My Electrolysis Experience....

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

Hi everyone,

I am going to keep a running log of my experience. (bye the way this is the 3rd time I’ve posted on my electrolysis experience since I started going and my post keeps disappearing for some reason. (Oh well…) :frowning:

I’m getting my upper lip, chin and nipple area done. So far… who knows if I’ll add anything else… but that’s the main areas now.

I went for my first full session last week. She did all my visible chin hairs, some of my upper lips hairs and my nipple hairs (I don’t have that many).

The pain was alot more than the first consultation session I went for 2 wks earlier where she only removed about 10 hairs or so.

I put on topical pain cream… she told me I could have put it on thicker so that may be why it hurt more than I thought it would. The upper lip of course was more painful than the chin. The entire session was 45 min.

So today is post day #3 and I don’t see any chin hairs yet. I see some shadow on my nipples where hairs will likely pop out.

My upper lip concerns me. I took a mirror and counted at least 100 hairs or so that need to be removed. I know from reading on here, it’s been said you should get a full clearance… I can’t imagine how long that will take for my upper lip. Plus it hurt so bad last time, I cant imagine enduring 45 min straight of that on my upper lip.

I have been a waxer/tweezer and it’s been about 5 wks since my last waxing (and WILL be my LAST time as I know you don’t wax or tweeze once you start tx). She said it would take about 8 wks after the waxing for all the hair to come though from diff growing cycles.

I know the most painful part is going to be the hairs in the crease of my upper lip and under my nostril area. Not looking forward to that!

So far my skin looks pretty good… right after tx, she put on witch hazel and some other soothing gel. I have noticed some white heads where she did my lip and on my chin and also nipple area. I guess this is normal? They are disappearing. She told me just to use mild soap, witch hazel and moisturizer when I wash my face. I mentioned aloe and she said it was too oily.

Will keep you posted. :slight_smile: I go back in 2 weeks!

2

Hi!
Wish you all the best! I had my first electrolysis treatment this thursday on my nipple area, and will hopefully notice the difference asap!
Do you have any idea if the hairfollicles are able to produce strays of hair in the future, for example after hormonal changes that occur during and post pregnancy?
-Hanna

3

Hi Hanna!

Oh I forgot to mention that I didn’t feel any pain to the nipple area! (Nothing compared to upper lip and chin).

Good luck to you as well!

I would think with hormonal changes, you could get strays. I think I’ve read that on the board here. Maybe one of the resident expert electrologists on here can chime in. I don’t know how much growth you would get or anything (for example during pregnancy).

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From reading on here… I see most electrologists suggest to get a “full clearance” at the beginning. I went for 1st session last Wed and scheduled for #2 session in 2 wks. Should I be going more often than 2 wk intervals? (just wondering… my electrologist seems great… just wanted to get some opinions).

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  • What type of electrolysis is being used on you? Galvanic, blend, or some type of thermolysis? How many hairs are being removed per minute would you say?

  • Upper lip is a sensitive area which usually doesn’t tolerate treatments over 15 mins at a time very well. It’s one of the most painful areas.

  • You need to leave the numbing cream on for about 45-60 mins. Did you do that?

  • Yes, you should come in as often as possible to get all the hairs that are visible removed in the beginning. And then come in as soon as you see new hairs pop up. Just don’t retreat any areas that still haven’t healed from previous treatment to avoid damaging the skin.

  • Not sure what you mean by waiting for hairs on the nipple area to pop through. They should be removed during the treatment. If you see hairs stuck in the follicle, it may be that they were broken off during treatment, i.e. not treated properly. I found that the blend method was better for the nipple area because the hairs there tend to be deeper. I got microflash on most other areas.

  • Those are not white heads. It’s your body repairing itself. Just use witch hazel several times a day for a few days after each treatment and let the skin heal. They’ll go away. Keep the area clean and avoid any harsh cleansers.

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Kristin,

A two week period is okay. Your electrologist can see you and perhaps she feels a two week period is best for you for whatever reasons?? I think your electrologist sounds very competent. I do like aloe vera gel, but others have preferences that are okay as well. EMLA works well as long as it applied 1/4" thick and occluded for 45 minutes -1 hour for the upper lip.

