Large Volume Hair Removal ("About You" at the Zukowski Center, etc.)

[MeghanMe]

Does anyone have experience with places that do one-day "large volume" hair removal? These are the programs where they hop you up on painkillers and have multiple technicians work on your face for 8-12 hours.

I'm wondering if they can get the whole face/neck in one pass, and if it's worth it to try that instead of a more gradual approach.

[Dena]

Not all the hair is present and can be worked on in the first pass so this would have to be repeated several times to get all the hair. I would also be wary about excessive damage to the skin with that much work in a short period of time.

[Miss Clara]

I had four volume electrolysis clearings done by "About You" in Wilmette, IL (a suburb north of Chicago).  My first full face and neck clearing took place over two days with a total of 32 hours of flash thermolysis using 27 MHz Apilus epilators.  Two techs worked on me simultaneously.  I came back in 6 weeks to have my face and neck cleared again the same way.  It took 17 hours to complete.  I was told that I had the heaviest beard they have ever worked on, so you will probably not need that many hours.  The third round occurred 6 weeks later and took 17 hours.  A fourth session 6 weeks later was completed in 14 hours.

You are sedated and injected with lidocaine/epinephrine to completely numb the face.  That makes the treatment painless until the afternoon when it wears off.  Addition injections will then be administered.

My face swelled up quite a bit even putting ice packs on for 20 minutes each hour in the evening.  I also had noticeable redness, and some red spots where the skin bled a bit. 



The hair on my chin was the densest, and after 4 clearings, I noticed what looked like scarring of the skin.  It resembled orange peel. 

After my 4th volume clearing at the Zukowski center, the amount of hair on my face and neck was significantly reduced so I continued electrolysis at Precision Hair Removal and Skin Care in Chicago.  Irina Cardos was my electrologist there.  She continued full face and neck clearings in a 6 hour session using flash thermolysis.  The only pain deading was 600 mg of Advil and lidocaine numbing cream applied to my face.  Most girls can't tolerate 6 hours of continuous electrolysis, but I was able to without much discomfort.

I had my 21st full face and neck clearing two days ago, and Irina estimated that only 10% of my original facial hair remains, and that hair is very fine and shallow rooted.

I've had one fractional CO2 laser skin resurfacing treatment to help smooth the scarring on my chin caused by the electrolysis where the hair was very dense.  It does seem to be healing up and becoming smoother over time.

My approach is what you'd call 'aggressive' facial hair removal.  I started 13 months ago and have spent a total of $17,500 for 164 hours of electrolysis, and have eliminated 90% of my face and neck hair permanently. 

My electrologist is using blend & flash modalities to treat the remaining hair with good results.  I'm hoping to finish up in another 6 months at a total cost of under $20,000.

[MeghanMe]

Thank you for moving the thread, Dena. I understand that the way hair growth cycles work, multiple full clears are required to kill all the follicles. I was interested in finding out whether a single visit would be a "full clear" - as in, a single treatment of all the currently visible hairs. Thirty hours seems low for that, compared to what I've seen estimated for traditional, slower, treatment. Damage to facial skin is a big concern... and it sounds like Clara's experience backs it up.

Clara - That is a lot of information, thanks! Sorry to hear about the rough skin on your chin! It doesn't show at all in any of your pictures. I'm glad to hear it's at least starting to get better.

How was your pain level following the first treatment?

[Miss Clara]

Hi Pogo,

"About You" has set up various packages to select from depending on the amount of hair you have.  Most patients go with either the 24 or the 30 hour packages on the 1st clearing.  The 24 hour package is completed in a single day, while the 30 hour package is done over two days.  The techs work very fast.  You stay at a local hotel overnight if you're from out of state or doing the 30 package.

"About You" is very insistent that the treatments be repeated every 6 weeks to maximize the kill rate.

I had already gone full-time when I started facial hair removal.  I didn't like the prospect of having to grow out my beard (even partially) twice a week.  With the volume hair removal, it was only necessary to grow out my beard for 4 days every six weeks.

The pain following that first treatment was minimal (some Advil was all I needed), but the swelling was substantial.  My skin felt tight.  I was advised to sleep in a chair and to apply ice packs for 20 minutes each hour to reduce swelling.  I didn't suffer much visible skin trauma (bleeding or blistering).  It took 4-5 days for the swelling to subside and my skin to heal up enough to allow using foundation makeup.  I do tend to heal quickly, though, so it could take a little longer.  Here's my face Pass #1 after just 4 days.



The scarring didn't show up right away.  You can see it here in the chin area after Pass #4: