I've been very happy with Vaniqa. I think I have been on it about two years now, can't quite recall.
The background is that I have pcos. I was diagnosed at 15, I'm 29 now. I see a specialist and he's the one who prescribed vaniqa since I had unwanted hair on my face, mostly on the upper lip, sideburns, and chin area. I have pretty sensitive skin, so I was worried I wouldn't tolerate it well. However other than a mild burning for the first minute or so, I didn't have any trouble.
I did find that I didn't see a difference until I waxed all the hair and kept using the vaniqa - and it didn't grow back! I still use it to this day, and it's been effective at keeping nearly all the hair away, other than the occasional stray. I apply it twice a day.
The only potential complication is that occasionally it seems like I get odd little hairs in places that I didn't have them - such as the sides of my nose. But it is still a great improvement, and they aren't too bad.

I see that you know that once you stop using the drug, the hair will return. Why would you want to take a drug twice a day if you can end your unwanted hair problems with electrolysis?

I see that the Vaniqa post was your first and only post here.

Vaniqa is expensive. A skilled electrologist can "end all the tail chasing" and there would be no continuing expense for the rest of your life. You wouldn't have to be a slave to a routine that requires you to smear it on your face twice a day.

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to post your experiences.

As for what seemed like a chilly reception... ever get the feeling you have walked into a conversation in progress and you just don't know how far, and deep the thing has gone before you got there, but you really think you need someone to bring you up to speed so you know what is going on? Well, that is what you have here.

Smile, and don't take it personally.

Thanks, James! I appreciate it

You are welcome. This is actually one of the most friendly places on the net. It just gets passionate some times.

I look forward to your continued participation.

has anyone had luck with Vaniqa used under the chin? I have some dark but mostly blonde long hairs under my chin that I pluck some of just to make sure most are flowing the same way and not sticking out even more obviously, but I hate them. I also have some coarse blonde hairs on the upper chin that bug. I had luck years ago with vaniqa on my upper lip's brown hairs but don't remember much progress with the blonde chin hairs and they weren't half as bad back then.

I use vaniqa and it works. I combine it with the electrolysis I have. I can now have a life. I think that there are situations in which you can combine Elec with vaniqa and situations in which you shouldnt. It really depends on the individual person and there is no ONE thing that you should tell someone to do.

I already know the cons of getting the electrolysis done whilst using vaniqa and i did do only electrolysis for 9 months but there was still ALOT of hair left and i was still crazy suicidal over it. So i decided to combine my electrolysis with vaniqa. Lifesaver (although I still get upset generally about the hair all over).

I believe that if you only have a small area to be treated like the upper lip then its probably better not to use vaniqa and just keep up with electrolysis, BUT if you have much a larger area like a full beard and neck and youre desperate for quick hair reduction then do use vaniqa together with electrolysis! There is no harm and I really do not think it costs you a lot more. In the UK especially, vaniqa is actually very cheap when you get it on prescription - I get two tubes for one prescription.

The reason why there is no harm is because there are still hairs that come through even using vaniqa - it only slows the growth of hair it doesnt actually prevent hair from growing (although it does feel like that as there are lots of bald patches). And it doesnt affect the follicles that have already been treated and destroyed by electrolysis. Im trying to get rid of the most stubborn hairs that continue to grow despite the topical. So its not like your wasting your electrolysis treatments and wasting money.

You would be wasting your money if you were having laser and using vaniqa = there would be no point in having laser then. Electrolysis is however different - it is hair by hair treatment not by the patch that can be seen!


And seriosuly if you think putting on a cream twice a day is being a slave to something then I think thats a very wrong way of putting it. It feels more slave like going to an appointment for years and years. On the day I have an electrolgist appointment it wastes at least 3 hours of my day (travelling, treatment time etc) and then another few hours wallowing about the redness etc. Not to mention having to grow the hair in the first place which is true hell esp if you want to have a life or you have a professional career. Sometimes Im couped up in my home for weeks cos I just want to grow all the hair out so i can have an electrolysis appointment!