I personally will go a week in between those first treatments until first clearance is obtained, as a week is long enough for my clients to heal properly. I will clear the hair off completely on the sides of the upper lips and thin the middle for some situations, but will be able able to accomplish this is 30 minutes for many clients using microflash. Yes, they heal well with a thirty minute treatment. For a recent transgender client, we accomplished 1,313 insertions on her upper lip in 2 hours and 2O minutes and she left all clear of hair on her upper lip. She had a choice to do it this way or break it up in 3-4 sessions. The trade off of doing this in one long session was swelling for 36-48 hours. She accepted that. Her skin reacted well all the way through and she healed nicely. This was made possible with good equipment and proper use of that equipment, using microflash. So, there are situations that a first, full clearance can be done safely and situations where sessions need to be broken down into smaller treatment times. You will still get permanent hair removal in 9-12 months after your first, full clearance, if you stay true to your scheduled appointments. Your skin reaction and tolerance levels may point to the need for an every two week session plan. Your electrologist is not guiding you wrong.

Nipple hair can be treated and cleared in one session. Yes, this is possible to do. I clear with microflash first and frequently find all stages of growth present, unless the woman is a “plucker”. Thereafter, for the remaining treatments, I mix it up with microflash and blend. I personally think this is a very easy area to do and it is very satisfying to women. You still need to go through those hair cycles just like any other area, so forget the asap stuff hannahanna, but you will notice a big difference very soon. You might produce a few hairs more over the years. They will be NEW hair follicles coming alive, not the ones that were treated several years ago. This area actually stays pretty stable over time.

Continued good luck ladies!

Dee

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-What type of electrolysis is being used on you? Galvanic, blend, or some type of thermolysis? How many hairs are being removed per minute would you say?

She uses an Apilus system and uses thermolysis. I would say for the upper lip probably removed about 8-10 hairs per min? Just guessing.

  • Upper lip is a sensitive area which usually doesn’t tolerate treatments over 15 mins at a time very well. It’s one of the most painful areas.

Good to know! :slight_smile:

  • You need to leave the numbing cream on for about 45-60 mins. Did you do that?

No, I actually didn’t… more than 30 min. It’s called Topicaine and it’s similar to EMLA I guess but you don’t need to put a dressing over the top like you do for EMLA. She said I could have put it on thicker than I did. That may be one of the reasons it hurt more than it should have.

  • Yes, you should come in as often as possible to get all the hairs that are visible removed in the beginning. And then come in as soon as you see new hairs pop up. Just don’t retreat any areas that still haven’t healed from previous treatment to avoid damaging the skin.

She’s got me on a 2 week schedule. I guess I can ask her why 2 wks instead of weekly next time.

  • Not sure what you mean by waiting for hairs on the nipple area to pop through. They should be removed during the treatment. If you see hairs stuck in the follicle, it may be that they were broken off during treatment, i.e. not treated properly. I found that the blend method was better for the nipple area because the hairs there tend to be deeper. I got microflash on most other areas.

Oh no I didn’t mean I am waiting for them to pop out. She removed all of the nipple hairs in the treatment. What I meant is that I looked a few days after treatment and can see some little black dots, so think those are hairs that are still yet to grow out. I was a plucker prior to this, so I’m sure the nipple hairs are in diff growing cycles as well. I did stop plucking for at least 4-5 wks prior to this though.

  • Those are not white heads. It’s your body repairing itself. Just use witch hazel several times a day for a few days after each treatment and let the skin heal. They’ll go away. Keep the area clean and avoid any harsh cleansers. [/quote]

Well yeah I assume they weren’t really white heads (I didn’t pop any like I would zits). I used to get a few when post waxing too.

Thanks so much for responding! :slight_smile:

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-EMLA works well as long as it applied 1/4" thick and occluded for 45 minutes -1 hour for the upper lip.

Yes I’m using Topicaine gel and I will definitely leave it on for a full hour next time! She had told me 30 min would be okay. Also I don’t think I put it on thick enough. Have you ever heard of Topicaine… do you know if EMLA is more effective?

-but will be able able to accomplish this is 30 minutes for many clients using microflash.

She uses thermolysis… what’s microflash again?

-Nipple hair can be treated and cleared in one session. Yes, this is possible to do.

She did clear it all in the first session. I just think b/c I was a plucker, that there may be a few more hairs that haven’t come to the surface yet.

-Continued good luck ladies!
Dee

Thanks, Dee!

9

Microflash is a type of thermolysis. Apilus machines have it. I find it hurts a bit less and is a bit faster. I had my electrologist use microflash on most areas except those where hairs were deeper like the nipple area (blend worked better there).

