Starting my electrolysis journey! (pictures)

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
21

Thank you everyone for the advice. C O’Connell, you’re absolutely right in saying I won’t need to worry about this when my next vacation comes around.

Tomorrow, I have my third session lined up. I am beyond frustrated with the schedule she has given me. Turns out that she is the best electrologist in the New Jersey area and is extremely busy. Since this is the fourth week since I started electrolysis (Had to skip last week since electrologist was on vacation), I still have the same amount of growth that I started out with. In fact, it barely looks as if I even did anything. Hopefully I will start to see finer hairs after my 4th or 5th session(I usually do 70 minute sessions).

In between sessions, I shave every single day. It’s the only way I can go out in public since my hairs are not fine enough to bleach. I have also started playing around with makeup to cover the shadow that follows shaving. This part is really difficult for me since I am not used to wearing makeup at all. However, makeup does stop me from touching my face which was the reason why I had so many breakouts. Anyways, if anyone has any recommendations to cover this shadow on my chin after shaving (still noticeable after makeup) please let me know. What are your thoughts on Dermablend?

Another question, specifically for the experts on this site, why exactly do I need to let my hair grow before appointments? I can cover up the shadow on the chin from shaving but I can’t cover the hair obviously. Yes, I know the electrologist needs to pull the hair out after inserting the probe but is the hair pulling stage really important? Won’t the hair come out on it’s own like it’s supposed to with laser? So what I’m really asking is, if I go for treatment with a 5 O’clock shadow, with the black dots on my chin still visible from shaving, will the electrologist be able to effectively insert the probe and zap the hair without pulling it out afterwards?

I’ll post before and after treatment photos tomorrow after my third session(This one is scheduled for 90 minutes).

22

Nahgem, have you tried Walgreens for Tea Tree Oil & Witch Hazel, you might find it there?

23

First, if the practitioner does not have enough hair to grasp it well, it slows down the work rate, thus costing you more money per hair. Secondly, we like to remove the hairs so that you don’t have any infected follicles.

HOWEVER, my friend Harvey says that by using the ULTRALYSIS protocol, one may simply remove the hairs and leave them to fall out. I guess I need to find out the total protocol from him, as the times I have tried to do this, the clients got pustules and infected follicles. I don’t know if it was my technique or their after care that was the problem.

24

I have used dermablend on a scar before and it worked very well to cover the area till it eventually faded away.

Now that i do electrolysis on my upper lip area I use Boscia tinted mouisturizer to cover any after treatment marks or red dots.

If you are looking for a makeup to cover shadow or black dots I think the dermablend would work well since it is a much thicker consistancy and tends to cover areas very well. I bought mine at a department store and tried several colors to find the one that matched my skin tone the best.

25

Hello everyone, I had my third session today and it was brutal! I really thought I was used to the process now but gosh, I couldn’t wait to get off the table. It was initially scheduled for 90 minutes but we only did 65 minutes since I was getting pretty fidgety but she still did a great job cleaning the area. I have a few ideas why this session was way more painful than the rest: A) I forgot to take Tylenol before the appointment. B) She worked below my jawline, halfway down my neck on hairs she said were thick and older than the rest of the hairs on my chin. Since they were older and deeply rooted, she held the probe in there for about 10-13 seconds(OUCH). Some of the hairs she needed to do twice since they wouldn’t slide out easily. C) Did’t drink enough water at all. My skin is exceedingly dry.

Like I said, I was extremely uncomfortable this session but the results were pretty amazing. Since the hairs removed in the first two sessions have yet to grow back, the removal of the hairs from this session made my chin look shadowless. I was amazed at that. Yes, there is hyperpigmentation but I’m sure that will go away with time. I still have some black dots on the chin, from when I used to pluck, which should pop out in time for my next session in 4 days.

I took lots of pictures this time, but they aren’t that good of a quality. I can’t get the hang of focusing in the light. I take these pictures not only for my records but also for those of you planning on starting your own electrolysis treatments. The pictures posted by other members definitely helped me decide if I wanted to undergo this procedure. Anyhow, since I’ve been shaving my chin, all the hairs are basically the same length and my electrologist commented that the length helped her see better, and in turn, work faster. I should have taken a picture of my neck area which had the old, thick hairs that caused me the most pain but they just wouldn’t show up in the picture!

The “After” pictures (taken 2 hours after session, no icing) aren’t very clear either but they do a decent job in showing how much cleaner my chin looks. I also included pictures which showed the black dots that have yet to pop and also the neck area which is very bumpy and red right now. Actually, my entire chin and neck area looks bumpy and had a lot of whiteheads right now but most should disappear in two days. The fifth picture shows that the redness and bumps, plus the whiteheads, aren’t visible from far away. I think we ourselves look at our skin critically but I doubt anyone else does.

Before 3rd Session:
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2- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs
3- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs
4- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs
5- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs

After 3rd Session:
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2- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs
3- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs
4- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs
5- ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs

My next appointment is scheduled in four days and I’ll update you guys then.

