just wanted to suggest that you use aftercare to help the skin heal. it helps a lot. witch hazel is great. you can buy it for a few bucks at any drugstore and i would apply it twice a day or so.
The redness will go away. You might even see tiny little scabs at the site of each follicle - they can last as long as 2 weeks, but not always.
As you can tell, these electrologists have different methods and different personalities, and either one will get this accomplished for you.
Pics were from your cell phone? Wow, actually pretty good pictures!
I found out the names of the two machines my two electrolysists use. The one that I am getting Thermolysis with, and probably 3/4’s of my treatments is an “Ultra Blend” and the other one that I am getting Micro-Flash with is some sort of “Apilus”.
I’ve gotten almost all of my treatments on the Apilus with microflash and thermolysis. It’s a very good machine in good hands. Microflash is also very little pain, and it’s fast.
I have a question about what a proper electrolysis treated area should look like after it is finished. I’m not talking about irritation, but about hair growth. I figured I would not have much hair growth for at least while, (similar to if a region of the body would of been waxed). I’m not even talking about permanency at this point, but my first electrolysis treatment was 14 days ago. About 4-5 days ago, I started noticing stubble on this area. Now it is continuing to grow in. It basically looks like if I would of shaved about 3 or 4 days ago. I know you guys will probably tell me that it was hair below the surface that is now growing but when I would receive laser and ipl treatments I never saw regrowth like this until at least 8 weeks later. The same would go for waxing, I didn’t see this much stubble 2 weeks after gettin an area waxed. Also, maybe it is just me but the hairs looks extremely dark. They look a little further apart than just typical stubble, but I was definitely expecting a more hair free area after 2 weeks of treatment…
The other electrolysis that I went to 9 days ago, I have not noticed this “regrowth stubble” yet. That area looks pretty much hair free at this time although it still has some redness in the area from the treatment. I don’t know what the deal between the two is. Sorry if I am not explaining it right, and it is pretty early in the process. I am just kind of confused about what my skin and hair growth should look like 2 weeks after a treatment.
As long as you have the thick dark hair, those follicles that are not permanently disabled by laser, will go into its extended telogen stage where those follicles are dormant, resting, not going to grow a hair for a longer time.
When we wax, and one comes in about every 6 weeks, we are effecting the hair growth cycle so that you are able to appear hair free for a longer time.
With laser and with waxing, we are effecting hair growth patterns.
With electrolysis, we can only treat what we see above the skin. And then, we are targeting a specific area, usually not an entire face, for example, in one treatment, as we can do with laser and waxing.
Those first few months of electrolysis are critical as it is best to have the area treated and retreated as hair begins to emerge, that is when the follicle is most vulnerable to electrolysis. You will then begin to see fewer hairs per cm until it appears that you have bald spots. And as you see this progess, you might be encouraged to continue until you are finished.
Those initial months of electrolysis can bring up big issues for clients, like patience and trust. It is no wonder that so many life long friendships are formed between client and electrologist after the treatments are over. I never see this with laser or waxing clients where the scenario is more like, zip zap in and out show me the money.
Well, I really can’t chat with the tech doing my LHR as we are wearing goggles in a room with a very noisy laser (cooling system) that beeps VERY loudly at a quick pace. Treatment is 15 minutes or less every 3 months (with a different person frequently).
With electro, the same person and I have 1 hour every week to chat; no dark glasses and little noise (a quiet beep 6 times per minute). That is 50 hours in a year vs. 1 hour for laser.
Trust may be a big issue, but these factors are very significant.
PS. Woohoo! Finally got to my 100th post in this forum. Shoot, only 50,000,000 more to catch up with LaGirl and company… 
Chuck, with laser and waxing, you remove the hair that’s UNDER the skin and the hair that’s right above the skin’s surface, but still very light and unnoticeable. With elecrolysis, you are only removing the hairs that are clearly visible above the skin’s surface. so yes, those are not the same hairs. hairs cannot develop AND grow out of the skin in 4-5 days. it’s physically impossible.
I’m aware that laser can penetrate beneath the skin to a hair that is just starting to grow from way underneat the skin surface, but it doesn’t do it very well. Especially when your hair grows at an deep angle. You say with waxing you remove hair that is under the skin? I don’t think so. Waxing is the same exact thing in electrolysis in the sense that it is plucking all the hair that is ABOVE the surface of the epidermis and ripping it out. I realize hair cannot grow from the follicle to the skin in 4-5 days, however, I am kind of weary that the hair is being broken in half when it is being pulled out after treated. I came to this conclusion because I go to two electrolysists, and one I don’t see stubble after 2 weeks and another one I do. When I’ve waxed my shoulder, I did not have even close to this much hair growth in this area until about 5 weeks after a waxing.
Hi:
Arlene said:
“Those initial months of electrolysis can bring up big issues for clients, like patience and trust. It is no wonder that so many life long friendships are formed between client and electrologist after the treatments are over.”
I found that at times early on I needed a lot of patience and in time I learned to trust what my electrolygist was doing for me, as well as her level of skill and dedication.
