Question about chin hair and scarring post electrolysis

[Hope_hair]

Hello,

I’m 49 years old and I’ve always had hair on my chin. On my whole body, but I want to talk about my chin, because it is what really disturbs me.

It had gotten worse with the years and I’d decided to try something. A few years ago, I’ve done electrolysis, LPL and laser on it and it got worse. I’ve read that LPL and laser could make it worse, but I didn’t know it at the time.

Laser and LPL i won’t try again, of course. But I’d like to try electrolysis again.

The problem: the electrologist inserted the probe and activated the device. After a few seconds, or fractions of a second, I don’t know, he stopped it and tried to take the hair out with tweezers. The hair wouldn’t come. So he would insert the probe again and try with higher setting/longer time. It took a lot for the hair to finally come off.

It was very painful and I’d cry quietly sometimes, but ask him to continue, because I was so desperate to get rid of the hair.

He could only do a few hairs, he would tell me, because of scarring. Anyway, I did get scars. I didn’t really mind. I hate this hair so much, I’ve considered burning my chin with alcohol. I’d prefer a scar than the hair.

After several treatments, he told me he thought we should stop, because there was no noticeable change. Indeed, I had the scars and the hair.

I don’t blame him. Perhaps he did something wrong, but I know he cared and really wanted to help.

I think my hair is too thick. When I epilate it with tweezers, most hair will break instead of coming off.

I’m desperate to get rid of it and decided to try electrolysis again. Perhaps another electrologist will know what to do to make it better. Perhaps with the years my hormones are more favorable. I hope. I’m in menopause.

I have to shave everyday. By the evening, I need to shave again. I can’t always epilate, because it is very time consuming.

When I shave my chin, one can see lots of dark spots where the hair is. It is so dark and thick, that you can see it buried in the pore (after shaving). Imagine a man with a very thick beard after shaving. You can see the black dots. It is also full of bumps. It really looks horrible. Shaving irritates my skin.

My question: is there hope for me?

I live in Belgium. I’m going to Malaga on vacation for a week in March. I’ll see a new electrologist in Brussels next Tuesday. I’ve read about Josefa Reina, in Malaga, but can’t find her phone number to try to get a consultation.

If I could get rid of my chin hair, at least the thick ones, it would change my life.

Should I try DIY electrolysis? What should I do?

Is there a kind of surgery to get rid of hair?

Thank you for any help.!

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[Andrea]

Welcome! Many of us have felt the same about our unwanted hair. Please do not scar yourself with alcohol or any other chemicals!

Chin hairs are the hardest to treat, because they are often very coarse and the skin is very thin and sensitive.

I recommend two steps to solving your issues:

1. Remove the unwanted hair permanently
2. Healing and skin care

If treatment hurts, I have some recommendations to make it al little more bearable:

Cheap and easy hair removal pain management

Stick to the treatment plan outlined by your practitioner.

Continue to use a mild cleanser and 100% aloe vera gel with no menthol. Avoid sunlight in that area and consider using a triple antibiotic ointment to keep the skin as bacteria-free as possible.

Amazon.com : Organic Aloe Vera Gel Great for Face, Hair, Sunburn Relief, Dry Winter Skin, Acne, Razor Bumps, Psoriasis, Eczema - 12 oz. : Beauty

Amazon.com: Triple Antibiotic First Aid Ointment, 1 oz. (Compare to Neosporin) 2-Pack: Health & Personal Care

After the inflammation has gone down, I recommend getting some silicone sheeting to help mitigate long-term effects.

Amazon.com : ScarOut! Silicone Scar Sheets for Scar Removal (2-4 Month Supply) - C Section Recovery Scar Treatment, Keloid Scar Removal and more! - 4x Silicon Sheets For Scars in two sizes - Scar Gel Silicone Tape : Beauty

If you want to do additional work to smooth your skin after you get the hair under control. Chemical peels, laser peels, and dermabrasion can all help as well.

[Iluv2zap]

I’ll also point out that Josepha doesnt put her contact information on the web. She usually has too many clients to take anyone one, especially on short notice. You can reach her through these forums but dont be surprised if the answer is she doesnt have time tot tak e you on as a client.

[Deedra]

You need electrolysis care, on a regular schedule. You need to be cleared every single time. The strongest advice I can give you, is to stay close to home as you will need to get cleared on a regular basis. There many professional electrologists in Germany, Ireland, England that can fulfill your desire to be hair free. It would be worth the effort if Josefa can’t see you. Your electrologist that you saw is not a good match for you.

