As promised, here are some pictures taken throughout my electrolysis journey.
qwerty Attachments
These pictures are taken 1.5 years after electrolysis. I don’t know if it is really working for me. This week, I am going to see another electrologist, as Mindy isn’t producing the results I had hoped to see. I know some of you out there may criticize me for not giving it more time- but please don’t judge or attack. I just felt that she was pulling the hair often, and have not noticed much change yet. I don’t have a real job, so I want to make sure that my money is not being wasted.
Are these photos all from the same date? Do you have a before photo?
I hope your new electrologist is more satisfactory!
How many hours have you had over 1.5 years? What area? Did you go every week? Every three weeks? Every four weeks?
Hi everyone,
These pictures are from Jan & Feb 2015 taken of the chin/jaw area. I don’t notice an overall change in my hair growth (such as density/thickness, decrease in coarseness, or amount of hairs actually present on this region) from when I first started in January 2014. This is not to say that treated hairs have grown back- the hairs present may be “new follicles” sprouting up from the same spot which was treated before. But, given the fact that it has been 1.5 years of getting weekly treatments from the same electrologist, and not seeing an overall reduction- it is also possible that the “pulling” I feel may be a contributing factor- so I am trying out a new electrologist to see if there is a difference. This electrologist costs about $20 more than the previous one, but this facial hair thing is seriously affecting my life and causing depression- so I gotta try a change.
On a positive note, the rate at which the hair grows has slowed down (I started tweezing with an epilator weekly in 2011, after which my hair would grow back within 1-2 days, and required me to use the epilator 2-3 times a week. But now after electrolysis it takes 3 days to grow back and about 5-6 days to grow as many hairs as you see in the pictures) - so I think it is working to some extent.
I will put up some new pictures once every month- before and after treatments, so you can see the progress with this new electrologist (starting this Thursday).
So I had been going every week for 30 minutes, until the beginning of this year, after which I was told to come once every two weeks. So now I see an electrologist once every two weeks. In Jan & Feb, due to weather my electrologist had to cancel on me a couple of times, so I am not sure if that is why- but now I am back to needing weekly treatments. However, I will only be able to go every other week due to finances. Hopefully by July I will be able to resume going once a week.
I am trying out this new electrologist in Philadelphia named Mila of “Visible Changes.”. Off-bat, the first time I met her, she seemed a little reserved and I hesitated choosing her- however I spoke with her on the phone yesterday and scheduled an appointment. She seemed a little more friendly this time and so I felt more comfortable. It is very important to find someone who makes you feel comfortable with your body, and it is very important to find someone who is highly skilled. The number of years someone is doing it might not be enough if they are not doing it right. I saw 2 good reviews for Mila online, but wasn’t comfortable when I met her the first time- not sure exactly why. I also went to a consultation with another woman named Elaine, and I couldn’t their skill levels. Elaine was extremely nice, talkative, and made me feel comfortable. They were the same price. In the end, I decided to try out a couple of sessions with Mila and see how comfortable I feel with her. If I feel comfortable, I am going to stay with her. If I don’t feel comfortable, I will switch to Elaine and stay with her. I really do like Elaine, she is so sweet! However, I went with Mila because of the way she explained what things can slow electrolysis down to me better than anyone else had. Also, Mila had two good reviews on the internet.
At my consultation with Mila last week, she told me that I should notice hair getting thinner after treatments. I have NOT noticed any hairs actually getting thinner- but you can track my progress with me from now on. Mila explained that certain factors can impede the success of hair returning- such as hair growing at an angle which is difficult to detect when inserting the needle in.
Please feel free to ask any questions. I know I can be very long winded but hopefully not unnecessarily thorough.
These pics are from Jan & Feb. I unfortunately did not take many before pictures as I was tremendously self conscious. If I happen to find any pictures taken before ever starting electrolysis, I will be sure to post.
I am glad you decided to look for another electrologist. I have treated many clients with similar hairs and more than you and successfully cleared them in 1/2 the time. I feel the success from the treatments were from the clients diligence by keeping them on a schedule. I would also have them start by doing a long marathon session to clear, and then have them come back for another treatment in 10 days at the beginning. This will let me see how quickly their hair grows and I will schedule them with plenty of time to clear again. When I fully clear the client, all the new growth within the 10 days will be ready to be treated, and will be in Anagen stage of growth. This has been a successful game plan for those with thick course hairs. The client needs to be committed to come in regularly (either 3xs a month, or 2xs) and keep up with the new growth of anagen hair.
Im sure theres other electrologist that may suggest what has worked for them, but this always works for my cases that are on the heavy side (transwomen too)
@ SFelectrolysis
Thanks for supporting my decision to find another electrologist. I am the type of person that when I find something that works, I stick to it for a very long time. Some people told me that I needed to give it more time (from 6 months to 3 years!) so I wasn’t sure if I had to go to the same electrologist for another 2 years to see results. But now my latest appointment was pretty successful- I have attached new pics!
Six months is the least amount of time for you to decide if you are not being treated effectively. Three years? Heck, no!
People that sneak and tweeze or wax during electrolysis will never see the end.
Hehe. I stopped tweezing in December 2012, before starting electrolysis- and never did it again! It’s Saturday you guys- 9 days after my last electrolysis treatment and my chin is still smooth like a baby’s bottom… well maybe not AS smooth… but it’s pretty smooth!