated and alternating warm and cold compress.

This was the first session that was painful. I actually winced quite a few times and she was surprised as she said she was using the same setting as before. I expressed how I was feeling very down about the process and she said she is seeing some slight progress on my chin already, but she won’t be able to tell how things are progressing on my upper lip until after she sees what I’ve grown by session #7 in two weeks. I’ve read many comments on HairTell saying the first three to four months of treatment are the toughest and then you start seeing results. I was hoping to hear that I was halfway through the worst of it but she wouldn’t confirm that. I believe that indicates a quality provider, as I know she could have fed me some lines to make me feel better but sticks to being honest.

#23

Well if you’re still counting the hairs per session, has it been progressing? You also only had six 30 minutes sessions on your face, so you might not even be able to know since half (?) of your hairs were/are dormant.

Accept that your skin will look like crap during the entire process, that will last for a year or more! It sucks but IT’S THE NORM.

#24

no, actually looking like crap is not the norm for the majority of electrolysis clients.Over the course of electrolysis treatments , skin condition generally improves.It’s not in any way a given that such a thing will occur. There are all kinds of techniques and equipment that leave almost no visible trace of treatment.

Seana

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#25

I was talking about the temporary reactions after treatments, but I wanna know about these magical techniques and equipments lol. Honestly I can’t think of anything except maybe a test patch (few hairs) or a hair every 2cm, but I’d love to be surprised!

#26

I can attest to what Seana says about no visible trace of treatment. 17 year old daughter has been receiving treatment from a wonderful electrolygist Ghitta in Melbourne and after six months her face is looking beautiful. She can have treatment in the morning and be able to go out to a party that night with no sign, the redness disappears in a couple of hours. Body is a bit different, she usually has red dots on her belly for a couple of weeks but these clear up too. The machine used is the Apilus platinum.

Electrolysis is amazing, stick with it it’s worth it. We still have a ways to go especially because my daughter keeps adding areas, it’s addictive too when you see results.

#27

Pushing the narrative of ‘‘no visible reaction’’ is probably why people come here freaking out over a slight redness or pimple, just saying.

I’ve been a client for over 2 years with different electrologists and I can safely say that the reactions are pretty much the same for different areas or methods used to a certain degree. Redness/inflammation/scabs/pimples have always happened and stayed present for at the very least a week. The only times I could barely see a reaction are for test patches or sparse hairs treated every 2cm or so.

This is a normal reaction for me: https://imgur.com/a/yWTIs (I’ve had better and worse)

Do I have a special skin type? Is there such a thing?

#28

I would say my skin reaction has been improving. I think it is silly of me to believe that getting a needle inserted into my pores and zapped with a current wouldn’t cause a reaction…but as time as gone on I’m starting to have fewer hours of redness, fewer pustules, etc. I have done a lot of reading of any article and forum I can find and the general consensus of the Internet seems to be that there should be little to no reaction, but I’m not that lucky. At the same time I’ve invested some time and money and am still not sure if I’ve made the right choice to do this. There’s a lot more time and money to go. It seems hard to believe this will help clear my hyperpigmentation.

#29

zap, your experience with your course beard hair is not typical of the majority of electrolysis clients. sweeping generalizations such as youve made are the reason people get anxious about electrolysis and they arent accurate. i do weekly sessions on dozens of clients none of whom experience anything like what youve descibed. skin reactions can of course occur but to say that every client will experience your type of reaction is just blatently false and a dis-service to all who read and believe them.
as for equipment there are too many to mention all but heres a few; insulated probes, spacing your work or thinning, careful calibration of energy levels, hyperaccurate insertions, and even jut places that dont have the same hair density.

you have to do a lot more studying before youll know this stuff

#30

I don’t think I’m doing anyone a disservice by warning people about temporary skin reactions.

I’ve had electro done on body parts too, tried insulated probes, tried a range of very high energy vs low, thinning vs full clear, and yet I’ve seen about the same types of reactions on everything. Some were worse than others (redness and bumps that last for a few weeks vs pinkish skin that only lasts a few days), but inflammation/redness was always present.

Again, if I have a special type of skin I’ll gladly withdraw my statements, but I’m pretty sure I’m not special, hence have normal reactions…

And I don’t know about you but I’d much rather be anxious about temporary skin reactions than expect perfect skin after a treatment and freak out when I don’t!

#31

So today would typically be the first day of stubble, but since no session this week I am not under a trimming and growth schedule until next week… The good news is I haven’t had any coarse hairs to trim sofar. I know they’re somewhere in there but they aren’t poking out today so I will be happy for a moment 🙃 Also my skin actually looks good for a moment too (other than the bad hyperpigmentation).

