One-touch electrolysis

Hair Removal Methods Do-It-Yourself Electrolysis
#1

I thought I’d post here from time to time, as I just got a one-touch and have started using it. The information I found was invaluable for deciding to purchase it and for using it.

I have had laser hair removal done my chin/throat, underarms, and lower legs, about 3 years ago. My legs are still largely clear. My underarm hair grew back but it is now much thinner and I do not shave it (it’s not invisible, but I can’t be bothered).

I also had some electrolysis done on my face professionally because after the laser, I still had a lot of fine, darkish hairs on my throat (not noticeable, but I knew they were there). I tried a couple different people and different methods, but after 20-30 sessions I didn’t see any improvement. I am sure it was working slowly, but it was too big a hit to the pocketbook and my free time that I opted to discontinue.

Much of my facial hair is still gone, but a lot of it has returned over the past few months. I don’t mind the stuff that came back finer, as I just bleach and/or trim it and get on with my day, but the thick hairs, the ones that feel stubbly, were driving me crazy.

I looked into electrolysis but I live in a remote area and would have difficulty being able to afford proper, thorough treatment, so the one-touch seemed like a great solution. I got it on ebay, new, for about $30. I see about 20-40 hairs to be treated, so presumably there are a couple hundred in total, but I do not mind putting in the time and doing it myself.

The first day I used it, I did three hairs on my chin. I had intended to try elsewhere first in case I disfigured myself, but I don’t have any coarse hair anywhere else.

I started on setting 4 which I felt slightly, but I needed to treat twice before I could easily remove the hairs. Some came out with that jelly-like root thing on the end, the other came out bare (no root), but it slid out easily.

Some of that white pus-like stuff (lye?) did form as well, which was weird and neat.

I found using it to be pretty easy. I did not use a magnified mirror - I actually found it harder to focus my eyes. So I just pressed my face into the regular mirror in the bathroom, and rested my arms on the ledge under the mirror to steady myself. I could see the hair easily, but not the pore, so I just kind of poked around without putting my fingers on the metal part (thus not completing the circuit, apparently) until the needle went in easily. I am sure that’s not the best way to go about it, but in time I hope to get much better.

I used alcohol frequently on my face and the needle.

I counted to 15, but I think I count faster than actual seconds, but I don’t have a clock with a seconds hand that I can bring into the bathroom. I guess I will have to count more slowly - one mississippi, two mississippi, etc.

One hair I did three times before it came out, and it did pit. I would not try three times in a row again.

Once I was done, I put polysporin on the marks which are not bad at all. I didn’t have any scabbing, just some redness and when I touch it I can feel a slight swelling/bump. I applied polysporin again before bed, and every time I washed my face.

I will note that my machine didn’t beep. I read that some do, but mine doesn’t.

The next day, which was yesterday, I did four more hairs. I put the setting on 6 which I could feel more, but it was totally bearable and I plan to try a high setting next time. I still had to do them all twice before they came out easily and again, some came out with the big root thing, and others came out bare-ended.

I had less pitting this time, probably because I fumbled less. I was generous with the alcohol and polysporin as usual.

As of today, I have very minor redness. It looks like I have a couple of small zits on my chin, and it is not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I am not expecting any scars. The scabs and redness I had when I got my face professional electrolysed were MUCH worse, however they did a much larger area, so I can imagine that if you did 100 hairs at once, it would be pretty bad.

Anyway, that’s where I’m at now! Will keep you guys posted of any developments!

#2

I’ve been curious to try this but seeing as how I would want to use it on my face, I’m a bit cautious to proceed. I’ve been over treated from professional electrolysis treatment, who knows what would happen if I used it on myself. Was the salt water part of this obnoxious to deal with?

#3

No, the salt water wasn’t an issue. I just filled a measuring cup and put it beside me, and I dipped my fingers in and flicked the excess off. A couple times my fingers would dry out as I was fumbling, trying to find the pore, but I did not find it troublesome at all.

Frankly, I think you’d have to ignore all instructions and really try hard to overtreat yourself on this thing. It is pretty weak compared to professional electrolysis (mind you, I haven’t tried it on a setting higher than 6). The pain is lesser, and when I had it done professionally I had scabbing all over my face to the point that people would look at me with much concern while it was healing.

I will let you know how it heals but I am pretty confident that no pits or scars will stick around. So far my recommendations would be to use rubbing alcohol liberally, apply polysporin 2-3 times a day, start with a low setting (4 is low to me), don’t do too many hairs at once and don’t overtreat a hair - if it doesn’t come out easily in 2, 15 seconds zaps, leave it till next time.

And if you have any scabs, obviously, don’t pick at them. But I didn’t have any scabs which is good because I am a compulsive picker!

#4

Thanks for the reply, and yes, let me know how it heals. I hope it works out for you. I would use it for maintenance mostly, that is if I do purchase it. I’m not sure how the probe would work on the finer hairs that I would want to treat. A size 2 probe is used on me currently and I’m not sure what size the one touch offers. I thought about buying my own machine but I just don’t have the funds to make a purchase like that right now.

