how do i know if I'm making progress?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
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Ok, so I’ve been seeing an electrologist for my beard removal. I really like her, and she’s very affordable, which is great, because getting rid of a whole beard is going to be expensive.

but, i’ve got some concerns…I have extremely sensitive skin (as I told her before we started) and my face stays red for a few days after the sessions, and sometimes even a few weeks - especially when the hair starts growing back (I go for 1 and 2 hr sessions alternating each week - and I found that I can handle 2 hr sessions well enough now that I’ve gotten used to it. In the beginning 1 hr was all I could do.

I can tell that stuff is getting done, but now after going to her since may, I feel i still have a lot of regrowth (we have only done the cheeks and the neck, last week we finally reached the chin) since my cheeks are still kind of patchy, but we only do the cheeks once a month now - is this normal progression? i feel great until the hair on my cheeks starts coming back late in the 2nd week, and then i just feel like it’s not helping. I really want to get to a place where I don’t have to shave anymore, shaving is horrible - maybe even worse than the electrolysis. i guess if she’s just tweezing, then I don’t want to stay with her, and I would want to find someone who does it properly, even if they’re more expensive, because then at least i’ll know that it’s being done correctly…

also, sometimes when she is done with the zapping, and she switches to her tweezing, it hurts. She said that this is because i have transluscent hair with very big roots, and what i feel is the root coming out. is this true? i do have lots of white/blonde/red/brown hair, especially on my chin and upper lip. what will this mean for those areas?

Is there something i can use to reduce the redness and the ingrowns and to help with the pain for my upper lip? I know it’s going to drive me :crazy: when I get to that area!!!

Lastly I guess I have these weird dark spots on my face (my electrolygist said that it’s hair under my skin…ewww!!!) that are weird and annoying. sometimes they just come to the top as weird black crusties…what are these weird things!!! :confused:

any help would be appreciated!

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It sounds like you’ve made some progress, because of spending less time on your cheeks, but I have some concerns as well.

  1. The redness might be due to your sensitive skin, but for it to last weeks…that is not a good sign. Ice and witch hazel should help, but still - for weeks? Not good.

  2. When removing the hair after it has been treated, you might have the sensation of traction, which may be hard to discern from tweezing. It is my opinion that some individuals may be so sensitive that hairs feel tweezed when they have traction upon removal. When you feel more discomfort upon removal of the hair than you felt upon application of current, then perhaps the hairs are being tweezed and not properly treated.

  3. Ingrown hairs are a bad sign after treatment. If you have stopped tweezing and still get ingrown hairs, then it very well could be that the electrologist is tweezing. The hairs become broken off, and then ingrown.

  4. The dark spots under the skin may be related to ingrown hair. When they emerge from the skin and are “dark crusties” I would tend to think that they are hairs that were broken off under the skin.

What sensation do you feel upon the insertion of the probe? Do you feel “poked” or do you have the sensation of sticking a pin through fine paper or tight fabric?

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  1. Yeah…my skin is really sensitive…when I shave it’s just as red, but with electrolysis there’s less burning. i don’t usually use ice, just witch hazel, but i’ll invest in an ice cube tray…
  2. the current itself for the most part doesn’t even hurt…it’s the pulling out of the hair that gets to me…especially when she pulls out more than one! :slight_smile: sometimes there’s a twitch of pain with the current, but for the most part it’s not bad at all…there is usually a little poke, but i wouldn’t compare it to the feeling of a needle actually poking me…it’s a different sensation.
  3. i asked her about the ingrowns, and she said it’s because my skin regenerates faster than my hair can grow. i don’t know if that’s true, but when i shave or tweeze i get worse ingrowns. i guess i just feel like i should have gotten more done than i have, i don’t really know anyone to compare my progress to, which lets me worry when maybe there’s nothing to think or worry about…
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I have similar dark spots on and under my chin except that I wouldn’t describe them as “crusty” per say. I haven’t noticed as many since I stopped tweezing and began electrolysis a month ago, but I still get them. I got them all the time when I tweezed and they look like black pepper spots but stay right at the skin level for days w/o growing. Then I would squeeze or “pop” them out sometimes like a pimple and a tiny piece of hair would come out and then shortly after a new hair would sprout in the same spot.

Are these hairs broken off while tweezing or just simply a dormant hair waiting to get pushed out and shed?

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JMBrandt: Addressing redness - Does the redness from shaving last for weeks? …or just from electrolysis treatment? I will assume this is the 2 weeks betweeen electrolysis - and it should not be lasting this long.

Addressing sensation: I would think that especially the most sensitive person would be feeling more discomfort from the application of current than the removal of hair - even with the newest techniques used. If the removal hurts more than the current, then something is wrong. Perhaps her insertions are very good, but she has not balanced the right amount of current in the follicle.

Addressing ingrowns: Frankly, I think that the follicle is not getting the right amount of current to properly destroy it’s hair growing ability. Ingrown hairs can occur from shaving and tweezing, but once the electrolysis treatment has begun there should be no more tweezing. The electrologist tweezing can result in ingrown hairs. So, if you have the same amount of ingrown hairs as before, then switch electrologists. If you have a lot less ingrowns then they could be occuring from the shaving you are doing.