26

'Kay… well, for the whiteheads, tea tree oil with help dissolve the pus and prevent pustules in general if it is applied right after your treatment, with a coat of cold aloe vera gel.

I would be squirming, too, if the probe was inside my follicle for 13 seconds. Good luck on your next session.

You had a treatment today and you are going to be treated again in four days? Will this be to the same area?

27

I’m really interested in knowing more about this protocol. ULTRALYSIS. Sometimes during a session in the body I have forgotten to remove some hair. A few days later, the hair was there, trapped or sealed with a small scab. In fact there was no infection, only a small crust surrounding the follicle entrance. I do not know what happens next, but from now I’ll be more careful. And what the hell! I’ll do my own monitoring. I hope that Mr. Harvey will continue to delight us with their knowledge and experience.

This protocol is really exciting!!!

I’ll start a thread to show the evolution of my tests with ULTRALYSIS.

Mr. Grove, this goes for you!

28

Hello everyone. I haven’t been updating much but nothing has really been going on. I went for my fourth session. This one was 40 minutes and I was pretty disappointed at the end of it. I don’t have any pictures this time since I was pretty busy but if you look at the “After” pictures from my 3rd session, there wasn’t much change. I had very fine black hair and I thought it would take only 30 minutes to get rid of it all. However, my electrologist barely treated 50% of them. She left quite a bit of the fine black hairs. Maybe she couldn’t see them? She does wear magnifying glasses and has a light over the table.

Another thing that bothered me slightly was that she started treating the hairs on my sides during the treatment. When I first went for the consultation, I did mention that I wanted my sides done but after I saw some results on my chin. I asked her if my chin was cleared and she said yes. I didn’t want to stop the appointment early on in 20 minutes since I made the appointment for 40.

Ever since I started noticing some results on my chin (Fine hair instead of the coarse black hair), I have been shaving my sides to prepare for treatment. My electrologist right now only does blend. I really want to go in for a “marathon” session for my sides using flash since that would take less time than the blend. Money is starting to be huge concern for me in this. My parents paid for my treatments till they saw the fine hairs grow in and want me to just wax the hair now. Of course I haven’t done anything of the sort and am planning on continuing my treatment. It really does work and I can say that after only a month and half of treatment.

My next session (5th) is scheduled for Friday. How do I go about explaining everything I said about the sides?

29

I think you need to communicate with your electrologist. Point out those fine black hairs and tell her you would like them removed. She may have thought that the very strong dark hairs is what was bothering you.

Please do not wax those fine hairs on the chin, as this is a hormonally driven area and waxing will make them worse, than you will be back where you started. Explain this to your parents.

If money is an issue than flash may be the better option,but please keep in mind if your hairs on the sides are not as strong as the chin hairs than treating them may not take as long as your chin hairs.

30

Finally doing a quick update:

-Decided to go to a different electrologist, who does the thermolysis method to get a quicker clearance on my upper lip and some hairs on my chin because the previous electrologist didn’t have that great of lighting and so my upperlip and chin hairs weren’t being cleared.

-New electrologist, who I will only be going to for a month, so she can clear my upperlip, and some thin hairs (after which I will be going back to old electrologist I think because $55 for an hour is cheaper than $105 + cosmetic tax that I pay for new electrologist), uses Aplius Junior and works at an reasonable pace. I did not feel any plucking whatsoever. HOWEVER, I received a treatment for 15 mins, and then she applied what seemed like concealer and water mixed together on my skin, and then put a numbing cream on my lip, before she treated me for 15 more mins (Attended a different client, I only scheduled a consultation, so it was understandable. So because of that watered down concealer, which she said helps with the redness (Just covers it I guess), the second time around, I felt each one of her insertions into my skin on the upperlip. At least that is my theory. Will ask to skip that next time. These were the results:

Pics 4 days after treatment:

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  5. ImageShack - camerazoom2012041422535.jpg

So does this seem okay? I actually, have never had too bad of a reaction when being treated with the blend method. Also, she said that she is only willing to work 10 minutes on the upperlip during a treatment session. Is this due to the swelling and redness? If I just ask her to blaze through the upper lip in one hour, the only thing I’d have to deal with is looking like a duck for a day or two? Scabbing? Should I do that or go every week for 30 mins, in which she works for 10 mins on the upper lip and then the chin or sides during the rest for 3 more weeks?

31

I’ve never heard of applying concealer before treatment, sounds like a recipe for trouble.

Scabs on the face sucks and a practitioner should be able to avoid them but these don’t look too bad and will probably heal ok.

That said, you’re the best judge of your skin. If you think this is more reaction than you’re accustomed to, it may be better off to stick with someone who does good blend (even if slow) than one who does bad thermolysis. The effect this can have on the face cannot be underestimated.

There is a reason why this practitioner only wants to work a few minutes at a time on the upper lip. Yes you can get a full clearance there in one treatment with no long term damage but few electrologists are talented enough to offer that and she knows it.