[Hope_hair]

Thank you all very much for your messages.

I’ll stick with the electrologists from here, then. I hope the one I’m seeing on Tuesday is good. Like I’ve said, I don’t blame the other one. It isn’t his fault my hair grows back. I’ve stopped seeing him, because he told me he didn’t think it was working.

Could you tell me how to recognize if the electrologist I’m seeing on Tuesday is ok for me? For instance, what should be the right attitude when a hair doesn’t go out easily with the first treatment with the probe? She should do it again until the hair is dead?

Are creams really effective? I’ve read on another thread a discussion where a person had tried a cream, even using some plastic to keep it on, and in the discussion the site experts seemed to be saying creams aren’t effective and what is necessary is just hygiene when the treatment is being done. I’ve read that the more you tamper with a scar the more it takes to be ok, because the new tissue being formed can be destroyed by alcohols, for instance, as well as other substances.

Thank you again for your messages.

[Scurvy]

Sorry to be pedantic, but if your first electrologist admitted to poor results, then he is responsible for those poor results no matter his good intentions. Electrolysis is science, not magic. It’s either performed correctly and delivers results, or it is performed incorrectly and exacerbates the problem by not removing any hair and instead scarring the skin. I’m sure my tone is too serious right now, but I desperately want you to know this so that you can find a competent electrologist who can deliver permanent hair removal. It may be difficult, but it is never impossible, keeping in mind that a few sessions isn’t usually enough to see a drastic reduction in hair.

Firstly, the new electrologist should be able to listen to your concerns and answer your questions, especially considering your negative experience with the previous electrologist. They need to articulate that they recognise this negative experience and explain why they will not provide a similar outcome.

If the hair cannot be released smoothly after the first insertion/application of current, it is definitely normal for the electrologist to treat that same follicle again until the hair can be released without plucking. If the electrologist is having to consistently treat follicles multiple times, that is a concern that should be raised.

There is no need for expensive creams following a treatment. You can use something to soothe the skin, but your skin will heal after a typical treatment anyway. You can use aloe vera and witch hazel if you have easy access to them. You should let scars slough off in their own time. The best thing you can do after a treatment is to allow your skin the time to get back to normal.

[Josefa_Reina]

I agree that you have had bad luck with your electrologist. Electrolysis ALWAYS works, whatever is causing the problem, racial, hormonal, genetic, etc. If your treatment is not working it is because someone is not doing his/her job correctly.

That said, I do not agree that you have to follow a regular schedule to see amazing permanent results. I would like to show you a couple of cases in which 2 and 3 full clearances respectively have changed things drastically.

Example I:

Before first clearing:

30 days later. Before the second clearance:

25 days later. Before the third clearance:

Example II:

Before (January 2017):

After (November 2018):

The clearings were made with this frequency:

First: January 2017
Second: May 2017
Third: October 2017
Fourth: November 2018 (the last photo was taken before the fourth clearance).

Conclusion: The frequency is not a decisive factor, the important thing is that each hair is treated correctly from the first time.

[Iluv2zap]

on/application of current, it is definitely normal for the electrologist to treat that same follicle again until the hair can be released without plucking. If the electrologist is having to consistently treat follicles multiple times, that is a concern that should be raised.

There is no need for expensive creams following a treatment. You can use something to soothe the skin, but your skin will heal after a typical treatment any

Josepha, can you adopt me?

There’s only one word that comes to mind when I see results like that : amazing.

One question though, is that yellowish bruise before the second clearance the result of a hemotoma caused somehow? How is it possible if this was taken before the second clearance?

[Hope_hair]

Thank you so much for giving me hope!

She was so lucky to find you, Josefa!

Would you treat me? I’ll be in Malaga at the beginning of March for one week (first week of March).

Do you know of a good electrologist in Belgium?

How can I know if my electrologist is good? When I epilate with tweezers, the hair is difficult to pull off. It is as if it was glued inside with superglue. The hairs on other parts of my body come easily off with tweezers.

Here some photos of my chin. There’s little hair because I’ve epilated many before making appointment with the new electrologist. I’ve shaved 24 h ago. How long do they need to be for electrolysis? I’m seeing the new one on Tuesday.

Any tips on how to hide hair while it is long? I’ll have to go to work with the hair on my chin.

Is it ok to discolor hair before electrolysis?

Thank you Josefa and everybody who so generously gave me answers.

[Josefa_Reina]

Hi Hope_hair, I’ll send you a private message.

