i have facial hair on my cheeks, sidebirns and chin. I dont want to have laser. However, i have phoned a few places that offer electroysis and they sat that it can leave me with pox marks as i am of asian (indian orgin). is that true?
Then don’t go to them!!! If that is their status-quo, then that is what you can expect at that facility.
I have quite a few Asian-Indian clients and their skin has done very well. One young woman had treatments elsewhere that did result in some pitting, and fortunately she was willing to try me - and her skin has done just fine since then, plus the previous pitting seems to have evened out. (I did not expect that!)
The “secret” to treating this delicate olive skin is to have absolutely no surface reaction with the current application. (This is not a big secret.)
Call other offices and ask their experience with your type of skin. Schedule some consultations and make a decision from there.
This is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE! If you have professional electrologists, in your area, that are well trained and skilled, then you are very lucky. Electrolysis is not a procedure that anyone can do so perhaps those that make such crazy statements should actually go back to an accredited training program. I find it very offensive to label women of color as different in regard to electrolysis care. It is the norm in my practice to treat women of color and they do very well, indeed. Skin color has nothing to do with good electrolysis care!
I’ve seen plenty of Indian (and darker-skinned) women have electrolysis with no problems. Of course pitting can happen to any ethnicity if treated improperly, but if these places think it’s normal for pitting to occur, then I wouldn’t trust them anyway. Find a different clinic.
I have an appointment booked for a consultation for electroysis next week. what sort of questions should i be asking?
I just want my chin done, could this be done in 15 minutes? also if i went every week for the next three months could i be hair free?
You can certainly clear the currently growing hair in three months (you can do that in one day). But you will not be hair free in three months because hair grows in cycles. You can only treat each hair after it pops up, and it takes a full year for every hair on your face to pop up at least once. So there is no way to be done in only three months, unfortunately. You will need to go in every couple of weeks for a small amount of time to kill the new phases of hair for about a year.
I would ask what machine and modality she is using. Ask for a trial, and see if you feel any plucking. If you don’t, then that’s a good sign. Wait a day or two to judge your skin reaction as well. Keep an eye open for hygienic practices. If all seems good then you can proceed.
Hair grows in cycles and it will take about 12 months to finish treatments because that’s how long it will take for all the different hairs to cycle through.
You should concentrate on getting a clearance each time you leave the appt. You can come in every 2-3 weeks to start. As long as you make long enough appts to leave with hairfree skin, you’re good to go.
Ask the type of machine, type of electrolysis, and about aftercare.
An average electrologist treats 5-10 hairs per minute using thermolysis. So you can estimate how long it will take yourself depending on the number of hairs you have to remove.
can you possibly tell me what machine and type of electroysis is best for asian skin.
i have to pluck the hairs on my chin daily. with elecroysis, would it slow down the rate of hair growth? and what factors determine whether you go weekly, fornight, monthly?
i personally think that i can get clearance in one session simply becasue there is not much hair, its just thick and dark. so after 3 months could i notice a difference.
phoning around a number of places, it is so hard to find a place that is willing to treat me because i am asian and some places have said that in some cases with asian skin you can get vrown spots like freckles. is that true?
if i cant find a good place i might just have to have laser. one hurdle after another.
You can get hyperpigmentation with LASER, too. I don’t find asian skin any harder to treat than white or black skin, so I’m sitting here wondering who these people are and what the heck are they doing different from me??? If you do LASER on your face, please be warned that you could experience induced hair growth stimulation. If you are willing to chance it, be brave and go forward.
Above you asked if electrolysis would slow down the rate of growth? Sweety pie, electrolysis permanently destroys the the bottom of the hair follicle so that no hair grows ever again out of that treated follicle. Please do some study and research on www.hairfacts.com . Read this forum on hairtell, too. Okay?
As a south Asian, I have never heard this about electrolysis before. Both my sister and I are having electrolysis successfully with only the normal temporary side effects such as redness.
As far as I know, there is no such thing as ‘best type of machine for asian skin’ as with electrolysis what matters most is what the electrologist does with the machine.
My electrologist uses quite old and basic equipment, whilst there are 2 electrologists in the same city who use new equipment but there have been many complaints about them damaging client’s skin.
I would definitely not have Laser on the face. You just need to find a good electrologist who isn’t afraid of working with your skin.
Please do as Dee suggested and read everything about electrolysis on hairfacts to educate yourself about the process.
stopit, that is so encouraging to hear that you aund your sister only gey normal temporary side effects.
I was going to have laser done on my face and neck with the Yag laser, but cancelled the appointment.
I then went to another local clinic offering lightsheer. The lady said I would have to shave my face, i tried every form of hair removal on my face but never shaving, she said it would definitely work and that it would be worse before it would get better.
But i am willing to put in the time and effort for electrolysis.
