Hello all, I am a black pre opt transsexual that is 42 yrs old. I started thermolysis 3 yrs ago and after 2 yrs I still had a tremendous amt of hair. The starting of the 3rd yr which was Jan of 2008, I switched primarily to a blend electrolysis. I did so because of the research I did saying that thermolysis was more effective on shallow straight hair and the blend was able to penetrate and get to the root of a curved follicle where the probe of the thermolysis couldnt. I switched and within 6 mths the hair became shallow and noticably less coarse at this point I couldnt see the hair just feel it. My idea was to get the follicle straightend out then move back to my thermolysis to finish, after a year of the blend, my neck is pretty much all thats left to knock out. Now my biggest problem is hairbumps. My face has never gotten a bump but my neck has them terribly. I have tried tend skin and other things like it but still nothing works. I went to the dermatologist 2 mths ago and she prescribed me a roll on liquid and a followup lotion and still the bumps are there. I recently went to E3000 in dallas for genital hair removal and I just let them clear my face also. They assured me that the hair WOULD NOT return where they treated and just like every other place I have been the hairs are back within 3 days. I have been to them twice and going again for the genital part and the face. They said the difference with them is they use an insolated probe. So I ordered the same probes for my thermolysis here to use and still the same thing, a total clearing in 30 mins but of course the little bumps that have always come with thermolysis the next day and then 2 days later hair reappears. My testosterone level is 3.6 which is lower than a genetic female and I have NEVER missed a week of electrolysis. So the questions are is there an end to this madness, are the insulated probes better and what can I do to get rid of the bumps? Now most of the hairs are out but there is still a bump around it.
Sorry for being loquacious but I am trying to put 3 yrs into a paragraph.
Thermolysis on straight, shallow hair is very outdated information for an electrologist that uses the better computerized epilators with the awesome thermolysis flash modes that are incorporated into these models. Synchro (thermolysis) on the Apilus Platinum and Optional Pure models, is like the blend method using thermolysis only it is faster. Blend seems to be working for you, but switching to thermolysis with whatever eplilator your practitioner is using, can coincide with hair growth cycles. Get those newly emerging , straight hairs as they present themselves. You don’t have to wait a year.
Hair that was properly treated does not return in three days. It is an impossibility. Could be new hair? could be hair that was treated and not lifted out?
Is there a hair still in the follicle causingthe bumpiness or is the skin reacting to the treatment and just needs a week or so to heal? Can you submit a picture? Insulated probes are nice, but you have to use them corectly and modify the intensity and timing. How is the general condition of your facial skin at this point?
If the hair is back in 3 days (i.e. you’re sure it’s the same hair), it’s not being treated properly and is being broken off on its way out.
Have you considered Yag laser? If the hair is still coarse and dense, it will do wonders for the areas with bumps/ingrowns. You can finish with electrolysis on the remaining fine hair after you’ve had 6 or so treatments with a Yag laser.
LASER on the face of a black TS girl’s face sounds like a horrible idea to me.
From what you have said, it is hard to figure out if the problem is with the treatment (insertions quality, treatment energy) or the aftercare (Tea Tree Oil dissolves necrotic tissue, thus frequently avoiding puss and scabs)
Perhaps what you need is a full clearance, followed by another full clearance one to 3 weeks later, and then fall into a schedule of full clearnces every 2 to 3 weeks untill the end of 9 months.
If your hairs are really thick, and curly, or cork-screw, you may be encountering a situation where many of the hairs are being burned off and severed beneath the skin, thus you see the same hairs coming out of the skin days later, or hairs growing out of scabs. These are a few guesses that I can give you.
At the end of the day, if the job had been done right, and the schedule was correct, and the number of treatment hours sufficient, you would have been done by now.
Horrible why? African American hair is very dense and coarse, so it gets great results with a Yag laser. It does wonders for those ingrowns that get pushed out of the skin.
In fact, there are several stories by African American females being ecstatic about their results on the face. There is a thread right now from two African Americans treating other areas too and getting good results.
Do the red bumps have a coiled-up hair or severely curled up/down hair inside? Are the bumps relatively large? I know exactly what James is talking about, and once in a great while get those on my arms and legs (and I cause them using thermolysis as James described.)
If you can take a picture and post it, the pros here might be able to tell you more definitively.
this is the next morning after the blend. now this is the first time i have actually seen my neck close up and oh my god. now as u can see a lot of my chin and neck is clear but it is just this last that u see that i just CANT get rid of.
I have been going without fail weekly since march of 2006 and I started leaving with total clearings in may of 2006. I switched to the blend in january of 2008 and going weekly. When I switched to blend in 2008 is where the hairs started becoming shallow and extremely fine but the even fine ones at my lower neck now wont go away and when they surface, neither does the bump. i am TOTALLY cleared every week but in 3 days here is hair again. My blend lady says she hasnt a clue WHY those little fine ones keep coming back but if u can see the pics u can see the day after i left her and the 2nd day. i have also gone to E3000 twice and have gotten total clearings and again 3 days neck full of tiny bumps and little hairs in them.
95% of the bumps dont have coiled up hair in them. I exfoliate with a facial scrub to get the hairs out and they are fine and straight but even though they are released the bump still remains. The other 5% have to be popped and some are curled. Let me change the % to 2%. most arent curled. Now one problem is my blend lady doesnt know how to pop the bump out so i have to go to my thermolysis lady to do that. I NEVER feel the hair being broken off. They come out smoothly and out of the 3 i use my thermolysis lady is whom I feel is more accurate and the people at E3000 are just as identical. The blend lady is much less experienced but the blend machine is what actually straightened my follicles out. So I have a good mix of people and I have spent tens of thousands of dollars doing this. i always pay in cash because I would probably die if i had it documented how much i have spent so far but the people at E3000 have said each time oh these hairs arent coming back and guess what they do.
The links don’t work. Please upload to Photobucket.com and post the HTML tags provided here.
From what you describe, it sounds like your hair may have been too deep for thermolysis and blend is working better, but you basically just started it.
I still stick to my recommendation to test out a Yag laser. It’s great for deep coarse hair on dark skin.
i tried to upload the photos to photobucket but when i hit upload they aren’t being read by photobucket and my pics are jpg’s. is there a 2nd way to do this?
To me, it looks like ingrown hairs. So either some of these hairs broke off on the way out or the new hairs are too thin and can’t break their way through the skin.
I strongly recommend to try a Yag laser. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. That’s a pretty small area that will take 10 mins to treat.
One regret I have is not taking a before picture of one of my female client’s whose neck looked just like the third picture above. Her neck has been totally treated and we have moved on to her upper lip, sides and partial chin. I saw her today and removed under ten thin hairs from her neck. The skin on her neck is a beautiful golden brown with very little sign of the severe hyperpigmentation she had when we first started. She has not had to shave for a very long time. No more DermaBlend makeup is needed. She is finished. All was accomplished with MicroFlash and PicoFlash thermolysis. Her skin is practically flawless. When the rest of the hyperpig fades, it will be perfectly flawless.
If she had stayed true to a good schedule, she could have been completed in 14-18 months, but it has taken about thirty months to achieve this, but even so, she has definitely reached HAIR-FREE status.
You can accomplish this with a good electrologist, who has the best tools of the trade if you chose electrolysis.
I see many women of color with these awful hair bumps. Some hairs have to be gently lifted out and treated and some don’t. If you can find someone good, electrolysis will get rid of the irritating hair and your skin will heal over several months and return to skin like you had before puberty.