Too Much Regrowth with Thermolysis!

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#21

Michael, you are a good apple. I started to participate in this thread several times, but decided to go take a little nap instead. I just couldn’t get motivated.

For the general public reading this thread: All I will say is, there is not too much regrowth with thermolysis. Thermolysis is just as effective for coarse hairs as it is for fine hairs. I don’t have enough information, verbal or pictorial, to pinpoint what is happening in the posters case. All modalities of electrolysis are awesome and highly effective. It takes human skill to “kill” a hair follicle.

Please explore the One Touch with Harry. That may be your ticket to happiness.

#22

Dee, remember the Indian guy who insisted that his hyperpigmentation was permanent? No amount of scientific fact would convince the guy; and he continued to scream about his "permanent condition’ for a year. When his PIH did resolve (as we all guaranteed it would), he just said, "oh, by the way, my PIH went away … but now I have another problem.’ I don’t remember what the next phantom problem was, but I think you understand what I’m talking about. I also remember suggesting that he apologize to all of us; and he was "highly offended!’

A few clients do this: they bitch and scream during the entire process. Finally, when results are achieved, their skin is beautiful and clear and they have no more hair? Well, they just disappear and you never hear from them again. One of my uber-neurotic clients had Dr. Chapple remove excess skin from her upper eyelids. A couple months later she was absolutely certain that the surgery gave her a "funny bump’ on her chin. Dr. Chapple didn’t argue the point and gave her free surgery to correct the bump. He said it would be easier to correct the problem that to try to convince her and have to listen to her ranting.

My favorite story comes from Dr. Welsh (oral surgeon). He removed two "wisdom teeth’ from a patient and then 6-months later the patient complained that her NAVAL was now off-center … and he caused it. She even consulted an attorney … but the case never got to court. Physicians deal with this sort of nonsense all the time, but nicely it’s rare.

Those of us with decades of experience have to wonder. This particular AnxiousBee says that she has about 10-15 hairs on her chin and they are removed every week in 15-minutes (for 4-months). Okay, even at the extreme slow level of the blend (at 20-seconds per hair) that would equate to no more than a 5-minute treatment. Normally, blenders remove hairs at 6-seconds. So that gives you a about a 2-minute treatment. With thermolysis? 10-15 hairs? Looks like a 1-minute treatment. What was her electrologist doing for the remaining 14-minutes? She claims that "all the hairs grow back in one week.’ And, of course, this is an impossibility.

There is nothing on the internet that requires any poster to tell the truth … none. People make shit up to create a "poor me’ story, and then people with zero experience (except you and Seana) offer personal experiences and random ideology that either confirm or refute the invented story. Misconceptions are perpetrated and publically advanced to the point of, well, veterans like you (Dee) just give up. And "just give up’ is the only solution …

Is the general public aided with this banter? I don’t think so … just more confusion. Where are the experts? They (mostly) gave up! (I need to get back to my CAVE now …)

#23

I am offended by your insinuation that I am lying. My electrologist removes the finer, less visible hairs with the remaining time(after removing the more obvious visible ones).

I didn’t say ALL the hairs grow back in one week --I said I see some regrowth from a previous, very recent session,(As in, some of the hairs from a session I had about 2 weeks ago appear to have regrown by the time I go to my next session, which is weekly). This is what I seem to be observing for myself, whether or not you believe it to be the case. Therefore, I’m not “inventing” anything, I’m telling you what I believe is occurring…

What reason would I have to come on here and lie and start a “poor me” story to people on the internet? What purpose could that serve me or anyone? I come here to inquire about the process of electrolysis, seek advice, and to voice my concerns about my own experience. I also come here with the hope to quell my anxieties over the process in general. Maybe I was mistaken about the purpose of this site… I presumed it was a forum to discuss electrolysis and all that it could entail-- that would include the good, the bad, and in-between.

#24

Hair grows in cycles. It sheds and it grows. All normal. What has been taught and described here many times to you and others over many years of this forum is, when hair is cleared from an area, the hair that appears in two weeks, is not the same hair that was removed two weeks ago. We can’t color code hair to know that this or that hair is regrowth or new growth, but we know through studies that if an intact, full hair is lifted out of the follicle, with no breakage, that hair cannot in no way, shape or form, resurface in just two weeks. For thick , hairs they may return in 6-8 weeks? Thinner hairs take longer, up to 16 weeks? Some hairs only appear once a year, shed and then go dormant until next year at the same time, they show their ugly faces. We have a very stealthy enemy in hair and there are many variables involved.

