I wanted to start electrolysis of the back and shoulders. I went for a consultation and the electrologist told me she could do an area about the size of the palm of my hand (I have pretty large hands) in an hour. Does that seem normal for thick hair?
Also I was wondering, generally speaking, how many clearances would be needed. They say roughly 8-10 laser sessions, so for electrolysis how many total area clearances?
Two things:
What modality of electrolysis is she using? Thermolysis or Blend?
Is the thermolysis the quicker kind that takes less than a second?
Can you upload a picture?
You can’t compare laser and electrolysis like that because you likely won’t achieve a clearance each time you’re getting treated with electrolysis on an area that’s that large. So you have to take into account the fact that the first however many treatments will only treat some hair in anagen and will let some hair go into the next cycle to come back later.
Also, you can estimate how long a clearance will take in one sitting if you know what method she is using and how fast she goes. Thermolysis, especially microflash type, can get 5-10 hairs per minute. However, once again, realize that not all this hair will be in anagen phase. Also, not all of it will be killed the first time around.
Why are you comparing this to laser btw? Generally, you are either a good candidate for laser or you’re not. If you’re not, it’s not like you have an option to go with laser. And if you have dark coarse dense hair, then you should be doing laser to start because that will always be cheaper for that type of hair.
I have a package of 8 shoulder/back laser sessions with a gentlelase at 18mm/20j. I am a skin type 3 with dark semi-course hair. Not a gorilla by any means but the hair shows a lot. Im 8 weeks after my 3rd treatment and the hair has come back no better then it was pre laser. Therefor I have come to assume I will not get good result with laser (is it still too early to tell?). Im hoping to make the hair a bit finer and maybe reduce it a LITTLE after 8 sessions, then go with electrolysis which seems to be the only guarenteed method.
I was just wondering, how many clearances you have to achieve. Lets say for instance I was doing electrolysis on an area that took an hour to totally clear, how many times would I have to repeat clearing that area?
that is a picture of my upper back/ start of shoulder. Sorry for the poor image quality and terrible lighting it was the best I could do. I look darker then I am in that photo. I am a skin type 3. Whats your take from what you can tell as far as hair thickness and how long it should take? (once again I know the image is terrible)
I was told 12 hour for full back clearance???
The hair doesn’t look coarse in the picture. Are you seeing shedding 3 weeks after your treatments? If not, you’re not going to see any better results with more treatments. You should be at least getting shedding if it’s going well and working.
It’s hard to say how long a clearance would take. Once again, you can estimate. We can’t tell how many hairs you have there. You can estimate. Then assume you’re removing 5 hairs per minute. That’s going to give you a rough number. But of course unless you’re doing these hours back to back within a week, you’ll need to add some hours.
No two people are alike and neither are any two electrologists alike. Get it in writing and THEN HOLD THEM TO IT. YOU CAN ALWAYS LEAVE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO STAY.
Tell them to start at a particular area and do both sides equally. By that I mean… try about one hour on an area you can see. Next time do the opposite side. On your third visit go back to the first side and keep going back and forth. Make sure you spend an equal amount of time on each side or shoulder. You can do it all on one side if you prefer. That way you can see the progress. I am left handed, consequently, after a vacation I regain my sense of touch by practicing on the back of my right hand. I can show the patient how successful this treatment can be because one hand has absolutely no hair on fingers or back of hand. I started working on my right arm some time ago. Patients are eager to start treatment when they see what can be done by comparing the two sides.
I am expiriencing great sheading followed by a few weeks of smooth hairlessness lol. However by week 6-7 it starts coming back in then is back to normal. Unless i forget what normal used to be, it looks roughly the same. Can I still get results or is 3 sessions a good indicator of how far this will go?
By looking at that photo can you give a rough esitmate on how long for electrolysis?
If you’re seeing shedding, it’s a good sign. It’s not “all the hair coming back in 7 weeks”. It’s NEW hair in another phase of growth, i.e. it’s different hair. You should take more pictures, good ones, because people forget what they started with. It’s easy to get used to the good thing 
I would give it at least 6 treatments if you’re seeing good shedding. Though, you shouldn’t need treatments more than 8-12 weeks apart if everything is going right, i.e. new hair can start to come out at 6 weeks, but there should only be enough to treat at 8 weeks or so.
It’s impossible to tell how large that area is based on that picture since it only shows a part of the area.
lets say i was doing electrolysis in an area that could be cleared in 30 minutes totally (very small area) how many times would you have to clear that area till the area stopped growing hair? how many 30 minute sessions? as example…
This is impossible to answer for you because you have a unique hair thumbprint unlike no other person.
For a woman’s arms that I have recently completed within 14 months time, we had to go over both arms 8 times each to get all new hair that cycled in over 14 months, in addition to a certain amount of regrowth that inevitably will be seen during this period. It did not take 30 minutes for each session. Sessions were two to three hours in the beginning and dwindled down to a little over an hour for both arms, to a little under hour in the last month or two to get stragglers on BOTH arms. That is one example so a question like yours can be put into perspective. Whether you would fit that same scenario as this woman, can not be known. You just have to know that electrolysis will work and show behaviors that are necessary for you to get completed asap and then get on with your life.
No one can possibly give you a straight faced answer to your question over the internet, but an experienced electrologist that can see you may be able to relate to another client that had a similar problem as you and take an intelligent guess. Even then, it will only be a wide, general guesstimate because hair can be predictable and mysterious at the same time.
Dee