The message is to just tailor your hair removal methods to what suits you best.

I think your approach to electrolysis is not exactly correct, so this way you will be going for years. What you should concentrate on is getting proper electrolysis treatments where ALL hair that needs to be gone is removed at EACH session. If you do that, there would be no use for Vaniqa. And if you're not doing this, electrolysis will take years for you to complete.

Please take a look at the electrolysis section of this forum and read on the fastest way to get results with electrolysis. You can be done in 9-18 months if you tackle the problem in the most efficient way possible. And that way, you won't need to spend hundreds of dollars on Vaniqa.

This website is supportive of any method that works and pleases the consumer. We offer advice and back up the advice given with the pro's and con's. It is ultimately the decision of the hairy person which way to proceed, based on what they learn and what is availbale to them in their locale. We rejoice when posters like yourself tell about their successful experience. Thank you for your contribution.

A couple of things to point out: Vaniqa is definitely used in conjunction with laser. Vaniqa does not interfer with laser. Some clinicians report that using Vaniqa may mean that one needs less laser sessions.

Point two: Electrolysis is not for small areas only. I repeatedly say here that if all electrologists were using quality tools - computerized epilators, surgical magnification, halogen or LED lighting - and put good skill and special techniques to use, then a PCOS woman with a loaded beard on her face and neck could get first full clearance in 3-5 hours on average. Maintaining the area(s) and keeping the area hairfree would continue for about a year to 18 months. By month twelve, with consistent treatments, it becomes a nit picking process wih very few hairs needing treatment. Redness is not a problem if the electrologist has good equipment and skill. One does not have to grow hair for a week if the electrologist has high quality surgical magnification and lighting. If you don't have an electrologist in your locale that has modernized and continues to educate herself to speed up the process with little skin reaction, then you are doing the best you can and I admire your efforts to figure out what is working for you. No one would need Vaniqa or laser for facial hair if electrologists would bring it up several levels. The process of electrolysis is not to blame, but rather blame the electrologist that is stuck in the mud on Valium, performing at mediocre levels that do not serve them or at worse, their hirsute clients.

Vaniqa is a hair growth retardant. It does nothing to solve your problem longterm. You have correctly pointed that out already. For the many women who don't have the NHI plan with others paying for this expensive cream that lasts one to three months depending on the size of the area, it is very expensive and they do become a slave to a product that may or may not help them. It takes 2-6 months for this product to work. It was designed to be used with a person's other hair removal method (shaving, waxing, laser). It is not a depilatory. Should not be used if you are pregnant or are planning on becoming pregnant.

May I add that computerized epilators are available in many brands such as Apilus SX-500 and Platinum, SilhouetTone VMC model, Gentronics, Clareblend (recently), Fischer. Did I miss any? Consumers need to demand a better product if they feel dismayed by what they are currently getting. There is a way to do electrolysis within an acceptable timeframe and with great skin outcome. Oh, yes, and it is permanent, if performed correctly.

I favor electrolysis for the face, but if there is not a professional electrologist nearby that can handle your problem, then your plan will have to suffice, unfortunately. It will be very slow, but you seem content.

I really dont think there is a one "correct" way, that is what my post was trying to say.

I was not saying electrolysis doesnt work either, but it does take time and effort. This effort is something which a person wouldnt understand the complexity of until you go through it yourself.

You havent seen my hair growth nor the other issues I have so Im not sure you would be able to really comment on what type of treatment I am having.

Oh and I dont spend hundreds of dollars on vaniqa. I get a tube for £3-4 which is something like 6-8 US dollars. Its just great.

I really think this person should visit our hair removal gallery. The photos there show people who have had real results.

I dare say that my client M.C. had more hairs removed than Nur has to give, and yet we were done in 15 months.