Yes, Mike, I remember the guy that you described. It was frustrating to teach, guide and repeat, repeat, repeat and repeat the same concepts that we know for sure are true or false. You were not called a liar. I think at some point, we all feel like we have run out of ways to teach and reassure anxious clients and posters and we, become frustrated, as I’m sure you can understand.

Anxious, maybe the hair is being broken off below the skin? I think it is the natural, normal progression of the process and you need to be patient or move on. Maybe your body keeps producing new hair? This can happen, too. Please let your electrologist play a part in this because she or he knows you best.

#25

Giggles,
Well if ever there was a demonstration of the mentality Michael was describing, there it is, instantly defensive.
AnxiousBee, Michael didnt insinuate any such thing.He politely pondered what your eletrologist was doing with the rest of the session?Actually this is as polite as I’ve ever seen Michael, bravo!

None of the professional electrologists replying to this thread ( and there have been quite a few at this point) have been incorrect in their assertions. Every one of them spot on! Bee again do not in any way take this as an attack on you, it isnt. There are some very blunt statements about " This is the way it is" in this thread and they are all absolutely correct 100 %.

I want to touch on the comments regarding mental disorders, such as OCD or other obsessive disorders. And that there are some electrologists who will not take on small cases because of that. One of the hardest things we do as electrologists is to try and educate on our clients on the effects of plucking, with knowledge about hair growth cycles, about how long it takes for a follicle to regrow the hair, and about how we time and budget the treaments to coincide with these removals. It’s our hope via conveying all of this information, that the understanding of the process and the scope of the hair removal job becomes clear to the client. This understanding doesnnt always happen, and it’s directly related to how bad the mental disorder is to begin with.Michael is absolutely correct in his assertion there are some clients who never, quite get it. Others figure out what we are tryinng to tell them and get on with the job, and leave, happy clients with hair free faces.

The only possible scenario where the same hair grows from the same follicle in 2 weeks is in a case where there has been extreme undertreatment and the hair has broken in the follicle during removal ( Ie Plucked /and snapped) or if a near exogen hair happens to have a new early anogen hair at the bottom of the follicle that isnt killed during treatment. There is also the possibility that you ave several similar courseness hairs in a similar location.

Seana

#26

@dfahey – Thank you. I would hope she is not cutting the hairs off below the skin, considering she uses a surgical microscope. I do agree with the possibility that new hairs may be a factor.

@Iluv2zap --How does,"There is nothing on the internet that requires any poster to tell the truth, " and "People make shit up to create a ‘poor me’ story’ not indicate or point towards calling me a liar? I think it only fair that I defend myself against this accusation. Anyhow, I don’t want to further an argument around this, however if those statements are considered "polite,’ then I don’t want to see what’s deemed to be impolite.

I would think that most people go to an electrologists because the presence of the unwanted hair is having a mental impact on them to begin with. A mental disorder like OCD/BDD can compound this, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the concerns of someone with a mental condition have no basis.

I will not argue the regrowth time-frame further, but I can respect your points.

#27

Thank you, Seana, for your comment about mental disorders. As electrologists, I believe we are confronted with psychiatric issues more than we realize. In addition to OCD, I suspect that Body Dysmorphic Disorder plays a role as well. We never touched on this in school, nor have I heard electrologists discuss the issue among themselves. I do realize that the primary role of electrolysis training is there to help the electrologist pass state boards and/or certification. It is later that we pick up the additional information through experience and continued education that makes us the professional we need to be. I have been an electrologist for 37 years and absolutely love the job. Although this forum does not operate under state or national sanctions, it remains a wonderful venue for exchanging information and providing the continued education we need to stay current.

#28

I do have a knack! Mostly saying what lots of others are thinking; but are “too nice” to say it. Besides, who’s “insinuating?”

As Seana pointed out, my “Asshattedness” is legendary. I just can’t help it! It’s in my nature. Besides, getting offended is very good indeed, and often acts as a springboard to new ideas; even revelations.

Now, I PROMISE to disappear for another few months and leave all you dear gentle souls IN PEACE once more to ponder the existential reality of unwanted hair and its impact on Western Civilization and the collective unconscious.

