Hello everyone. Like many, I’ve been following the electrolysis threads for a while, which have been very informative, but I was hoping I could ask a few questions about my own experience.
So, I’m a 30yr old female and since my early 20s I’ve been plucking out black/grey hairs from my chin and upper lip every day. (I also have lots of slightly pigmented downy hair on my face but I am told this is normal, so I’m trying to worry about that!) So three months ago I started electrolysis to sort the problem. My hormone test was normal and my ovary scan was clear so there doesn’t seem to be any underlying problems.
I have been going to my electrologist once a week for three months for 15/30 minutes.
She has 16 yrs experience and I am happy with the sessions.
So here are my questions:
I have read that after a clearance you should be hair-free for 3 weeks or so. This has left me a bit confused, because every week I go, I have all the ‘bad’ hairs removed but 7 days later I have just as much to be removed again. How do people manage to go hair-free for 3 weeks?
I know the complete electrolysis process can take up to a year or more. However, it has been 3 months, and from what I have read, hair cycles can be from 6-12 weeks, so should I be starting to see a difference or is it still too early??
I’m sure similar questions have been asked before, so I hope I’m not wasting anyone’s time, but I’ve basically hit a ‘down’ patch and just wanted some re-assurance about my progress (as I can’t tell if there is any!)
I am curious about this too! I have been going every week for almost 2 months and I am in the same boat…I leave completely clear, then a few days later, I start feeling stubble…the hair does seem to be finer, and there is less, but I am curious when the appointments won’t need to be as frequent. I too an very happy with my electrologist and she told me after the first few months, it should start to slow down…
I think you are confusing electrolysis with laser. There isn’t necessarily a hairfree period between electrolysis sections, especially if you’re not getting clearances each time. Laser synchronizes hair because it all sheds after the treatment. Electrolysis only treats the hair it touches at each treatment and there are other hairs in other cycles of growth constantly coming in.
You really don’t need treatments every week. As long as you’re getting clearances at each session, you can just come in once every 3-4 weeks to get cleared again. You can clip or shave in between sessions.
You’ll see number of hairs dropping off after several months, but then it will seem like there is more hair again as new phase of growth kicks in.
No reason to worry as long as you’re getting good treatments where you’re not feeling hair being plucked and it slides out without resistance with each zap.
Hello. Thanks for the responses! Hi, Michael, would you (or anyone else!) be able to tell us more about phase 1 and 2 so we can get a better understanding of hair removal and what to realistically expect after 3 months? 4 months? Its hard to know when some comments have said there will be no difference until at least 9 months and others say there should be a noticeable difference a lot sooner. Or could you point us to an article that already discusses this? (Sorry to have to ask you but I have searched the internet and this site and I’m non the wiser). I won’t see my electrologist for another week.
Hi Helpme and LAgirl. Thanks for your contributions.
LAgirl, I’m sure I read about ‘being clear for three weeks’ on a previous electrolysis post, but I could be wrong! I think I am getting good treatment - only occasionally feel pulling/tugging but plenty come out without resistance.
I don’t think Michael was referring to actual “phases” of growth. I think what he meant is that since hair grows in cycles, you’ll see less and then more hair again in waves.
It’s not that you won’t see a difference for 9 months. It’s that this difference will come in waves, i.e. less hair when you’re almost done tackling hair in the current cycle of growth and then more hair again once the new cycle comes in.
I am anxious to read more professional responses to this post. I understand the different phases of hair growth by now, but should’nt hairs that are treated with electrolysis become permanantly gone?
Let me re-phrase: Is it possible for hair to grow back out of a folicle that has been treated, and after the hair has been removed by electrolysis?
I have an appointment coming up for my chin area, and I’m becoming extremely anxious. I have been clipping that area for a while now, and the same hairs grow back every time. What is the possibility of the same hairs growing back after they have been cleared by electrolysis?
After documenting and graphing hundreds of “face case” females, they all fall into a predictable pattern. Treatment phases are outlined on page 135 of “the Blend;” let me paraphrase.
Phase I begins when the patient stops tweezing (yo’all tweeze; shaving is okay). Treatments at first are of short duration and then, as the tweezed hairs return, the treatment time increases dramatically. It’s not uncommon to go from initial 15-minute appointments to full 1 - 1.5 hours. This period is a 3 - 5 month phase. The turning point is “control.”
“Control” is reached when the patient no longer has to shave between treatments. Control is worthy of celebration, it is the turning point. The therapist takes “control.” At this point the treatment time starts to diminish rapidly and the time between treatments increases. This is called “Phase II.” (When you work with any face case, have the patient consider “control” as an achievement. Get them focused on this as a goal. (Maybe have a cupcake or a cookie?)
Phase II is a very satisfying period where, finally, the patient is certain the treatment is working. (Remarkably, pain tolerance increases — patients relax and experience less pain. Patients that had needed anesthetic usually don’t need it any more — and the settings are the same.) Phase 2 can be 9-12 months or so. But you are not spending much money at this point. Most of the heavy work was in Phase I. Phase II is almost fun!
On a graph, every patient’s treatment program looks like a perfect “bell curve.” The patient, of course, has to have faith in her electrologist because not much is verifiable until up to 6 months of treatments. (If you have not done this before, start graphing your own patients. You WILL see the same bell-curve with all of them. of course they must be committed to your program.)
Does that help at all? I hope it does not confuse you more. I believe that most electrologists are doing a wonderful job. If you trust the person, give her the time and patience needed to solve your problem. Remember, you did not develop your hair problem over night either. The electrologist is trying her best and will also get great satisfaction to have another permanently treated patient. It’s kind of what we live for!
When you clip or shave hairs, then within a day or so those hairs are again visible…they are in constant growth until they shed. However, those hairs are only some unknown percentage of hairs that the area will grow.