The only hurdle I am finding is that people are frightened to treat me. I now have an appointment which is going to take me two hours to get their. The lady is registered with a professional body for electrolysis.
def going to read about electrolysis on hairfacts before i go to my appointment.
Thank you for your advice guys!
I’m glad you cancelled the appointments. From recent threads on this forum I have learnt that the Lightsheer is a tricky machine to use and therefore successful treatment is less likely. For more info you can read through the threads in the Laser forum, I doubt you have to go further back than a month’s worth for more than 1 thread.
As for the YAG, it really only can treat coarse and dark hair. I have been treated with the YAG on various body parts (you can read the thread in my signature) and as expected I have not been able to remove the finer hairs on those areas, so I can’t imagine how I would get results on the face. Right now I have four 3-quarter arm treatments behind me and just have fine-ish hair left. I think that had it been treatable, it would have gone already. I debating if I should have a fifth because even though I don’t think it will give me much more reduction it would be interesting to know for sure if the YAG can treat them permanently or not.
If you can read through some electrolysis treatment diaries that will help a lot too. You can see what other people have looked for in an electrologist, opinions they have received and any problems encountered.
Pokka’s treatment diary was quite useful. There are a lot of pages but it’s worth a read because other posters have posted in regards to their treatment etc too:
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=68925&page=1
And here is a treatment diary from another South Asian girl, although her skin is not very tan. Pictures are included:
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/73595/1.html
Here’s mine with my sisters progress charted too:
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/51639/1.html
stopit, the lady who treats you is she registered with the BIAE? i have made 2 appointmentts so far for consultations and only 1 is BIAE registered. the nearest one is two hours awayy!!
i am thinking of cancelling the one who is not BIAE registered. or do you think i should go?
Yes, she is registered with the BIAE as are the other 3 electrologists in the clinic. An electrologist that I found for my aunt in Kent for chin work also has passed the BIAE exams although I don’t think she’s paid to be in the directory yet, so not all good electrologists are necessarily on there.
However, personally, I think any electrologist serious about their profession would prove their skill by taking the exams and becoming registered. But then, I have also heard of BIAE registered electrologists who have done inferior work and left clients with permanent marks.
I would go to both consultations so that you can compare the work. Please read thoroughly before you attend them so you know what to look out for. Things like which modality they will use and why, advice on aftercare, making sure you don’t feel insertions (you will feel the current) and that the hair slides out of the follicle without resistance after it’s been treated.
Just so you know, you should be using Tea Tree Oil and Witch Hazel for aftercare. As soon as my electrologist is done with an area, she wipes some TToil over it. Before I leave the salon, I apply some Witch Hazel which cools the treated area and the redness subsides much faster. I apply TToil again before bed and continue to use Witch Hazel for a few days; both aid in preventing white heads and helping healing.
Sometime, pin prick scabbing is a typical temporary reaction. My sister is treated with thermolysis (as well as blend) and she gets these. But they are tiny and by sticking to the aftercare regime, they fall off themselves after a few days, leaving no marks whatsoever.
I get treated with blend because I’m happy to be treated at a slower pace and also because my skin is lighter, pin prick scabbing would be more obvious.
Where in the UK do you live?
thanks for the advice, finding it really helpful. i live just outside b’ham.
where can i pucrchase the tree tea oil and witch hazel.
the lady that is not registered is charging £10.80 for 10 mins plus the cost of needles and then £22 for the hour. the £22.00 i find is cheap for the hour, so that is putting me off her. but like you have said i will go to both consultations and take it from there.
really appreciate your quick and constructive advice.
Is Jessica Green the BIAE registered one?
There’s also Sheila Godfrey in Solihull:
http://www.skintherapycentre.co.uk/Practitioners/
Bit concerned by the fact she does IPL as well but given her credentials I’d hope she would be good.
You can get a small bottle of TTOil diluted for direct skin use from the body shop. I’ve used it in the past and it’s good quality. Now I buy 100% TToil and dilute it myself because I refill for my sister, aunt and cousin and it works out cheaper. But to be honest, it is less hassle just to buy the Body Shop one initially.
I buy all these types of things, including Witch Hazel from:
http://www.naturallythinking.com/
Please report back on how the consultations went and we can advise further. Personally, unless one knows for sure that the electrologist does excellent work (i.e. personal recommendation), I’d advise short appointments (15mins) every week or so until you are confident that the treatment in consistent in terms of leaving your skin looking good and hairs being properly treated. Then you can confidently book long sessions to clear asap.
can you have electrolysis whilst pregnant?
Technically, there is nothing that says that you can’t have electrolysis while pregnant, but many electrologists won’t do it because you may want to blame any potential unrelated issues on electrolysis later.
Witch hazel is sold at most drug stores and tea tree oil at most health food stores.