Before:
http://www.hairtell.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/152
After:
http://www.hairtell.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/155

Dee

You are right that if all electrolgists were up to date and modernised things would be that more easier, I think electrologists have modernised much more in the US than they have in the UK. Ive even been to some expensive London clinics and even they dont have what you describe. It is a real shame. The reality is that 98% of most clinics dont have what you describe.

I agree that Vaniqa isnt a long term thing but for the moment and for the next few years it is great and it is cheap, it works and so I dont mind.

Im not convinced that it is economical combining vaniqa with laser though - maybe after your laser treatments for any finer hair that is left (and which the laser cant get) but not during. Although I would probably blast those fine hairs with electrolysis anyway - and if I was in dire need add vaniqa too.

James

Noone is disputing that electrolysis works. And as Dee mentioned, very few people like yourself and Dee have the machines and equipment you have, so it is misleading to say those results can be got anywhere all over the world in any location.

In addition, your client as a transgender would have used tablets which alter the hormones to additionally get rid of the hair and stop NEW hair from coming in. He didnt become female hair free by just electrolysis.

I cant use those tablets, unfortunately. And those tablets, can have extreme unwanted side effects.

It always used to and still does puzzle me how transgenders could have perfect hair free skin and why docs cant get females to have the same without a million complications!

We don't say that anyone can get the results we give anyplace in the world just by throwing a dart at a list of practitioners. That is one of the reasons this site exists.

It is incorrect to say that TG women have a drug course that RIDS THEM OF HAIR. The best the drugs can do is reduce in diamiter what ever hair they have on the face not the amount. Those drugs DO tend to keep any new follicles from starting to grow, but a person who fixed what ever was causing the PCOS hair growth would be in the same situaion.

So, your misunderstanding of that is the problem here. ELectrolysis *IS* the thing that allows TG women to have hair free and care free skin. The men who I clear live just as care free as the TG's that I treat when we are done. Problem for me is, I don't have any before and afters of just plain men who are willing to release their photos for viewing here, and most PCOS women don't want anyone seeing the "evidence" either. Only the TG's think it is more important to educate people than to have have plausable deniability about their treatments.

Nur,

Most electrologists understand what you are saying because we've been there. We've looked in that mirror before.

The reason you get the Vaniqa for such a cheap price is because somebody else is paying for it with their taxes. That is not the case here in the US or in other countries like Italy. You are very lucky to have this advantage and I believe you when you say you are happy with your plan. The profession of electrolysis needs pratitioners who willingly upgrade and learn the best ways to get the hair off fast and permanently without violent skin reactions. Then people like you would not be a on such a slow train to permanency. I see women like you everyday, yes, I even work on Sundays. I don't need to see you to believe what you are dealing with, Nur. I get it. Again, your story is important and may help others figure out that using Vaniqa will give them relief. My frustration lies with practitioners that set themselves and their clients up for failure and betrays a proceedure (electrolysis)that offers what they really need for a furry face and neck, all accomplished in as little as 9-18 months.

Please understand that we are not jumping on your back, but rather we can't allow misinformation about electrolysis to stand unchallenged and misrepresented.

But its still a combination, to get rid of it right? So Im not really misunderstanding.

It is very difficult to "fix" PCOS. Some women can and do it brilliantly, but many many others dont without a lot of struggle along the way.

Why dont you come to London Dee?

Oh, may I add that the laser and Vaniqa information was obtained from an unrestricted grant from SkinMedica, Inc. and Shire Pharmaceuticals Group. Leading dermatologists discuss how they've integrated Vaniqa into their practices and all of them say that they encourage patients to use Vaniqa while receiving laser hair reduction. There are several dermatology physician that are proponets for using both. I'll try to find the link for citation purposes.

Nur,

I really hate traveling. Haven't hired a psychiatrist yet, as some friends have suggested. Don't need to because I figured out a while ago that traveling takes a lot of energy and I have none to spare.

