I just had my first electrolysis treatment, and overall, I was (and am) very pleased. I had 30 minutes and the electrologist thinned both lips and sides. I don’t have coarse hair, except for some on the upper lip, so I think that helped her to treat more hairs quicker.

Pain was tolerable. Side effects were minimal. Mild redness that has already gone (two hours later). The worst of all was the anti-inflammatory cream that she used post-treatment. It stank!

My electrologist seemed knowledgeable and good at her job. She was quick, I didn't feel any plucking, and I felt very comfortable with her. The only thing that worries me a bit is the machine that she used. It is not a computerized machine, and she didn’t even know the brand of it.

I know it depends on many factors, but on average how long does it take for upper lip full clearance? Also, I heard that sometimes people get scarred by electrolysis due to (I suppose) incompetent electrologists. Is scarring something that happens soon after the treatment, or is it something that people realize that happened to their skin years after the treatment?

Scarring is rare, but it can show up months down the road. Full clearance depends on many things. It can take any where from 20 minutes to 5 hours to flly clear an upper lip. Repeated overtreatment causes scarring. You will know if you are repeatedly overtreated because you may not heal well within a week or so. Temporary side effects may happen, but should subside soon with good aftercare. Tell your electrologist if you have any concerns.

Even if she has not invested in better equipment, if she knows her epilator and is adept at using it correctly, you will still get permanent hair removal.

The fact she doesn't know what brand of machine she is using is a bit... odd. It should say right on the front (Apilus, Instantron, Fischer, etc.) Especially since she has been using it for a long time I assume?

Everything else about your visit sounds positive and a sign you found a good electrologist!

The time it will take to clear depends on several factors. Are you male or female (I assume female?) Skin type?

My electrologist said that she wouldn't treat the same area too often, and I was happy with that too. I will start with weekly visits, and then I will probably visit her once a fortnight.

I couldn't see any brand name on the machine. It seemed quite old too me, but the electrologist was quick. I am not sure if it is possible to find the machines that you use in the US here, as I am in Australia (Melbourne). In addition, I was very pleased with the electrologist. So, I don't want to give her up to find a better machine.

I am female. I think Skin type III.

No need to give her up! If you are happy because she is skilled enough to remove the hair with good healing outcome, then onward march.

2nd day post-treatment and my face is absolutely normal. No redness, scabs etc. Awesome! I just used tea tree oil on the treated areas, as you have suggested several times. It smells much better than the anti-inflammatory cream that the clinic tried to sell to me!

I am going to have diamond microdermabrasion in a couple of weeks. How many days do you recommend to wait before/after electrolysis?

I am not sure I understand the question.

In most cases, you would wait until your electrolysis were finished to do microdermabrasion. If you have done electrolysis, you would wait at least 3 to 4 weeks before doing dermabrasion and if one has done a dermabrasion, one would want to wait the same amount of time before doing more electrolysis, if one wanted to be on the safe side. Some guides would say 6 weeks in either case.

Yes, please avoid microdebrasion until you're done with electrolysis. Since you need to go in for electrolysis at least every 3 weeks or so, there is really not enough downtime for you to do it now.

I would recommend using witch hazel instead (a few bucks at a drugstore). It's not as harsh as tea tree oil. You can use the oil once or on parts that are most irritated. But on the majority of areas I would use witch hazel a few times a day.

Just dab tea tree on sparingly with a cotton swab. Do not contaminate the bottle by double dipping, though! Get a fresh swab. Don't use your hands either for applying or you will contaminate the bottle. Many people do not like the smell of tea tree oil and thus, will not use it even though it would be helpful.

I didn't know that I should avoid microdermabrasion. I had actually microdermabrasion about one week before my electrolysis treatment. Just to clarify things, I am talking about microdermabrasion. Not dermabrasion.

If exfoliation is ok in between electrolysis treatments, why not microdermabrasion too? It's just a deeper, non-invasive exfoliation process.

Doing microdermabrasion prior to starting electrolysis gets one off to a good start because it helps remove dry skin flakes and such that may block the follicle opening, same as mildly exfoliating your skin in between treatments would. How often are you thinking about having microdermabrasion while having electrolysis? What does your electrologist think? Why not mildly exfoliate instead between treatments? You want your skin to be totally healed before doing anything, but exfoliating would be cheaper. Are you thinking that microdermabrasion will be needed because you are having electrolysis or is ths something you have always done on a regular basis?