But don’t be afraid to “ramp it up” now and then … By generating enough heat you sometimes create a little light!

#29

I think the issue people are having is that you have simply not listened to the advice of anyone on this board and have repeatedly made baseless accusations against your own electrologist and the process as a whole. At different times you have accused your electrologist of ripping you off, scarring you, deliberately using thermolysis knowing it does’t work (it does) to make you pay more, etc. We have repeatedly suggested you seek treatment for your anxiety, get a medical evaluation to determine WHY you are growing unwanted hair, and that you try a few electrolysis sessions with other operators to see how things compare against the treatment you have been having. As far as I know, you have done none of these things. Instead, you appear weekly with a new and increasingly unlikely complaint, ask for advice, and then immediately disregard it before moving on to the next hysterical outburst. No doubt if you found someone who would do the blend method, you’d be back in two weeks saying it didn’t work and that it was so slow it MUST be an attempt to charge you more money.

No one can help you if you won’t help yourself. You MUST get treatment for your anxiety AND a medical evaluation to see why you have hair issues to begin with. Your electrologist is not ripping you off, and thermolysis works just as well as blend in the right hands. You cannot regrow the same hair in two weeks. These are facts, not opinions. This is a site to discuss electrolysis. It is NOT a site to make wild accusations and easily disproven claims, and expect that no one will challenge you or question you.

You have gotten excellent advice from both professionals and consumers on this board and, as noted, have appeared to disgregard all of it, so determined are you to be unhappy with the electrolysis process and your operator. If you refuse to listen and learn, or make patently false statements along the lines of thermolysis being ineffective and merely a ruse to make more money, things cross a line from being “experience” to being misinformation. I very strongly suggest you stop having treatment until you can get your anxiety and paranoia under control and that you listen to what we have all been telling you about hair removal. Until you do, I don’t think either you (or us) will be getting much more out of having the same conversation again and again and again.

#30

Despite what you may think,(or how it may appear), I have thought about and considered the suggestions and advice that has been given here. I have also been appreciative of those who took their time to give them. I will admit that my mind may continuously waver on, or question advice that may be sound, as I tend to go into the negative, or towards assuming the worst.

I have mentioned on here that I have sought medical attention. In fact, I have actually been tested and the results did not indicate anything that may be causing my problem. However, I am now on a waiting list to see a specialist, and unfortunately it is a long list. In the meantime, I have sought after other electrologists in my area, and have even spoken to some of them on the phone to inquire about their methods and equipment. As you can see, I’m not just ‘not doing anything’ to help myself.

#31

It sounds like you are thoughtfully covering every possibility, Bee. (smile)

I know you appreciate everyone’s frank exchange with you. This is a real learning process and the regular posters on Hairtell are going to be very honest with you or anyone else.

#32

That’s good news Bee. What always has to be said is that hair removal, the permanent kind, is always sort of horrible. Even under the best of conditions, there is nothing “nice” about it.

Only the results are wonderful, but getting there is dreadful. Good luck to you and keep us posted.

#33

Thank you! I will continue to learn more along the way, and I look forward to a pleasing end result!

#34

You are going to love the result Bee.

We were " a little rough" on you but I do hope you continue your treatment and come to an understanding of the scope of the issue. There are no shortcuts. It takes this long.There is ALWAYS more hair than you think there is.It would be doing you no favours to sugarcoat it. The statements you’ve made regarding time frame and expectations arent correct though we have tried to convey to you the correct numbers.

I have a few clients with anxiety like this . IT’s normal. We do our best to convey the RIGHT information to them so misunderstandings like this dont occur when the expectation that has been set doesnt meet the outcome. It’s quite correct for a client to get upset when this is the case ( the client experience doesnt match the set expectation) . Statements like “It’ll all be gone in six months” that are blatently incorrect set this expectation and do a disservice to that client.

#35

After all these years, I still give clients full consults to explain everything in detail. Takes about 45 minutes, but worth it. Even so, in the first 3-4 months, I repeat the concepts taught at the first consult of how this works, at every session, while they are captive on the table. When they verbalize back to me that they “get it”, then do a big sigh of relief and I shut up.

#36

I think my own personal anxiousbee (H) ( she’s likely reading this thread as weve talked about it ) would probably tell you thats exactly my approach as well Dee.