Raspysunny asked: Is it possible for hair to grow back out of a folicle that has been treated, and after the hair has been removed by electrolysis?
Response: It is possible. The goal of every electrologist is that the treated follicle will NOT grow another hair, but it is possible. It becomes possible if not all of the hair growing cells are destroyed, or if the follicle was improperly treated.
I’m sorry if you are experiencing anxiety over this. Results with electrolysis takes a series of treatments that progressively remove the hairs that cycle in over time.
Asked: What is the possibility of the same hairs growing back after they have been cleared by electrolysis?
Answered: Having never been one to give odds or possibilities it’s hard to answer this. There is a possibility, but it should be slim. It is impossible to know which one of the hairs that show up after that first treatment will be the one that regrew. If your electrologist has good skills you will get the results you are looking for.
Barbara - For the last ten yrs I have plucked (if I only I knew back then that I was probably making the situation worse!)
Michael - thank you very much for explaining about the phases. As I said, I have been plucking for a long time. I guess as I have been having weekly appointments for only 3 months I probably have a couple more months before I reach the ‘control’ phase. I think sessions have become ever so slightly shorter but its hard to tell. I’m very happy with my electrologist, who has always been honest about this being a lengthy process, so I guess I need to be patient for another couple of months.
Press onward. You will get results, but it takes serious time and effort. Prepare for some long sessions,but keep getting cleared and in 6-8 months you will see it working.
You are getting new hairs every 7 days because there were some just under the skin that were forming that had not yet poked out that the practitioner couldn’t yet treat. All of your hairs are not on the same growth schedule…some are going to come in tomorrow, some the next day, some the next, and so on such that you will always be getting new hairs (until you get them all with treatment).
With your comments, my concern is with the statement that a few days after the treatment you are feeling stubble.
What HR method did you use prior to starting and how long are your appointments?[/quote]
12 years ago, I did laser and since then, I have been a tweezer…I stopped tweezing a few weeks before my first appointment.
I am not sure if I am feeling stubble, or bumps…when I felt a few days ago, it felt like stubble on both sides…today, one side is soft, but the other side still feels stubbly/hard bumpy…I don’t see a lot of hair when I look in the mirror, so I am not really sure what I am feeling. (I actually don’t see a lot of anything)
My appointments on my face vary…my first appt. was about 45 (full clearance) minutes…I go weekly and I have her work on the back of my neck as well…since the first time, we usually spend between 15 minutes to 30 minutes on my face, then move to the back of my neck…
“Barbara - For the last ten yrs I have plucked (if I only I knew back then that I was probably making the situation worse!)”
Seriously, don’t “sweat it,” and don’t blame yourself. Everybody tweezes. For the electrologist it only causes a tiny bit of difficulty in the beginning, but once you get going and stick to the program it’s no problem.
About “sticking to it,” this is kid of a funny story. I have a patient that is now, finally, is going to finish her treatment. She said, yesterday: “You know, I’ve been coming to you for 25 years!” And, its’ TRUE! After 25 years she still has chin hairs!
I would see her, maybe 2 or 3 times per year for 10 minutes. Sometimes she would miss a whole year or more. She was always tweezing and I was only able to “zap” the stubble that I could “dig out.” Now she is letting me do my thing because she “can’t see too well to tweeze.”
So, the question is: “did it really take electrolysis 25 YEARS to remove these hairs? Sadly, this is not an atypical case. Frustration? Oh YEAH!
So, get on a program and stick to it! If you like your therapist, have faith in her and don’t micro-manage your treatment … Or, I’m going to come over there and “slap you silly!” (Just kiddin’ of course!)
Yes, it’s possible that some hairs may need more than one zap, especially hairs that have been plucked a lot and have built up resistance, and the many coarse hairs
When you first start, many of the hairs are not in the right phase of growth, so you spent some time in the first few months treating hairs that are hard to kill. Waxing once before the very first treatment can help since it synchronizes growth.
Keep in mind that it’s hard to tell with a naked eye if some hairs are “the same hairs” since many follicles are very close together .
For the deepest curliest hairs I personally needed to switch to blend. The rest was tackled just fine with regular thermolysis and microflash.
Thanks Barbara and Michael. My appointment is actually in April. I have let the hairs grow out for about two months now, and believe me, I’ll know if a specific hair grows back. How can I tell? Well I have some scarring due to plucking and will definitely be able to distinguish new hair opposed to old hair. The placement of the scars and hairs is my indicator.
LAgirl, I’m ok with more than one Zap. What I’m not ok with is the hair coming back because the follicle was improperly treated. I’ve read some threads on how some electrologists would pluck (tug) on the hair after it has been treated to remove it from the follicle. Should’nt the hair slide right out after treatment?
In this case and to avoid future misunderstandings,
your electrologist and you must take good pictures of the skin “BEFORE”.
Once the hairs are removed permanently, just be aware of the old scars.
One advantage of Electrolysis is that it closes the pores forever once the follicle is completely healed. The skin is almost naked, and any old scar above could be more visible.
For all students of Electrology:
Attention!!! Take note of this recommendation:
[size:11pt]Take a good picture “before”, will prevent future trouble.[/size]
Down, BEFORE ELECTROLYSIS:
Almost 1 year later… (1 month from the last session)
Thank you again for all the responses to this thread. There’s another question I wanted to ask: Is it important to get white/gel sheaths on the roots of the hairs? From the little I could find out I am lead to believe that it is, otherwise no damage has been done. Is this correct? As I have previously said, I am happy with my electrologist but when she shows me the hairs that have been removed (blacks and grays) I see little bulbs at the bottom of most but no sheaths. Does this matter?
