Thinking of starting the process - need help!

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

Let me apologize in advance for my long, long post. I know I will be losing a few readers along the way, but I have so much hair angst pent up inside of me that I can’t seem to be brief!

I have been reading on here fore a few weeks with a thousand questions popping through my head. Now I am finally going to try to organize my thoughts and put something down.

Here’s my background. I’m a 35 year old female and have been hairy all my life. My earliest memory of being uncomfortable with my hair was when I was 6. When I was 9, I started bleaching my upper lip hair (yes, I know, it’s a moustache) and I haven’t stopped since (so a good 26 years of Sally Hansen and Jolen). When I was 14 I did electrolysis treatments for a while (possibly about 6 months?) on my upper lip and some rogue chin hairs. I did it again for another 6 months or so when I was 17. Neither of my electrologists ever talked about hair growth cycles or schedules or any such things, as I remember. I think I would usually have 15 or 30 minute appointments about once per week. I never got full clearance, but it did look better for a while. Now, however, you would never know that I had made any attempts to get rid of any of my facial hair.

As I have gotten older, my facial and body hair has gotten worse. I now bleach my upper lip, chin, and cheeks every 2 or 3 weeks (and it usually looks really bad by the time I get around to doing it). For years, I fantasized that laser hair removal was going to be the answer to my all my facial hair problems, but now that I am ready to take action, I’ve started my research and discovered that laser is not recommended for my mostly thin, soft (though not at all sparse), female peach-fuzzy facial hair.

So now I am thinking I will try electrolysis again. My biggest concern is that this not drag on forever or consume my life, and I want to find a way to do it that is as inconspicuous as possible. I don’t want to have to walk around work or my kids’ daycare with a red, swollen, blotchy, or scabby face and/or hide inside all summer.

So I think my questions have to do with how to minimize the temporary outward signs of electrolysis and get this over with as quickly as possible. Would it be best to do the marathon method of flash thermolysis? Could real reduction be achieved if I just go for marathon clearance sessions spaced about 6 weeks apart for 9 months? If I did marathon sessions on my upper lip and chin with a really skilled practitioner (I’m in Toronto and would consider driving to Buffalo to see James, if we would have me), how long would I have to hide after each treatment before I could show my face to the world? Or could I maximize results while minimizing the number and length of sessions by doing the shaving method where I shave 2 or 3 days before a session so that only active hairs are treated each time (my thinking is that I would have less redness and swelling b/c fewer hairs would be treated per session, but they would be the right hairs)? Or instead of shaving, could I just bleach 2 to 3 days before and then just target the hairs with dark roots?

2

I swear to you that you wouldn’t have to worry heavily about your appearance afterwards f you go to a skilled electrologist who uses the better computerized epilators and surgical magnification.

You must contact James!!! He’s got it down and you will be very happy. Just take action and be done with this!

Dee

3

Since you have suggested that I might be the one doing the work for you, I will answer your question as if I were going to do the work for you.

I would have you do nothing special the week prior to seeing me. No bleaching, no shaving, no waxing, no plucking.

When you got here, we would get to the job of removing the hair, and sending you back home as quickly as possible. In the WORST CASE, you would look like you either gained 20 pounds in the face, or like you are allergic to strawberries, and are having a temporary allergic reaction just after we finished, but that would go away soon. In any event, you would be able to go to work and have no one the wiser in no time.

I would suggest that you make it a Friday and/or Saturday appointment so that we both get it all, and you look your best for work on Monday. By then, you should either look bare faced and happy, or maybe like you had a little too much sun over the weekend… but you will be hair free and you won’t have scabs and pock marks all over your face.

I am sure that you don’t have nearly as much hair as the guys I work on. Recently, I removed 8,000 hairs from one man’s face (Mask area only, no neck treatment) in one day, and although he looked like a gag from Jim Carey’s movie “The Mask” just after treatment, he said he was back to normal in 3 days.

It is just a guess, but I would be sure that you don’t have that much hair to treat.

After your first clearance, we would do a second in 3 to 4 weeks, and thereafter, it would be 6 to 8 weeks in between clearances. The amount of time that you would need would decrease almost every time you came. In the later treatments, I am spending more time looking for hairs to treat, so it slows me down.

4

Thanks for the encouragement and detailed response. I’m still trying to figure out how to fit electrolysis treatment into my life, but I’m starting to believe that, one day, my self consciousness about this will be a thing of the past!

5

So I’m a little farther in my process now. I had my first consultation 2 days ago and would love to get some input on that (details below).

I went to Bishop’s Electrolysis in Richmond Hill (Ontario). The woman there has an Apilus SM-500 and a Zeiss OPIMI 99 Microscope. Her cleanliness was good and she was nice.

The treatment part of the consultation was about 15 or 20 minutes, and I felt like she was really slow. Is it normal to go more slowly in a consultation than you would in an actual appointment (she was just touching briefly on a few different areas rather than concentrating on one spot)? She seemed to have to zap many hairs 2 or even more times to get them to slide out. Is that a sign of poor insertions? It seemed like she probably got about 6 or 7 hairs a minute (though it was really hard to tell with the multiple insertions and zaps per hair). There also seemed to sometimes be a popping or sparking sound and feeling on some insertions. She said that was normal and just the thermolysis at work, but I don’t remember that from my treatments 20 years ago. Is that normal? She did change (disposable) probe sizes a few times to match the different hair sizes, though she indicated that in the middle of my lip she thought she should have been using a larger probe, but she didn’t think I could handle it (I was a little twitchy sometimes). She thought we should have 45 minute appointments every week or two and in each appointment she could “clear” my upper lip, lower lip, and chin. She must have meant she’d clear them of just the long and dark hairs (I did indicate to her that I’m not looking for a totally bald face), because I can’t imagine at her pace she’d be able to do more (or even to do that!).

After the treatment, my recovery has been fantastic. I was red and blotchy right afterward, then within 45 minutes I just looked a little flushed, and shortly thereafter (and since) I haven’t had any skin manifestations at all. I’ve been using witch hazel a couple of times a day, tea tree oil at night, and on the first day I also used aloe from my plant. I’m sure that part of the reason I recovered so quickly was because there wasn’t much treatment done, but I assume good recovery also means that she did a good job with what she did, right?

I have another consultation with someone else next week who has an Apilus Jr., but I don’t think she has a microscope. I still may try to go see James in Buffalo, but before I put in all the driving and border crossing and pay an extra 25% in currency conversion, I wanted to see if I could find someone decent locally.

6

On the one hand, a first time treatment during a consultation would typically be the slowest treatment one would have, because the person doesn’t know anything about treating you and may need to make many changes along the way. Having said that, it should only take about 5 to 15 minutes to learn what probe size, and what treatment style and setting one is going to use. After that, one should settle into one’s cruising speed.

It is sad that many electrolysis workers buy great equipment like the Apilus SX-500 and yet are still too afraid to leave their comfort zone if multiple zaps and just learn how to set the thing to treat the hair in one zap, while still finding the one zap treatment that the client finds comfortable.

7

What method was she using? Blend is slower than thermolysis or microflash.

8

I was discussing this with James just a few days ago, and from what I understand the occasional “pop” is normal, I experience it myself when I am being treated (and when treating myself) with microflash or picoflash thermolysis (I have the exact same machine she does, and I would guess she was using microflash.)

Some follicles have more moisture than others in an area (big and juicy), and result in the “pop” when the micro/picoflash pulse vaporizes all of that moisture all at once and it escapes the follicle; since there is more moisture there is a bigger reaction than most hairs in that area. James, am I correct? (I hope so :wink: )

9

You are correct. I just need to point out that what Vicky is talking about is what we call a High Frequency Blow-Out. Depending on how strong this blow-out gets, it can cause some nasty side effects. However, when a person’s hydration is not uniform, the proper setting for one follicle is different from another, and so the practitioner will make a setting that just works in one area, and then, 5 to 10 hairs later, a follicle that is a veritable Oasis causes a big blow-out.

Most times, however, it is just a little more vapor and gas escaping than others, and is frequently not even noticed by the client.

Now, on the other hand, what we are referring to most of the time on HairTell when we talk about a “pop” is when the treatment energy only treats the lower portion of the follicle, and doesn’t make way for the larger “root” section to be pulled through to the surface, either because the area is crowded out with other hairs, or the shaft space is MUCH narrower than the bulb. This will cause a quick “pop” as the anchor system breaches the shaft area and the bulge section comes through. It is not unlike the sensation of a zit seed/plug breaking free.

This is more frequent in thermolysis (as it does tend to dry out the follicle when the proteins solidify) than in Blend, as blend keeps everything moist and the treated hairs tend to slip out dripping wet with lye.

10

She was doing thermolysis. I asked her if it was microflash or picoflash, and I thought she said it was thermoflash. I wasn’t sure if I mis-heard or if she made that up because she didn’t know what I meant or if that is actually a thing.

As for the blow-outs with the nasty side effects, what are the side effects? Would they show up right away, or would it be later on?

11

The nasty side effects would be pretty noticeable right away, and only get more noticeable as time went by. You would start with scabs, that segued into pitting and or wrinkling. One might possibly see discoloration (darker or lighter). All things one would not miss in the first week after treatment.

12

When I lived in Thornhill, I too went to Bishop Electrolysis. Although she was very nice, I found her to be way too slow. I then started going to a woman named Ophelia. She works for Betty Craig (sp?) in the Promenade Mall. She also works out of her house. I used to see her at her house because the rate was cheaper. I no longer live in Toronto and now see a woman in Barrie Ontario.

13

Thanks for the tip, ht2003. I will try to track Ophelia down. I like the idea of going to her house as the Promenade Mall seems like a place I’d rather not have to walk through after an appointment, but does she have a good machine and microscope at her house?

On another note, I had my second consult yesterday with a woman named Sandra at Hair Ender. She used an Apilus Junior and had a microscope. She was very nice, but seemed pretty slow and indicated that she didn’t know how to do anything fancy with her machine (in terms of using lots of different flash settings). Like the last person I saw (Bishop’s), she would zap most hairs more than once. She indicated that you do just have to go slowly to do it right. Oh, and I only had that spark/blow-out sensation on one hair this time. Does this mean she was better than the last person I saw, or she just happened to only hit folicles that were less moist?

I didn’t get all that much treatment (about 40 minutes, mostly just on my upper lip, and not all that many hairs since she was slow – particularly on the thicker hairs), but what she did do is healing very nicely. I was passable to be in public within about 20 minutes and you couldn’t really tell anything had been done within an hour or two. Today things still look good.

I went ahead and made another appointment to see this woman Sandra in a couple of weeks for 2 hours, but I still wonder if there is someone else better around here.

14

So I tracked down Ophelia at BC Electrolysis (Betty Craig Electrolysis). I’m going to have to chalk this consultation up to being a learning experience. It was not good. Even though when I called I found out she didn’t have Aplius (or other machine I recognized the name of) or a microscope, since I heard she was fast, I thought she was worth a try – skill is the most important factor in all of this, right? Unfortunately, being fast was Ophelia’s only strength. And while she was fast, I think she plucked 80% of the hairs (the one small area she did more slowly and was the one spot where she barely plucked any hairs).

As for equipment, she was using a Proteus 2000 which looked like the same kind of machine I was treated on in 1989. When I asked her if it was computerized, she said no, she’d worked with computerized machines but she didn’t like them because the client has to hold onto something (she implied several times that no computerized machines did thermolysis), and when she used them she had to constantly adjust the machine for the size of the hair and it was a waste of time. So, clearly, she’s not too well informed about technological advances in the field of electrolysis. Of

As for her aftercare advice, she told me that as long as I didn’t get the area wet for 24 hours it would be fine and then she used her fingers to rub something I think she called Sterilex(?) on my face, which seemed like it was actually some sort of tinted make up to cover the redness.

My healing has not been nearly as good from this as with the other electrologists I tried. To be fair, it could in part be b/c the other electrologists were slower so they did fewer insertions, but I think it’s more than that. While the burning/stinging feeling went away almost immediately with the others and I looked normal within an hour, this time my face felt hot and stingy for about an hour and now, 7 hours after the treatment, I still have a bit of redness. I also may have some white dots that I’m worried will turn into scabs or something.

Anyway, today’s experience is certainly confirming how good the advice here on Hairtell is. I’m glad I have my witch hazel, tea tree oil, and aloe plant on hand to hopefully minimize the effects of this treatment!

15

The cause of this increase in inflammation in the area, it may be because in that last session, have been treated more follicles.

