Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, my doctor told me that the reason I’m losing my scalp hair and also becoming hirsute is because of my body producing large amounts of testosterone. I use to be in decent shape, however ever since I’ve been developing unwanted body hair on my back and shoulders, I’ve quit working out and have developed a beer belly. Its become a vicious circle of depression over my body changes. I’m only 24 and have less hair on my head and more on my body than any older man in my family. Well I want to treat the unwanted hair and get back in shape. The baldness I can live with but only if I can eliminate the body hair. It is my understanding that exercise increases testosterone. Does this mean that in order to get back in shape, I will have the side effect of developing even more unwanted body hair? Some people say that diet and exercise can hault baldness and body hair growth. How can that be if testosterone is the culprit?
Were both going similar roads - I did have a good shape and stopped to work out (which was a part of my everyday life) becouse of tons of dark bodyhair everywhere… And feel really bad - from six pack to beer and allso bear belly. Hate to look on myself in the mirror, and hate to wear short sleewed shirts.
I think the baldness is no problem, one can cut the hair short or shave it down…
I personally dont think that working out could in some way influence the body hair - there are many people out there in the gym who use steroids (I personally know a few) and they dont have any excess hair. And allso Mr. Olympia guys dont have to shave from toe to the forehead.
It is a genetic predisposition of the follicles to get stimulated much more by the normal testosterone levels one has. So at worst you can speed up a little bit the natural process of getting more hair, but I doubt it.
Hey Tr3. Very good comments. For body hair and baldness to take place you have to have a genetic sensitivity to “testosterone.” It’s not just about “male hormone” production. Don’t fret about working out … get back to it. I’m an old guy and I still work out all the time. For general health you must do this, and for your “mental health” it makes all the difference in the world. Get rid of the weight; get lean and back to your “fighting weight.” An actual “beer belly” is a health risk, especially if the fat is under the muscle. Type II diabetes is rampant in the embarrassingly FAT FAT FAT United States.
My case was identical to yours. Since you are only 24, the medication “Propecia” will probably halt your hair loss (perhaps return most of it, except the hair-loss at the temples … this is not restored by Propecia.) To save money you can get a prescription for Proscar and cut the pills in half or thirds. Ask your physician about this medication and the possibility of doing Proscar. (Most physicians don’t like the idea because of the potential of taking too much. But you will save at least 30%.)
With my younger patients in your situation, the Propecia/Proscar has worked on ALL of them. A 35-year-old was considering hair transplants, tried the Propecia and grew back 90% of his hair. (I removed all the unwanted body hair.) Not surprisingly, the body hair is also cut back with this medication. (This effect is not discussed in the literature, but it makes perfect sense. Sensitivity to “male hormone” causes baldness and body hair.) I have seen this effect in all my male patients on Proscar. Although the literature discusses “sexual problems,” none of my patients experienced this. Down side: you have to take the medication “forever.” If the medication is not working for you, you can stop and return to “square one.” Stopping reverses any side effects. Side effects do not seem to be lasting.
There’s no better tonic than exercise for beating back depression and when you’re “happy” you’ll be better equipped to deal with whatever life throws at ya. Only this week I’ve gone in search of my old cycling legs, I lost them some time ago and since then I’ve been hobbling about on some spares that look almost the same… only spelt different 
It’s been a while since I looked but there were generics available for propecia (finasteride) It might also be worth considering dutasteride (Avodart) or it’s generic Dutas. Do your research and weigh up possible side effects, which as Mike says go when you stop taking it. When you get tired of chasing the ladies, cutting, combing, styling, colouring etc etc just stop taking it and buy yourself some clippers 
It’s been my experience that when it’s there you don’t appreciate it, when it starts to go you want it back and if you get it back it drives you potty getting in your eyes mouth and dinner at every opportunity… oh yeah and your chewing gum
I think that The stress of searching for a competent electrolysis who is willing to do marathons on a large area and who is close by is making be balder and harier! What am I doing wrong? I have called close to 100 different practitioners all of which tell me to go for laser and will only commit to an hr at a time.
It’s a miracle that you’ve met so many electrologists. By chance one of them has given you a reason for the refusal to treat more than an hour each time?
The typical older type of equipment would make s marathon session, impossible to tolerate. What do others think? Perhaps this is the reason for the unwillingness to offer longer treatments.
I ran into that recently when I made contact with an electrolysist closer to where I live. Unfortunately she had just moved and wasn’t set up. In the next ‘breath’ (this was via email as I prefer that), she stated that for the large areas I was considering that laser may be better for me as long as I had the right skin and hair color. She did note that laser isn’t permanent but did not give me a reason why she felt that laser would be better for me.