We also became very good friends.
Patience is a virtue.
Alicia
Chuck,
I tend to agree with you on the breakage of hair below the skin. Ask the electrologist if you can see some hairs after right after they’ve been treated. You should see an intact hair with bulb.
yes, there might be breakage with one of your electrologists. i was also trying to point out that waxing doesn’t actually produce completely hairfree skin for 3 straight weeks. if you look closely, you can see many thinner finer hairs already pop through within a week after waxing. it’s just not till 3 weeks after that a LOT more hair is there and overall more obvious that the hair is “back”.
Well it is too early to tell I guess especially if I am achieving permanency. I will give it time. I am pretty discouraged on the price. I figure about 1/15 of my area that needs to be treated has been treated. I’ve already spent $496. That means to get my FIRST clearance it will of cost $7440. That is very depressing. Then I’m going to need 3-4 more clearances after that. I’m looking at a 7 year process perhaps, and I should have my first “clearance” by October of 2007 if I go 4 hours a week.
You know, I am really thinking about buying my own equipment and treating my arms myself. I really think I could figure it out. Maybe even taking online electrology courses, and finding someone to teach me how to make correct insertions. If it really works, might as well buy a machine do it yourself for a half hour every day. The machine’s themselves are very cheap, much cheaper than those 60K laser machines.
Can you explain again (I’m sorry) what areas you are treating that will take this much time? Forgive me for not looking backwards at your previous posts.
Dee
ALL OF THIS. When I mean all, I mean there is hair on about every single square micrometer. You cannot really tell completely in the picture as some of the hair is relatively short at this time.
Thank you for repeating that again. I don’t believe the 300 hour estimate or the 7 year deal, let alone $7,000 plus you were told.
Are you seeing an electrologist that can work at a decent speed using mocroflash thermolysis? Is she or he using the biggest size probe possible. Electrolysis doesn’t have to be a slow process especially if you are going 4 hours a week. It all boils down to the strategy your person uses for a large area. The only thing limiting the most swift, efficient, focused and dedicated electrologist and the client in a situation like yours is the hair growth cycles. We have to play the waiting game to catch good growing hairs and then blast them. You can’t help it and your practitioner can’t help it. Mother nature makes the rules on this one.
You must have an electrologist that can MOVE and get a first clearance soon. If you are willing to put in 4 hours a week, until that day comes, then you are not looking at 7 years! You can even have the areas waxed one time only to wipe the slate clean and then start the attack.
I get how frustrated and depressing this can be. There has to be a plan of attack and the first clearance has to begin somewhere. Start with your your shoulders. Once that area is cleared, keep it cleared every visit. Keeping the area previously cleared every appointment is important! After the cleared area is maintaned, then atttack the upper arms. Once the upper arms are cleared, keep them cleared, along with the shoulders and so on and so forth. A good plan, implemented by an energetic electrologist will lift your spirits.
Dee
I am going to go out on a limb and speak for both Dee and myself and say that both of us could get you to first clearance for soooooo much less than $7,000. I know MTF Trans Women who have not paid that much to do a full face to completion with me.
People forget that electrolysis may be something you pay for by the hour, but the hourly rate is not what one should shop for, number of hairs per dollar is a much more important, yet seldom calculated figure.
Well, my electrolysists didn’t give me any hour estimates except the fact that it could take 1-2 years, and the other one said 3-4 years. They both suggested I tried laser even after I told them I’ve had a boatload of lasers, with a bunch of different lasers and techs. My area is very dense, very large, coarse. I don’t know if those pictures do that much justice, I really need to get a real camera, and take an up close picture of parts of my arms and shoulders and what not to get a better realization of what it looks like.
Basically, I came to the $7400 because only 1/15 of the area has currently been cleared and I’ve spent 500 dollars. It’s kind of a estimate that I’ve concocted on my own.
I would imagine that my body hair is 3/4 as thick, and the follicles are about half as dense as that on my face. The total square area of my face in relation to what I need done is about eight times that of the square area on my face. I would gladly try a treatment with you if you were in this area to see how your speed compares to the electrolysists I go to now. Could you guarantee me a price below $7000 
I would guestimmate that the thermolysis one removes about 12 hairs per minute, while the other one probably 15-18. The thermolysis is very painful, and I don’t know if I could physically take much more than 12 hairs a minute. I felt like I about died today after I went for two hours straight.
The interesting thing about body parts is that male faces actually have more hairs per square centimeter than chests and backs. Whereas I have been able to clear even the hairiest beards to first clearance in plus or minus 20 hours, backs are typically plus or minus 12 hours from shoulders to waist. So, yes, I could guarantee that you would not spend $7,000 on first clearance, and in fact that one would finish the job for less than that. Now if only we could do a first clearance, and then see each other once every 6 to 12 weeks thereafter.
I wish you luck, and hope that we have been able to help you find what you need.
Please call the electrologist and tell her about this. Stubbly hair 10 days after a treatment would be a sign of undertreatment of the follicle. It “sounds” like the hairs may have been broken off under the skin.