Hi- I would like to start electrolysis after a mistaken and foolish attempt at LHR.
I did the last laser session only 4 days ago on legs- how long should I wait to begin electrolysis there- 2 weeks? A month?
-Nancy
Hi nancyk.
Since laser causes heat injury to the skin, one must wait until the area treated by laser looks and feels normal. There should be no tenderness, redness, bruising or swelling. A 2 month wait is a conservative estimate, but if you follow the criteria listed above, all should go very well.
If you are still in doubt about your particular situation, you may want to contact the physician or technician who performed your laser treatments to get their input.
Take care,
Dee
I’m in a similar situation with laser and electrolysis, I’m starting to lose home with my laser results. Please do keep us updated with what you decide to do.
The way I see it pea-pod, laser will get results, but since there is no garuantee of long-lasting results, psychologically it’s a no-go. i want my hair gone!
So I am going the tried-and-true way and getting electrolysis. It will probably takes upwards of a year and a half, and i will have to deal with the temporary scars, but it will be worth it.
Don’t you think?
(Please say yes! I need a morale boost . . .)
yes it will be worth it! THink of electrolysis as relaxing. That’s what I do when I have my chin done. How many other times do I get to just lie down and listen to music for 30 minutes?
My I ask what was so bad about your laser experience? I just had my tummy done with 2 sessions (light sheer), the hair is fine and sorta light so my results are slow, I am hoping if I give the bikini a shot it will have better results since it’s thicker and darker?
I’m only in sunny weather for another few months before I return home to snow, so I want it gone fst, (but not by waxing since I don’t want the electrolysis to be more difficult when I get to it)
I’m here in NYC- image capital of the world- so there are laser places that WILL remove your hair- I am just not convinced that it will last long-term. For you, sincr you want short-term results, laser might be good.
oo very good. I’m from NY (Queens) but I am currently in Hawaii (until December) When I return to snow and being fully covered
Ah, good ole Queens.
are you in hawaii for a semester- that sounds amazing!
So . . . I hope this forum is helping you.
last night, I was thinking about it, and what I might do, is do laser on my legs and bikini and then as the hair starts to come back in, go for electrolysis. That way, I can get over one hurdle (LOTS of hair) and then take i bit by bit.
similar to the plan I’m thinking about.
at this point I am just to embarased to go right to the electrolysis (plus with all the hair it would hurt and take forever)
Please do keep me updated on how it works out, especially with the laser. I change my mind 3 times a day. Why is this such a hard decision?
I know what you mean with changing your mind- now again, i am thinking I am going to do straight electrolysis!
But when i look at all the thousand hairs on my legs, i think- this is going to take hours . . .
and also- electrolysis leaves little scars for a while- dod you know that?
ack!
I had electrolysis on my legs 30++ years ago and I am still enjoying the smooth carefree freedom of not having to bother with shaving and stubble for the rest of my life. It hurt at times, it took a while to complete and I was left with little red dots that faded nicely after several months. There are no signs of damage or spotting to my skin. None. The hairs were pretty dense and coarse mainly on the lower areas, but after that they were less dense and easily removed.
I was not an electrologist (as I am now) when I had my legs treated. Electrolysis works and I don’t understand why more women don’t have their legs treated. Most leg hair is not too dense and you can move quite fast on such a large area. If you have perserverance and keep focused on the PERMANENT end result that will surely be yours, you will receive much satisfaction for many, many years.
It’s definitely a project that you might want to consider diving into for the fall and winter since your legs are usually covered, that is if you live in a colder climate.
I’m not sure I’d bother with laser for this area unless you have extra money to gamble with. Most likely, you will still need electrolysis anyway if you want TOTAL permanent hair removal. You can go at your own pace and pay smaller amounts as you go because you pay for blocks of time with electrolysis. Laser is a big outlay of money all at once with results that may or may not be satisfactory.
Dee
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Hi- how long did your legs take?
My hair is in facrt, VERY dense- almost like a man’s (but no, I do not have a hormone problem, I’ve been checked!)
Will this take more than a year?
I cannot give you the exact amount of time it took to finish my legs because it has been 30+ years ago. If I had to make an estimate, I think I would be safe in telling you it took between 9-18 months of consistent treatment to achieve permanency. Total clearance happened much sooner because I put a lot of time in up front. There were several weeks in the beginning that I went 2-3 times in a week. Things slowed down almost to a trickle as we went into maintenace mode after total clearance was attained.
I do remember that she used manual thermlysis at the time. I didn’t know the term for the kind of electrolysis she was using , but since becoming an electrologist, I understand now what she was doing. Each hair took about 2-3 seconds to slide out. I had small scabs for a while then red dots for an extended period of time that faded away totally over several months. Regrowth was minimal - only a few hairs had to be retreated. With the newer epilators used today, I don’t think you would have nearly the noticable skin reaction I had when I did this back in the '70’s, nor the pain!
If I were you, I’d get some sample treatments on a three inch by three inch area and compare how long it takes to remove the hair, check the skin reaction afterwards, regrowth rate, sensation. Take note of how long it took to remove the hair in such a small area and then you can get a broad window of time of how long it will take to clear one leg. Time to completion is dependent on how much heat you can tolerate, how much hair you have and how often you go for treatment. An electrologist can move faster over an area if you tolerate the sensation of electrolysis. He or she needs to put enough heat at the bottom of the foliicle so the hair slides out nicely. Even with that said, some electrologists are faster and more efficient than others. Just get sample treatments from at least three practioners if you have the luxery of living somewhere that has more than one electrologist.
Time it takes to finish is up to you. Remember, electrolysis is hair by hair, inch by inch. There is no doubt that you have to get your mind set to keep pushing forward very aggressively up front for that first clearance to happen. All is downhill after that. If there was a better way to do this, we would be doing it. It seems hard, but once you find a practioner that can move along fairly rapidly, all should go well for you.
Dee