Althought those who do travel to see me DO seem to think it was well worth the trip, I am not here to say “Come one, come all, bring me your excess hairs, and I will strip you bare!” I am just hoping to answer some questions, inspire practitioners to step up to a higher standard, and maybe some day retire knowing that I am no longer unusual in the field.
Of course, as one client showed me, for him, flying to see me was actually less expensive than working locally, as the practicle dollars per hair came out cheaper with me than with his locals.
Hmm, this does have me quite curious. Although, I highly doubt I could afford routine trips from Vancouver to New York and not to mention accommodations as well.
Just did another 2hr stint. 9 total hours under the belt (I feel like a veteran now:)). Forgive me for this post because it’s gonna be long winded.
Anyways, the past week and a half has been crazy for me mentally. I’ve been experiencing quite a bit if anxiety over all of this hair removal business. Mainly because everything seems so uncertain to me. Will electrolysis work? How long will it take? How much will it cost? To compound this situation further I’ve started thinking about getting some laser. Why you ask? Well, let’s put it this way, I’ve got enough hair on my arms, legs/bum, and chest to be classified as a chimpanzee. Electrolysis just wouldn’t work well in terms of cost and time in these large areas. Sure laser is a risk, especially considering the fact that I have type IV skin. But what other options do I really have? To compound this situation further I’ve been stressing over how much new hair I’ll grow over time (I’m still a young guy in my early-mid 20’s). I keep thinking will all this time, money and effort go to waste if things get worse over time? Suffice to say I felt like I was going insane. Until today, however.
I went in for my appointment today determined to get 2 things done: 1) Ask my practitioner about laser and 2) Hopefully convince her to give me 4 hours a week of treatment to get on top of this problem. Well, I was pleasantly surprised how open and honest my practitioner was when I brought up the question of laser. She told me right away all of the things that have been stressed on this site and even recommended me to a place and a technician that is highly reputable and honest. Here’s the skinny on this place:
It’s been in business for over 15 years. They have a wide assortment of lasers (including a GentleYAG which would seem appropriate for my situation.
They don’t not push laser on people. They are fully aware of such things as laser induced growth etc. In fact, during the consultation they let you know IF they will do any work on you at all.
These are two very important factors.
So with all that said she referred me to this place and to talk to someone in particular about my situation. So far so good. I’ll let you guys know how the consult goes with this place.
Now, about the second thing I brought up. Well, she was very OPEN with that idea. In fact, after this session she booked me right up for the next couple of weeks and even suggested that I can advance book all the way into September if I wanted to. She understood that I wanted to follow an aggressive schedule to achieve full clearance ASAP. I was very happy with this.
Now the only things I have to contend with are financial. I’ve saved up a good deal of money (and I do mean a good deal) in order to take care of this problem. I’m just gonna have to play things by ear. I’ll try to book a consult at that laser place as soon as I can. I’m really crossing my fingers that they will be able to help me out and more importantly, that I will see some results. Alright, that’s enough for now.
Here’s a quote from the website of the laser place I’ve been referred to:
[b]"Assessment and patient education are critical to success with lasers. Lasers are not suitable for all hair growth. Lasers have actually been documented to make some growth worse! Many, many consumers have spent more of their hard earned money than was necessary to do the job or that shouldn’t have been spent at all.
The technology itself is important – use the right tools for the right job – some lasers work better on some kinds of hair and some are safer on different types of skin.
How the technology is used is important – can we get enough energy to the hair without damaging the skin?
The individual biology is important – what does mother-nature have in store for your body?
The timing of treatments is important – are we maximizing the number of active follicles per session so that the minimum number of visits are required?
We believe that you won’t get better results at any other facility and we will tell you if we don’t think we can help you achieve your goals."
Wow. I like this place already. Do report back on it after your consultation. This is the point that I hope the places that stick around get to soon.
I think I’ve said before that on the areas you’re talking about, you are not risking increasing growth, especially if you do have a lot of hair and it’s coarse and dense. That risk for men is only on shoulders/upper arm area.
GentleYAG is a good machine, but with a type IV, you might be light enough for GentleLASE as well. This place seems to know what they’re doing, so I would trust them to pick a laser for you.
Your electrologist seems very knowledgeable. Good find.
Yes I think I’m quite lucky to have my electrologist. Very open and honest. This laser clinic seems to be the same way. As a matter of fact, my electrologist was talking to me about a client she had (very young girl of south asian decent) who wanted to get her facial hair removed, which was quite fine, but still noticeable. Anyways, after consulting with her the girl really wanted to try laser. Of course, my electrologist explained to her the possible risks (induced growth), but sent her to this laser centre anyway to have her discuss her options further with a laser professional. And guess what? The laser centre SENT HER BACK to the electrologist. They showed her some pictures of induced growth and told her she’s better off getting electrolysis done. I just couldn’t believe that a laser centre would actually TURN CUSTOMERS DOWN. This was obviously a good thing since it shows how professional and dedicated the people are at this laser centre.
I plan on giving them a call tomorrow and booking a consultation ASAP. Wish me luck people!!!
Just called the laser place today. Apparently the individual whom I’m supposed to speak with and get my consult done with is on vacation for the moment. I’ve booked a consult for September 4/07.
11 total hours done. I’m finally into the double digits. Making some progress, but it’s slow. I asked my electrologist how long it would take for me to get my back done. She said she couldn’t give me a firm answer. I suggested a year and she said “oh no, you should be done long before that”. I was quite surprised. I do have A LOT of hair back there. Granted, all of it is very fine, only noticeable upon close inspection, but still a lot of hair. So I was quite surprised by her answer. Of course, she did tell me that she is trying to “blend” everything together. Regardless, we’ll see how it goes. I’m still experiencing a ton of anxiety about all of this. Might need to go see a psychiatrist about my issue.