#5

I took a look in the bathroom mirror a few minutes ago and it’s looking pretty innocuous. Will keep you posted!

I don’t think it would work all that well on finer hairs - the probe is super thin but of course, compared to a hair, it is not. I have seen others comment that it is inconvenient to use on smaller pores because the probe is too big and can thus increase the risk of scarring or pitting, and I can see what they mean. I don’t think it’s impossible, just that you would have to be careful.

I have read about people retrofitting the machine with a finer probe with success, though. In my eyes it’s worth trying it for $30, but on the other hand, not even a small amount of scarring is worth $30.

#6

I tried it on setting 10 last night. I can feel it more, but not that much more. This machine just isn’t that strong, I guess, which is OK with me. Any more than what I felt at 10, I would probably be more prone to not using it.

I got the 2-3 hairs on my neck that had been bugging me and it wasn’t that hard to do. It took some weird contorting, but it was manageable.

I have seen people advise users of this product to find someone else to share duties with (you do them, they do you). I can see the appeal but to me I think this is something I will mostly use on my myself. It’s like plucking my eyebrows - in theory, having someone else do it is a good idea, but in practice, I am pretty good at doing it myself.

While I was doing it an ant crawled up my leg (ah, spring) and freaked me out. Gross. No harm done though.

#7

So I broke it out again today after a few days’ break. The first marks I made on level 4 are pretty much gone with no scarring. Level 10 is definitely more injurious, but not much worse than a zit you’ve picked at a bit.

I bent the probe today but it was very easy to straighten in with a pair of tweezers. Something else I noted is that it’s good to remove the probe completely each time and clean it off - gunk gets stuck in the tube and can gum up the works.

Today, I did about 50 hairs on my lower legs. These are hairs that grew back after laser treatment a few years ago, so they were pretty fine. Contrary to what I’ve read, I didn’t find the finer hair more difficult to treat. I don’t know about peach fuzz, though. The stuff on my legs was like the hair on my arms - brown, noticeable, but not thick or stubbly.

The finer hairs were a lot faster to treat, needing just one 15 second treatment (as opposed to two 15 second treatments on my thicker chin hairs). And I was able to do them a lot faster - two or three at a time, then pull them out. And I would insert the probe first, then wet my fingers and touch the metal strip. I find the electric feeling of the probe against the outer layer of my skin to be a bit disconcerting, although not painful, so I avoid it when I can.

Afterward, my legs looked like they were covered in mosquito bites. Now, several hours later, most of the redness and swelling is gone. I can still see the spots. But there is no scabbing or pitting.

I do think it would be quasi impossible to do a half or full leg with this machine, but spot treating or cleanup or maintenance - totally possible.

I wasn’t able to do my knee because the hairs just grow too deep (about 1 cm under the skin) but other than those hairs I haven’t had an issue with depth.

#8

The nice thing about the One Touch is that it uses the gentle galvanic current to destroy the hair, which leaves little room for user error… although it still is possible! Congrats on starting hair removal with the unit, while it’s not as fast as a professional epilator, it still gets the job done.

Be careful on setting 10, I’ve tried it leaving it in for 10 seconds and i do have a little discoloration of the skin on a small test patch i did, which is common for any over treatment. I’ll leave that up to you to determine the definition of over treatment is, every DIY’er i’m assuming goes through it. On the positive side you’ll probably only be treating the hair once before it dies.

If i have one bad thing to say about the machine, the metal contact combined with salt water seems to aggravate my eczema, so i had to stop. I wanted to continue hair removal so i bought a professional unit, when i do use galvanic i find that the sponge covering the electrode is not nearly as eczema provoking as the bare metal contact on the One Touch.

#9

Thanks for the input! I think I was actually using level 9 - I cranked it all the way up, then down a little bit (an idiosyncrasy of mine - I don’t trust things to work properly at full blast) however even at 9 I could imagine that some faint scarring wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.

I put it up that high because I couldn’t feel that much on a lower setting, not compared with professional electrolysis anyway. But I’ll be more careful from now on, and I think I’ll let my face heal 100% so I can see exactly what it looks like before doing anymore.

I was able to do about 1/4 of my leg cleanup in 40 min though so I will keep doing that… and I can do it front of the tv.

I tried doing my face but I can’t in front of the tv, because my little mirror is magnified and I can’t see anything with the distortion from the magnification.

#10

So almost two weeks in, I thought I’d post a quick update.

The original marks I made are definitely gone. The scabbing I got on level 9-10 was a lot worse.

Although the scabs were commensurate with the scabbing I incurred when I was professionally treated, I think I will stick to a level 6 or so because it just doesn’t look good. It looks like bad acne, in fact. One or two spots, no biggie, but if you do 10 hairs in a small area it is noticeable. I can no longer feel any scabbing which is good (I picked at some scabs - I can’t help it!) and it’s definitely on the mend.

