Really need advice

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Ok so here’s my story- I’m 25 years old and have always been hairy. At around 18 years old it got excessively worse. In addition to hair on my feet, toes, fingers, and arms, I got thick dark course hair on my “happy trail”…and its not a thin line either…its like 2 1/2 inches wide…and a massive amount of dark course hair around my nipples. In the last year (after several years of battling all the other hair on my body) I have now began to get increasingly dark and course hair on my chest, upper lip, and a few on my chin. I have been to gynos and endocrinologists and they say I do not have PCOS. So here’s a little history and then my questions (sorry its so long)

In 2007 I had laser hair removal around my areolas (they each had about 150 dark thick hairs around them no joke)- not only did I see absolutely no improvement with every hair growing back within 3 weeks- but during the last session I was badly burned twice- I have had repeated procedures to try and improve these scars to no avail. And as I said all the hair grew back.

After that horrible experience (I was already experiencing extreme emotional distress from being this hairy and in so many weird areas you can imagine how much worse things got when I also got two laser burn marks to my chest- which I still have and look awful)…anyway after that I went to an electrolygist…after 3 years of going pretty every week I have had about a 90% improvement of hair around the nipple area…the only problem is there are about 15-20 on each side that will not budge and on top of that I have ever since I started gotten dark brown/red and slightly indented marks all around the areolas (which is really ugly especially since is in addition to the laser burns)…I also started in the last year treating my stomach, upper lip and stray hairs on the chest and chin btw…heres the problem: I noticed that many times the hairs were being broken…and it wasnt hurting that much when they were being 'zapped"…also sometimes i would watch and occasionally she would mmiss the follicle altogether. shoudl would also treat follicles when the hair didnt grow out yet…i think doing this every week led to these horrible dark marks around the breast which i think is even worse than the hairs itself.
so here’s my questions- 1)These hairs that arent budging- are they just not going to go?? 2)I started seeing a new electrolygist who I think is better skilled and has a great reputation, should I work on other areas and leave the nipple area alone for awhile so the marks could heal or should I just go less than every week? Its hard for me to just clip the hair because the ones that remain are so dark and course and my skin is incredibly pale and overly sensitive and prone to ingrowns, irritation, etc…everytime the hairs grow back or are shaven the skin gets red, swollen, and often i need to “free” the hair because they grown under…this has made the marks even worse…I worry that if I take a break I will be taking major steps backward and that I wont be able to hide the hair in the meantime by shaving or trimming because you see it under the skin…but I want these marks to go away…most drs who saw them said they will go away but one said they looked like permanently scarred and enlarged pores…what should I do??? I feel Ive gotten so far that maybe this new electrolygist is better skilled so they can rid me of these hairs in 6 months to a year and then i can concentrate on making the marks go away…maybe i should just finish the job- especially since i think this new elect could get these hairs that wont budge…but these marks are so hideous and have caused me so much distress…i cant be intimate with anyone because of all the hair, scars, and marks from failed hair removal attempts. I am also a student with almost no money and have put every dime I have towards this…and now im getting new hair growth…its never ending…im sorry for the long message but this is something i cry about daily…it may sound silly until you suffer from it. please anyone help and give me suggestions particuarly about the marks I will greatly appreciate it.

#2

Wildebeest, sorry to hear what you have been going through.

I think Laser could have done a pretty good job. From the limited info, I can’t say why it didn’t work for you but I would guess it’s something quite straightforward.

Moving on. I’m glad you have seen results with electrolysis. I’m glad you switched. It sounds like the first electrologist had a tough time with those remaining hairs.

What modality did the first one use and which is the second using? In the absence of an electrologist with modern equipment, I found Blend to be effective in the areola area without any skin issues.

If you are satisfied with the second electrologist and her work, you should continue.

If the enlarged pores still have hairs in them, you may find they improve one the hair is removed so they can heal.

#3

Stop- thanks so much for taking the time to reply- I’m not sure why the laser didnt work…but at the time i was more comfortable with a female doing it so the doctor had his female assistant do it…she claimed to know how to work the machine…i was younger and more stupid- i should never have done it.

