Shaving and “Clear & Wait”

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Clients often tell us that their hairs are “different.” The person tweezing says, “Oh, my hairs come back in a couple days. My hairs are different!” The “shaving person” says, “my hairs grow back immediately … I’m different!” But they’re not.

I’m finishing up a big case today and these photos illustrate a point for “would be” clients. The first photo (left lower back) shows the client when he arrived … 6 weeks after he had shaved. The closer photo (taken a week later) shows the many hundreds of telogen hairs (that were not aparent at first.) Look closely and you will see the little shaved hairs … these are the slow-growing telogen hairs. Can you count how many telogen hairs per anagen hair? Looks like 3 to 1 to me? Here’s the treatment complication: the telogen hairs are often too short to treat!

Two weeks ago, I started on the guys’ shoulders and could not treat the too-short telogen hairs. Nicely, in the third photograph (left back), the telogen hairs had grown long enough so that I could treat most of them (after almost 2 weeks). On the shoulders, we now observe hundreds of short telogen hairs that I could not get 2 weeks ago … I will not treat these at this time because of healing concerns.

Both tweezing and shaving are treatment complications for the “Clear & Wait” technique. Treatment complications are even worse with people who have had laser treatments. Laser delays regrowing hairs (a year or more) so being able to get them is not possible … it’s a long wait.

#2

Not too many electrologists would have the guts and stamina to tackle this kind of hair in this amount. Good job, Michael. Be sure and reward yourself for a job well done.

I can see those fine specimens of telogen hairs when I expand my iPad.

Have you kept track of the hours for this case?

#3

Great photos, and this explains why many clients prefer the ‘maintain and advance’ method. These clients will have more sessions through out the year however number of hours to permanent removal should be similar to the ‘clear and wait’ strategy.

#4

A great example of what happens when a densely populated area by coarse, medium and fine hairs (most of them with a prolonged state of telogen) has been shaved two weeks earlier. Imagine what it would be if it had been shaved TWO days before, and this customer has made a long journey to get to you. Now, imagine if the strategy is “maintain and advance” with a frequency of weekly sessions, while this man shaved his back once or twice a month. Years later, there will be a significant reduction in the density (hairs per cm2), but they will be gray hairs! … and then someone will say, “Oh, yes, Electrolysis is a tedious process.” :tired:

#5

Hey, Michael, the situation could have been worse. The guy might have pre-waxing. :frowning:

#6

Excellent comments Dee Dee, Jossie and “Mhawkes.” It makes me happy to see various terms used, e.g., “Clear & Wait” and “Maintain & Advance.” You made me SMILE this morning!

This was my biggest case ever (in terms of hair and body … the guy is a weight lifter!). He had phenomenal hair density (I’ve never seen the “likes of this”). Most guys take 40 hours for clearing #1; he required 60 hours! (shoulders, neck and back). We did all of this in 12 days and I’m “ganz tot und kaput.”

(Note: most people that present high hair density do very well with the first clearing. I expect him to show better results than average from this one “pass.” We shall see and yes I will “share.”)

Guy is from a remote city in Scandinavia and the “C & W” strategy was better for him; he could not envision, say, a dozen separate trips for what he got in one “big bang!” And this certainly was a “big bang!” The guy said I should call my business “Nazi Electrolysis!” He suggested I put a photo of Joseph Mengele on my wall … nice! Just great!

The challenge for me was making sure healing was excellent given the density of hairs. I did the job in a series of opposite patches, and left a final long/narrow strip along the spine as my last goal (skin is thin in that area and you need “fresh skin” alongside to take up the swelling: swelling to go “outward” not downward).

It all went super and with daily bathing scabs didn’t develop. I do, however, have a really fun/interesting group of (gross) photos to show you all in a couple days. I’m going to make this a forensic-type study for you all. Get ready with your Sherlock Holmes gear!

Tomorrow I’m going to Universal Studios with the guy and my nephew Eric. I might actually jump off the roller coaster. SPLAT! What a nice way to end my career? Any of you ever feel like that?

#7

Feeling like ending my career - I sincerely hope that will take a while. BTW: “die Hitze hier macht mich fertig. Ich bin total kaputt” - doing 5-6 hour jobs at 38 ° C without air conditioning…

I expect him to show better results than average from this one “pass.” We shall see and yes I will “share.”

What’s the reason for this? A portion of telogen hairs larger than average?

#8

Let’s see if I’m right. In this case is a higher density of hairs per Cm2 than the average of man´s back cases. I would say possibly the number of mature hair matches the number of follicles per Cm2. Therefore, the chances of developing future hairs is practically nil. Michael made sure to leave no untreated hair. So the results should be better than the average of cases in back of a young man as this guy. Since we all know his % kill rate, it is not surprising that the results of this first clearance exceed the average of his cases.

(Bea, dann ist es Zeit zu überlegen, den Besuch zu erwidern, und genießen Sie ein paar Tage auf die Strände von Malaga.) :grin: