Too Much Regrowth with Thermolysis!

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

While I appreciate and respect the views of the electrologist on this site, I think the truth is not being completely told about thermolysis. It is inferior! How can a modality completely reliant on perfect insertions every time be any better than blend or even galvanic? At least with the latter modes, there is a back up where the lye will kill the follicle if the heat doesn’t.

I am sick and tired of seeing the same hairs regrow every couple of weeks, and I continue wasting money on the same hairs…what’s worse is the hairs don’t even grow back “thinner” – it’s the same level of thickness! Even after I requested the settings be turned up, I am still getting the same crappy result.

I am now seeking an electrologist in my area who does blend, but it seems difficult to find. I don’t see how thermolysis can be as successful as it’s touted on here and I wouldn’t recommend it for thick hairs at all.

#2

It’s all “in the numbers.” Ask your operator what her TTT (total treatment time) has been for cases such as yours. I have my numbers and they are simply mathematical averages for each sort of case. There are variables, but these too can, and should, be discussed … we all know our own statistics.

It’s important for clients to know the right questions to ask before starting a treatment. How much, and how long … these top the list.

#3

At the beginning, she told me about 6 months. It’s been 4 and I don’t see how this is going to end by then. I’ve also been going every week for 15 minutes.

#4

I can totally feel your frustration when expectations are not met even after 20 months of treatments. Your only option is to find another electrologist who will most likely do thermolysis too. I tried finding someone who does blend but blend is dead in my city. The only blend I had experienced is from auto modes on Apilus machines, which as I understand don’t produce strong enough DC currents. Ironically I had more luck with multiple needle galvanic though. :slight_smile:

#5

Hi Fenix,

Thank you for your response. I’m sorry to hear that you have had that many months of treatments and still found the result unsatisfying! I don’t understand why blend can’t be more available since it’s also more successful…You would think electrologists would want a higher success rate, but I suppose the thermolysis mode keeps their clients coming back to them over and over again for the same hairs.

When I brought up the blend method to my electrologist, she made it seem as though it would not be more beneficial. In fact, she claimed the “best method” in her experience is thermolysis (yeah, I’m sure it’s the best method for her pocketbook alright!). I think electrologists should at least give their clients some options!

#6

It takes 9 months for all facial hairs to surface,so it is impossible to finish a facial area in less than this time. Skill is more important than modality, all modalities work well in skilled hands.

#7

Keep in mind that I don’t have extensive hair growth…I do have numerous, sparse chin hairs, but not to the extent of a full beard. So if it takes 9 months for all facial hairs to surface, are you saying she lied to me when she said 6 months? I don’t want to be going every single week for over 9 months…at least, I’d like to cut back the frequency of visits, however, due to the regrowth this isn’t possible. Therefore, this modality is terrible for me and it seems to be the case for many others as well.

#8

You said that you have 15 minute sessions every week for 4 months now. How many 15 minute sessions does it take for you to clear your chin completely?

#9

It took me 9 months, (2- 1/2 hour) sessions a week of treatment to see real results… I don’t know what method was being used, I never know there was different methods until I came across this site… After reading posts on this site I got a One Touch unit and was able to DIY? … I was lucky, the area I was treating was easy to see (chin) but even using the One Touch (every day) it was about another 6 months before I was cleared. I still get the odd hair growing out. … Unfortunately, it’s really hard to know if your electrolytes is doing a good job as the results aren’t instant. … It’s a long road but you’ll get there.

#10

AnxiousBee there is nothing inferior about thermolysis.It does as Christine advised you a minimum of 9 months for all of the hair to come in, be killed and removed. The number I usually quote is 9 to 18 months.
The chin is an area of high follicle density. There is always more hair growing on the chin than you think there is.It doesnt matter the modality. It’s also really common for those getting hair removal to get dysphoria over the length of the process , right around 4-6 months into the process. Like it’s never going to stop coming.
I can tell you that when I did my own face, with entirely blend, I experienced exactly the same thing.You feel like the hair is being fed by a tap which is never shut off. Right up…until it does stop.
Dont blame the modality, for what is essentially your impatience. Your electrologist isnt to blame for the length of time it takes your skin to grow in all follicles to have them killed.
There are some things you will need to take on faith. The experience of thousands of hair removal consumers before you, and the experience of your electrologist and the experience of all the replies you have gotten from this thread have all said the same thing, that with consistent treatment removing all the hair that is bothersome over a period of 9-18 months will result in permanent and complete removal.
The idea is that as time progresses, more frequent or lengthly treatments wont be necessary.

At 4 months not nearly half of the hair that will present is even showing yet . Give it time. Relax. It’s working. It’s not a problem withyourpractitioner. It’s not a problem with the modality. It’s a problem with your patience and your expectation which doesnt appear to have been set properly.

Let the process work.

Seana

#11

One, because approximately 10-15 hairs have presented themselves by the time I have a session (with maybe about 7-9 being actually visibly coarse). My chin is "cleared’ of all of these hairs in those 15 minutes.

Hairy, it sounds like you have a lot of hairs. I don’t believe I have quite as much, so I wouldn’t expect to require that length of time. I appreciate the encouragement and I do hope I will “get there” soon. Also, how did you find the One Touch overall? I am considering giving it a try.

@Iluv2zap – Thank you for understanding my frustration. I think my main concern is that I appear to be seeing regrowth of the same hairs that were zapped from a very recent previous session. In addition, I also appear to be developing new hairs which just makes the situation that much worse. So am I to continue going every single week for 9+ months? Why is it that I can’t go every 2, or every 3 weeks like other people seem to, without seeing hairs pop up again just a few days after my "clearance’?

You are right though, I did not expect that my problem would require THIS MUCH time, effort, and money. I guess now I know otherwise. Although I still feel disappointment, the advice given here by you and others does help to give me another perspective that I need. Thank you.

#12

I’ve mentioned this to you in replies before, but I don’t want to leave this statement unchallenged for someone that comes along and only sees it…

All three methods work equally well. Thermolysis requires the most skill, but you can finish with near identical total treatment times compared with blend and galvanic. It’s all in the skill of the electrologist.

Forcing an electrologist to use a method they don’t normally use will likely result in inferior results. You can’t expect a chef that doesn’t bake to turn out amazing pastries without a lot of practice as a pastry chef.

Why do you see mostly thermolysis? Schools on the east coast primarily teach thermolysis and might just give lip service to blend and galvanic. We were allowed to use all three methods at the school I went to during practice, but almost all of the students used thermolysis exclusively. I see advantages to each, so I went on to do a lot of thermolysis and blend myself (galvanic suffers from a catch 22 of it’s slow unless you use a specific MNG machine and I’m not going to buy a machine unless I’m going to do a lot of galvanic, so I don’t do a lot of galvanic). I do a bit of galvanic for people that had it in the past, liked it, and just want to clean up a few current hairs.

In the end, the best method is the one your electrologist is most familiar with. Yes, it’s best to have familiarity with at least two, but not everyone is that dedicated. Some, frankly, aren’t good at one method. Unfortunately, every business has some people that don’t know or care what they are doing but are still happy to take your money, and that even includes a lot of people that have a license or CPE.

#13

I have had blend, I have had thermolysis, and both are equally effective. I had nothing BUT thermolysis on my face, and it cleared up my (very) heavy facial hair issues permanently. It’s now been 12 years since my last facial treatment (except for a 5 minute touch-up ever 5 years or so) and there has been ZERO regrowth. I had blend on some body hair, and it also worked very well but was significantly slower. However, that is what my electrologist at the time was trained in, so that’s what we used.

It is not possible for “the same hair” to come back within a 2 week period even if it WAS improperly treated. When a hair is plucked from a follicle it can take 4-6 weeks for it to return. You even comment that you are growing “new hairs,” which is not the fault of the electrologist but sounds like some sort of medical issue. 4 months of 15 minute treatments is not enough to expect total clearance, and if you are producing new hair then, honestly, you will never be done until you do something medically to stop the excessive hair growth.

There is no magical modality, and there is no conspiracy. Your contact accusations that you are being ripped off, lied to, etc. must be draining for your electrologist and certainly are for us, considering you come back weekly with a new protest. If you are determined to be unhappy with your treatment, then I suggest you stop or at least try another operator. I must caution you that, even if you can find someone who does blend, it is much slower (except in expert hands; there are some exceptions) and is unlikely to work any better. The only time I would consider having blend done on myself again (my current electrologist almost exclusively uses thermolysis) would be if I had very deep, very distorted follicles, and even then thermolysis would probably be effective.

#14

@WeRNotAfraid, sorry but it is possible for the same hair to come back within a 2 week period. I had one single isolated hair on my neck that I have plucked before and it has returned in under 2 weeks. The SAME exact hair as it is the only single isolated hair in that area. I have seen this in other isolated areas. Maybe I have an accelerated rate of hair growth…who knows… but I do know it does NOT take my body 4-6 weeks for the same hair to come up again.

I am in the process of seeking medical help, however, it’s not immediate … in the meantime, I’d rather not walk around with a beginners goatee.

I don’t tell my electrologist most of the things that I say on here. I have never told her that I felt I was being ripped off or lied to. I’ve simply voiced my concerns over the regrowth and asked a question about blend. I think I may try another operator to compare results.

#15

I’m reminded, again, why I won’t take "small cases.’ The biological fact is that a tweezed or treated hair cannot "grow back in 2-weeks.’ (Okay, maybe there was an emerging anagen hair in the follicle that popped-out in 2-weeks. That’s possible; but rare.)

