I went in for my first treatment yesterday - June 21, 2008. I had my upper lip treated for 10 minutes. The hairs there are fine but visible and many. I used to bleach that area every two weeks. She used thermolysis on me with a Fischer machine on a high setting. I was surprised at how quickly the lady worked. She must have removed about 80 hairs. I felt pulling of the hairs only a few times, otherwise they came out easily. The lady who worked on me also said she had a hard time seeing the direction of hair growth as the hairs were bleached and asked that I no longer bleach. The swelling and redness went away after about 4 hours. I am very happy about that as it looks like I had nothing done there (in a good way I am applying tea tree oil to the area until I buy witch hazel.

I am a little concerned about a small mole above my upper lip (1.5-2 mm diameter). The lady who worked on me refuses to work anywhere close to it. I spoke to the owner of the place and she said she is willing to work more closely to that area and actually go into it with a doctor's note (the other woman said she would never go into the mole itself). I will probably book an appointment with the owner next time instead.

Is there any risk of going into the mole? At the consultation I was told that some moles are cancerous and a doctor could tell if it is or isn't just by looking at it... (no tests)

P.S. Kindest regards to rachelle for the reference

It is always a good idea to keep an eye on moles. Most electrologists will want a note from a physician to make sure that the mole is being looked at for any changes. There should be no risks in treating the mole - as the hair can be an irritant to the mole tissues.

Regarding that bleaching - it can help the electrologist if the hair has grown out slightly after being bleached. The electrologist can then identify the growing hairs on the skin because they have a dark root. If you'd just bleached - well then I certainly understand the electrologists request!!!

Electrologists are in a good position to see moles up close. I always require a doctor's prescription before working on a mole. Removing the coarse hair from a mole is very satisfying because the bump of a mole will almost always lay flat to the skin after the hair is removed permanently and thus look less obvious. Treating moles are not risky, but initially, a mole should be evaluated by a physician.

I am still very worried about a client who has three moles on the back that have irregular borders, mixed with different colors. I have frimly advised this client to see a dermatologist asap, but have not had any feedback. Electrologists should always observe moles and not hesitate to advise clients to seek a medical evaluation when something looks funky.

I like bleached hair, too. It is easy to see if one has good magnification and halogen lighting.

Dee

Thanks for your feedback. During the consulation, the owner of the place advised me that the mole doesn't look like it's anything out of the ordinary; but she still requested that I get a note from my physician. I am mostly concerned with the hairs growing close to it (which are not course). Hopefully she can work close to it without feeling uncomfortable. I will make an appointment with my GP in order to get a note in a month or so.

Also, I did bleach a day before I went for the treatment as I didn't want to expose my skin to those chemicals once the treatment started.


Edit:
Here is a picture of the treated area one day after treatment:
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5486/dscf0270fz8.jpg

Dee: Do you utilize a camera at work? You might take a digital photo of the moles to show this client. I had a client with a bumpy growth in her scalp. She could feel it, but couldn't see it. I took a picture and showed it to her - she called the dermatologist on her way out of the office. It was not a skin cancer, but it was removed immediately! (Test: http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u276/Greathouse2201/VMScalp.jpg)

Angel: Your skin looks great!

Good idea Barbara. I do have a camera at work and will do this in the future. I think a picture would have helped as I he didn't seem too concerned. He loves the sun. He's young and very busy with work. I'm fearful that he won't follow-up on this. He has moved to another state, so I won't be seeing too much of him, unless he comes when he visits his family.

Day two post first treatment - some red dots have shown up above my lip (It was just a little bumpy before with no redness). I believe this is just the normal healing process.

Yes, this is acceptable.

I had my second appointment on June 26, 2008 (5 days after my first). It was for another 10 minutes even though I was hopig she would do 15 this time. The lady said she felt sorry for me as my lip was very red and swollen and she wanted to stop. I had also not taken any tylenol prior to going for the appointments (I learned my lesson). For some reason it seemed to hurt more this time and I felt more pulling as well. I think she was having a hard time seeing the hairs as they have been bleached a week before. I think I will not bleach anymore and just go for the appointments on weekly basis.

So it's now one day after treatment and my lip is still swollen and there are red bumps (unlike the first appointment where everything had gone down after 4 hours).

I think at this pace I will be able to get first full clearance in 4 more appointments. The hairs that are left above my lip are mostly short and thin - although I still want those gone as well (I think she picked out the longer and thicker ones first). She was also very gentle on the lip area just under the nose as she says that's the most painful. She only removed a few hairs from there.

I have booked another appointment 7 days from now with another lady from the same place (she is the owner).

Note to self: take Tylenol next time!

Added some pictures. This is the 4th day after 2nd treatment of 10 minutes with electrolysis on Fischer machine on high setting.

Some of the bleached hairs didn't show up on the image. But this one is a better quality than the one I posted last time (I finally found the close up setting on my digital camera).