Yes, you probably need to put the cream layer thicker and leave it on longer.

Don’t let them treat your upper lip for longer than 15 mins. Tell her what kind of reaction you got this time so she knows it was too much.

You don’t need to go on her schedule. You can tell her you want a full clearance on all areas you’re treated as soon as possible and want to come in often and for longer appts to get to that clearance.

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Wow, thanks LaGirl for the pointers. Appreciate it! :confused:

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What plucking for a long period of time does is make your hair stronger and more resistant after a while. Basically, that means that some hairs will need several passes/treatments before they get killed permanently (i.e. some hairs will get treated now, but will come back again once or twice before they get killed permanently).

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And may I add that many hairs will be “goners”, the first time it is treated, if the correct amount of energy is used for the correct amount of time, with the correct size of probe, with the hair in the growing phase. For all this to happen, you must find a practitioner who has the skill and uses care and focus to perform whatever modality of electrolysis, correctly.

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  • Apilus is a great newer system. There are options to do microflash, thermolysis and blend on it. Microflash and thermolysis are much faster than blend and especially the very slow galvanic (think 5-10 hairs per minute vs 1-3 per minute), and are AS effective when done properly. Blend is better for deep hairs. Otherwise, microflash or regular thermolysis are great.

  • You should not feel the hair being tweezed. It should slide out easily without resistance after it has been zapped. That’s a sign of a good treatment

  • Get some witch hazel at the drugstore and apply it twice a day on the area to help it heal. Also, avoid harsh facewashes and makeup, and keep the area clean until it heals.

  • That schedule sounds good. Just make sure not to treat the same exact spots until they heal fully.

14

All modalities of electrolysis are effective and,conversely, all can be miserable failures if the electrologist is not performing electrolysis correctly. This applies to galvanic, blend or thermolysis.

In the begining, which is where you are at now, hairs are in all stages of growth unless you have been tweezing all the way up to that first electrolysis appointment. If you haven’t been tweezing, then some hairs are going to be growers and some hairs are going to be shedders. Some hairs are in between those two stages. You may feel some resistance after a particular hair is treated and lifted out if it is not a good, moist growing hair. Resistance felt may be due to the structure of the hair or it may be due to hair’s particular stage of growth. If it feels like regular tweezing when your electrologist tries to lift the treated hair out of the follicle, then talk to your electrologist so she can explain this. If it feels like a slight pop, that may happen sometimes in these beginning stages until you get a first, full clearance. Those first appointments can be more challenging. If they were all anagen hairs, it would be so very helpful for both practitioner and client.

Some hairs are affected the first time if they are in the right stage of growth and if the electrologist uses the correct probe size with the correct amount of energy for the correct amount of time. Some hairs that are not in a growing phase will be treated, but we most likely can only weaken the hair and it will come alive in 2-4 months again, most likely. That’s when you should have it treated and that’s why we firmly advise that you keep consistent appointments. This is all about proper timing to get growing hairs and if you are not loyal, you will prolong the time unneccesarily on the treatment table.

Your electrologist is advising you well to come in for weekly appointments for a month or so, followed by more treatements spaced farther apart. Please follow her advice to catch all new hairs that pop to the surface.

Dee

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You are very welcome. Keep your hair diary here, if you’d like, as many people watch and learn a lot when hair removal journals are kept on one thread within a certain time line. It’s a real neat thing you can do to help others in similar circumstances. Ask as many questions as needed. Your electrologist will help you along, so definitely keep her in the loop as your number one resource for concerns or questions.

Dee

16

Well I didn’t keep a running log like I had planned. I know I’m bad! (go back to the very beginning of this thread on page 1 for my posts as I see a poster named Jessica came in on page 2- this ISN’T ME).

Well I am back to update you guys on my electrolysis experience.

My electrologist uses the Epilus system and thermolysis. I have been going for 14 months now and I am a little disappointed. I don’t know if I have reason to be or if I’m just sick of this whole process.

She’s working on my upper lip, chin and nipple area and did my eyebrows too.

I’ve been going every 2 wks but sometimes it’s a little longer if she or I have to cancel or if there’s a holiday, so sometimes it’s every 3-4 wks. So roughly this is about 20 sessions total.

