Should it feel like tweezing? Que & Concerns

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I have been going to an electrologist for galvanic treatment for six months, for an hour every other week at a cost of $100 per hour (according to her machine, we usually eliminate about 70 hairs per hourlong session).

Most hairs feel tweezed, though some have no pain associated with the pull, just a slight pop as they release. My electrologist assured me this is completely normal - but I am really not seeing a reduction in hair and we have yet to fully clear my jawline and neck.

I do experience intense pain holding onto the metal rod that is necessary for the current - ie. feels like I am trying to hold on to a boiling pot. I can also feel the current through the needles, but it is more uncomfortable than painful in my face. Several times I have had bruises appear in places where a probe has been inserted. Also, for some reason she prefers to go after hairs that are slightly ingrown - when she inserts probes into those scabs, it really hurts - not to mention leaves a deeper scab that often seems to become infected/painful. I am also finding that I am developing ingrown hairs very deeply beneath the skin since starting treatment. (I use Cetaphil to wash my face and witch hazel.)

At our consultation ($190), the electrologist told me that she usually will not take on a case like mine because I am not hairy enough (ie. needy/worthy of her time) but she is going through a slow time and that she expects to have my hair cleared with three months of treatment, one hour every other week - then one appointment a month for a year or so. Obviously this timeline she promised has not been met. I am just about as hairy now as I was when I first started. She treated the left side of my face the first few sessions and in the last week (approx 6 months from treatment) I have complete re-growth there (probably because the hairs were plucked, not treated). I have also begun to notice in certain light what appears to be a distortion of my pores similar to acne scars but smaller and finer (is that what pitting is?) This is accompanied by areas that are a little darker in pigment than the rest of my skin.

Basically - does this seem to be the standard? Should I be alarmed? I just don’t know anyone that has had electrolysis done to ask/compare stories and there are no other electrologists in my area that I could go and check out.

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated. Pretty much, common sense dictates I should discontinue treatment - but I want so much to be done with facial hair and I really wanted this to be the solution…

#2

1 hour every other week for 3 months is about 7 hours. Then 1 hour a month after that for a year is 9 hours, giving you 16 hours total. I guess it depends on how much hair you have to begin with. I’m surprised people still use galvanic, but I imagine in all of Philadelphia, there would be someone using either blend or thermolysis. The popping sensation isn’t cause for alarm. The tweezing feeling is. It sounds like you’re right about your common sense. I came across this name on a TG-friendly electrologist list. Maybe this might be a good place to start looking?

Marlene at :
Benton Method Of Electrolysis
1601 Walnut Street, Suite 1126
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone : (215) 563-9917
A client reports “I was referred to Marlene by a trans girlfriend of mine and have been through 3 one hour sessions so far. She charges $85 an hour and also does pre SRS genital hair removal. She is one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I thought when I started electrolysis that I would not be looking forward to the sessions but I adore Marlene so much I can’t wait to see her again.”

#3

You know, looking at my calendar, I was actually going every week for the first two months, then scheduling became difficult and we had a few appointments basically two weeks apart for the next four months, with a couple of other appointments (so sometimes there wasn’t a lag of two weeks between visits).

Unfortunately logistically I can’t do Philadelphia (I live about 20 minutes from the city, but work over an hour in the opposite direction) - it wouldn’t hurt to call and check in about weekend hours though. Thanks for the tip!

#4

The neat thing about galvanic electrolysis is, once you have lifted the hair out, the lye remains in the follicle working for up to an hour or so, affecting tissue that grows hair. If some resistance is felt, not to worry because of the lye that keeps on working. Galvanic electrolysis is very slow, but it is a highly effective modality.

I have found that there is another highly effective modality, comparable to galvanic electrolysis, except that 8x more hair can be removed per hour at a cost less than $100 per hour, in most localities. It is less labor intensive, too. I have found that galvanic electrolysis is obsolete because of the newer technology. Again, galvanic electrolysis is a highly effective method to remove hair, but you are complaining about how slow things are going and how expensive this is. All am attempting to point out is, it doesn’t have to be this way. Many of us are removing hair quickly, with efficacy and with less frustration for the hair consumer.

This is why we encourage the hair consumer to get several consults so they can compare services and modalities.

#5

What is this other highly effective type of electrolysis?

I tried a blend with another practicioner before going galvanic, but it was a lot like the One Touch home electrolysis - she had trouble getting the hairs and in an hour had only treated about 12. She zapped a hair for about 30 seconds, tried to pluck it, met resistance, re-inserted the probe for another few seconds, tried to pluck and met resistance, re-inserted…etc. When I switched to galvanic I was excited about getting 70 hairs in an hour, but I’m seeing the original treatment area with almost complete re-growth six months later.

#6

Hi Mandi.

You sound like me about 25 years ago.
I tried everything.
I went from one modality to another.
Nothing seemed to help.

I realized that it is the practitioner that makes all the difference.