“How long” questions depends on how much time you spend on the table up front and how close your appointments are together in the beginning to get that precious first clearance for any area up front. That’s why most electrologists are reluctant to answer “how long” questions.
THEN…if you go faithfully to get new hair cycling in, that rises above the skin’s surface after that first clearance, you could likely have this area wrapped up in a year. I have personally helped men within a year’s time if they stick close to me as advised. It takes a plan. It takes persistence and your electrologist needs the speed and punch that only flash, microflash or picoflash thermolysis can offer for people with large areas like yourself.
Having a good plan with a professional, modern electrologist will do more for you than a psychiatrist can ever do. Think about using your money toward solving your physical concern and your emotional side will fall into balance. Having a good laser plan may help as well. Take what you have learned here and apply it to find the best and most effective laser for your skin type. Keep searching and weighing and you will be okay. Both modalities together have been awesome partners for people with as much hair as you say you have.
Thanks for the advice dfahey, I really appreciate it.
It’s just INSANE for me to keep thinking about the zillion different options out there. The thing is my practitioner does thermolysis (I believe anyway), but it’s not of the microflash variety. She doesn’t have computerized equipment either. She’s really good at what she does, but I just keep thinking to myself that it’s smarter for me to travel somewhere (Electrolysis 3000 perhaps) to get full clearance that way. I’ve saved up a good deal of money to solve this problem for once and for all, but I’m just worried that I’m not making the BEST decisions or getting the BEST treatment available. In other words, I’m not getting the biggest bang for my buck.
We’ll see how things shape up over the next month or so. I might just take the plunge and go to Electrolysis 3000 to get to first clearance and then just finish off the rest with my current practitioner. We’ll see.
That sounds like a good plan if you want to speed things up. Yes, there are a zillion ways to approach hair removal and as I have said many times before on this site, “Permanent hair removal is not an easy gig. There is no easy way down”. BUT! there is a way down and you know what I’m talking about because you have read enough here to get the picture.
If your electrologist is good at what she does, kiss her feet and give her a hug. Any modality of electrolysis will “kill hair”, so don’t fret about microflash verses something else if that is what is available in your locale. When we talk about computerization and microflash, we are talking about deadly speed, client tolerance and skin issues. We talk about it a lot here because it is a more modern approach that yields great results in a decent time span. There are far less well-trained, skilled electrologists out there as compared to the many hairy people that need help. So, appreciate that she is good at what she does and stick close to her. You will still get to the end.
I feel like I’m in the exact same predicament as you. I’ve got the same skin type, and I’m around the same age (though I’m female). I’m getting electrolysis done with a very nice, skilled woman who does thermolysis (the slow kind with a foot pedal though), and sometimes I get impatient and wonder if I’ll ever get cleared.
However, she is very close to my house and her prices are very reasonable, so I save like $100+ a month in gas plus the more expensive treatments in Los Angeles.
Another 2hrs done. 13hrs done in total. 780 total dollars spent. To be honest, I still don’t think I’m getting my money’s worth here. Looks like we cleared a small patch today, but I’m still wondering if things could be moving along faster with somebody with better equipment and more speed. Regardless, I’ve booked up myself for the rest of this month. I’ll even be doing some 3 hour stints.
Anyways, because of my concerns about speed and efficiency I’ve been talking to James Walker about flying in to see him. I’ve been crunching some numbers lately and it may seem to make more sense to fly in and see him, rather than try to get the job done at home. If I do a prepayment I already save money in terms of dollars per hour of treatment time. At that point it would just be a matter of paying for airfare and other expenses which wouldn’t amount to THAT much if the speed and efficiency is there (which I think it would be). Anyways, I’ve got many loose ends to tie off before I can pursue that avenue, but it’s something that I really want to do. For example, I need to get myself a passport, book time off from work etc. I still have a laser consultation on Sep 4th which I intend to keep just to see what they have to say. I’ve got a lot on my plate as we speak. I’ll keep you guys posted on what happens.
MD, did you get my PM with an electrologist name in Vancouver that someone else on this forum highly recommended? I would advise you to try several more electrologists nearby before investing that much time and money into a flight. It sounds like you’ve only tried one so far.
MD,
I am sure there has to be other electrologists in your area. I live near Seattle and there are quite a few. However, most do perform the blend modality. I know apilus has been to trade shows in Vancouver, so I would be surprised if there were not some strong presence in your town of electrologist who at least use that brand of epilator. It seems crossing our boarders keeps getting more and more difficult these days. I remember when my spouse and I would make day trips just to enjoy Vancouver, BC. Victoria is another town we liked to visit a lot. Both are very Beautiful. But it seems like ages now since we have gone to B.C. for a visit. There just must be some very good electrologist in your town, before you have to go through all the trouble to come to the states.
Thanks for the advice guys. Yes, I’m gonna start looking into other practitioners. I think I really need someone who uses the latest and best technology in order to get to first clearance ASAP.
Yes, you might want to check out all the possibilities in and around your area before flying to see anyone in another provence/state or country. Even if someone good was found just across the boarder in WAshington State USA, it could possibly be better than traveling to Texas or New York.
Once you have checked that out, then you might find that Either Texas or New York still makes the most sense (and may even save some dollars as well in the long run).
…it could possibly be better than traveling to Texas or New York.
Two great places to live! Are you still bouncing back and forth? Do you get close to the DFW area? We could sure get your calendar completely booked up here…
Actually, I had not started working on my winter address activities this year. I did Austin, one year, Houston the next… I suppose Dallas could be my retreat from the cold. I will just have to listen to people’s snickers when I wear my Bills and Sabres gear in public.