Seriously, it would be so easy for the professional electrologists worldwide to bring it up. Apilus and SilhouetTone are international companies. I'm not sure about the other great companies I mentioned above, but they all can ship epilators anywhere. There's a better way to do permanent hair removal if present electrolysis setups are not pleasing clients for whatever reasons. Frustration is high on my side of the fence when I read posts like yours. Many of us professional electrologists know what works well and can deliver results to depressed or dismayed people like you. James and Dee are not the only ones that know this information. We are not that special in what we do and there should be no need for anyone traveling anywhere to get electrolysis if there was a way to get the word out that modern electrolysis care is within every professionals reach.

I agree very much so with what Dee is saying, specifically :" The process of electrolysis is not to blame but rather the electrologist stuck in the mud is". I can tell just after a month and a half that electrolysis is helping me and I have noticed a HUGE difference between a good electrologist with an awesome machine,who incorporates new modalities like microflash but no tried and true Blend modality, but crappy lighting and magnification equipment, and a great electrologist who does all modalities with a top of the line eplitator, as well as top of the line lighting AND mag equipment. The difference is incredible in every sense of the word.Unfortunately for me the great electrologist is 3 hrs away and the good one only 1 hr, which is still better than a bad electrologist with outdated equipment who only does one or two modalities down the street.

The sad reality is that many of us don't even have 2 out of 3 of these options anywhere remotely near us and we may be the ones left with only a mediocre electrolgist with mediocre equipment at best. What can we do to change this? Dee- you mentioned that we need to say something as customers but how and to whom? It seems like even the crappy electrologists are still getting enough business that they simply are not motivated to make any changes to their program, and meanwhile the rest of us, as hairy consumers, are suffering and at the mercy of the practicioners.

When I made my intial phone calls to research practitioners and asked if they used surgical loupes, one response I got was " I don't have time for that". This wraps up my frustration in a nutshell. PLEASE MAKE THE TIME FOR US, YOUR LIVELIHOOD!! I wonder if a plea to practitioners can be brought up at electrology conventions or something along those lines. Maybe we all can sign a petition here on hairtell....who's game? I will personally take the time to mail something out snailmail to everyone who's interested if it would help! This to me is tantamount to writing my local politician.....if only hair removal were as important to more ppl as it is to us.

Regarding Vaniqa: I still have a half tube that I stopped using b/c I broke out horribly and I think vaniqa was a big part of the culprit since it started a week into using it, but I am not sure. If I didn't have this reaction AND I got it for $6 a tube,I might be tempted to use it also. I did not mind putting it on at night but I didn't like the texture and "pilling" of the cream on my face during the day before putting on my make-up. It left little white residue peices on my skin and just made me waste more time in front of the mirror obsessing about not only the hair, but now other stuff drawing attention to my face.

I do agree that you need to stick with what makes you feel most comfortable, as long as you know the facts and have done your research. This forum is so helpful to see what other ppl in similar situations have experienced. I still feel so alone sometimes cuz I don't see too many hairy ppl in the real world, but I feel hope and connection when I'm reading or writing on this forum.

Have you seen a reputabe endocrinologist who specializes in PCOS? Reading a site like soulcysters.com where PCOS women share their stories and tips. There are ways to get your growth under control, without side effects. Run a search for spiro on this forum to get an idea. Even a birth control pill like Yasmine is sometimes enough to balance the hormones out for some women. Once again, this is something that a specialist can determine.

Also, there are many discussions here on London electrologists if you run a search. Maybe you can sample a couple more and find someone who is good and fast. What I'm not understanding is why you have the need to use Vaniqa if you're getting all the hair removed by electrolysis at each treatment, which is the most efficient way to get rid of all the hair. Even if you have a lot of hair, you should get to a clearance within a month or two at most, and then come in for treatment every time you see new hair pop up as weak new hairs are most easily killed. Can you expand on your treatments?

