Rachelle's Treatment Odyssey

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

hello all… finally i got the courage to make an appoitment. It was hard finding someone and i changed my mind about going to the electrolysis school and having it done there. i think i would feel better if i had someone who was in th ebusiness a long time doing my face, rather than a student still learning their technique (no offence to those learning… its just a paranoia thing on my part <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />)

so my appointment is this tuesday and the lady said that it would be a consultation and she booked me for “extra time”. I thought that was nice of her. She sounded so great over the phone and i already feel i can trust her. I even asked if i should get emla and she was like, electrolysis isnt that bad and i shouldnt have to worry… hmm.?? i hope she’s right. I’ll get a test run and then from there (if everything looks alright) i want to do my chin and side burns.

wish me luck!

by the way i have a real bad cold with runny nose and everything. i wonder if that will effect my treatment…??

ok later everyone, ,i will keep you posted!

rachel (<<really nervous!)

#2

All sounds good for you, Rachel, and I like the answer she gave to your question about EMLA. Most clients do well and tolerate the heat from treatments. It’s not unusual to become acclimated to electroloysis after a few treatments. Somewhere between the 5th and 10th treatment, it seems that most clients are more relaxed and have verbally told me it doesn’t hurt as much. One of the things an electrologist must strive for is finding a working point that is tolerable to the clients pain threshhold, while seeing to it that the hair slides out nicely without disrupting the upper layers of skin.

Concerning your cold, personally, I ask my clients to reschedule if they are sick for several reasons. We want you to heal quickley and well after a treatment. If your immune system is on the low side, it’s just more stress added to your already overly-stressed immune system. You would probably be less tolerant of the sensation of electrolysis, too. It may be uncomfortable for you to lay flat if your congested. On my side of things, I have people depending on me for treatment and when I get sick, I have no one to take my place, so I get backlogged and lose income. I don’t particulary like wearing a mask, but have on occasion.

It’s just common courtesy to reschedule an appointment if you are contagious whether you are seeing your hair stylist, dentist or electrologist.

Wishing you well.

Dee

#3

thanks so much dfahey!

I am going to wait till tomorrow (monday). if i am not 100% better by then, i am going to reschedual my appointment for another day. my luck! just when i have enough courage to do it, i get sick!

sheesh. anyway, your post was very valuable and i feel better about the emla part.

will write soon about my experience!

rahel

#4

hey all! i did it! finally! I got much better and i went in for my appointment and the electrologist was so happy to see me. she was so nice and was so helpful. her office is pretty nice. she has her certificates hanging in the waiting room and nice chairs and music. very warm and cozy. she has another lady with her that does laser and they also do some skin treatment for acne. but she told me the majority of the customers come in for electrolysis.

so anyway, i was there for 30 mins. and she worked on my side burns and chin and some random hairs on the neck.

she uses thermolysis and i was on the setting of 20 for 0.08 seconds (or was it 0.02) anyway… it was a real short time and she was really impressed that i could take the 20 setting for a first time patient. she was like if i keep that up , i will be done in no time! it hurt a little but it was really tolerable. I did not use any anesthetic cream. During the treatment, the side burns hurt more than the chin. but right now. the chin hurts more (after txt). area is a bit red and she said that it is normal to see scabs.

i bought my own needles for 5dollars and the txt itself cost about 24dollars (CND).
I asked if i should put aleo vera, she said that was good but she said to put antibiotic gel better and said to use polysporin or something like that… she applied it on my face after i finished the treatment.

and thats it. she is a really nice lady and i really hope this works. so now my next appointment is next tuesday and she seemed full booked. she has been doing electrolysis for 18 years! that makes me feel real secure.

ok so james, dfahey and all you wonderful experts out there. what do you think of this one? is she a keeper?

thanks so much for your help.

-rachelle

#5

Hey, well done!

I bet you feel great, now, don’t you?
The first appointment is always a bit daunting. Kind of scarey before you go, not so bad when you’re there, and after you’ve left you can’t wait to go again!

I wouldn’t put myself in your ‘expert’ category - I guess I’m just a high use consumer with a passing interest. Anyway, it sounds to me like you’ve found a good electroligist. Time will be the big test … do the hairs stop growing back?!

From what you’ve said, I’m sure adverse reactions won’t be a problem. But if you do get any excessive swelling, rashes, spots, scabs, etc., you should tell her at your next visit. (Or pop back in and show her, if she’s local enough.)

#6

Hey,rachelle. Great to hear from you on how things went for your first time. She does sound like a keeper, but Toni has it right. Just let time pass and be mindful of progress and skin condition. It’s a relief that you found it tolerable so you don’t have to mess around with topical’s, which can be an expensive ordeal for you.

Aftercare advice varies from electrologist to electrologist. Keeping things simple is all you need. You don’t need to over medicate with topical antibiotic’s, but if that’s her routine and you have no adverse effects,then okay. An application of 100% aloe vera gel is really all you need for the first couple days after treatment,unless you are one that is prone to developing little pustules.

