I’m a 43 year old male in perfect health, except I have PFB. I would say I have a medium case of PFB. My hair is, light brown, very course, dense in nature, deep rooted and I also have olive skin. The worse area of my face is the cheek region. I thought I would like to get rid of all the hair on my face and neck. I thought the quickest way of doing this would be to have laser treatments on my face, well needless to say I went through two different complete sessions of laser treatments which did not work. Don’t ask me what kind of lasers they used because I don’t know. From what I have read since, I don’t think my hair color and skin color are right for laser treatments. I started electrolysis with a woman who performed thermolysis on me. After three sessions I stopped the after affects on me were terrible, it was worse than the PFB. It almost seemed the heat was to high and I was getting burned, not a good situation and she did not know how to correct the problem. My skin is sensitive so I looked for a practioner who did the blend method. I told her to start on my cheeks, since this is the worse area of my face. After bout 2 months she was able to get full clearance on my cheeks. I go for a 3 hour session every week. Well after 150 hours later she is still working on my cheeks!! She uses the Clareblend Ultrablend machine and the setting is on #6 Which she says is pretty high. My face reacts well to the treatments and I do see results and there is separation between hairs. I guess I thought by now I should be further along. As everyone knows the expense is high and I don’t want to spend anymore money than I have to, but I am committed to this. My practioner says I have a tough case and my hair grows in every direction and ingrown. I don’t know if I should change practioners, methods or what. I just know I don’t want to be writing this after 450 hours of service and having spent 27k and not complete! Thanks for reading my post…sorry for the length…this is an awesome site!
Thanks for joining us here at HairTell.
You will find it easier to get help if you edit your profile to include your location, as people who read the site who have had experience with what you are talking about in your area, may be able to tell you of a good practitioner who is easily accessible to you.
When searching for an electrologist, there are many things to be weighed against one another. Sensation during treatment, condition of skin post treatment, number of hairs removed per hour - leading to a hairs per dollar count.
I don’t know where you are, so I have no clue what is available for you in your area. It may be that something slow but sure is the best thing to get good looking skin as your result. It may be that someone in your area can do faster work, with good results, and therefore a lower total cost, with just as good or better skin post treatment.
I wish I could tell you that it was easy, but in this industry, there is a wide range of possibilities, some good, some bad, some downright ugly.
that’s unfortunate and it shouldn’t be taking this long for just your cheeks. that’s a lot of treatments. it sounds like it’s practitioner skills that lacking here. if the insertions are not great, then she might not be ever killing the hair. i would say it’s time to sample a few more electrologists and see if there is someone better out there. you also don’t necessarily need blend. Microflash or thermolysis would be a lot faster for example.
is your hair thinner now or is it still coarse? what sensation do you feel with each zap? does it feel like she’s plucking or the hairs slide out easily?
and yes, you are right. you don’t have the right skin and hair type for laser.
My hair is still course…Sometimes I feel tugging sometimes I don’t…my hair is really deep rooted
I was wondering if anybody can tell me if the #6 setting on the Clairblend machine is high?
Jeff,
I use the Ultrablend and I can tell you that a # 6 setting is NOT high enough for your beard hairs. The setting needs to be turned up or else it will take a great deal of time to treat each follicle. It is as if you are driving down the freeway at 30 mph…You will eventually reach your destination, but it will take a
l-o-n-g time… When the level is increased…the discomfort that you feel will also increase, BUT if you drink LOTS and LOTS of water the hairs will slide out easily.
The galvanic setting is only one factor that goes into a successful treatment. There are also other factors such as a high frequency setting that is balanced with the galvanic setting, the correct needle size, the correct angle, timing and depth in the follicle. As you have experienced it is not easy to permanently destroy unwanted hairs.
I can tell you that I started a TG beard removal last Dec 2005 and we have 90 hours into the treatment. There is only a one inch strip of virgin growth on the neck area.
You should be much farther ahead than where you are.
Hi:
Some practitioners don't have a lot of experience with working on a male beard. The settings they need to use will probably be higher than what they have used on women as Lisa has pointed out in order for them to be effective.
My personal experience was 9 laser sessions followed by about 125 hours on the face. Right now we are just doing cleanup work which is taking a 1/2 hour every 2 weeks. I have to let the hair grow for a week for her to be able to see it. What I have left is not visible to the people I meet every day.
Probably 200 hours is enough to clear most male beards.
I always had her start with the upper lip and work outward from there. The upper lip became my gage as to how the treatments were coming.
In the beginning it might be a bad idea to work too much in an area which is virgin since it may cause damage, and will cause swelling. Too high a setting can also be a problem and the practitioner has to know how your skin reacts to the treatments.
Alicia
At the risk of re-ignighting a controversy, what most people think of as “a lot, a Lot, A LOT of water!” is only what one should really be drinking on a daily basis in the first place. It is the culture’s buying into the idea of paying to drink dehydrants as pleasure drinks that leaves people thinking of the proper amount of water as excessive.
Coffee dehydrates, so the more you drink, the thirstier one gets. Same with Soda-pop, beer, and so-called energy drinks. Now if one were selling a drink, it would only help profits if the first drink made one need to drink more, and the second drink made one need to drink EVEN MORE, and so on.
Poor ole water doesn’t stand a chance, as it only quenches thirst, and is oh so unsexy. However, if one doesn’t have somewhere between half as many ounces as pounds, one weighs, up to the same number of ounces as pounds plus a teaspoon of sea salt for every gallon that works out to, then one will be dehydrated and have low elecrtralytes. (speaking of which, does anyone eat citrus fruits without added sugar?) Many people wrongfully increase their water intake without increasing their sea salt or citrus fruit intake, and the water can’t hydrate on the cellular level without support from electrolytes like sea salt and citrus fruits.