But the point is that some pitiable electrologist is going to spend hours explaining one damned hair to a disgruntled client. ONE HAIR! The "small jobs people’ usually feel cheated and frustrated for the entire treatment duration … which is always AT LEAST a year’s time of treatment. Repeat: it is going to take a minimum of a year for final results. But DAMN … an entire year of KVETCHING?

I won’t do it. I will, however, clear-off a man’s entire back, or remove an entire beard with never any complaints … NONE. Never happened! But the "one hair’ kvetching-client, with hand-holding that requires hours of explanation? It feels like punishment! The "Chinese water torture?’

True Story. A very lovely lady started her "small chin job’ that she’d been tweezing for 20-years. I told her it will take at least a year … and don’t "harass me,’ because that’s the deal. She agreed, but she did the "I have to have a treatment immediately, or I’m going to tweeze’ phone calls (usually at 9:00 PM in the evening). She continued to tweeze between treatments and constantly voiced her dissatisfaction by saying, "how long this is going to take?’

After about 3-months, she said (again) "When is this EVER going to end?’ I got this at EVERY treatment, "I only have a couple hairs, why do they keep growing back?’ So, finally I said, TODAY!’ You are finished TODAY! I wrote a check for her entire treatment expenditures and handed it to her. I was very nice indeed, but again told her why I can’t do these types of jobs. She already knew I didn’t want to do her case. We parted friends.

I simply could not take the crap any more. Nicely, at this "advanced age’ I don’t care. I know what I’m able to accomplish and it is NOT MAGIC! Electrolysis is not magic.

I will never tell the client "what they WANT to hear.’ You have to be totally straight with every client and let the facts determine what you’re doing and what you can realistically accomplish. If they can’t do it … don’t start; it’s not worth it.

Here’s a suggestion for my "beaten-down’ electrologists. If a new client says, "I only have a few hairs that I tweeze every day or so,’ DON’T do it honey! If they "only have a few hairs,’ they already expect it to be a SMALL job. They will not accept your "endless explanations’ and won’t even hear you. No electrolysis procedure is a "small job!’

#16

So people with “small cases” don’t deserve to be treated by any electrologist? They should just be forced to suffer with the hairs that depresses them on a daily basis…?

Why not have the electrologist thoroughly explain the process to them…instead of immediately shoving off the client and assuming the worst of how they will receive an explanation?

I can see how you would become annoyed at that lady harassing you on a regular basis. However, I have not harassed my electrologist once, and have remained respectful and polite, despite my concerns. Not everyone who is a “small case” is going to be like that lady you described.

#17

I think what Michael is saying is that most small cases are not worth the aggravation. There will always be exceptions. I have found this to be true in my own practice, especially when the client is manic about the unwanted hair. I sometimes back off and refuse to treat them. The signs are written all over their forehead. A lot of clients like this do not work. They sit at home and fret over everything including every microscopic hair they see in a 10X mirror which makes vellus hair look like tree trunks. In other words, they bring their full-blown OCD into the electrologist’s office and eventually everything blows up. Most small cases are simply not worth it. Trying to please an OCD client is like having a conversation with a dining room table. It just does not work.

#18

Emancipated … Yeah!

If you look at the multitudes of posts on this site, you will see a recurring theme: people going "bonkers’ over a couple hairs, a pimple, a bump, a brown spot, some red spots, etc. Typically they will not take suggestions on this site and continue complaining; and nobody can quell their anxiety and doggedness that they are RIGHT. (It’s a big reason I don’t post here much anymore … you "lucky’ people, you! Actually, a big reason some fantastic electrologists have given up too!)

Over the years I have taken-on some great clients that found me from this site. I have removed some monumental hair … and none of these clients post on Hairtell. They just get to it and don’t fuss over every detail.

Of course an electrologist should explain the entire process … and I do. Still the ones that insist that, "NO, my hairs are different … they grow back in 2-weeks,’ defines a person that will not listen to reason or scientific fact, will not accept the time-frame, think they are being cheated or getting sub-standard treatment … and will generally become a royal pain in the butt. And yes, I get rid of them "in a heart-beat!’

Okay … so now I’ll disappear again and go back in my CAVE!

#19

I found the One Touch great, the best investment I’ve ever made, save me a fortune on professional treatments… Although you need to have patience with it, it’s tricky at first, I was lucky I got great results from the beginning, I seemed to be able to hit the hair spot on 90%of the time. You’ll also need a magnifying mirror and good lighting, direct sunlight is the best,it shows up everything, every imperfection, it’s scary!.. I don’t mean going outside to the beach or onto the streets, if you have a window that lets in the sun catch it and DIY by it.

#20

Thank you for the information, I will have more questions to ask you about this device if you don’t mind, via messaging.