I can’t tell you anything from the level of 20 that was set on her epilator because epilators are calibrated differently from brand to brand. As long as that hair slides out nicely and skin heals well, that is the more important fact.

All sounds great and keep sharing with us.

Thanks.

Dee

#7

thank you thank you!! toni, Dee, you guys made me feel so much better. i was a bit nervous when she said she uses thermolysis because alot of the time people on this board talk about blend and how its better. so im glad thats ok.

about the hairs, yes they slid out no pain. sometimes not… but thats understandable.

well, it is a day later, and my side burns are doing amazingly well (knock on wood)… you wouldnt even know it that there was electrolysis work on there. the chin, however, looks bumpy and is a tinny weeny bit tender… my sister said my chin looks like its more prominant now… haha. like it sticks out more from the swollen. but it is not red or anything. it seems to be from under the skin. there isnt anything on the surface.

by the way, i noticed these white hairlike things after the treatment on my chin. are those the roots? it was funny, cause i could have sworn i never had white/gray hair in that area. lol. i am sure they were the roots.

Toni, you are right. i was first nervous, then relieved and when i got home i couldnt wait to go back! haha. and now i am being picky… i looked in the mirror and i was like, she missed a couple of hairs! haha. it looks she was aiming for the think black hairs and left the thin, fine ones. thats ok, shes the expert.

so far no hairs have come back out. but then again its only been one day. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> i will keep you guys posted and report after my next visit next tuesday.

love you all so much!

rachel

#8

ok now… this is an update…

its been about 4 days after my first treatment. remeber i did chin and side burns.

-i have scabs now (as we know they show up about 48 hours after treatment)…but they are so tiny… you wouldnt even notice it. (edit: i was out in the sun today and the scabs ARE noticeable! woow! i guess being in the dark at home doesnt show much at all…but here’s the thing…they are on the downside of the chin and ppl would only see them if i tilted my chin up…meh… i dont care)

-the chin isnt as “prominant” and bumpy

-the hairs on my side burns havent come back yet!
-the hairs on my chin, some have come back, but they dont look nearly as dark or thick as the before treatment.

-usually hairs come back (fully and dark and thick) within two days after plucking them out.

frankly… its magic

more updates later

rachel

#9

Just remember the hairs you are seeing 4 days after treament are hairs that were not visible when you had treatment, or were only visible to your electrologist and were rightfully given low priority so that the larger, more noticeable hairs would be taken, and these smaller ones could be gotten to when and if they ever were deemed to be a higher priority, or were just all the hair you have left.

You can not have true REGROWTH in four days.

I know you did not mean to suggest that, but I just want to make sure those reading understand what is happening here.

#10

thank you so much james for that clarification. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

#11

just keeping an updated log on my experience for those who might still be hesitant of the process.

its been exaclty 6 days since my last txt and it feels like a year!

side burns…no growth at all
chin… there is growth but all fine hair… read jame’s post plz.

scabs that were present before have completely healed. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

been using polysporin ointment on my chin and sideburns every night because it works amazingly with scaring. (potential scaring that is)… but i got none so far.

tomorrow is my second appointment and i might expland to other areas of the body. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

ciao

#12

update:

i had my 2nd appointment today.

sideburns: not much hair to work on. took few seconds. great results.

chin: took longest as there were many fine hairs missed from last session and new growth of other hairs. not nearly as dark and thick as before my 1st treatment.

more painful this time, but i sucked it in and kept at 20 setting with the thermolysis machine.

moved on to new territory with upper chest. this was more painful and went down to setting 19 (which was still painful but better than 20)… i guess the chest is a more sensitive area than the chin and side burns.

the chest was reallllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy red after treatment… but right now its not as red.

aftercare: polysporin on chin and side burn. aleo vera on chest to bring down redness (and it really does work). later i am going to put polysporin on chest to aid in healing and prevent scaring.

the electrolysist says that i am her best result client so far! woohoo!!!

i hope that continues.

later.

p.s. let me know if anyone is annoyed by my updates and finds them unnecessary and i’ll be happy to stop <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

#13

Anyone who is annoyed can surf elsewhere, this is what this board is made to do, get personal experiences, and help educate.

Do I annoy people with my posts on this board? I sure do! Some have even expressed their annoyance famously on this very board. I happen to think, however, that those who want to hear me should not be punished because those who can’t stop reading my posts, no matter how annoying they are, still come here to read them and get annoyed <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

In short, keep it up, and we welcome others to do the same thing.

#14

As always james, you are an inspiration. thank you for your support.

…ok well then i shall continue now with my updates. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

-its been two weeks since my very first electrolysis treatment on my chin and side burns and one week since my last treatment.

-right now… thicker black hairs are found on my chin. (i believe they are the same ones i removed two weeks ago…as understandably, the hairs take longer to grow back and with maintance electrolysis they will reduce and eventually disappear with the growth cycles.)