In most cases the longer one works on the upper lip in one sitting the higher the chances of something going very wrong there.

32

In my opinion, this is a good job. Could be better? Yes, the roots of these hairs have enough depth for most of the scabs can be avoided. I’m sure with a IBP could have been accomplished to reduce the surface reaction. However, these lesions do not produce any permanent sequelae.

33

Hey guys, sad news.

I decided to stop treatments after my second session with the new electrologist. I understand that scabs are expected after the first session because the electrologist has yet to see my reaction and that it is hard to adjust her settings for my treatment.

Before my second 30 minute session, I showed her pictures of the scabs and pointed out the areas I wanted most of the treatment focused on. That did not go as planned and I ended up with visible blood in certain insertations on my face which she tried to cover up with her foundation+water mixture and also horrible scabs all over my face, especially the upperlip the next days.

I think it’s back to looking for a new electrologist for me. Also, as of right now, I’m just trying not to pick at my scabs even though they are very itchy. Any tips on making them fall off faster or covering them since I have passport pictures to go take?

I’ll be posting some pictures up later on.

34

Tea Tree Oil overnight helps them heal up fast, and Aloe Vera during relieves the itching and helps healing as well. You may use Aloe Vera as often as you like, all day, and any time you feel an itching sensation.

35

Hello all, it’s been a while since I posted, but I have made great strides in terms of my facial hair issues. I have reached the 1 year and 1 month mark from the start of electrolysis and can say it has had a remarkable effect on me. Yes, it was hard…very hard financial and emotionally, but it has been well worth it.

Since my last post, in which I tried out a different electrologist but ended up being over-treated, I went back to my previous electrologist for a while for maintenance. After a while, I felt like I was just throwing my money away with her because of her poor lighting set-up. I had reached a point in which I had the same amount of hairs as I did when I started, they are just thinner and less noticeable because I did’t shave. At this point, I was just bleaching my hair and hoping for the best but even bleached hair is visible if you have a lot of it.

Luckily I was able to see James for one hour and he cleared my upperlip. His incredible lighting+magnification+fast work got rid of 561 blonde/dark brown hairs on my upperlip! I was incredibly happy when I went home but also a bit sad because I cant’t get treated by him due to location issues. At this point, I had a clear upperlip, with basically a beard. The hairs on my sides and chin were getting to be really long and dark. I was not able to put my hair up at all during that week the heat wave hit the east coast!

Anyhow, I decided to look for electrologists who do thermolysis instead of blend because I wanted to get rid of this hair FAST. The treatment with James really opened my eyes in terms of what a true electrolysis session should be like. My post treatment reaction was extremely minimal with barely any scabbing (pin-point, barely visible). I was willing to travel to NYC from NJ if it meant that I could achieve a clearance soon. 1 year, and I still have not had even one full clearance on my chin or sides.

I contacted a electrologist from NYC who posts on Hairtell and set up a 2 hour session. I got a great deal ($60 for 120 mins!) because he had a coupon on YP.com and so I wasn’t worried about the cost of traveling to the city. I’ll admit that one of my main reasons for picking him were the affordable rates ($60 for 60 mins) but I must say that I would continue to go to him even if his rates were higher after the treatment I received.

Anyhow, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get a clearance in 2 hours of my face so I wasn’t expecting much. I just wanted a reduction from what was already there with minimal post treatment reaction. The electrologist did a great job on both counts and exceeded my expectations. He wore gloves, cleaned my face and got to work immediately. I did feel tugging the first few times but I am guessing he was judging how high the settings needed to be because he quickly changed them and the hair was sliding out. I expect there to be SOME tugging during the first treatment with an electrologist just because I understand that they need to get adjusted to my particular hairs and decide on the settings. I felt tweezing a few more times while he was working but also heard him adjusting the settings so I was satisfied. One request I must make of electrologists is to slowly take the hairs out after treating. I’m not sure if I’m the only one that likes to see if the hair slides out, pops out (large bulbs), or is tweezed (pops out with some pain).

As far as pain, he asked me multiple times if it was too painful but I truly felt as if I could have went to sleep during the treatment. He had wonderful semi-classical music playing which was soothing and had the AC blasting which made me incredibly comfortable. My favorite part of the treatment was definitely the end when he offered me a mirror. I was shocked to say the least. I finally had feminine side burns again! I was so impressed with how fast he worked and the amount of hair he removed. Not only that, I had minimal redness and the post treatment reaction was great. It has been 4 days since the session and I had no swelling or redness and very minimal scabbing around the side burns. Yes, I still have hair on my face but now I can put the hair up or behind my ears without having to worry about someone noticing the long dark hairs all over my cheek.

I wish I took a picture before I had the session as to post my progress but I will do so next time. My next appointment is next week for an hour (maybe 2 depending on finances) and am looking forward to becoming even more hairless! I think many people can agree with me that one of the hardest things is to find a good electrologist and I think that’s half the battle. I’m so glad to finally find someone somewhat close who does a great job. I’ll try to keep everyone updated on my progress from here on out!