Does Hair inhibitors really work? I've heard of Kalo and tried several brands. But they dont seem to work as claimed. =( How lucky some pple are to be born hairless

PS: sorry I experience some error in the page and thus I have to use this to talk. I cant post new topic now... for whatever reason

Things like Kalo only give the illusion of slower growth, if they have any effect at all. Vaniqua only slows the growth process, but as soon as you stop using it, one loses all effect.

I am constantly mazed at the people who are telling electrologists what kind of loupe to use or what kind of machine to use or some other advice they really know nothing about. I SAW ONE POST FROM A PERSON WHO WANTED "MEDICAL GRADE MAGNIFICATION". There is no such thing. There is high magnification,low magnification or something in between. Then there is the eyesight of the electrologist to consider, plus are the glasses CLEAN.

THERE IS DEFINITELY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPERATORS. However, micro flash and some other names are designed to SELL the machine and it works. WE HAVE BEEN EDUCATED BY ADVERTISING THAT "NEWER IS BETTER{" BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE. If someone buys a new machine, for whatever reason, they HAVE TO JUSTIFY IT SO THEY REPEAT WHAT THE MANUFACTURERS SAY BUT THIS IS ONLY HYPE. Next week it will be NANO FLASH machine THEN TERA FLASH. However, when the right amout of heat is delivered to the right location during the anagen pase the treatment will be successful. This is no different than the type and number of DIETS availble. If you follow any of them and decrease your intake while increasing your output...you will lose weight. It all boils down to arithmetic. If you can see this you have got it licked but ONLY YOU CAN DO IT. You can not blame anyone else for failure. In electrolysis you can try to blame the machine, or lighting, or technique but you still have to consider how many hairs there are to remove, how large is the area, is the patient cooperating (keeping appointments, on time, clean, following post treatment instructions. etc.)

You are wrong again, Harvey Grove LE CPE. You really don't need to shout to make your point. You can use all the capital letters you want, but that doesn't make you the first and last authority on issues such as magnification, lighting or computerization in electrolysis. After greater than 2,500 posts that I have made over five years on this forum about such issues, I do not desire to repeat and engage in detailed exchanges with a retired electrolgist whose manner of approach borders on arrogance. I am constantly amazed by electrologists who boast that they have 27 years under their belt, and then lectures others that there is no way like the old way. I assume that your lecturing is one-sided because you never enlightened yourself about the other side. An open mind is a wonderful treasure to possess, you know.

If I were a betting woman, I would have to bet that you haven't even come close to touching a computerized epilator, or purchasing medical grade magnification or medical grade lighting. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEN HOW CAN YOU BE SUCH AN AUTHORITY WITH YOUR SHOUT OUTS THAT BETTER TOOLS ARE ONLY ABOUT HYPE! Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you, Harvey. We explain and share with consumers what works really, really well in our practices and share this same information with other electrologists who may be curious enough to want the same and upgrade. If they choose not to do anything, their clients will still get permanent hair removal, eventually someday, on most hair structures, if they can see them.

ive done electrolysis and laser. My mum was a beautician so had lots of electrolyis and had laser for years

and I have bad hirsutism. I can say elecyrolysis works. It does- I have removed sideburns thriugh this and hair on upper lip. Its worked and is better. The hair hasnt come back. But like i said I have it bad an i need it done over the whole face and not possible with eletrolysis. PLus I think I was getting too scared mentally with electrolysis. I think if you can take electrolysis get that done. I It honestly works better and faster.

I'm totally not a pro, but from what I have learned is that some conditions will cause you to continue to sprout new hairs out of different follicles, even if you permanently remove the existing ones. I could see how Vaniqa might be a better option there.

Vaniqa just makes you shave a bit less. And you have to apply it often and it's expensive. It doesn't actually remove the hair. Electrolysis removes the hair permanently. The body doesn't develop hair every day after you remove it permanently. So if you remove it permanently with electrolysis, you will need touchups once in a while for any brand new hair that your body develops (IF you have condition that you describe). But otherwise, you'll be hairfree. So you'll be putting that money towards a permanent solution.