Alli: My opinion is that the appearance of pepper (good description) is the remnant of the root sheath that covers the papilla. The little dark tissue must work it’s way to the top of the follicle. When electrology treatments are performed correctly the complete root sheath, including the tissue surrounding the papilla, is removed from the follicle. I have read that it can take around 3 months for all old remnants to “shed” from the skin.

A bit of advice about squeezing: Stop! You are not doing your skin any favors by squeezing and pinching the skin. First of all it’s hard on your skin and second of all you can introduce bacteria into the follicles that can result in infection of the follicle.

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Thanks Barbara- It’s good to know that those pepper spots should be gone in the next 2 months and that they are not hairs that were broken off from any “plucking” done by the electrologist.Oh- and I don’t squeeze them anymore but now that you mention “squeezing”- there is a question burning on my mind.

I am very good at not touching my face at all the first 3 days after treatment and try to stay away from the areas as much as possible after that as well.I get these small whitehead pimples right under the skin on my chin and temples and have since before I started the electrolysis and they drive me crazy b/c they don’t mature and then dissapear like normal pimples do. They just kind of hang out under the skin all the time when I leave them alone. I finally started experimenting w/ them since they won’t go away and I found that if I apply only a little pressure (but, yes, still squeezing a bit), many of them will easily release a little puss and it doesn’t seem to damage the skin and subsequentally they seem to go away UNLESS I push it past just the small amount of pressure.Is this ok as long as I don’t push it?

I learned the hard way not to “push it” a week ago on a very sad and stressful day when I didn’t stop at the slight pressure on those that didn’t release w/ ease and I definitely did some damage to my skin. I WILL NOT REPEAT THIS, but what about the gentle pressure? If I wash my hands first is it not that bad? The frustrating thing is that if I just leave them completely alone they stay around forever.

I have an appt with a dermatologist in Feb b/c I have never had this particular pattern of breakout before. It started in September about 2 weeks after I started using that Vaniqa cream, along with acne on my back, which I hadn’t had since high school.I just assumed it was the Vaniqa but I stopped using it over 3 months ago and I still have the breakouts. I started Spiro about the same time but that is supposed to help with acne and not make it worse.I was tested as having a rise in my testosterone levels from elevated DHEA that stemmed from stress but if it is the testosterone then I’m not sure why the spiro has not helped since I’ve been on it since August.

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There are several OTC acne products worth trying. Some of the things you describe sound hormonal which could also cause acne. Puss is infectious material. Milia contain sebum and can look similar. Stop messin’ with your skin! So, if you leave them alone, do they multiply? …or just remain about the same in number?

When you go see the dermatologist, make sure that all the things you are seeing are there, so the doc can make an accurate diagnosis.

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Tea Tree Oil dissolves puss.

Most people would clear up acne if they just addressed their dehydration by drinking a total of one ounce per pound of water every day. That is just 12.5 ounces every two hours for every 100 pounds one weighs. One must also be careful to keep the electrolytes balanced, as one doesn’t want to flush out what little one may have, so make sure that one is actually eating fruits and vegetables, or at least drinking fruit juice. Finally, why not go all the way and eat a fiber dense meal each day to be sure that one gets the 20 grams of fiber everyone needs as a minimum each day. When one is eliminating wastes via the proper routes, there is no need to push them through the skin, and cause acne in the process.

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Oops! pus not puss! I thought we could edit our own posts! I notice that others have been…

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I eat very healthy,( no gluten, lots of veggies and some fruit, fiber supplements and fiber-rich meals like oatbran), and drink tons of water, usually 6.4 liters or more a day, which is more than 1 oz per ib I weigh (150lbs). I’m sure this is hormonal- it is just frustrating b/c I have been on meds (spriro)and supplements to regulate my hormones (testosterone was only one point above normal).My adrenals/cortisol were tested as way too high from stress and DHEA a little high, causing the rise in testosterone, but I have calmed a lot down and practice meditation and am currently not as stessed for more than 2 months now and I still have tons of unusual breakouts.I have been on the meds/supplements since August and haven’t used vaniqa in over 4 months.

I mix my tea tree oil with jojoba oil since my skin is also very dry in the winter. Can I apply the tea-tree oil/jojoba oil mix directly to my pimples? I know jojoba is non-pore blocking and it says on the bottle that it regulates oil, but I want to make sure it is ok to directly apply it to a pimple.

I realize that pus is infectious but can it spread if you pop a zit to cause more zits in the surrounding area? My electrologist said so, but I have never heard such a thing.

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Yes it is ok to apply directly to a pimple.

When you squeeze a zit, you can have the follicle wall break BELOW the skin’s surface and transfer the problem to other adjacent tissues. Even if you do avoid breaking the follicular wall, the bacteria can spread on the surface.

It is just best to allow the Tea Tree Oil or what ever preparation to dissolve the contents of the pimple and the skin shedding process to reveal new layers of healthy skin.