Hi,
I am male and considering electrolysis for my arms. The hairs are 1.5 inchs long on average. I want to reduce the hair density and to achieve an instant result so I don’t want to shave or trim before the treatment. Would this be a big nuisance for the electrolysis practitioner? Can she still pick some hairs to remove and leave others to get a thinned-out look?
Thanks.
I have longer hairs and my practitioner never had any trouble with me not shaving. Some people might need the cue of seeing the longer hairs after shaving (to determine which are in growth stage), but she was always able to know which were in the shedding phase by the base of the hair being white and thinning.
If the person doing the work can work fast enough, there is little need for shaving, as all the hair will be cleared sometime in the first few treatments. One should be trying to get to first clearance in the first six weeks anyway.
The shaving request is for people who want to do something to the hairs in between treatments. If you shave in between treatments, you need to stop shaving 2 to 3 days before your treatment. So the practitioner is not slowed down by trying to get a grasp on hairs that are flush with, or beneath the skin’s surface.
Some people have clients shave so they can see the difference between growing hairs, and non-growing hairs so they can save time by treating the growing hairs, and plucking or leaving the shedding hairs. This way, they don’t “waste time” by treating hairs that are not in the growing phase.
I find that (using my vision equipment) the longer the hair is, the more difficult it can be to determine the actual angle of the hair in the follicle and get a good insertion (which Mr. Bono also mentions in his book.) Having curly hair, this can be a big problem for someone like me. I assume that with superior vision equipment (like yours James) this is less of an issue? Or is it just something one learns to look for and compensate accordingly?
The magnification helps a lot. If, however, the hair is too plentiful, and/or it is too curly, one would still be slowed down with the amount of work one would have to do to do a good insertion without clipping the hairs. One could clip the hairs in the area one is treating and leave the rest alone. Remove all the clipped hairs, and move on, or call that the end of the session.
Thanks for all the replies, it is more clear now. Though I have another question.
We know after laser, there is about a 1-month period during which no hair activity is observed. Then after 1-month, new hairs slowly rise up. I am wondering if this is the same for electrolysis.
Let’s say one pore is electro-zapped and the active hair is killed. In the same pore, there might be a bunch inactive hairs, so they remain unaffected. How long does it take for one of these inactive hairs to rise up after the zap? Is it par with the laser’s case, shorter, longer? Has anyone tested this behaviour?
Hair frequently grows in clusters out of different follicles. If there are three follicles very close together and the middle follicle has an active growing hair in it, but follicle 1 and 3 does not, then of course, one follicle is “killed”, but the other two will cycle in whenever they may??? and can be treated when they become active.
If laser zaps a whole area, and if the energy levels are correct and the hair color is dark and the hair structure is thick, then those hairs will be gone for good or reduced in size. Any hair in the area that was not growing at the time the zapping took place, will/may arise in a matter of 6-16 weeks. This statement also applies to electrolysis, except that with electrolysis ALL hairs can be treated no matter the structure or color.
For both laser and electrolysis, you have got to time this right to treat all new growing hair. It can be very frustrating in the first several months as those hair cycles keep coming. When the hair gets too fine or colorless, you need to just give it up and find a competent electrologist or be happy with the reduction you got.