Heh, i’m not an acne riddle grease ball for sure. It was probably because I was not hydrated today when I went in the morning on only 3 hours of sleep. I think that made me more sensitive. Depending on the area, it hurts more. On my neck especially. (Speaking of the neck- i’m ticklish so on top of a grimace, i have to hold back some laughter… haha) The insertion itself doesn’t hurt but the energy does, yes.
@beate_r. I have no idea what EMLA is. Well i just googled it and I definitely thought about using a topical anesthetic but I’m willing to withstand a lot to get rid of the hair.
LAgirl… Today, the reaction is better. Instead of working on my right side where she mostly worked last week, she did my left side. It’ll take for ever for my skin to FULLY heal though between each treatment and I hardly have the patience for that. I’m glad I got my first clearance done before my trip abroad (7/12-8/3) By then, I hope my skin fully heals and she can work on remaining hairs.
dfahey, I feel like even my electrologist is put off by my skin’s reaction. She keeps saying it’s because I’m so fair and naturally redden very easily. Also she pointed out to me that my skin has 'comparatively slow healing time." During the treatments she uses alcohol and aloe to cool things down every once in a while. She also gives me ice when I leave.I should hope that it’s not because her insertions are incorrect! That doesn’t make sense to me because then how would she get away with that for over 25 years?
As to the epilator she is using, I have no clue. I feel like it’s a new one because it looks new and occasionally she’ll adjust the settings. So maybe she hasn’t gotten proper training on it? I do live in NY so she doesn’t need a license or whatever. I did try another electrologist before her who used a really old looking machine and charged 2x as much as her ($100/hr). With the old machine though, I don’t remember it hurting and the heat sensation I felt wasn’t painful. Even so, there was scabbing the next day as well. With my current electrologist and her new machine, i don’t really feel ‘heat’ so much as just pain/discomfort. I’ll definitely call her tomorrow and get back to everyone on what machine she is using because other wise i won’t find out until my next appointment on the 4th. :]
I’m definitely not on the brink of heart attack though. it’s just really uncomfortable and today painful because based on what every one is saying, i wasn’t really hydrated (no breakfast) and no sleep. One thing for sure though is I can’t handle more than an hour. She asks me if I want to continue every time but I always say no because I can’t imagine laying there for a minute longer! I’d like to be able to sample other electrologists but I just feel uncomfortable with going to multiple people. No one know about my hair problem not even my best friend… and ahh… i just want to get it over with as soon as possible. I’m just going to try my best to work with her and be honest about everything. Today, I did complain to her and I think she may have adjusted her strategy because besides the one scab from the bleeding insertion, my skin doesn’t’ look so bad like last time. It feels kind of raw/tender though. But i’ll have to look at it again tomorrow.
The one thing that frustrates me about electrology though and all the research i’ve done into it is there appears to be so many contradicting view points about it. For example, in terms of pain, I’ve read electrology is painless and then on the other side of the spectrum, I’ve read that if you’re not feeling any pain then it’s not working. Even here, about how my skin reacted, there’s a debate. I guess the answer can’t be very clear because everyone’s skin is different and every electrologist’s skill varies.
I don’t mean to put people off electrology with my pictures… If it will heal with no scarring or pitting then it’s totally worth the few months of embarrassment. Plus, i’m pretty short so not very many people have that kind of view of my face to notice the scabbing… hah, at least that’s what i tell myself :]