once a month treatment while trying to conceive

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello – I’m new here and hoping to get some other opinions on my electrolysis.

I’ve been getting electrolysis for several years, starting on my bikini area almost 3 years ago and adding in my right leg 1 year ago. I switched elecrologists 1.5 years ago because I felt like my first one wasn’t getting real results, and I suspected she didn’t have enough expertise for the bikini area. I am now almost hair-free in the main bikini line I’ve wanted to clear, but there are some hairs still cropping up there regularly. On my leg, I’m noticing reduction along the front of the shin, which is the main area my electrologist concentrates on, but it has still got a ways to go.

My husband and I just started trying to get pregnant. I know that electrolysis is considered pretty safe during pregnancy, but I guess I’m a little nervous about it. I’ve been thinking that I might start going for electrolysis once a month … like I’d go during the week between the time I get my period and the time we’d try again to conceive. And then I was thinking I’d take a break when I actually get pregnant.

My questions are:
-Is it likely to accomplish anything if I switch to only going once a month? Would the efficacy or lack thereof be different for the bikini area and the leg area, which are at different stages and might have different hair types?
-Is it normal for the bikini line and the leg to be taking this long? With 3 years total, but maybe only 1.5 years of effective electrolysis, for the bikini line and 1 year for the front of one leg, and still getting hair in both treated areas, I’m feeling a bit like there’s no end in sight.

Thanks for any insight!

#2

One hour, once a week for a year, should be sufficient to eliminate the two full legs, bikini line and underarms.

A little past the next year … and end of the story of the hairs.

As for reducing the frequency of meetings, no problem to subtract treatment effectiveness. It only prolong the final time. The Electrolysis is irreversible, no matter WHAT STAGE IS THE HAIR…

#3

No area should be taking longer than 18 months if you’re attacking it correctly, i.e. you need to go in often at first to get a full clearance and then only go in to clear the area of any new hairs that surface. If you do this regularly, your treatments will become less and less frequent until you’re done at about 12-18 month mark. So part of the problem here is skill and another the scheduling. You’re consistently letting some hairs go into dormancy if you’re not killing them within weeks of when they first come out.

Is there a reason you’re not considering laser for the areas with the dark coarse hair growth? Bikini, underarms, and lower legs get great results. You’d only need 6-8 treatments spaced 2-3 months apart. It’s a lot less time invested. It doesn’t work on all types of hair, but for coarse dense hair, there isn’t a better method. I had both laser and electrolysis done successfully on variout areas btw.

#4

If you have reached the point where you are getting full clearance in the treatment areas when you work them, you should not need to go more often than once every 3 weeks anyway.

#5

Thanks all for the responses! This is very helpful.

LAgirl: I hadn’t considered laser because I understood it to not be permanent. Your FAQs on laser are making me think I may be incorrect about that. Maybe I should go in for a consultation. You wouldn’t have anyone good to recommend in the Portland Oregon area, would you?

Most of the time, I’ve been going in for 1.5 to 2 hours every 2 weeks or so. A few times, I haven’t made it in for 3 or 4 weeks if I’ve been travelling or had an injury keeping me at home. We definitely get clearance on the bikini area every time, but not on the leg yet. I had a 2-month period more recently when I was doing 1.5 hours a week.

Assuming I don’t switch over to laser, maybe I should do a marathon leg session for like 6 hours to clear it and then once a month for a couple hours might do it?

#6

Thermolysis is perfectly safe during pregnancy. However your treatment response seems slow. Does any one in your area have an apilus platinum electrolysis unit. Using picoflash thermolysis could greatly speed up your progress.

#7

I would agree that it would be a wise investment to do as long an appointment, or spread it out over a week or two. Just get the full thing clear of hairs visible from 4 feet away. Then you can keep it maintained.

#8

Hmmm. That’s interesting that you specify clearing it of hairs that are visible from 4 feet away. Maybe that explains at least part of my “slow” treatment response. I want hairs gone that I can see up close, and I want to feel smooth legs. My electrologist sometimes “complains” about there not being much hair to take off the areas and/or some of the hairs I want gone being pretty fine. To me, the remaining ones are thick enough that I would have to pluck or shave them, and my dream is to someday never have to shave my legs again … but I have to admit that at least some of the hairs I’m having her treat still are NOT visible from 4 feet away … and some of the remaining ones certainly used to be visible from 4 feet away, but are much finer now.

Maybe I’ll take some pictures of my legs over the next week and post them like some other posters have done.

Again, this is great! Thank you so much for all the information! It’s really great to get some second, third and fourth opinions about all of this.