Boy, hard work to better yourself but it does become worth it in the end so… I’ll work for it even if I have to walk to the electroysist (might take a week…)
Most electrologists are unaware of the fact there are very specific Federal regulations in effect regarding epilators. I have seen them here on the FDA web site and on an advertisement put out by Fisher Epilators. To paraphrase the FDA, “epilators are medical devices that cannot be sold to or used by anyone not licensed to use then in the state where they practice”. Quite frequently I have seen references made to “older” equipment as opposed to “newer” equipment as though the old equipment could no longer be relied upon to do the job we are being paid to do. I have not found that the addition of more dials, counters, or an ammeter was able to help me remove more hairs in a single session.
The skill of the individual electrologist is more important than some bric-a-brac added to the epilator that does nothing to assist the electrologist to complete the job. The ability to alter settings so that heat intensity and timing can be adjusted to suit the operator are the most important features to look for when buying an epilator. This is for efficacy and safety and all epilators on the market in the USA qualify.
I have never found an epilator that was not effective in the hands of an experienced, well trained electrologist. I never heard of an epilator that failed. As a-matter-of-fact, it would be interesting to hear of any epilators that broke down, how you discovered it, and how you were able to get it fixed. This would be of interest and help all of us learn if one machine was not as reliable as another.
The very idea that “NEWER IS BETTER” is a concept with NO BASIS IN FACT. I think it started with autos as engineering advances made big changes in EARLY autos from year to year, however, there have been no such advances in epilators for many years. Perhaps some cosmetic changes on the outer appearance but nothing to improve the actual function of the epilator.
When all is said and done an epilator, in order to work effectively, has to be able to deliver, via a probe in the follicle, adequate heat to cook the follicle so that the papilla is put “out of order”. That is all it does. The electrologist is still the most important part of the operation.
Clearly, you have not personally experienced microflash or picoflash, on an apilus epilater. I agree with everything else that you say, and know that the older apparatus can get the task done,but very, very few people, could withstand a tratment of several hours duration.
The only reason that I know this to be true is because a colleague of mine will only work for one hour at a time on a client. She uses the Platinum, too! Her reason is that she does not want to sit and do the work for longer than one hour. (I have not argued the fact that she could take a 5 minute break every hour…) So…in her case, it’s part of her business model. (And if you think about it, more money can be made doing lots of short appointments than when doing one client for hours on end.)
…and we have all emphasized this fact many times here on hairtell because this is a fact worth repeating.
Harvey, your other statements are not true. There is a difference between “old” and “new”. It is not about bric-a-brac. I am sorry that your biases keep you planted in the past. It is a whole different ball game for both the electrologist and the client on the receiving end when electrolysis is performed by the better enginered epilators of the 21st century. If you were not retired and you had the opportunity to use an Apilus Platinum or Pure, CORRECTLY, WITH SKILL, for a cycle of about a year, you would be saying the complete opposite and your clients would be noticing the difference for sure.
The issue of epilator selection is not on the level of some kind of sports competition - mine verses yours. The core of epilator selection centers around the very important needs of the hairy client. Poo-pooing the newer technology is not credible if the person(s) doing the poo-pooing have never, ever, never tried to use the a modern epilator on real clients for a period of a minimum of a year. You don’t qualify to judge a product unless you have used the product. Does that sound fair enough to you?
For any electrolysis hair consumers out there, I hope you get many consults with many excellent electrologists who use whatever epilator they choose to use. See how it feels with an older epilator and then try your best to get treated with an Apilus Platinum or Pure or SX -500 or a Silhouet-Tone VMC and then decide what is best for you. As always, practitioner skill is VERY important, but very close to that is equipment choice. All epilators deliver energy via a probe to the bottom two thirds of the follicle. That is something that will never change.
The only reason that I know this to be true is because a colleague of mine will only work for one hour at a time on a client. She uses the Platinum, too! Her reason is that she does not want to sit and do the work for longer than one hour. (I have not argued the fact that she could take a 5 minute break every hour…) So…in her case, it’s part of her business model. (And if you think about it, more money can be made doing lots of short appointments than when doing one client for hours on end.) [/quote]
I do not know, Barbara. I’m not a good example to follow. Most of my customers book more than one hour. By the time they need only 5 minutes because the area is almost free of hairs, they have started treatment in a new area, and the 5 minutes are usually an extension of time reserved. I do not usually charge for those extra minutes, as the cost of needle, paper, gloves, etc. is already done. Again, I’m the worst businessman in the world, but what I can do? I’m too old to change behavior and Mr. Gior is retired to give me lessons. I have read somewhere that he charging $ 500 per hour. My God, how I admire this man!
I have another questions for the experts,
do terminal hairs develope from vellus hairs that were already there from birth?, or are they new hairs all on their own?
The number of follicles is genetically determined before birth and this number remains constant throughout life (except bald or scar tissue where the follicles disappear). Hence a baby has 1000 follicles per square centimeter and as the individual grows, the amount per square centimeter is reduced to an average of 500 on the face and 60 on the body. In summary, the number of follicles does not change, what changes is its size, being more profound as the hormonal stimulus that it receives… or any other external stimulus produced by repeated injury on the area, or incorrect application of laser technology.