Thanks, James, for your explanation. The video game comparison is apt.
I have compared a picture from week 1 and week 11 and quite honestly the amount of hairs is the same. The only difference is in coarseness, the hairs are significantly finer now. But again, this amount of hair just suddenly reappeared in the last 2 weeks. Prior to that the hair was much much less. I was spending 10-15 minutes on the table, and used that time in other areas as well. But the last two sessions were each 30 minutes (as will be the next one, I am sure) and it was not hunting and searching, it was 30 solid minutes spent zapping. It is this sudden spike in hair growth that has fueled my concern.
The only explanation I can think of is perhaps for many years I have plucked extra intensively during the holidays, and stimulated more follicles to grow hairs at this time of the year than at other times. Would that be at all feasible?
No matter what the explanation might be for this growth spurt, my course of action does not change. I going to keep going in, and stay on that table for as long as it takes her to clear me. I going to stop beating this dead horse now and update again after my next session.
Eureka! I think we’ve got it!
In your video game play, you hit the bonus fire button that automatically “clears the board” via plucking so that you could have the rest period on that same level every year, and now the extra thickness must be dealt with.
Session #12: I spent 30 solid minutes on the table again. My electrologist said it looked like less than last time, but I am not so sure. My estimate is around 75-100 hairs ranging from just a couple very coarse very black ones, a large amount of dark to light brown ones of medium coarseness, to a handful of dark fine ones.
I just have to wait and see. The month or so of very little growth/regrowth set me up for my current disappointment with this three weeks of instant next-day hairiness. I am crossing my fingers and hoping for improvement in what I see in the mirror tomorrow morning.
Just keep taking your progress pictures, as they will keep you sane as time goes by. You will see how the growth is less and less, even though you would not notice that from the naked eye without reference to the previous amounts. My clients can see a difference from even one full clearance… IF we have a Before Picture to show the difference, or a line of demarcation where we cleared everything above that line, and did no work below that line.
No one should complain about the hair that is coming to the skins surface in the first SIX months. Get cleared every time and keep on a good schedule so that any new hairs that come to the surface are treated. Thereafter, with the help of pictures, you will see less hair if all is being done correctly by your practitioner.
Today, I am a bit ticked by a client who came sporadically for 2.5 years wondering why she still has hair on her face. She had a full beard! What is left, even though she didn’t stay true to a proper schedule, is fine sporadic hairs with a few coarse hairs and though she says she is very happy with the results, she is pressuring me as to why she still has hair. I don’t care how much effort I take to educate, some people are obtuse to facts.
Always be patient and do not expect to SEE anything too great in the first six months. Expect tidals waves of hair growth from time to time. After that period, you should start to see a little light at the end of the tunnel as your appointments get farther apart and time on the table is less, as hairs get sparser and finer. Even until the “end” comes, there will be an occasional fat, bulby hair root as we nit-pick or way through what’s left. WE CANNOT TREAT HAIRS THAT ARE GOING TO EMERGE SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE and WE CANNOT TREAT HAIRS IF THE CLIENT DOESN’T SHOW UP AS ADVISED. (My yelling is not directed at you, adieu)
Lucky session number 13 today: 20 minutes on chin and upper lip. I had about 80 hairs to remove, 30 or so of which were black and medium-coarse. The others were brown and/or thick. My last three sessions I spent the last few minutes pointing out all the ones she didn’t see that I wanted removed, this time she got almost all of them the first go around.
I usually have my treatment on a day when I can work from home and I don’t need to apply make-up for 24-36 hours. But this afternoon I have to be out and about in the city, and come in contact with smokers. I consider foundation to be protective in a way, like a shield against pollution, dirt, etc. Is that true? What do you all think: is it a good idea to wear foundation as a sort of protection? Or better to leave the make-up off, despite coming in contact with smoke and pollution?
I would find a good coat of Aloe Vera allowed to dry in place a better option than foundation. If you are using a mineral make-up, that may be ok, but even then, Aloe Vera Gel would be best.
This reminds me of a client who argued with me about the 24 - 72 hour rule, and because she had a date or something, she layered Tea Tree Oil, Aloe Vera, AND FOUNDATION on her bikini area and then got dressed and went along her merry way. She called me back furious 4 days later because she had developed a horrendous infection from the make-up, plus grinding clothing on broken skin situation. She only came in again to see me to have me help her with products to heal her situation (which she expected me to give her for free) and later had her dermatologist explain to her that her repeated applications of her dirty make-up was the cause, made worse by the grinding fabric against the hot, moist, irritated skin.
