I promised the owner Irina that I would post my results here. I've waited 6 weeks after the procedure to post up so I could assess not only my healing, but the efficacy of her procedure. I'll dispense with the warnings about this kind of thing and how important it is to be careful and prepared. That's all I will say on that matter.
I was picked up from my Hotel by Irina on the day of the procedure at about 5 A.M. I was driven by her to her office located in the Zukowski Center for Facial Feminization. Once there I was prepped by having an I.V. hooked up with some type of anesthetic involved that left me awake but calm. Dr. Zukowski then injected my face and neck in a number of areas in effort to numb the entirety of my face. After that, Irina and her assistant got busy...and I mean busy. I've had previously done 88 hours of electrolysis so I was no stranger to the procedure. Both started at my sideburns and simultaneously worked their way down. I felt nothing. The girls kept me calm with small talk and chit chat and were very accommodating. This went on with both of them working continuously for 11 hours with a half hour break around midway. This turned the operation into 22 hours of continuous electro. I won't sugar coat it. When the day was through my face looked twice its size with massive amounts of swelling. To say I was comically hideous is a massive understatement. But I was also something else that previous electrologists had failed to do in the previous 88 hours work that I'd had. That something was to clear my face. When I was done, every hair on my face and neck were gone. That's no mean feat by the way. I'm what you'd call pretty hirsute. Look it up...lol! Once done, a procedure was done to soothe the skin as well as help keep it from infection. It also aids in healing. Once finished, Irina took me back to my Hotel room where I promptly went to my room and passed out for ten hours. I was able to drive myself 500 miles home after this. YMMV. I have a high pain threshold but didn't feel like that advantage was necessary after the procedure was through. The shots that are administered for anesthesia prior to the procedure, do hurt. If you have a problem with large hypodermics, this procedure may not be your cup of tea.
All that being said, I felt as though I received my money's worth. How much money? Sit down, Ladies.......$3000.00 dollars. But you know what? It was a relatively pleasurable experience. My face was totally cleared of all hair and 6 weeks later the amount of hair that HASN'T grown back is staggering. Every session I ever had prior to this, the hair would be back in a matter of a few weeks. Dejavu, ad nauseum.
I'm incredibly impressed with the people's professionalism, cleanliness, attention to detail and most of all, their results. $250.00 an hour may seem unreasonable, but when the results became apparent, it looked like a bargain. I had no scabbing and no infected areas by the way. Considering the time in the chair, this is nothing short of miraculous. I've cut and pasted their information below and although I don't work for these people, if you choose to use their services, it would be awesome if you told them Lisa C. sent you! It would corroborate to them that I followed through on my promise to post my results here. Hope this information helps those that may be frustrated with the time consumed and the lackluster results from many of the practitioners that exist out there. There's just a whole lot of people doing this that are clueless. I was lucky in that the woman I had prior to this had been doing it for many years and was quite good, but I know many have been damaged by hamfisted and amateur Electrologists. Hope all this helps some of you!
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WOW!! Jen.
11 hours? I'm impressed! How was the after/ healing experience? Here I'm going for a paltry hour on Thursday and you're doing marathons. I just don't know what more to say. You're awesome!!
Hugs,
Laurie
Great to hear, sweetie!
Irina did my genital electrolysis as well. It took about 4 1/2 hours for a full clearing. Even with the IV narcotics, those damn lidocaine shots hurt like hell, but other than that, it was smooth sailing. My scrotum was fairly swollen the next day, though, lol. She was not shy about jacking up the current, either, and I had some scabbing and bleeding that concerned me, but it eventually healed and the hair did not return.
With kindness,
Terri
Quote from: Maybebaby56 on May 12, 2017, 05:23:47 PM
Great to hear, sweetie!
Irina did my genital electrolysis. It took about 4 1/2 hours for a full clearing. Even with the IV narcotics, those damn lidocaine shots hurt like hell, but the than that, it was smooth sailing. My scrotum was fairly swollen the next day, though, lol. She was not shy about jacking up the current, either, and I had some scabbing and bleeding that concerned me, but it eventually healed and the hair did not return.
With kindness,
Terri
All I can say is "OUCH". Irina kept bringing up "when we do your crotch"...I was like, baby steps!
Quote from: Laurie on May 12, 2017, 05:18:08 PM
WOW!! Jen.
11 hours? I'm impressed! How was the after/ healing experience? Here I'm going for a paltry hour on Thursday and you're doing marathons. I just don't know what more to say. You're awesome!!
