Questions I would love answered

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I have been to 5 15 minute sessions and 3 30 minute sessions on my face since November. I have alot of course dark facial hair (pretty much a beard) I started on Nov 6, but I missed a week then I missed three weeks due to work. Now I have been going every week for 30 minutes.

My sessions in November, Dec and beginning of January were fine, not much pain, ice worked well. The hairs felt like they were being pulled sometimes though.
The past two sessions have been almost unbearable though and I don’t know why. It feels like a sharp pinch and then heat pain for each hair, but the hairs slide out easier, pretty much no resistance.
Why have the sessions been so much more painful? Has the ice stopped working? Has she raised the settings because she saw my hair needed it or has she raised it because I have been going a few months and she feels I can take it now? I just don’t understand because if the hair was being treated those other sessions they were much more comfortable, so I feel like this may be unnecessary pain. Does Tylenol work? It’s just very painful.

How long does it take to clear an area? I have been having the sides of my chin done a bunch of times and the hair comes back. I know people keep saying it’s new hair that wasn’t present when I was treated, but I have had the area treated several times and the hair is lighter, but not gone, I don’t think much is really gone.

When will these sections be cleared for more than a week? Like I want to move to other areas, but I don’t want hair left behind. I see a reduction, but the sections she does grows back within the week. When will every hair in these spots finally be treated?

I just hope this works because it’s painful and expensive.

Thanks so much for the help and advice.

#2

For your first set of questions, I think that you already know the answer. If any hairs felt like they were being pulled, then they were not being treated effectively. Either poor skill or not enough power. If hairs are releasing better with more power (and therefore more pain), then that is the best route to go. If the pain is a bit much you can look into numbing or take tylenol or ibuprofen 30-60 mins before the session. Don’t ask your electrologist to simply turn the power down because then you will have less effective treatments. I don’t think that the pain is “unnecessary” based on what you described.

Definitely finish clearing one section before you move to other sections. Time to clear an area is pretty much up to the electrologist’s speed and the number of hairs you have in that area.

Your hair is always growing so just like when you get waxed, you will start seeing some more hairs coming through almost right away. So, especially if you have a lot of hairs it would be normal to see those hairs coming through within a few days even after a complete clearance. However, the more hairs that you permanently kill the fewer and fewer you will see. It will take at least a few months to go through all hair cycles though.

#3

Thanks so much for your reply and help I really appreciate it.
It’s just the first few months of treatment the pain was much more bearable. The hairs did slide out back then, but not as much as they do with more power. Maybe she realized the hairs needed more power and wanted to start me off at a lower setting, but now raised it. I will take Tylenol before. I don’t like to ask her to turn it down. She always tells me to tell her to lower it, if it gets too much, but I don’t want to because I want it to work. It’s just so painful. However it is worth the pain if it works because once the treatment is done the pain is gone obviously.

I never waxed before only shaved/cut. I just don’t know why it takes so long for a section to be cleared. It’s like she clears a section and then within the week she has to clear it again, so we barely get to new spots.
I just wish the sections would be cleared longer then a week.

Thanks again

#4

GH101 are you using topical lidocaine on your treatment area about 20 minutes before you start a session? It’s available over the counter in canada and I think US too at 5% . I use Xylecaine brand, but there is lots of different ones.It will not eliminate the pain from electrolysis, but it will greatly reduce it.

Seana

#5

I am worried about side effects from it.

#6

I’ve used it on many of my clients and none have suffered side effects from it.I’ve used it myself with no complications either. What side effects were you afraid of? There were some horror stories about EMLA a while ago, but the case in which complications occurred constituted acute abuse and misuse. It’s pretty safe I wouldnt suggest it otherwise.

Seana

#7

Skin irritations, allergic reaction, etc.
I just don’t want to risk it. I appreciate all your advice and time. It is something I will think about though.

Any other suggestions on how to reduce pain? Or any other advice or thoughts on anything? Thanks

#8

The odds of you having an allergic reaction are slim. But if you’re that concerned, the only other things you could really do are stay hydrated the day before your appointment (and the day of), get a good night’s rest, and take advil before your appointment (even better, if you can get a doctor to write a prescription for Vicodin or something, it reduces the pain further)

#9

avoid caffeine before, do everything you can to reduce stress, get good sleep the night before. Make sure you are hydrated so drink enough before.

#10

Thanks for the advice. I try to drink at least 5 glasses of water before I go. I don’t drink caffeine and I try to get a good nights sleep and relax.

The ice used to work better though.
I will also try taking Tylenol before as well.

I go 30 minutes a week.