Although she did tell me that her dermatologist agreed with me (she wanted him to help her build a case to sue me) she never came for more treatments with me, even though all the treatments she had done on her face, legs, bikini and underarms had always healed with no problems before she caused this problem that required 3 months to resolve. (I don’t know if she stopped seeing me out of embarrassment, or what)
Trust us, no one is looking at your face with the intensity that you do when you pass a mirror. Even if they were, it is not worth the possible problem the course you are considering may cause.
Thanks James, that is a good suggestion, and reminds me I need to get some more Aloe Vera.
Just to clarify, I ask not because I want to cover up or am worried about my appearance. My skin looks much better lately and the redness from my treatment this morning cleared up in an hour. I ask about wearing liquid foundation as a protective measure since I will exposed to smoke and pollution directly after treatment. But perhaps I have the wrong idea about foundation being beneficial in this situation?
I always find that if I don’t wear foundation I tend to break out more than when I do. I attributed this to having a layer between my skin and the exhaust, smoke and dirt I come in contact with while out and about; on my bicycle or in smoky cafes, for example. I imagine the pollutants get caught on the make-up layer and have less of a chance to be drawn into my pores rather than having direct access if I don’t have any make-up on.
I will however give the layer of Aloe Vera a try and mineral make-up instead of the liquid today.
Edited to add:
PS- Your cautionary tale about the woman who put make-up on her bikini area post-treatment sounds horrific. I imagine that date didn’t go very well! Yuck.
Session # 14: 20 minutes concentrating on the chin, and a couple quick minutes on the upper lip. A good deal of time was spent searching for the pesky ones that are impossible to see. I had half as much hair growth this week as compared to the last several weeks. Today ends my 3rd month of electrolysis… and there is still a long way to go.
Long way to go is a relative term. The hardest part is almost behind you. Sessions spread out soon. When regular appointments are maintained over 9-18 months, whether they need to be once a week in the beginning to once every 4-6 weeks in the later months, then a year and a half of electrolysis is not a long time as compared to a lifetime of temporarily removing the hair with razors, tweezers, thread, wax and chemical creams. Oh, a permanent solution gives you some time back because you are not chasing hair everyday.
You are doing this correctly and I feel sure that your electrologist is doing this correctly as well.
Had session #15 today, she zapped about 50 hairs on my chin, half of which were dark and/or coarse. I spent around 15 minutes on the table. Trying to stay above the waves of hair that are appearing. There plenty of obvious dark coarse ones, but also a field of brown ones that are often hard for her to see. Had a couple of huge and deeply-rooted suckers today that she had to zap twice. Though they slid out with no plucked-feeling, it still felt like she was pulling a massive tree out of the ground. Yuck!
Thanks Dee and James for your encouragement, I really need it. Even though I know my progress is going well and soon there will be light at the end of the tunnel, I still have been feeling down about it all. I just dread waking up two or three days later to a chin full of hair again.
Your long time tweezing obsession makes the beginning months much harder as all the hair comes back in dribs and drabs. Don’t ever back off or give up! Stress to all your women friends and women in your family not to TWEEZE the hair on their chinny chin chins. Tweezing creates a terrible mess, but a good electrologist will bring you some well deserved freedom.
Many times clients who have completed their treatment have told me that they had suffered nightmares. They dreamed that their hair back to torment them. This shows that what we dream never becomes reality because as the slogan says AEA: There are three permanent things, death, taxes and [color:#000000]Electrolysis.[/color]
Treatment #16
10 minutes on my chin clearing mostly brown hairs and just a few coarse black ones. Quick and easy, but it’s getting harder for her to see them. They are becoming more and more vellus-like, but they are still brown and visible against my light skin tone.
You are getting closer. It is not uncommon to log about 20-25 visits over a year or so to reach the goal. Vision equipment is very important when all you have left is vellus hairs. Client frustration peaks when the electrologist can’t see the hairs that bother the client most.
You will soon reach the six month mark, and this is when all the effort begins to pay off. You are already finding that the majority of your hair is now very fine, and soon there will be fewer and fewer to deal with.
I had treatment #17 last week & treatment #18 today which completes my 4th month in this venture. Each session was 15 minutes, in which she zapped about 50-60 hairs on my chin.
She commented that while most of the hairs are appearing finer and lighter in color than earlier, hidden underneath the skin are very thick dark roots. I am happy if they are becoming less noticeable in the couple days each week I must go without trimming them down. I have to remind myself that it is good that so many keep popping out, then she has a chance to zap them! But it is so mind-boggling to me just how many darn hairs there are in these two little spots on my chin.
And it is possible that in future new hairs are developed in the area of your chin. You should not think that in the unlikely event that this happens your electrologist did a bad job or that electrolysis was not successful for you. A powerful hormonal burden accumulated in that area is only responsible.
and update again after my next session.