I am disappointed b/c I still have black hair that appears about 2-3 wks after the last tx. I would think after a year that i wouldn’t be having this and when I ask her how long it’s going to take she never has a good answer. I mean don’t get me wrong, it has GREATLY decreased! I don’t have nearly as many black hairs on my chin and upper lip as I used to. It’s just when will I NEVER see any further black hairs sprouting up? I feel like it will never happen. I don’t want to continue to go for the rest of my life for this. I only get about 10-15 black hairs that grown back on my upper lip and about 8 black hairs on my chin after 3-4 wks. I just want PERMANENT hair removal! She says I will get permanent removal.

I had quite a lot of hair in all spots of my upper lip (in the crease, under nostrils, both sides of lip. I was a waxer and tweezer for many years prior to electrolysis.

The sessions are either 30-45 min long… in the beginning spent a great deal more time on my chin and less on my upper lip, but by about the 3rd month, she was doing at least 30 min on the lip each time. I don’t feel a plucking sensation when it’s pulled out. (just trying to answer some questions ahead of time that I may get). My upper lip gets extremely red with white heads when she has done the crease area (middle) of my upper lip (but I think this is normal b/c she said the middle has the most nerve endings and hurts more and is more sensitive). The redness goes away in about 2-3 days. I don’t have much redness with the chin.

Any ideas if my results are normal or not?

I know hair grows in different stages and I waxed and tweezed prior to this so it should take a while… but should it take over a year? I did stop waxing and tweezing about 3 wks prior to start of electrolysis.

Oh plus she spend 2 entire sessions just doing my eyebrows. She said 2 sessions is all it would take. Does this sound right? I have a few hairs growing back already. I can’t imagine I would NEVER have to worry about hairs growing back to my eyebrows now after the way my chin and upper lip still grow.

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Yes, I have some thoughts. It is said repeatedly here that it can take anywhere from 9-18 months to get to the place where you definitely feel like you may be finished. Twenty treatments so far? Pretty normal for someone who has been a waxer and a tweezer for many years and had a lot of hair. I would say you have come a long way if you report 10-15 black hairs or 8 black hairs here and there! If you took before pictures, you would be euphoric with the change. If you have sneaked in any tweezing after you started electrolysis, that can prolong things.

Your results are normal, in fact, they are very good NORMAL. All the hair must come forward, so don’t be worried by the 14th month mark. For severe cases, expect to go to month 15?, 16?, 17?, 18?, 19?, 20?.. 24? Then after that, expect Mother Nature to come along ANY TIME IN YOUR LIFE SPAN and cause a few more NEW hairs to stimulate as your hormonal or genetics environment dictate. Ugh. You will need short clean ups 1-6 times per year? Maybe?

This is why your electrologist cannot give you exact time to completion promises. You have your own hair thumbprint, so very unique like everything else about you. I think your lady has done a fantastic job from what you described! Give her a kiss and hug and continue to trust her. You are 90% there for goodness sake! Keep the faith!

Dee

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Well thanks for responding Dee. I didn’t know about the 18 months as I have not read all threads on here and haven’t been on here for a year now. I know everyone’s hair is different.

I guess I get discouraged when I talk to people at work who are obviously non-electrolysis who think that a year is a long time and they always say “geez… shouldn’t you be done by now?” And then it makes me wonder. But thanks for clearing that up for me. I honestly didn’t remember the time pd of up to 24 months. Sorry. I didn’t mean to come off so dispondent and discouraged. It’s just been a long week and I’m thankful the work week is finally over!

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Well, now you can pass along that information to all the people at work. Just be ever so thankful that you found a skilled electrologist. The thing that gets me a little low at times is when clients pressure me to get this done faster when I have no control over the forces of hair biology. I can only affect whatever comes to the surface, WHENEVER it comes to the surface. There is a big, wide window for this hair removal effort and that window can be anywhere from 9-24 months. Is it worth it to you to concentrate on this problem for 9-24 months when you know it will be permanent? There are so many things that are not permanent that we make effort toward and gladly spend a lot of money on with no end ever in sight - electrolysis is not one of them.

So glad to hear from you! Come back for more updates, okay?

You are in good position, so do relax now.

Dee

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Thanks Dee, appreciate the advice. I didn’t realize it could take up to 24 months honestly or I wouldn’t have made such a big deal. Yes it is definitely worth it for permanency. I have done it for 14 months so far and haven’t tweezed at all since starting elecrolysis nor do I ever plan to do so again (in fact I don’t even know where my tweezers are anymore!) so I can definitely wait 10 more months if that’s what needs to be done. :slight_smile:

I’m an RN too bye the way. And I work with a bunch of RN’s (obviously!)