I am new to this site and will be going for my first consultation/test treatment on Tuesday for my chin/jawline/throat. I just want to manage my expectations before I go in - on average how long before I could expect to see noticable reduction?
One thing I found really helpful myself is to understand a little bit about how hair grows and what happens when your electrologist treats a hair. One detailed post on hair growth cycle is here:
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/8990/Re_Regrowth_charts.html#Post8990
…but there are plenty more on this site.
So when you clear an area for the first time all the visible hair will be gone in that area. Then over the following week(s) you will see new hair come in. That’s the hair that just started growing recently but was not yet visible when you went for the clearing. But it is just a fraction of the hair that you saw originally. So in a sense, you will see some reduction right after the first clearing.
In terms of expectations also keep in mind that if you treat hair with a 12 months hair growth cycle that it will take at least 12 months to get all the hair (since you can only treat what is growing and visible). But once you fully clearer the entire area, your appointment frequency and length will reduce over time.
Good job, hgO.
How long questions also depend on how much hair you have and the structure of that hair. Generally speaking, the first 4-6 months are the hardest, as we have to deal with wave after wave of new growth and some regrowth. Just find someone that can get you cleared of all noticable hair and keep you cleared until there is nothing left to clear.
The newer computerized epilators can speed up the process immensely. Good medical grade magnification and lighting also aid in speedier removal of hair. If you are not getting a first clearance in the first appointment or in the first several weeks (depending on the amount of hair you have and the time you put in up front) then it will take longer to reach the end. Killing hair is hard, but with an aggressive strategy, a skilled, modern electrologist with good tools can bring you across the finish line within 9 months to a year and a half.
Well, what you will be able to judge is how often you will need treatments. With more treatments, you’ll have to go in less and less often. So that will tell you that it’s working. I hope you read this forum carefully and understand that the best way to tackle the issue is to go in as often as possible and for as long as necessary to get to your first clearance, so that you only have to come in afterwards as soon as NEW hair shows up so that it can be killed while it’s still weak and in the anagen phase. If you follow this regimen religiously and you have a skilled electrologist, you can be done within 12 months after your first clearance.
Hello,
I read how happy you seemed to be some time ago. Are you still satisfied with laser treatments? How many did you have? How much did you end up paying? Did youb have any burns? Do you have ny scars? Was it painful? Did the doc use any pain killers? DEid one area respond better than another? If hair grew back… was there any difference? Was it darker, lighter, finer, as coarse as before, sparser or completely gone?
lefty, if you want laser experiences, read mine at the link below or just check the laser portion of this forum.
I’m not sure if it is just me, but I think this a pick/gripe at laser. If it is, I know I shouldn’t rise to it, but I can’t help myself (please correct me if I’m wrong).
The reason for me highlighting this is that a large number of electrolgoists (not all, but at least some of the English ones I have found at least) still scream “laser is temporairy”, laser is this, laser is that! No it’s not, it’s permanent hair reduction (if performed on the correct candidate). The fundamental difference is electrolysis is permanent hair removal.
If I am right in my thinking lefty, please don’t mislead individuals to think that laser itself is a terrible, incompetent, goddamn awful invention, which is somehow allowed by FDA to advertise as permanent hair reduction because that is not always the case. If someone goes to an incompetent laserologist, yes theyr’e more likely to be scarred. If someone goes to an incompetent electrologist that can’t see their arse from their elbow do you think that they have an increased chance of scarring/pitting?
Benji
Thanks to everyone for the info. I think my first session is just going to be information and a 15 minute ‘test drive’ tomorrow.
Benji, this person seems to have posted several posts bashing laser in the last week, and doesn’t reply to any responses. So you’re correct, and everyone else can disregard his comments. “Chance” mentioned that he was a now retired anti-laser electrologist.
Thanks for clearing that up lagirl, haven’t been on the forum that much for the past week or two.
Regards,
Benji