Yes, do ask the electrologist on Tuesday about Proactiv. All I can say is that I work on clients that use Proactiv and all is well. I work on Accutane clients as well, and all goes well. It's all about skill and equipment and observation.

Bleaching is fine, but you won't need to do this too long, as the hair will be treated and lifted out at each session making a dramatic visual affect that will be very pleasing to you.
The electrologist just needs quality vision equipment so she/he can see those hairs and observe the reaction of your skin to electrolysis. Get a small sample treatment, go home and see how you heal and then move forward with a longer treatment if you are pleased. Follow good aftercare and you will be fine.

Let us know how this goes for you, hollym and good luck Tuesday.

Dee

Thanks so much Dee for all the help, and to everyone on this site, you are all so helpful. I had my first session today and it went pretty well, and eased my nerves a lot. The electrologist was so nice and seemed very skilled and professional. She put witch hazel and aloe on afterwards, and the redness is already gone an hour afterwards. I'm going back next Tuesday so hopefully it will continue to go well. I will keep updating as I continue the sessions. Thanks so much!

Great. We appreciate that you took your time to come back and share how your first appointment went. We look forward to more posts. It sounds like your Mom is okay with this decision afterall! Continued luck.

Dee

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile. Have had two electrolysis sessions (1 week apart) since last time and I think it's going pretty well. It's just hard to let the hair grow darker in between...she likes me to do this so it's easier for her to get more hairs in less time. My chin did break out pretty badly after the last appointment, and I'm worried that the marks they're leaving may be permanent...I put this tea tree gel --which is tea tree oil combined with aloe vera and witch hazel-- on my upper lip last time which helped to fade marks that looked like they were forming there, but the marks on my chin seem like they may be more stubborn. Overall though, it's proving to be a much less nerve-racking process than I anticipated. I think it might take awhile for me, because she says even though the roots are pretty weak my hair is pretty dense. I can definitely tell that the hair is much less but I definitely didn't have general full clearance from the first three times. Is this okay? She said in the last appointment that she removed something like 130 hairs, and she uses Flash Thermolysis. Does this number sound good? Thanks so much.

How long did it take her to remove the 130 hairs?

The tea tree oil will help with the healing and reduce the after effects. It is great stuff.

Your marks from electro are probably not permanent, but if you can show us a picture someone might be able to tell you for sure.

These marks are not permanent. I would use the essential oil, tea tree oil instead of the mixture gel you are using now. Use the tea tree oil sparingly at bedtime. Spot dab on rougher looking areas of your chin. Do not overuse the tree tea oil. You can find tea tree oil at Target for around $5. Use witch hazel 3-4 times a day for a couple days. Use aloe vera gel - 100% would be nice to use during the day if you can, just for the first couple of days after treatment.

Clip or shave the hairs while you are working toward a first, full clearance. The number of hairs she removed is good, but she has to do this her way on her comfort scale.

Lastly, tell her about your healing so she can make adjustments with probe type or intensity and timing. For instance, gold probes cause less irritation than stainless steel probes. On your part, keep the freshly worked on area clean. Do not touch it with your fingers. Do not go play tennis and sweat a lot, do not wear makeup.... get the picture? Many times, bad skin reaction is caused by what the client does or does not do when they leave the office.

Get in the mindset that you need to doggedly stick with this for the first six months and then the next six months you will be coasting to the finish line.

Nice to hear from you Hollym.

Dee

Thanks so much Dfahey and VickieCNY-I will start using the oil instead of the gel now. The marks do go away eventually and I have been pretty careful about skin care afterwards. She removed the 130 hairs in a half hour session. She does do a very good job and I feel very comfortable with her. I was also wondering though-I know it's a good idea to put on sunscreen, but even sometimes a day afterward I'm a little hesitant to put it on my skin since I am using other aftercare products like tea tree oil and witch hazel, and don't want to irritate it. Is it still a better idea to put on the sunscreen even if the skin is a little irritated the day afterward or is it better to just wait a few days until the skin is fully healed? Thanks.

As someone who has had both Laser and Electrolysis over the years i agree entirely with LAgirl. Large areas coarse hair and the right skin shade and laser - cheaper faster and effective. BUT in the hands of the correct operator.

Small areas fine hair or coarse with the danger that the surrounding fine hair might be kicked into turning coarse by laser - then the needle each time. BUT in the hands of the correct operator.

When it went wrong I have been burnt by laser and left with pitted skin by electrolysis. When it went right i now have hair free legs post laser and the coarse hair on my chin has gone and no scarring these new machines are fantastic.

Thanks, but this young lady has mainly an upper lip problem that is best treated with electrolysis. In the hands of a professional electrolgist using modern tools there is NO PITTING with electrolysis. Just wanted to say that for clarification and to ease her mind about your pitting comment. With electrolysis, she will get permanent hair removal as oppossed to a certain percentage of reduction with laser.

Sunscreen is fine Hollym, but if the ingredients in the sunscreen irritate your skin, then it is best to go back to using the witch hazel, aloe vera gel and tea tree oil (sparingly) for the first three days.

I think "therish" meant that he got burned and scarred by bad operators, i.e. in both laser and electrolysis, and got great results with both methods by great operators.