I just started microdermabrasion treatments to improve my skin texture. I can see a huge difference after only one treatment, so I would like to continue. It will be one micro treatment per month. I will definitely ask my electrologist when I see her next time!

Okay. That sounds good. Make sure your skin is all healed after electrolysis. If your electrolysis appointments are spaced out, say like, every 3 weeks, you may be okay with having a treatment a couple days BEFORE you have an electrolysis performed. Your electrologist has the final say since she can see you.

Today I had my 2nd treatment. My electrologist doesn't want to spend much time on one area, because my skin is fine. I had booked her for an hour, and in this hour she did a few hair on the upper lip, and some on the sides. Then, she stopped because she couldn't find any hair! Just reminding, that she is thinning my hair, which are not dense anyway. So, I asked her to do my abdomen. She did a quite large area of it quickly. I am very pleased with my second treatment as well. Three hours later, I can hardly see any evidence of electrolysis on my face. However, my abdomen is still red. One would expect face to react worse than abdomen!

I didn't ask her about microdermabrasion, simply because she said to me to avoid scrubs and the rest, and use only gentle products while undergoing electrolysis. Common sense says to avoid micro as well!

Body work is different than facial work. Expect a longer time to heal for body areas like the abdomen. Clothing rubs against the treated areas and the the circulation is not as good as on the face,so that' two things that slow down the healing process. If you get some red dots or if you are prone to hyperpigmentation, don't freak out. It will all heal and your skin will gradually return to an even color.

Facial work, when done well, heals much faster and usually, one is back to normal in minutes to hours. If it takes a week to fully heal in those beigining sessions, that's expected as well.

If you can do without the microdermaabrasion until your electrolysis treatment plan has been completed, then all the better. If you are insistent that you need to do this, then do it after you are completely healed and then one or two days BEFORE you have an electrolysis session.

Thanks for checking in.

Dee

3rd treatment. I was a bit disappointed when I arrived to the clinic today, just to realize that they wouldn't do my face (upper lip). I had a treatment on it on Wednesday and the electrologist said to me that she didn't want to overtreat this area. I was quite happy as well, as it seems that she does care about her clients and their skin. Anyway, she did my abdomen. I post a picture of it after the treatment. The area I highlighted was treated on Wednesday. Some scabs are visible. My face didn't react like this at all. It was clear after a few hours. She worked on my abdomen for 45min and she cleared the area below my belly button and also thinned the area above the highlighted area. I think it is obvious where she worked because it is red.

If there are no obvious signs of electrolysis, does it mean that the skin has healed? I am thinking of having my microdermabrasion treatment next Thursday. It will be only 8 days after my last electro treatment, however, my skin is already fine.

By the way, do you consider my skin as Type III or IV?

Can't see your picture. You may want to upload it to www.photobucket.com instead and post the HTML tag here.

I would NOT get microdebrasion AT ALL on any areas where you're getting treatments. You really don't want to damage your skin by doing too much to it. I would wait until you're done with electrolysis. There is down time after microdebrasion, don't forget that. And it's hard on the skin.

Sorry about that! Hope you can see the photo now.

http://s336.photobucket.com/albums/n351/rinava/

The areas that were treated yesterday are normal today. No scabs! I am wondering if that has to do with the electrologist. Treatment was performed by a different electrologist on the area that has the scabs.

This is so weird! Last night I realized that I am still experiencing shedding. For those who don't know or don't remember, I had two IPL treatments on my upper lip. The last one was on the 26 June. My upper lip had quite a few fine hair that fell when I touched them with my fingers. Obviously, they were sitting on the follicles. At the moment, it is almost hairfree.

4th treatment. Today, my electrologist was sick, so my treatment was performed by another electrologist. She was really good! She is a mature lady, who has been working as an electrologist for more than 20 years (that was the first thing that she told me, when she met me probably to reassure me that I was in good hands!). She took really good care of me before and after the actual treatment, something that I mentioned to her. The other two electrologists that I had in the past, cleaned my face really quickly before the treatment, and spread carelessly an anti-inflamatory cream after it.

So, she got rid of the 5-6 hairs (yes, I could even count them!)on my upper lip, and thinned the sides. She said to me that my hair are really fine and light, and she had a hard time to see them. She also mentioned that not all electrologist would accept to treat those fine hairs, because they require a high-level of skill. She suggested to me to have treatments every fortnight, as I don't have many hairs, however, I prefer weekly visits to keep things tidy. Also, I think that one of the reasons that my skin heals so well and quickly is that there are not many hairs: the less the insertions, the better the skin reaction.

Less than two hours post-treament and although my skin is still redish, it's not as red as it was straight after the treatment. I am pretty sure that it will be normal in a couple of hours. I am so glad I switched to electrolysis! And I am very happy with my clinic, and all three electrologists that work there (although I have a preference for my original electrologist).

Question: she suggested to me a hair retardant spray to use post-treatment. I didn't buy it, because as far as I know they don't work. What's your opinion on this?

I would skip it. I'm suspicious that she is just trying to increase the bottom line. Just do what you are doing - be consistent with a skilled electrologist and you you will be fine.

5th treatment. I am very excited as my original electrologist is back. I really love her, because she just does her job. The other two waste too much time trying to find hair; and I don't know if it is in my mind or not, but my skin reacts better after her treatments. BTW last week I got a cold sores on my lower lip. It's funny because she the youngest (she must be around 40) and she once said to me that the other too are better than her. I don't know about that! They were good, but I think she rocks! Unfortunately she works only Saturdays.

So, today she did the sides, which have only a few lighter and fine hair. My upper lip has no hair at all, so she didn't touch it. One hour post-treatment my face is a little bit red, but kind of like it (what a weirdo!). It looks sunbaked!

At the moment, my face has only a few light and fine hair that do not bother me at all. Actually, I forgot to say, this was the first week that I didn't use any temporary hair removal methods in betweeen treatments. I used to use depilatory creams.

Thanks for checking in, rinava. All sounds good for you.

I had a scab and just realised that it left a small hole. Is there anything I can do now and how can I avoid something like that to happen again?

It should heal. Did you pick the scab off? Never do this if you get an occassional scab. Show your electrolgist so she can guide you as well.

Dee

Thanks Dee! Hope it heals! I didn't pick it off. Probably gone in the shower.

6th treatment. A bit annoyed today. I usually have a one-hour treatment. Today, I thought I'll go for 1hr and 30min. They charge $55 for 30min and $75 for one-hour, and they charged me $130! Simply, RIDICULOUS! Of course I told them, and the receptionist agreed with me, but…

Apart from that, the treatment went really well. I still don’t have hair on the upper lip. The IPL worked really well there. So, the electrologist worked mainly on the sides and bottom lip. My skin is normal now (3 hours post-treatment). The whole process becomes less and less painful. When she does the sides, I feel almost nothing. Lips are still painful though.

The small hole from the scab disappeared. I don’t know how, but I can’t see it anymore.

7th treatment. I had a 1 hour treatment on the sides. Lip is still hairfree. I think that my skin has got so used to electrolysis that I can sleep during the process. Ok! I am exaggerating, but you got my point (I hope).

I was experimenting the past weeks. When I came home leaving on the anti-inflammatory cream that the clinic uses, the next day I would get some scabs. However, when I came home, washed my face and put on some tea tree oil, next day my face was perfect! Tea tree oil works wonders on my face, and apparently it's good for other skin conditions, such as acne, pimples, abrasions etc. So, thanks to the people in here for suggesting that!

I was looking at some other posts, and just wondering why my electrologist refuses to work on the same area more than once a week. There are some people in here who treat the same area every couple of days.

You need a chance to heal and one week is generally enough time for an area to recover, mend, heal. Your electrologist is advising you well.

I will not work on the same area less than a week afterwards either.

Dee

Would this apply even in areas where this is a large amount of space (relative to the face) between follicles, such as the legs?

Legs can be worked on everyday as you would be going from new section to new section, being that it is a large area.

8th treatment. I had a one-hour treatment on the body. Nipples, chestbone, abdomen. Treatment was performed by a new electrologist. When she saw the areas to be treated she said to me, that she can't understand what's the problem, my hair is fine blah, blah, blah. I hate when they do that! Ok! I know that I don't have many hair, but what's their problem if I don't want any at all?

Anyway, I was pretty happy with the results for such a large area. Hopefully, I won't need too many treatments on the body.

This electrologist performed the treatment differently than the rest. She would treat several hair and then tweeze them. The rest treat a hair, then tweeze it and so on. Also, she sent current for longer time. This was the most painful treatment I had so far. I hope it was effective.