You mention that you are getting bruised. Well, that can happen but it is rare.
Since it is happening too often, it might be an indication that the technique is not good. Do you generally bruise in other situations? If so, mention this to your GP.

Tweezing sensation should not be consistent. If it is, this can also be a sign of poor technique. You mentioned that the electrologists had trouble getting the hairs to release easily. When an electrologist feels too much resistance, we modify our technique.

You also mentioned lots of discomfort. With today’s thermolysis tools and equipment, treatment can be more comfortable.

Go out there and get as many free consultations as possible. Try short sessions.
This website provides a listing of electrologists and also see referrals at electrology.com. Let us know how you are doing.

#7

I don’t know what else is near you (I’ve only been to Philadelphia a couple of times), but here is a list of some others in Pennsylvania (probably too far is my guess, but you know the area better than me!)

Jane G. Yahr, CPE and Dr. Charles J. Yahr, DC, CPE
Yahr Electrolysis And Laser
5889 Forbes Avenue, Suite #100
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Phone : (412) 422-4490

Anita Linderemeir, RN, BA, CMT
Monroeville, PA.
Phone : (412) 856-7004
Email : akysr@aol.com

Emily R Jones, CPE
Wynnewood Salon
1430 Manoa Road
Wynnewood, PA.19096
Phone : (610) 896-6183

Michelle Granata, CPE
Michelle’s Electrolysis and Skin Care
2550 Mosside Boulevard, #215
Monroeville, PA. 15146
Phone : (412) 856-4744

Alan F. Price, R.E.
Gail Rae Electrolysis
300 E. Lancaster Avenue, Suite 107
Wynnewood, PA. 19096
Phone : (610) 649-5163
Fax : (610) 649-4575

#8

Another great lady in Philedelphia:

http://www.advancedelectrolysispa.com/about.html

#9

Woah! $100 an hour! That could possibly be considered highway robbery given the amount of time Galvanic can actually take per hair. To me it seems like you might be getting ripped off, a ‘slow time’? Yeah, i would say so given the amount she’s charging ($190 alone for consultation?)

In all honesty Galvanic is incredibly reliable, more so than thermolysis. It just takes more time for the hair to die occasionally. The lye that Galvanic produces is extremely volatile to the follicle, so even if the hair isn’t dead when plucked the lye actually goes to work to disable the hair from growing again.

And if you’re having Galvanic done on your face, i hope you’re not getting that nasty metallic taste in your mouth… Ugh, memories…

My suggestion? You could probably find more bang for your buck, my electrologist charges $60 per hour, but i pay $300 up front and get 6 hour long treatments.

#10

I’m curious about “popping” it seems a little too open to interpretation and a little too close to tweezing but without any pain. If a follicle has been treated, partially treated, or had energy released very close to it you may not feel any sensation when it is Tweezed, is that the same as popping I wonder… I’d have to say popping best describes a sound rather than a sensation and I’ve never heard a pop when a hair slides from a follicle. After all a hair in a follicle is not like a cork in a bottle there’s no air trapped behind it. The scale of a follicle isn’t enough to have a reaction that’s audible.
I don’t know for sure but I’d say a pop is possibly a hair/follicle that hasn’t been treated 100%. It could be that there are still a few cells/structures within that are clinging on to the hair and when it’s removed from the follicle there is a degree of resistance, not a blatant Tweeze but a partial tweeze.
Will the hair return, who knows for sure…
Should you be worried by popping, you’re going to feel it on occasion but you shouldn’t be feeling it a lot.
If you’re feeling a lot of tweezing and a lot of popping I’d say find someone else and ask about a refund

#11

Ditto everything follizap has said.

I would recommend spending some time reading as many of the threads in the pro forum as you can. People ask all sorts of questions regarding treatment; reactions, aftercare etc. You will get an idea of what things are normal/acceptable and those which suggest the treatment may not be as good as it could be.

You want to pay for effective treatment. But you could have someone doing blend and removing a couple of hairs per min - let’s say anywhere between 180-480 hairs per hour. Or you could find someone performing thermolysis, in particular using the machine and modalities many of the electrologists on here do (Apilus) and removing many more hundreds of hairs an hour or even over a thousand hairs per hour… depending on their experience/skill. One wants the best combination of speed and efficacy.

#12

Mandi, are you seeing someone in Malvern, by any chance? I have a hunch we are seeing the same electrologist.

#13

This sounds like the galvanic technique where the hair is epilated halfway through the treatment cycle with the probe left in place. Because the hair is epilated early, the client feels a slight tug, but not as much as a full tweeze. The idea is to expose the critical regions of the hair follicle to more sodium hydroxide by removing the hair. Galvanic is a highly effective modality, however when compared with faster methods like thermolysis and the blend, it is like “shoveling snow with a teaspoon!” Yes, you can still find electrologists using galvanic, but for the most part it has been supplanted by faster more advanced forms of thermolysis and the blend.