I went for my first electrolysis appointment on Friday July 25 for upper lip and eyebrow. The electrologist used a lidocaine treatment on the upper lip and spent about 15 minutes on each area with an Apilus machine (I didn’t ask about the settings…next time I will!)
Overall I am pleased with my results. It was a little painful but not unbearably so. I was a little surprised at how long her estimated treatment timeline was–about 12-18 months but with more research I see that it’s normal and also I’m not necessarily looking for 100% clearance so it might be closer to 12 months for me. My upper lip was sensitive for about 24 hours but now it feels fine and I just have a few tiny bumps where the treatment was performed (what are those? hair follicles healing or new hairs ready to emerge?)
Are you using aftercare? Invest a few dollars in witch hazel and apply a couple times a day. Also, avoid using chemicals on your face including makeup, lotions, cleansers etc for a little bit until the skin is fully healed. There could be a few white bumps for a day or two which are just skin healing itself. What type do you have?
You can be done in even less than 12 months if you’re not looking for a full clearance. The most important part is the schedule, so it’s usually up to you how long the process takes. If you get full clearance asap and come in on schedule every time new hair shows up so you can kill it while it’s still weak, you’ll be done on time.
My electrologist didn’t recommend any aftercare products, she just said to not use any exfoliants or harsher products on the treated area for 48 hours. I have been using my face wash 2x a day as usual and I haven’t done anything else to it. The bumps are small and darker/reddish in color.
I would advise to avoid the facewash as mentioned. Also, do buy some witch hazel at a drug store. It’s great for aftercare and costs only a couple dollars.
So today I completed my third electrolysis treatment! My electrologist uses an Apilus Senior (sad…from all the posts here I wish she had a Platinum!)
With the third treatment, I’ve achieved enough clearance on my upper lip to get that treated every 2 weeks or so. My brows are still a work in progress. I also had my big toes treated and they scabbed a little but, but overall they are looking pretty good!
Overall I’ve had a positive experience with electrolysis and now I’m wondering whether I should do it for bikini line instead of laser. Anyone have an estimate on how many hours it’d take total?
I would definitly do laser for your bikini area1 Do you have dark, coarse hair on pale skin? If you do, laser is what you want for this area. GentleLase would be awesome for you if you meet the skin and hair color/thickness criteria, otherwise, electrolysis can do it all.
I recommended laser hair reduction to my oldest daughter for bikini and underarms and she could have had me do electrolysis for free on my Apilus Platinum! She is very pleased with the results.
Electrolysis is the way to go for your upper lip and brows, even your toes, but please heavily consider laser on your bikini line. I think you will be very, very pleased.
If you have dark coarse hair on your bikini, definitely go with laser. It won’t be “hours”. Each treatment will take around 10 mins and you will only need treatments every 2-3 months for 5-8 total. I only needed 6.
Dee, have your daughter post here and recommend a clinic! Or you can do it for her There can never be too many sucess stories.
I need to take a look for myself, when I can pin her down. My daughter is always traveling, but she has verbalized that she is happy with the results. She started in February, 2008.
I just did a consult for a woman with PCOS and after her sample treatment with electrolysis, I was able to assess her situation. I told her she could also get a laser consultation as her hair was very dark on her sides, chin and neck, not to say numerous. It would take me 5-7 hours to get first clearance and I know it would be no problem to bring her to a good point within a very short time where she doesn’t have to shave everyday, but when I see a situation like hers, I never hesitate to bring laser into the conversation. I always give the information and let the client seek and decide, even though I know I can handle this equally well. The person I referred her to and the person that is doing my daughter is:
Vickie knows me as this crazy person out there that sends her clients, but we are not associates and she doesn’t even know what I look like. She has experience and uses a GentleLase and a GentleYag laser and that’s my bottom line for referring clients. My clients always give me feedback, so I know she can accomplish the mission at hand, if the client is a probable laser responder. I think I mentioned her name here before, so perhaps I need to get her in the referral section.
I always take note of clients that have had laser before coming to me, but unfortunately, I only get the disatisfied clients who are seeking electrolysis after an unproductive laser/IPL outcome. I keep mental notes on these practitioners for these ex-laser clients, but would love a running list of practitoners that deliver results so I could offer more referrals for the client to pick and choose from.
I’ll ask my daughter to come post her experience, but don’t hold your breath.
Thanks Dee. I’m sure this will help someone in your area and I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to add it to the referral section. Have you generally heard positive feedback from clients you sent to her?
Well, yes, for the most part. One client was not happy with the outcome of her underarms and had me finish with electrolysis. Don’t know what happened with that one, but I did encourage her to express her concern, but she never did. She did adhere to the proper schedule and all… but I thnk it was more of thinner hair and mostly unpigmented “roots”. At least that is what I observed when I removed the remaing hair, There was a lot of hair left, by the way.
You’re right…I should probably do laser instead of electrolysis since I have pale skin and dark, course hair. Gotta start saving my pennies! Permanent hair removal is addictive.
Doing electrolysis 1x a week and I’m still happy with the results! I do a 30 minute appointment for $30, working on eyebrow, upper lip, and toe hair. I have been able to achieve a lot of clearance on my upper lip since I didn’t have much hair on there in the first place–after only 3 treatments I was able to get a satisfactory amount of clearance, but I’m still getting it treated every week since I’m doing electrolysis for other parts anyway.
Eyebrow is definitely slower–I wish there was a way to do more of it in one day but it’s sensitive so it’s taking longer. I’m also pleased with my results on my toe hairs–I just wish the little hairs would come out already so that my electrologist can zap them!
There can never be too many sucess stories.