In terms of the modality of the first electrologist- im not sure. but one thing ill say is that often the magnifying light would go out and i often hardly felt any pain during it which makes me think it was too weak and not great equipment.

i want to continue with these hairs but as i say i have no room for the pigmentation and scars to heal since i get them treated so often…and then after the additional redness from treatment i get the redness from the course hair trying to grow through and usually getting somewhat or deeply ingrown…so theres permanent irritation. originally I was going once a week every week for years…now I go every two weeks…should i decrease it to every 3 weeks or once a month or will that be too little to see any results…i want the hairs to go away but desperately want these hideous red and brown marks to go away too.

i am also considering going on bcp in the hopees that maybe it will thin out the hair problem (and my acne) for awhile which would give the marks time to heal since i would be treating them less…then if any grow back after i stop bcp i will just be sure to go to the right electrologist and not get overtreated to prevent the same thing from happening again…im not sure what do you (or anyone) think???

im in my 20’s and this has so greatly negatively impacted my life…social, school, everything…i cant make plans to go out because everything is ruled by this vicious hair cycle and appointments and im nearly broke. someone please advice?

thanks again stop for your reply

#4

anyone?

#5

A picture might help.

I have many MTF’s who just don’t grow hair when I am done with them. In fact, after the first clearance, most don’t even need to take a day off from work after their additional clearances.

#6

Thanks for answering James- I appreciate anyone who helps.

I dont have a great camera so this is one picture taken with my cell phone. I can add better ones in a few days when I use my sisters better camera. This was taken a few months ago during the period i was seeing the first electrologist…I was seeing her every week but this picture was taken on a rare three week vacation- 3 weeks after the last treatment…You cant tell from the picture but some of the marks are also slightly indented…or enlarged pores…advice?? I have been using cocoa butter with vitamin e 2 or 3 times a day…and if its especially bad i use neosporin…a year or so ago i tried a 2% hydroquinone cream which made no difference whatsoever.

qwerty Attachments

uglyforever.jpg

#7

I should also add that it goes around the nipple…and i have them on both.

#8

Hi again,

Hopefully these enlarged pores will heal. If the hair has been removed from them and the follicle killed, there is more chance.

Well… if you didn’t feel insertions that’s a good thing because she can’t have been missing the follicles. And if the energy was high enough to leave you with a reaction, I’m surprised you hardly felt anything. Did you ever feel plucking of the hairs or did they slide out after treatment?

I don’t think you need to be going so often. Take a break for 4-6 weeks (it shouldn’t effect results). Let all the hair grow in. I know it will be hard but avoid shaving and trying to dig out ingrowns. At the most, just clip the hairs, leaving a few mm so the electrologist can still work on them. Then, when you visit her, hopefully she will be able to clear all the areola hairs in on sitting as it doesn’t sound like you have much left. You can continue like this, with longer periods between having your areola’s treated and it should be fine. It should also be easier to judge if the treatment is effective as after the first clearing (especially if you have waited for a decent amount of hairs to grow in beforehand), you should start seeing results.

Rosehip Oil is really good for pigmentation. I would highly recommend using it twice daily (no need for the Vit E or Cocoa Butter then). There is a thread on it as well.

#9

I won’t say that this type of post treatment experience is unusual, but I WILL say that none of my clients ever look like this.

#10

This will heal nicely. I do a lot of areola work and I don’t usually see this type of reaction, but when I do, I am not concerned because eventually it fades nicely.

If this was on your face, I would not like to see these dots.

#11

Thanks everyone for your replies- i will probably take the advice and take a small break…and then only get the darkest hairs treated every 3-4 weeks…

I hope you’re are right and they will fade nicely…that gives me a tiny bit of hope.

Despite the fact that i usually felt very little discomfort or pain from the first electrologist (less pain than Im supposed to feel I think)…i still got these marks…a few i guess i could say are from ingrowns…but 90% are not…I would also sometimes get bruising from her. besides for seeing her weekly, she used to treat areas even if no hair was growing out of it- just to kill the follicle because she felt even if there was no hair there at the moment, zapping the follicle was a good idea. i think having this done weekly really did this…Also, when she put the probe in, she would “zap” it several times…instead of the one time that Im used to with the new electrologist…sometimes the probe would look like it was barely in the follicle too and the hair would just break and the area would get red. a large amount of hair was removed though, so Ill give her credit for that but boy if these marks are permanent I will be even more devastated.

dfahey and James- what is your view if i may ask on the course I should take? should i just go less often or take a break altogether?

#12

oh and i have left certain follicles alone for over 2 months because they were so bad…and theyve only very very slightly gotten better…im so scared these wont go away

#13

Wildebeest, I will answer your concerns in a private message later today.

Dee

#14

i will appreciate that so much thanks!