How long does it take to clear an area? I have been having the sides of my chin done a bunch of times and the hair comes back. I know people keep saying it’s new hair that wasn’t present when I was treated, but I have had the area treated several times and the hair is lighter, but not gone, I don’t think much is really gone.

When will these sections be cleared for more than a week? Like I want to move to other areas, but I don’t want hair left behind. I see a reduction, but the sections she does grows back within the week. When will every hair in these spots finally be treated?

Any thoughts on this part of my post as well. I just want to know everything I can about the process.

I really appreciate all the help and insight.
I just can’t wait to be hair free in these sections for more than a few days. I have a really bad facial hair problem.

#11

5 glasses of water before your appointment is bloody excessive.

#12

Why not substitute the water with a couple beers? You get hydrated and feel less pain.

#13

wow, ya you dont have to be excessive. I wouldnt suggest alcohol though as it does dehydrate. Just make sure you are consuming enough the day before. the only thing drinking 5 glasses before you go will do is make you need to pee when being treated ( adding to body stress).

Seana

#14

Sure …

what I’m trying to say is that people, based on fear and lack of understanding, go to EXTREMES to “make their treatment better.”

Hydration, sure. Stuff on the skin, sure. But the overly-nervous take this to extreme levels and then screw it up.

M-O-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N !

#15

This is a particularly well timed thought. I’m having to write up a blurb about aftercare instructions. People can go to extremes with any basic instruction. It’s human nature that "I have this wound, I need to play with it, put stuff on it, “help it along” when honestly the best thing you can do is leave it alone.

Seana

#16

How do we delete images on here? Sorry for asking on this thread

#17

unfortunately if the post you submitted is more than a few hours old you cannot edit or delete the post. the only way to have content deleted is to contact one of the boards moderators. The only active moderator aside from the boards owner Andrea ( who rarely comes here or checks messages) is Dee Fahey. She too is only here on occasion right now so it may take her a while to get back to you or get it done. My suggestion would be to message Dee a link to the post you want edited or deleted as she is the more accessible of the two options.

I’d also consider leaving it and remembering that others may still benefit. We’re big on pictures around here.

Seana

#18

I just want to stay hydrated. So you think I should space 5 glasses between the day before, the day of and after treatment?

I see the black dots coming in a few days after treatment. Stubble under the skin is hard to cover up.

Also, is it possible if the hair isn’t treated with enough electricity it is similar to tweezing, so can hair grow in worse?
She likes to treat these finer hairs and I’m concerned they can grow in worse.

I want her to emphasize more on the terminal hairs all around my face.

Thanks for the help!

#19

Gulping down large amounts of water at one time is BAD for your health; it can even kill you. People think, “If 4 glasses of water per day are fine … then 10 would be better?” Well, NO!

(A friend’s brother, who was mentally ill, had a compulsion to cleanse his body … by drinking lots of water. He’d been hospitalized a couple times. Two years ago this “cleansing” killed him; he was 26-years-old. You can look-up how this happens yourself … on the internet: "electrolyte imbalance.’)

Indeed, dehydration is common and proper hydration is recommended by electrologists and all health professionals. Just don’t get obsessive about it … or anything else, actually. Below, is a link to a good discussion of this issue.

There is nothing about the electrolysis procedure that requires ANY person to over-hydrate and gulp down massive amounts of water. Somehow there is a silly notion out there that the skin (normally) dries-out, and electrolysis won’t work; so you have to gulp down Lake Superior! That’s total nonsense. Just hydrate yourself normally, based on good health recommendations.

When you were drinking five glasses of water before your treatment, did your skin “puff up” with water? Did you "slosh’ into the electrologist’s office with heavy water-laden skin? Or, did you look normal and just pee all day? Seriously, the body regulates itself … just stay within normal parameters of good health.

#20

Key areas of pre- and post-treatment obsessive behaviors:

Vitamins and minerals:
The person thinks they have to take "whatever’ large amounts of certain vitamins or their skin won’t heal properly.

Hydration:
Person thinks they have to drink excessive amounts of water, or their skin will dry-out and the treatment won’t work.

Aftercare products:
The person thinks they have to slather all kinds of medicines and potions on their skin, or it won’t heal properly.

… and, my favorite:

Exfoliation:
Somehow people think they are a banana and they need to "peel’ the hell out of their skin to remove "the dead layer.’ This practice is appropriate in certain cases, but as a regular practice it’s deleterious to the skin. Exfoliating "all over the floor’ just irritates your skin. It doesn’t even help much if you have ingrown hairs … so, what’s the point? The ingrown hair is in the dermis; you can’t rub that deeply! You need Jossie to pull them out!

Got any more suggestions? I feel a video "coming on!’ he he he