hello all.. finally i got the courage to make an appoitment. It was hard finding someone and i changed my mind about going to the electrolysis school and having it done there. i think i would feel better if i had someone who was in th ebusiness a long time doing my face, rather than a student still learning their technique (no offence to those learning.. its just a paranoia thing on my part <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />)

so my appointment is this tuesday and the lady said that it would be a consultation and she booked me for "extra time". I thought that was nice of her. She sounded so great over the phone and i already feel i can trust her. I even asked if i should get emla and she was like, electrolysis isnt that bad and i shouldnt have to worry... hmm.?? i hope she's right. I'll get a test run and then from there (if everything looks alright) i want to do my chin and side burns.

wish me luck!

by the way i have a real bad cold with runny nose and everything. i wonder if that will effect my treatment..??

ok later everyone, ,i will keep you posted!

rachel (<<really nervous!)

All sounds good for you, Rachel, and I like the answer she gave to your question about EMLA. Most clients do well and tolerate the heat from treatments. It's not unusual to become acclimated to electroloysis after a few treatments. Somewhere between the 5th and 10th treatment, it seems that most clients are more relaxed and have verbally told me it doesn't hurt as much. One of the things an electrologist must strive for is finding a working point that is tolerable to the clients pain threshhold, while seeing to it that the hair slides out nicely without disrupting the upper layers of skin.

Concerning your cold, personally, I ask my clients to reschedule if they are sick for several reasons. We want you to heal quickley and well after a treatment. If your immune system is on the low side, it's just more stress added to your already overly-stressed immune system. You would probably be less tolerant of the sensation of electrolysis, too. It may be uncomfortable for you to lay flat if your congested. On my side of things, I have people depending on me for treatment and when I get sick, I have no one to take my place, so I get backlogged and lose income. I don't particulary like wearing a mask, but have on occasion.

It's just common courtesy to reschedule an appointment if you are contagious whether you are seeing your hair stylist, dentist or electrologist.

Wishing you well.

Dee

thanks so much dfahey!

I am going to wait till tomorrow (monday). if i am not 100% better by then, i am going to reschedual my appointment for another day. my luck! just when i have enough courage to do it, i get sick!

sheesh. anyway, your post was very valuable and i feel better about the emla part.

will write soon about my experience!

rahel

hey all! i did it! finally! I got much better and i went in for my appointment and the electrologist was so happy to see me. she was so nice and was so helpful. her office is pretty nice. she has her certificates hanging in the waiting room and nice chairs and music. very warm and cozy. she has another lady with her that does laser and they also do some skin treatment for acne. but she told me the majority of the customers come in for electrolysis.

so anyway, i was there for 30 mins. and she worked on my side burns and chin and some random hairs on the neck.

she uses thermolysis and i was on the setting of 20 for 0.08 seconds (or was it 0.02) anyway.. it was a real short time and she was really impressed that i could take the 20 setting for a first time patient. she was like if i keep that up , i will be done in no time! it hurt a little but it was really tolerable. I did not use any anesthetic cream. During the treatment, the side burns hurt more than the chin. but right now. the chin hurts more (after txt). area is a bit red and she said that it is normal to see scabs.

i bought my own needles for 5dollars and the txt itself cost about 24dollars (CND).
I asked if i should put aleo vera, she said that was good but she said to put antibiotic gel better and said to use polysporin or something like that.. she applied it on my face after i finished the treatment.

and thats it. she is a really nice lady and i really hope this works. so now my next appointment is next tuesday and she seemed full booked. she has been doing electrolysis for 18 years! that makes me feel real secure.

ok so james, dfahey and all you wonderful experts out there. what do you think of this one? is she a keeper?

thanks so much for your help.

-rachelle

Hey, well done!

I bet you feel great, now, don't you?
The first appointment is always a bit daunting. Kind of scarey before you go, not so bad when you're there, and after you've left you can't wait to go again!

I wouldn't put myself in your 'expert' category - I guess I'm just a high use consumer with a passing interest. Anyway, it sounds to me like you've found a good electroligist. Time will be the big test ... do the hairs stop growing back?!

From what you've said, I'm sure adverse reactions won't be a problem. But if you do get any excessive swelling, rashes, spots, scabs, etc., you should tell her at your next visit. (Or pop back in and show her, if she's local enough.)

Hey,rachelle. Great to hear from you on how things went for your first time. She does sound like a keeper, but Toni has it right. Just let time pass and be mindful of progress and skin condition. It's a relief that you found it tolerable so you don't have to mess around with topical's, which can be an expensive ordeal for you.

Aftercare advice varies from electrologist to electrologist. Keeping things simple is all you need. You don't need to over medicate with topical antibiotic's, but if that's her routine and you have no adverse effects,then okay. An application of 100% aloe vera gel is really all you need for the first couple days after treatment,unless you are one that is prone to developing little pustules.

I can't tell you anything from the level of 20 that was set on her epilator because epilators are calibrated differently from brand to brand. As long as that hair slides out nicely and skin heals well, that is the more important fact.

All sounds great and keep sharing with us.

Thanks.

Dee

thank you thank you!! toni, Dee, you guys made me feel so much better. i was a bit nervous when she said she uses thermolysis because alot of the time people on this board talk about blend and how its better. so im glad thats ok.

about the hairs, yes they slid out no pain. sometimes not.. but thats understandable.

well, it is a day later, and my side burns are doing amazingly well (knock on wood).. you wouldnt even know it that there was electrolysis work on there. the chin, however, looks bumpy and is a tinny weeny bit tender.. my sister said my chin looks like its more prominant now.. haha. like it sticks out more from the swollen. but it is not red or anything. it seems to be from under the skin. there isnt anything on the surface.

by the way, i noticed these white hairlike things after the treatment on my chin. are those the roots? it was funny, cause i could have sworn i never had white/gray hair in that area. lol. i am sure they were the roots.

Toni, you are right. i was first nervous, then relieved and when i got home i couldnt wait to go back! haha. and now i am being picky.. i looked in the mirror and i was like, she missed a couple of hairs! haha. it looks she was aiming for the think black hairs and left the thin, fine ones. thats ok, shes the expert.

so far no hairs have come back out. but then again its only been one day. i will keep you guys posted and report after my next visit next tuesday.

love you all so much!

rachel

ok now.. this is an update..

its been about 4 days after my first treatment. remeber i did chin and side burns.

-i have scabs now (as we know they show up about 48 hours after treatment)...but they are so tiny.. you wouldnt even notice it. (edit: i was out in the sun today and the scabs ARE noticeable! woow! i guess being in the dark at home doesnt show much at all..but here's the thing..they are on the downside of the chin and ppl would only see them if i tilted my chin up..meh.. i dont care)

-the chin isnt as "prominant" and bumpy

-the hairs on my side burns havent come back yet!
-the hairs on my chin, some have come back, but they dont look nearly as dark or thick as the before treatment.

-usually hairs come back (fully and dark and thick) within two days after plucking them out.

frankly.. its magic

more updates later

rachel

Just remember the hairs you are seeing 4 days after treament are hairs that were not visible when you had treatment, or were only visible to your electrologist and were rightfully given low priority so that the larger, more noticeable hairs would be taken, and these smaller ones could be gotten to when and if they ever were deemed to be a higher priority, or were just all the hair you have left.

You can not have true REGROWTH in four days.

I know you did not mean to suggest that, but I just want to make sure those reading understand what is happening here.

thank you so much james for that clarification.