Try to keep in mind that one doesn’t take a starving man and take him directily to the all you can eat buffet. He must be reintroduced to foods slowly over a week.
Another aspect of treatments is that the hair has to grow before it can be treated. Two months is not very long to be having treatment.
There are all kinds of charts that show how much hair is growing and what percentage is dormant and all that, but those numbers will not be the same for everyone. This is what I tell my clients and it should work for everyone: If you get the area cleared, then every 2 months the amount of hair you have should diminish by 1/2.
“Plucking” a number out of the air - if you had 10,000 hairs removed to clear the area, (and then consistly remove the hair) in 2 months, that same area should have only 5,000 hairs. In two more months, 2500 hairs and so on.
So, if I understand correctly, the area you are having treatment now has space between the hairs (after 2 months) and that is what you should expect. As the treatments progress, the amount of hair diminishes.
Lisa, I’m interested on what settings you think I should have on the machine. My next session is on Monday and I would like to use a new setting. I tolerate pain very well, so it could be higher. As far as drinking water…I drink a lot. I work out 6 days a week…so water is a main part of my lifestyle. Yes, I do see seperation between hairs in my cheek area, but after 150 hours, my cheeks should be cleared and now working on my chin, jaw line…etc.
The galvanic setting alone will not ensure success with the Blend. The AC and DC currents need to be balanced. In addition, the timing in the follicle, the depth and angle of the insertion and size of the probe need to be correct for your situation.
I would let your electrologist know that you would like to try out a higher setting. The #6 setting that you are used to is pretty mild. The discomfort will be greater, however you can use a topical numbing gel if necessary. The topical takes the edge off but not eliminate all sensation. Some clients bring ice packs and others need nothing at all for discomfort. In addition, don’t take any antihistimines prior to your appointment because the medication will dry out your follicles and make it more difficult to epilate your hairs.
I tell callers that the range of discomfort felt by different clients is from zero to one thousand. We are all different.
I hope that this helps. Let us know how your next treatment goes.
You can take aspirin before your sessions to help with pain as well (not Tylenol or ibuprofen). And no caffeine the day before either.
She uses a topical numbing solution on me and I have a high tolerance to pain and drink plenty of water. Are the AC and DC currents usually set at the same level? should I go up to a 7 or 8 and see how my skin reacts? Thanks for your help <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
If your electrologist is already using a topical numbing solution on you and you are only at a .6 or 6 tenths DC setting I am not sure how you will handle a higher setting. You can give it a try and see how things go. You might want to limit your sessions to two hours and cover more territory during those two hours.
If I were you I would definitely try the higher setting and consume two 1.5 liter bottles of water before your appointment. Remember your body has to convert salt and water into sufficient sodium hydroxide to release your hairs at the bottom of the follicles. Beard hairs are extremely deep-rooted. Clients have to prepare and come well hydrated or else the hairs will NOT release.
Pick up an ice pack at the grocery store too. They really do help. One last thing: aspirin is used as a blood thinner so it’s not advisable to use it to minimize pain before electrolysis treatments.
Ditto on that aspirin. Do not take aspirin. Even my ladies who are on low dose aspirin(81mg.)per day, bleed/bruise easier. If I remember correctly from the my nursing career past, it can take up to nine days for the blood thinning properties of aspirin to wear off. Ibuprofin (advil and such) and acetometaphin (tylenol)are very appropriate medications to use. Advil is better because of it’s anti-inflammatory actions,but it can irritate the lining of the stomach if not taken with a little food.
Make sure you are not getting undertreated, Jeff. Lisa’s advice is just what you need to hear right now.
Dee
Jeff, you didn’t answer Barbara’s question above. I am also wondering this. How long ago did you start the treatments? Was it only 2 months? If that’s true, then besides lower settings used, you should take into account that hair grows in cycles and after 2 months you have only been able to target hais in a certain hair cycle. it would take a few more months to zap all hairs at least once.
I go for 3 hours every Monday…I have been doing the treatments for 1 year. I have over 150 hours logged in.Usually by Friday my face has calmed down and is not red anymore…no scabs ever
Jeff,
Just thought that I should mention that if you choose to stay at the 6 tenths (mild) setting for DC it will take considerably longer to complete your facial hair removal. It is up to you whether you want to bump it up a notch or stay where you are at. The trade-off is greater discomfort and less cost and time, or less discomfort and more cost and time.
You might be fine at the higher setting. You never know unless you give it a try. As I said earlier…I would give it a go. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Lisa
regarding the painkiller, I tried all three and only aspirin helped me. My electrologist also recommended aspirin. I know about the thinning and I even noticed a few times where I was probed wrong and it bled for a while. But I’m not working on my face which makes a big difference.
Okay.
My journey takes a turn. On Monday I went to a different practioner. The practioner also used the Clairblend machine, but in a different way. She used the machine in the manual mode introducing thermolysis first and then Galvanic…thus the blend. My other practioner used the machine in the automatic mode, which I guess was not good for getting rid of my hair. With the new girl I could hardly tell the hairs were coming out. So I must tell everyone if you do feel tugging on the hairs, I don’t know if your getting the “best” results. Time will tell if this girl will give me the results I’m looking for, but I do believe this will work great on me. I do have more redness on my cheeks and swelling…by what day should I expect this to go away? Can I do anything to make my skin heal faster between treatments? Thanks for everyones responses!