16

There are better epilators than the Proteus. It will still affect hair growth tissue. There are many things I disagree with about this consultation, but I don’t have time to comment right now. It would be wise to check out more electrologists and then compare. You may end up with her after you do more homework or you may find qualities that you like about others who treat and advise you. Do a search for TOronto electrologists here on hairtell. I’ll check my files as well and report back as soon as I can.

Dee

17

I now believe I got definitely was over treated by Ophelia, as I ended up with many little scabs from my treatment with her 2 days ago. They showed up yesterday (the day after the treatment), mainly on the middle part of my upper lip and some on my cheek, and they are pretty noticeable. I know the treatment she gave me was bad, but would the scabs be only from her poor equipment and technique, or could they also be from the increased number of insertions she did (in comparison to the other, slower, people I saw)? I’m worried now that if I do a long treatment, even with a practitioner with good technique and equipment, I will end up with scabs just because of getting MORE treatment at one time.

Is “over treatment” which results in more than just temporary (as in a few hours) swelling and redness the result of too much power to a follicle, or can it also result from treating too many follicles in close proximity to each other? Also, how long do these scabs last? (I’ve been putting witch hazel on a few times a day and tea tree oil at night.)

18

Ontario electrologists:

Electrologists

There are other providers. Scabbing does not need to happen. Temporary skin reaction should last no more than a week or less. Overtreatment should not be repeated over and over again. Vision wear must be of high quality or the electrologist can’t see the skin looking angry right away and them take corrective measures. Proper insertions are extremely important HRBGN. Please check out some other electrologists and their equipment. We’ll try to help as best we can along the way. Use Aloe Vera Gel as well.

Dee

19

Thanks for the list of Electrologists, Dee. There were two on the list that are in my area. One (Bishop’s) I have already tried. The other, Manju Gheewala at the TAO Clinic in Toronto I called and haven’t yet decided if I should try her out. On the phone, she sounded good in that she uses a microscope, has good sterilization and probes, etc, and has been doing this for a long time. BUT, she uses an old Glamread (Glamreed?) machine with a finger switch(she’s British).

Since I last wrote here, I have gone back to Sandra for two, two-hour treatments. She is still really slow (she can take up to 30 seconds/hair and often zaps a hair 5 or more times). The upside to her is that I do heal up very nicely and she never plucks anything, and after my experience of scabbing up and being plucked by Ophelia, I am a bit gun shy of trying new people. Although Sandra has not come close to clearance on any area, most of most visible hairs are gone at the end of each session and I do feel less self consious about my hair now.

Do you think it is worth trying the Manju with her Glamread since she and Sandra with her Apilus Junior probably use their machines in the same way?

Also, I realize that there are two more electrologist that I know of with Apilus Seniors and microscopes, but they work at the same place as Sandra (Hair Ender). I have a bit of a relationship with Sandra now and would hate to leave her for one of her co-workers, but she’s SO SLOW! Are there questions that I could ask the other practicioners with the Apilus Seniors over the phone that might give me a clue about whether they make better use of the features of their Apilus machines than Sandra does. For example, would it be meaningful if they told me they use their autosensors? I’d be more willing to try to schedule a consult with them if I thought they would actually be better than Sandra.

20

We always say that skill is the most important attribute for an electrologist delivering electrolysis care. Sandra sounds like she is skilled and takes a very careful approach with every hair. It may be a little uncomfortable for all involved who work together if you make the rounds with the other electrologists. Unless you were up front with Sandra about the slowness ( up to 30 seconds per hair) and told her you would like to check out other electrologists, including the ones she works with, I think it could cause some problems. I don’t know how Sandra would react to this, so be ready for anything. Be honest about the slowness issue.

If you stay with Sandra, she will still deliver permanent hair removal and you seem to think things are progressing. Think about your situation a little more. We know that there are better strategies, equipment, techniques for removing hair faster these days. Many electrologists have pushed forward into the 21st century and now use the better professional epilators, wear surgical magnification, use the auto sensor mode for all areas large and small. This is a very satisfying way to remove hair permanently for the electrologist and especially for the client.Does that mean that Sandra is less skilled to help you? No. She will get you there as you know, but it would be interesting for you to experience the kind of set up I just described, if that is at all possible. It’s your call. I’m not totally impressed with the epilators, but they are a tool that can deliver energy for permanent hair removal. If that’s all they got and they know how to use them well, you will still realize your dream to be hair-free.

Dee