[Josefa_Reina]

One question though, is that yellowish bruise before the second clearance the result of a hemotoma caused somehow? How is it possible if this was taken before the second clearance?

Michael makes a masterful explanation in his series of videos about the healing process.

The dead space left by the destruction of the follicle is densely filled with new capillaries that can sometimes be broken instantaneously or by a small blow. That fragility is temporary until the dead space is filled with a new collagen much denser than usual.

[Iluv2zap]

That actually solves the timing issue…perfectly.

[Hope_hair]

I’d like to thank you all again and make an update.

I’ve had my appointment on Tuesday. This appointment had been made before I joined this site. I had booked 10 min and read it would be only 5 of actual treating hair on the website, but the electrologist just kept going.

I should have told her to stop, but it is impossible for me to be rational when someone seems to be determined to help me get rid of this hair.

About 30 min later, she stopped. When I got up and looked in the mirror, all the hair seemed to be gone! I was surprised! The other electrologist I’d seen years ago only did a few hairs here and there at each appointment.

I felt no pain. She used a Sequentium VMC machine and I had to hold an electrode during the treatment.

I thought she would have done, say, 1/5 of the treatable hair in those 30 min. After she stopped, she told me she couldn’t do some of them, because they were too short.

I can’t fault anyone who tries to help me. I only feel gratitude. There’s a possibility I’ll need to see a local electrologist again, because some hairs will only appear in months from now. With that in mind, I’ll appreciate any comments you can give me. Here are some pictures:

[Iluv2zap]

I’m concerned about the amount of scabbing I see in this picture, in particular, two largish scabs on the chin. I think it will heal well, but the use of an insulated probe and carefully controlled energy levels can completely prevent results like this.
Please do update us as time goes on as to how this heals up.

[Hope_hair]

Yes, IIuv2zap, that’s what an angel told me, too.

If the treatment works, I wouldn’t mind scars, but of course I hope I won’t develop them. I’ll post more pictures when something changes and when the healing is done. I think they may help others like me to have examples of reactions and to see the differences between good and bad treatment.

Can you judge by the pictures if the treatment should work on these hairs that were done? I mean, is the scab enough, or almost enough, to indicate that the treatment of these hairs was enough to destroy them for good?

I’ve read a post of Bono about a client of his taking a long bath after treatment and that prevented scabs forming. It was a very old post I’ve found when I’ve searched the word scab in the search engine of this forum. Would that work on my face, if I ever need to see this electrologist again?

Normally, how long do such scabs take to fall off? I had much worse ones years ago with the other electrologist, but I don’t remember how long it took them to disappear.

It seems an angel will help me get rid of this hair, but the angel is in another country. I imagine even after treated by the angel, hairs that are not showing will eventually appear and I’ll have to treat them with this electrologist from here. That’s why I’m trying to find out if what she did on Tuesday looks like it’s gonna work.

Thank you again for helping!

[Iluv2zap]

Oh I know an angel when I see one and what she does, is, beyond words it is so wonderful. I’ve got a very deep respect for your angel.
As for the results of the local treatment, well, I cant be so sure. But a little side trip in say about 5 months to see your angel one anew , will get you closer to the goal that I know for certain. In the meantime, no touching, no shaving, no waxing.

[Andrea]

Some of the larger scabs seem to be caused by digging for ingrowns, which can happen if you’ve been plucking. That can be common early on, but I’d be sure to do all the skincare steps.

[Iluv2zap]

I cant really tell you much from the scabs themselves. Any scabbig should be very small, the size of a pinhead at most and these are much more than that. while normally scabs should fall off within a week some may take a bit longer than that . There’ nothing I can tell from that though as to the effectiveness of the treatment

[Hope_hair]

Thank you very much!

I have an urgent question: I don’t want to shave to have the maximum hair growth and surface for my next treatment. Does anyone know how to better disguise it with make up, or something? I’ve never worn make up and don’t have any, but I can buy some if this can help disguise me. Thank you in advance!

About 1/5 of the scabs fell off on day 4 (day 1 is the day of the treatment, last Tuesday February 19th). The pictures below are of this morning, 25/2/19, day 7.

I’m posting them in case someone in my situation come looking for an example (good, or bad).

I haven’t noticed any hair growing at the places where there were scabs. But now, as they disappear, it’ll be difficult to know.

[Hope_hair]

Thank you, Andrea.

I’d like to thank you for creating this forum! It is a lighthouse in a dark night for people like me.