I’ve been going to a local electrologist for facial hair removal and have kept on a dedicated steady schedule. She was highly recommended by former clients whose hair was successfully treated but although I like her a lot I’ve been frustrated by fine hairs that she simply misses and that I’ve specified I want to get rid of. I’ve discussed it with her and she’s very nice and has tried to find those hairs but every time I get home from an appointment and look in my own lighted magnifying mirror, she has missed a lot of the very fine dark hairs and that’s frustrating since I no longer pluck and I’m really trying to get all the hairs in their early stage of growth so that this process doesn’t have to last forever.
In addition, I also just hate the fast rate that more hairs come in! Of course those are not the same hairs that were treated but I just seem to have a steady stream of them. Within 1 to 3 days after seeing her, other hairs are also popping up on a steady basis, which is frustrating because even after 6 months I never seem to be able to get even a week where my face just has peace and quiet and no new hair at all.
Then I recently I came across a One Touch do-it-yourself machine in my hall closet. I’d bought it years ago and completely forgotten I owned it. So I took it out and looked up users’ experiences on Hairtell and on the Internet, and then I started using it. It’s harder on my skin than the thermolysis that the electrologist uses, but my impression is that it works and I want to find out it I’m using it right and what I can do to improve my usage.
I’ve used it several times now and I seem to be honing a technique for doing it. I use the machine on a low level and use weak saltwater. (Strong salt water makes my skin pit). I put the saltwater on my fingers but don’t touch the metal band until the stylet has reached the bottom of the follicle. Then I hold the stylet still in there. I’m finding it very easy to insert the stylet and to find the right follicle for the hairs I’m treating. Most of the hairs seem to be getting treated, and I’m wondering if that’s considered a proper insertion, then.
I read several times about a “correct insertion” and want to make sure I’m doing it right. When I insert the stylet it goes in easily and seems to almost always go in all the way. I hold it there and sometimes push slightly to make sure I’ve hit the bottom of the follicle. When I pull the stylet out, I use either a tweezer (I use a good quality tweezer) or my fingers to pull the hair out. The hairs usually just slide out or sometimes when there’s a huge root they come out with a very slight bit of resistance but nothing like plucking. The hairs almost always have a gelatinous looking shaft and a black round bulb at the bottom. The hairs on the upper sides of my face (cheekbone area) seem to have shallow roots and seem to be “weaker” hairs. On the “hollows” of the sides of my face (between mouth and chin on the sides), the hairs seem to have more elongated shafts that look a little bit more “gooey” in consistency. The hairs on my chin are coarser hairs with thicker shafts and sometimes very large bulbs but seem to get treated very easily. I’m wondering, if the hairs are coming out with the shaft and the bulb and no resistance, does that mean that I’ve made a proper insertion?
And will hairs that come out with the shaft and bulb re-grow, or are those follicles treated to completion?
I have now started doing a little bit of electrolysis every day. I went to the electrologist and she worked on my whole face. Then I started immediately following up, working every couple of days on anything new that showed up, and I’ve been keeping my face clear that way. My face does have redness where I’m working, but I figure this is better than working entire areas at once. I get pinpoint brown scabs about 2 days after I treated follicles and I just leave these alone. I clean my face at least a couple of times a day and use tea tree oil and antibiotic ointment and aloe vera gel, and keep it well moisturized. I’m basically working across my whole face, a few hairs here and a few hairs there almost every day. I have a skylight in the bathroom and am finding that morning light works great for catching new growth. I started my work sitting down but am now finding that standing up works great. I wear expandable pajama-type slacks while I’m doing it so that I can secure the machine in the elastic waistline of the pants with the dial part sticking out. I hold the stylet pen in one hand and the tweezer in the other hand and have salt water on the surface next to where I stand. I look into a normal mirror, I don’t seem to need the magnifying mirror with such good light. Most of the time I just pull the treated hair out with two fingers.
I’m wondering if working this way on my own, supplemented by going to an electrologist now and then for harder to reach areas, will actually get rid of all the hair. Or is doing it on your own just not as effective as going to an electrologist who does thermolysis?
I figure it’s probably good to learn to do this myself since I obviously have a body system that produces plenty of facial hair. I’m almost through menopause and I figure hair growth will become much less, new hair production is already much less aggressive, but it seems I’m probably just a person who will have to deal with at least some hair growth for most of my life.
I would appreciate insights into how I’m using the One Touch and also any tips anyone can give me.