-side burns do much better than chin… till now, they barely have any hair and i started with them the same time i started my chin.

-my chest… which i started later (1st treatment was last week)… developed some scabs, which healed very quickly. and different here, then the face, i developed 1 or 2 white head pimples on my chest. I am not worried about those, as acne will clear on its own.

in general (after two treatments with thermolysis with fairly high heat ~ though this depends on the machine)… hairs grow much slower and seemingly fewer… but we all know about different growth phases and each hair is different and will manifest at different times.

important things to learn (and anyone can say otherwise if they like): first full clearance treatments are essential for hair free maintance and high heat first treatment is great to jump start fast free permanancy. (this of course depends on person and skin tolerance)

good luck all… my next and 3rd treatment is tomorrow… though i have a feeling it will be extremely short as there are barely any hairs to treat!!

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

#15

hi all… i had my treatment today. it went same as usual. a bit more painful, but still bearable (remember i dont use emla at all or any kind of cream). I went lower on heat setting for my upper chest, but same high setting for face.

This time though, there was a bit of bleeding. the electrolysis didnt say anything, but she took a kleenex and was whiping in between insertions. then when i got home, there were red spots where the bleeding was. i guess thats understandable as electrolysis involves needle insertion.

After treatment, i put aloe vera gel which works very well on bringing down the redness and pain. i’ll use polysporin at night.

i did not schedual another treatment with her, as the hairs grow much slower now and treatments every week seem too much now. so i’ll schedual an appointment when i notice enough hair growing out (i am guessing two weeks).

thats all for now… ciao

#16

Although your electrologist can work on you in two weeks, you might not find any hair for 3 weeks or more.

#17

hello andrea, james and all.

this is an update on my treatment for others to get an idea of electrolysis experience.

today was my 4th treatment (1.5 weeks since my last) on my chin and side burns (no chest today because there was no hair to treat <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

so usually i had 30 min appointments… this time it only took 15 mins!!! first hard quantitative proof of positive work.

The setting was my usual 20 for thermolysis. (remember this setting is calibrated and will be different for other machines)

Sometimes it hurt and sometimes it didnt. But bearable. I never use any kind of numbing cream.

electrologist was impressed with my progress. She asked if i wanted to do fine hairs. I said no because they were unnoticeable and she agreed.

I never touch my chin and sideburns between treatments with anything. i never plucked, shaved, bleached…nothing! and that is so important for long term success.

I also kept up with polysporin and aloe vera gel after treatments. polysporin is good for pain and scaring. aloe vera is good for redness and overall well being of skin. Polysporin is also a cool way to keep your fingers away from the newly treated area because its greesy and nasty to touch.

that is all for now… good luck to everyone!!

-rachel

#18

p.s. let me know if anyone is annoyed by my updates and finds them unnecessary and i’ll be happy to stop <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

MOST DEF. NOT! i’m very interested and i am sure there are many others following your updates. keep them coming. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

#19

woof… this has become a homework for me… hehe…

ok i had my 5th treatment today (its been a week) on my chin and sideburns (and 3rd treatment on randam hairs on my upper chest bone)…3rd treatment because the hair there grows really slowly (and they are few) and takes longer to show up.

so anyway before i went in, the previous old dark black hairs were back very thin and light. i wasnt even embarrased or worried about covering it up when i went to school. i didnt even care! Before, i wouldnt be caught dead with the same thick black hairs showing and would have to obsessively pluck! That is some major improvement. (and after 5 treatments with thermolysis!)

the side burns grow reallllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy slow. everytime i go in for appointments, the lady barely has any work to do in that area. and she gets so excited too! lol

the chin however grows much faster and is consistent with hair growth at the end of every week. but the hair is much thinner and lighter. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

this time it took 15 mins… like last time. Remember, first time i went it, it took 30 mins.

I am still at the same setting of 20 for thermolysis… which is considered a high setting (as the electrologist said) and she is very satisfied with my pain tolerance and results. (God bless)

She puts some witch hazel after every treatment and i go home and use polysporin and aleo vera (not at same time of course).

skin looks good. healing is good. I dont touch my face between treatments with any thing, but the usually washing of my face, and putting on the polysporin etc. In a shower, i am careful not to rub the area, ESPECIALLY if there are scabs. Being gental is the key.

Thats all for now. My next appointment is a week from now and i am expecting the same results from above.

good luck to everyone!
-Rachel

p.s. just wanted to add that the time i felt the least amount of pain was on my very first visit. its funny cause i was never able to go back to that “lesser pain” state. I still use the same high setting and the only explaination i can give is that the first time i went in, i was expecting something extremely painful and when i actually did it, it was nothing. Now, its bareable, but not like the first time, it was great!

#20

Hello rachelle,

I was just wondering do you remove your hair in any way inbetween treatments?

Bianca