Question about hair folicle resiliance

[Rachel]

I was told that a hair follicle is not killed off then it will rejuvenate. I have had about 250 hours of electrolysis and now I am going two technicians. One dong blend for an hour a week and one doing thermolysis. The person doing thermolysis said that she needs to concentrate on an area to kill the follicles or they will revive themselves and repair their damage.

Is that true? If so then I need to do a lot more electrolysis at one time.

The thermolysis seams to be more effective than blend. Any opinions?

[Dena]

With proper hair removal you shouldn't feel the hair tug when it's removed. That's an indication that the root has been destroyed as long as it's in the right part of the growth cycle. From what I was told, the blend is more effective than thermolysis and faster than galvanic. You will get regrowth if the hair isn't in the right phase or if it was inactive during the previous clearing.

Depending on the density of your beard, 200 hour is reasonable however by now most of the hair should be gone. If you have fine hair, you will have more hair than somebody with a heavy beard thus you might require more hours to remove your hair.

[Lucy Ross]

Galvanic = DC electrical current, thermolysis = AC.  Combine the two and you get blend, the AC speeds up the action of the DC.  No one uses galvanic alone anymore, they used to use multiple needles at once to get the job done, but blend and thermo just work better.  Thermo is the fastest.  An operator will work on an area for convenience's sake, they could just jump all over your face I suppose but it makes more sense to work on a patch for the time being.

Follicles are killed, or not, one at a time, so I'm not sure what your operator's going on about.  They do "pop" out when removed sometimes, if the bulb is thickish.  When we work on my upper lip this minor popping really hurt, making me think things were being tweezed, but it was just that the skin is so sensitive it gave that impression, making me panic for a while.  The hair up there is almost gone, I counted 20 new hairs up there a week and a half after my last session.  My operator uses blend.

[Kendra]

I did 100% thermo for my entire face, and thermo electrolysis here and there and everywhere else to clean up what laser left behind.  I can't compare to the other types of electrolysis but I found thermo very effective.  I haven't touched a razor in more than a year for any reason.  I still go in for a few straggler hairs but they're barely noticeable.  I started with quite a bit of hair (half Welsh, half Japanese).

Experience and skill of the operator is super important.

[RoryL]

My electrologist is using thermolysis to remove my beard. Though she also knows & can do blend, she prefers thermolysis and does a great job clearing whatever area we're working on that day. A few weeks ago I gave permission for an electrology student to observe my session. It was really interesting since I got to hear my lady explaining the process & technique repeatedly. I did wince a tiny bit when instead of saying to the student, "With your transgender clients...," she said, "With the transgenders...." Apparently, I have an opportunity for a bit of education with her, lol. Otherwise, I've always found her to be entirely respectful.

From what I've learned - if the follicle is truly destroyed, the hair will not regrow. Sometimes, follicles are only partially destroyed so in those cases regrowth is possible. Especially with hairs that have been repeatedly tweezed, the follicle root can distort over time and sort of bends at its base. Since the needle insertion is straight & doesn't bend (ouch! THAT would hurt, huh?) those follicles can be tricky and don't always get destroyed the first time.

Sometimes you're going to feel a tug after a follicle is zapped. That means the follicle hasn't fully been destroyed. When that happens during my sessions, my electrologist doesn't keep tugging at it - she zaps that follicle again, up to two more times. If it's properly destroyed, the hair will slip out of the follicle without tugging, often with its whitish sheath.  The ones that come out easily with the whitish sheath are the ones she says are definitely destroyed.

Being well hydrated apparently really helps with electrolysis, and also can help dial down the discomfort. She always tells me I'm easy & fast to work on because of my good hydration. My decent pain threshold & occasional use of a numbing gel also play a role, certainly. I generally do a weekly 45 minute session. After roughly eight months my neck & sideburns are generally clear with some occasional very sparse new growth; still working on my jawline, upper lip & chin.

Probably the hardest thing for me now is allowing my remaining beard to grow to a good length for a session; since starting HRT in August its growth has really slowed. When I started with her, three day's growth was enough. Now I have to stop shaving by Sunday for a Friday appointment. That's also because my beard is mostly white, and she needs a little extra length to be able to see them well. I will be SO GLAD when I'm through the bulk of my electrolysis.