#32

Treatment #7 today. She booked me for 45 minutes but only needed 30 to give me clearance. I felt that I had a lot of coarse regrowth after two weeks but she said it was very sparse and is showing progress; she felt sticking go the every other week schedule will work well for me, otherwise I will be having weekly 15 minute sessions and they cost almost as much as the 30 minutes. Honestly it was so nice to have a week off—I felt that my skin had a chance to heal and it gave me the opportunity to use some stronger products in my skincare routine. We booked four more sessions through the end of June. That will put me at four months and 5.5 hours of treatment. We will see where we are and perhaps cut down in frequency after that for the summer.

It’s only been a few hours since my session and the redness has gone down quite a bit already. I am amazed how much my skin has adjusted to things since the beginning. I did see a lot of root sheaths though, so I’ll need to deal with those ASAP.

I have been talking to my sister quite a lot through this process, and although she has less of a problem than I do, she is ready to give it a go soon!

#33

Tons of scabbing and a few pustules two days after treatment. Slight swelling still around the corners of my mouth. This last session was mostly coarse hair treatment so I shouldn’t be so surprised thaty skin looks like this. After a couple months doing this I’ve accepted this is how it will go—I’ll slap on a ton of makeup and keep living life.

I was looking over my calendar and I actually am having one more weekly session before officially starting every other week because my provider is going on vacation for two weeks and it seemed better to be cleared while I can.

#34

The notorious Day before treatment. My skin has mostly healed but my pigmentation is brutally dark this week. My provider suggested I wouldn’t need a full 30 min treatment this week, and now I’m starting to believe it: there’s no new coarse growth but lots of the dark thin hairs. I have noticed some growth is almost clear and looks brittle, so I’m wondering if those are some previously treated hairs. Either way, going into my third month of treatment I am believing electrolysis works slowly but surely.

#35

I had little growth for session #8. My electrologist told me to prepare for a lot of regrowth at this next phase. I had about five or six days of only a couple hairs sprouting and then a sudden hair explosion. I probably had more than my first session. I had my longest time between #8 and #9 (20 days) and ended up having to see a different provider (long story). This electologist had a different machine and I could feel the ZAP each time. She went over my 30 minutes but cleared most of the growth, so a similar speed. She is much closer to where I live so I told her I would decinetly be open to seeing her for sessions again when my normal electrologist is unavailable.

I will be curious to see if my healing is any different. I anticipate it to be worse since the zapping felt more intense, but we’ll see. I felt like she might have been rushing in the end and did a bit more plucking than zapping.

#36

Following up after sessions #10 and #11, so far I have had 5.5 hours total. My skin seems to be getting use to the trauma of treatment and swelling and redness only lasts a few hours. Pustules happen but have been fewer— the most problematic ones come from thick hairs… It seems we have worked out way through another growth cycle and there are fewer and fewer which is nice, it’s just gross knowing there is another burst of growth lurking around the corner.

I have been religious with my sunscreen application and hat wearing, but also have a referral in to see a dermatologist for my hyperpigmentation/melasma. I have read so many posts about PIH and I am trying to believe it will fade with time, it is just hard to sit in all the ugliness of hair growth and the pigmentation mustache.

Today I had an event to attend eight hours after my session and had concealer on for roughly an hour. I hope I don’t wake up to a horrible reaction in the morning.

#37

Following up from my last treatment, I had no ill effects from the short time I wore makeup, but it isn’t something I plan on doing regularly as I know how risky it is.

Two days ago I had my 12th session, making it six hours of treatment. It had been three weeks since my previous session. I had a few dark course hairs on my upper lip and dozens on my chin. My electrolygist was feeling good about my progress, so she wanted to go another three weeks between sessions. After my next session I will be in my six month of treatment so I am hoping I will have reached that magical turning point. I am very happy with how well my skin has been doing post treatment—the redness and swelling has been subsiding quickly and I do very little other than a few swabs of witch hazel.

Tomorrow I have my appointment with a dermatologist about my hyperpigmentation. My electrologist is very supportive of this.

#38

It’s been 14 days since my last treatment and although there is still some dark growth, there is only ONE thick hair that I can feel when I run my fingers over my face. If that’s not progress I don’t know what is!

#39

Yes progress!!!

My journey is just starting and, my god, the pains of the thermolysis itself is nothing compared to the tingling and itchiness and swelling I experience afterward! It’s not painful, perse, just annoying/worrisome.

I’ve had my first thermolysis treatment 6 days ago and my treated area is still red. I didn’t experience any pustules and almost no scabbing.

#40

bump