We electrologists are all different. I personally believe that if someone wants hair removed and I can see it, then I will remove it as they desire.

You will need as many treatments on body areas as the hair growth cycles dictate. I don't think abdominal hair or breast hair are particularly high hurdles. The hairs give up pretty easy, if enough energy is used.

Treating several hairs and then lifting them out with the tweezers is perfectly okay. Treating one hair and then lifting is perfectly okay. If her insertions are accurate, the treatment will be effective if the hairs are growing hairs.

Dee

9th treatment. 1-hr treatment on the face. She missed out a few important ones on the upper lip, which I find annoying. Apart from that, all good.

rinava,

May I suggest that you ask for a mirror after your session, before you get off the table, so you can inspect the area? I need my clients to help me in any way they can as sometimes lighting and positioning do not always highlight certain bothersome hairs.

A client usually knows every problem hair on their face, so help her out. Take your own mirror if you like, but don't leave there feeling annoyed.

There may be another reason she did not take those hairs??? I can think of a few, but ask her about this next time.

Dee

She always gives me a mirror, but I didn't notice them. I find it impossible that she didn't notice them though. I don't have many coarse hair, so they stand out. I will be more careful from now on and I will let her know.

I thought of a few reasons too Dee! Hopefully they know what they are doing, otherwise they will loose a good client.

10th treatment. I had a 30min treatment, because I couldn't stand the 5 coarse hair on the upper lip. Thank God my electrologist works only on Saturdays, otherwise she wouldn't treat them, as she refuses to treat the same area more than once a week.

I had this lady today, who said to me once again that my hair is very fine, it's hard to see them, and it's a really difficult job. I don't get it! Isn't this her job? Aren't electrologists trained to treat fine hair? If I can see a hair and I can tweeze it, shouldn't she be able to treat it without mentioning how hard it is?

I asked her to do the upper lip. Ok! She took the very annoying ones, but she didn't clear it. I don't understand why! Then, she moved to the lower lip. She didn't clear it either and moved to the sides, just to tell me that my her is fine blah, blah...Should I feel sorry that my hair is not coarse enough?

Any electrolologist that has surgical magnification and a good light source can see the hairs you desire to be removed. Proper positioning of the client and shadowing techiniques will highlight it ALL.

This is my pet peeve with colleagues in my my profession. They don't realize what they can't see because they refuse to spend the money on a better vision tools. They are missing opportunities to help clients who are distraught by this fine blond hair, which can be just as debilitating as coarse, dark hair. To me, this is a poor business decision because you can't serve ALL your customers well and it decreases the bottom line for potential income. If they purchased customized surgical loupes and an excellent light source for a couple thousand of dollars, they would get that money back and more in a short period of time. This is called the cost of doing bisiness and it benefits both sides.

I feel your frustration and the only thing you can do is try other electrologists of nudge your practitioner in the direction of using better vision tools and techniques. If I can see these fine blond hairs (I'm middle-aged), then I'm assuming others can to if they would just set themselves up for success.

If your electrologist already has surgical loupes and good lighting, then this may be a skill issue????

Dee

I think it's the equipment Dee. I said previously it is quite old. I can't complain about their skills. All the electrologists I had so far are pretty good, but they all mention how fine my hair is. I sometimes feel like they are complaining. I am wondering what will happen after a few sessions when my hair will be fewer and finer...

I contacted a few other clinics but they are more expensive and they do up to 45min. I assume that if they don't do longer appointments, they are not skilled enough? However, they use the blend method, whereas my clinic uses thermolysis. Is the blend method quicker than thermolysis? From other posts that I read it seems that thermolysis is the best for the face. Should I give a go to blend?

Blend is actually SLOWER than thermolysis/diathermy.

Vision equipment is very important in this business, but many practices don't buy the higher level vision devices, thinking they can do just fine without them.

Of course, some people want to remove hairs that are on a level that, although reachable with better magnification, is unnecessary based on what a normal person notices while standing 4 feet away from you.

Hopefully, you only have hairs not noticeable from four feet away.

I can't say much more about the type of vision equipment than has already been said. I start my electrolysis schooling in a few weeks. The instructor uses loupes. Great but I told her that I have been using a medical grade magnifier (just practicing on myself and my wife). She is excited to have me in her class. She wants me to being my magnifier into class so everyone can try it. The funny part is I have $400.00 invested in it. It took some modifying to make it to my liking but you don't need to spend thousands to have better equipment than the place down the street.