The spots on my legs did not scab over. As of today they are red, not swollen. It looks like someone took a dark red felt tip marker and dotted my legs with it. It is not too bad, and on my legs I don’t mind it, but I figure I’d rather stay at level 6 at least for now.

Seeing this photo of myself kind of cinched it for me:

#11

So I finally bent one of my probes beyond repair! It was my own fault, of course, as sometimes I bump the stylet against something by accident. I have not bent either of the probes during insertion.

Replacement probes are expensive at about $15/2. My one-touch was only $10 and came with two probes, so I’ll just buy another unit. Can’t hurt to have a backup anyway.

Still going strong and am pleased to note that I am making some headway on my throat. It is a lot easier to do than I thought it was, and more tolerable as I have been doing it on the couch rather than standing in the bathroom.

I am slowly closing in toward the center of my throat which is awesome. Chin is no issue - every few days a new one pops up and is easy to treat. I do 5-20 hairs a day and am noticing a big difference.

I have been sticking on level 8-9, which does scab, but it is so much faster and I can “feel” it working which is necessary for my peace of mind that it IS working. Scabbing is moderate and it doesn’t help that I pick at my scabs (bah) but they do heal. Instead of “chin up” I have been keeping my chin down, and if anyone has noticed no one has asked about it so I don’t look freakish. I think it probably looks like an acne breakout. Whatever - it’ll go away in time.

The spots on my legs are still present. It’s like they didn’t scab outward, they scabbed inward. Now, a week or so after treatment, I can finally see some progress. I feel confident they will heal, but I think touching up my legs will be a winter project for me.

#12

Déjà vu Zoe! Bent probes?! Heck, why not buy a new One Touch instead? I went through about 3-4 of those things!

#13

Now i pay $30 for 50 probes? … Better deal.

#14

“My one-touch was only $10 and came with two probes, so I’ll just buy another unit.” - That was my plan :slight_smile:

However I priced out probes and units and found a set of probes cheaper than a new unit. Not by much but I’m on a budget.

So far, still VERY happy with this machine! I definitely feel as though I’m making progress in total quantity of hair left to treat, as well as in speed and efficacy of use of the machine.

I am still getting scabbing because I crept back up to level 9 but it does go away fairly quickly. I find aloe works the best to heal it fast, and/or an ice pack if it looks red. If I’m going somewhere special I’ll just use some makeup.

I do have the odd dark spot but honestly it’s way better than the hair, and it’ll fade in time (I’ve had dark scars like that that lasted months or years, but they all go away eventually).

The dots on my legs - no idea what the deal is. They are still there. The other day I was scratching my leg with a butter knife (it’s mosquito season) and I scraped them off so that’s good I guess? They are fading and I think they’ll go away but definitely a winter project.

#15

Where did you buy the 10 dollar set? And cheaper probes? Link please?

The one touch really does work. And it worked much better when I intentionally bent the probe to a degree and it stopped springing back in.

#16

Hm. I never had an issue with it going back in. In fact I’ve never really had any insertion issues at all. I don’t mind the bent one though, I just have to adjust my angle of entry accordingly. One of them is totally effed up though - in trying to straighten it I bent it all and now it’s all curvy and stuff.

That’s the one I bought. It looks sold out though.

It’s the kit that doesn’t include the tweezers, and the dial isn’t numbered, so I wasn’t sure. The rest looks identical though…

#17

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ZFUF8/ref=pe_175190_21431760_3p_M3T1_ST1_dp_1 and those are the stylet tips I got. $6 for two.

#18

Thanks!

#19

Well, going on a month and a half, I am still super happy I bought this thing. I am no longer using it regularly - I pull it out if I feel a stubbly hair, or if I see a dark on in the bathroom mirror, but that’s maybe once a week and only 1-2 hairs at a time. If I look at myself using a magnifying mirror, I can see some longer, dark hairs, but I can’t see them in regular light in a regular mirror, so I am not too fussed about them right now.

Ceasing most of the electrolysis has also given the opportunity to keep a better eye on the healing process. On intensity level 10, I get a scab which I usually pick off (can’t help it), followed by some darker pigmentation. This is common for me following any cut or scratch and historically these marks fade over a few months. As it is now, I can’t see them in the regular mirror, and that’s good enough for me.

There is no pitting.

Overall, I am really happy with the progress. If any of the hairs are growing back, they are taking their sweet time. In comparison, when I used to pluck these hairs (years ago), I would have to do so every day. So, while I know 6 weeks in is not proof of efficacy, I do believe it is working and I highly recommend it.

Yep, you will get some scabbing and you will probably have some marks that fade over time. But for me, it is way better than the hair.

#20

So - it’s been almost a month since I used it. I bent my last probe and it took me a while to get around to order more. There has been some regrowth (or cycled growth) but it is pretty minimal compared to how it used to be!

Unfortunately, my machine is kind of broken. It only works when I turn it all the way up to the highest setting which hurts a lot more than it needs to. May get DH to try to fix it, or just order a new one.