why does more treatment up front = faster results?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been going to an electrologist once or twice a month for about 16 months. (I have an hour appointment each time.) I’m close to permanent clearance on my upper lip, chin, and neck (I’ve been in the maintenance phase for about 6 months now), and I’m currently having my bikini treated (no clearance yet). After that, it’ll probably be underarms, tummy, legs, etc.

But, I was wondering: I’ve been some recent posts allude to the fact that scheduling more time at the beginning translates into faster, more cost-effective results than simply scheduling consistent, periodic appointments. I was wondering why that was–I mean, every hair has to be treated at least once, so why does it matter when over the course of your treatment it’s treated?

I’m just curious…any info would be appreciated!
Paly

PS: I’ve had good success using the Uniprobe unit I purchased in late December. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> So far, I’ve gotten full clearance on my left forearm and have done some work on my lower legs (although short & skirt season will be interrupting my progress!). It’s been a slow going though, slower than I thought.

Paly, glad to hear that you’re doing well with your Uniprobe. I just received mine a couple of weeks ago, but still haven’t used it. Please keep us posted!

For starters, your hair has staggered growth phases. If you have ten visible hairs, maybe 6 are in growth phase and the rest are in some stage of shedding.

The first time you get treatment, you can’t possibly get to a 100% kill rate, because not all the hairs being treated are in growth phase. Once you get to first clearance, a 100% kill rate becomes a possibility because at least all the hairs visible are in growth phase.

You can’t get to this without getting first clearance. In most situations, you can’t get to first clearance in one appointment. The longer it takes to get there, the more hairs fall out of growing phase in the interim. So the person who gets to first clearance first, and moves into the maintenance phase fastest, is getting a higher level of treatment (higher kill rate) for subsequent treatments. That person can also keep the look of being finished while continuing treatment if the model of lots of treatment up front and regular appointments thereafter is followed.

So in short, the person who doesn’t pursue fast first clearance and aggressive maintenance is always missing hair’s growth phases, and needing to get lucky enough to have an appointment where the particular hairs that are in growth phase are actually selected for treatment. Since any of these hairs out of phase or which shed while waiting to be selected are missed until next year, one ends up having extra appointments hours trying to catch these later. This is the reason some people need to do 7 minute appointments once a week in their end stage.

Hi James,

I’m a little confused.

I am starting on my upper lip this Saturday. Hair is now visible after not waxing for one week now but I only have a ten minute appointment. Should I schedule for something longer to get to first clearance more quickly then? Or is 10 minutes once a week enough?

Thanks!

Electrobaby

I’m not James and can’t say what the average person needs, but for myself, when I first got to full clearance, I needed about 20 minutes/week (thermolysis) to clear my upper lip. (That area was VERY dense with hairs.) Since you just waxed, you’re kind of at full clearance stage now in the sense that every hair you see is in growth phase, so you won’t waste time treating dead hairs. But to better estimate how much time you’ll need: how many hairs do you have? Are you a man or a woman? What kind of electro (thermolysis, blend, galvanic) will you get?

I can’t tell you what is available to you with the person you are working with. With some machines, and skill levels, 10 minutes is all you will be able to have on an upper lip. With other machines and skill levels, you could do an hour on the upper lip.

What ever is the longest time your electrologist is willing, and able to do on you, at the closest available time to get you cleared out on the first available opportunity is what you should pursue. After that, you should try to keep the area visually bare as best you can.

When I work on clients, I am usually able to get basic visual clearance on females in the first one or two appointments, and we go into maintenance phase from there. If your practitioner is using galvanic or blend, that may not be possible in such a quick turnaround.

Just remember that the first 6 weeks are the worst it will ever be in any treatment area, after that, it is down hill to bare smooth clear skin.

Hello Suzie & James,

Thank you so much for the responses. I’m very embarrassed to be seen in public right now (even avoided a young man who likes me when I saw him in the street - perish the thought should he find out my secret!).

I have about 70 visible hairs including about 8 very obvious ones (from previous tweezing).

The lady I’ll be seeing on Saturday uses thermolysis on the face.

Thanks again. I’m looking forward to being hair free very soon!

Cheers,