I am jealous I hope to start on my path to an electrology career sometime this winter or early spring, and get my CPE next September.

Is your magnifier like the surgical scope James uses?

Despite the fact that the equipment is old, I am happy with my original electrologist. This makes me a bit skeptical! It may not be the skill or the equipment (only). I think my original electrologist is a truly good professional. She has good communication skills, she makes me feel comfortable, and she has NEVER tried to sell me another service. The others have several times tried to sell me other services during my electrolysis treatment, something that I find outrageous.

11th treatment. 45min on the upper lip and sides. I didn't say anything about the few coarse hairs that she forgot to take last Saturday, because I wanted to see what would happen today. This was actually the best treatment I had so far. Very happy!

12th treatment. 1-hr on the upper lip and the left side of the face. I will go tomorrow for the other side.

I had a new electrologist (how many does this clinic have?). She was very old, and when I saw her I wondered if she would be able to see anything, but she was awesome!

The part of the upper lip that has coarse hair is a bit darker. It looks like a shadow. It has been like this even before starting treatments, it looked much better after the IPL treatments, but after the electrolysis treatments looks worse. Is this a normal, temporary reaction? I can see a few coarse hair under the skin. Could it be because of that? My electrologist doesn't seem worried, but hey, it's not her face! Ha!

Frequently, after electrolysis to remove the thickest, most noticeable hairs, people just start noticing a new set of hairs, that were less noticeable previously, as all attention was on the thicker ones. This is why your electrologist is not conscerned.

Eventually, you will be cleared out at the end of every appointment. Then you will be all better.

Thank you James!

13th treatment. 1-hr on the right side of the face. The left side is still a little bit red. I think one hour on one side is too much for my skin, but I am happy with the results.

I bought some Witch Hazel (100% distilled) today and I just realized that it contains 14% alcohol. Is it safe to use? It can be used after waxing and shaving.

Also, I know that sun exposure is not recommended after laser hair removal, but how about electrolysis? I am not planning to expose myself to the sun, but I am just wondering if I should avoid it while walking on the street.

You are welcome.

The alcohol in Witch Hazel is ok as long as you are not allergic to alcohols. As for the sun exposure, the only reason one would avoid it with electrolysis is if your skin is prone to pigmentation. If a pigmentation prone person is exposed to enough sun, that person will have uneven pigmentation spots at the site of the treated follicles. This will fade in a certain amount of time, but most people who have that problem really don't want to wait the time it takes for the spots to go away.

14th treatment. 1-hr on the abdomen and chest. I had this electrologist who sends the current for longer. Very painful!

Yaaaoo! How many electrologists have you seen at this clinic? Can you request the original electrologist only for your treatments?

Same for mine, it discourages bumping the time above one hour in minute increments, so I always select either 1 or 2 hour sessions. The 2-hour is a little better as it eliminates one setup & cleanup cycle and I get 5 minutes or more additional time at actual hair removal...

I know people who charge $45 to $55 for 15 minutes or less. Be Happy

RE Dee. I have seen 5 electrologists so far. I request my original electrologist, however see can only work Saturdays. So, when I go twice a week, I can't have her. In addition, a couple of times she was sick.

RE tex. I have thought of going for 2hrs, however, I didn't like the way my skin reacted after 1.5hr treatment.Also, I don't think that I need 2hr treatments at the moment. I don't have many hair and they are all very fine.

RE James. My problem is not with the price, but with their 'logic'. The price per minute becomes progressively lower up to 1hr(15min-AU$40, 20min-AU$45, 30min-AU$55, 45min-AU$65 and 1hr-AU$75) and then goes up again. So, if I wanted to have 1hr and 15min treatment I would have to pay $75 + $40. That has no logic at all! Apart from that, you are absolutely right. In comparison to other clinics my clinic is very cheap. Actually it is the cheapest. I pay AU$75 per hour, and most of the other clinics charge AU$110 per hour. So, I am happy with my 1 hour treatments.

15th treatment. Yesterday I had 1-hr on the face. My original electrologist was sick (again!). Anyway, the one who performed the treatment suggested to me to go every fortnight, because the hair that I have are very fine, but I am going next Saturday.