Hugs,
Laurie
Not just 11 hours Laurie.... but 22 if you figure there were two tech's each with their own machines....one for each side.....Like the twins in "The Shining". jeesh, I need a xanax just thinking about it again. lol
Thanks for the kudos Laurie!
Quote from: jentay1367 on May 12, 2017, 05:30:28 PM
Not just 11 hours Laurie.... but 22 if you figure there were two tech,s each with their own machines....one for each side.....Like the twins in "The Shining". jeesh, I need a xanax just thinking about it again. lol
Thanks for the kudos Laurie!
Not to take anything away from the event? ordeal? experience? I was referring to elapse time instead of tech hours. That still too long to be worked on. Did the numb your backside too or were you allowed to move?
Respectfully,
Laurie
Quote from: Laurie on May 12, 2017, 05:37:30 PM
Not to take anything away from the event? ordeal? experience? I was referring to elapse time instead of tech hours. That still too long to be worked on. Did the numb your backside too or were you allowed to move?
Respectfully,
Laurie
l.o.l. I want my props!! hahahaha!!! I'm on a sizeable amount of Spiro, and I drink fluids like a fish. I'm a peeing machine! That got me up quite often. My IV was on wheels so she went where I went. It was good to get up and walk it off. I'd go, lay back down and back at it. Got into a groove!
Jentay what can I say...I would kill to have this all over like that in one hit...I get facial injections every week just to be able to tolerate and hour...Here in Australia we have nothing like that at all...Well done great effort
Again we see someone having huge amounts of work and getting a really good result...
Do anaesthetics make the difference?...To me it would seem your tech cannot work as fast if you are in pain and will have to reduce the current. My Tech won't reduce the current unless the hair warrants it. She won't compromise the treatment for my comfort. If she uses the correct current she has a far better result of getting the hair permanently killed first time. Maybe this is why Jentay does not appear to have hassles with regrowth after 6 weeks.
We as a community have so many experiences to compare we should almost be able to come up with a winning formula. What I hear time and time again from those having done multi hour sessions under aesthetic is they seem to have much less hassles with regrowth than those who don't. So is this because they can have the current cranked right up so the hairs really are killed? Without anaesthetic Jentay says she has had a huge number of hours(200) but in 11 hours they achieved more than 200 did....So what is the key? Technicians? Rate of current?, anaesthetics? or a combination of all of these? This may be co-incidental but I have heard a number of women talk about huge numbers of hours in the chair with average results... I could not do this for 200 hours
Since having injections for the about last 20 hours I have had huge results in that short time. I am close to be finishing maybe another 3 to clear and then full clearance every session for a couple...this should be way easier with regrowth being finer and very sparse.
Thank you for sharing Jentay I would love to hear your thoughts on this...I think we all understand YMMV however there are probably some lessons we could learn from this that will help us all.
Hi Liz...I actually had 88 hours going in, not 200. And again, we should be objective here. It was 11 hours but with two people working together so it really was 22 hours of work. They used the most advanced machine made.The tech told me because of the pain killer, that they in fact can turn the machine up but she shared with me the fact that her machine was so advanced, it allowed that. Turn the wrong machine up too high and even if the patient can deal with it, they may end up with damaged skin. The horror of every woman having electro done. Now my other Electrologist told me it's all in the tech and the machine doesn't matter much. But I will tell you when you have the machine and the tech....look out. It's ridiculous how effective what they did has been. If What I'm experiencing presently sticks, and the regrowth doesn't just pop up again (which doesn't seem likely after 6 weeks) I'd reckon that she had an 80 percent kill rate. I have no complaints other than I am broke. I would certainly contend that with this type of procedure, you do get exponential results. I just saw my old electrologist last week and she was gobsmacked. She literally couldn't believe it. The only problem with this is of course, you need a Doctor on premises to handle the I.V. as well as the injections. They were done twice by the way. In the beginning and then again at mid way. Frankly, I think I will hide for a 2 week period here in the future and let them do it again. I can't, I just can't imagine going back to the old methodology. I was wondering how I was ever going to finish. I was not being rational regarding the pain and it was beginning to send me over the edge. This has been a godsend. Another member here named Clara Kay used their services and her experience motivated me to use them as well. Not cheap to be sure. But worth it? No question in my mind. Please feel free to ask all the questions you want, Liz. I'm happy to help any of my Sisters if I can. And ya'll can call me Lisa! Jentay1367 is a user name l.o.l.
My technician uses the exact same machine, but I'm intrigued about the time savings. I'm doing 2 hour sessions every week, sometimes 2+1 hours. After considering the added up costs, time commitment and scheduling your life around growth, having it all blasted for 3-5K isn't at all that bad....almost a "deal" :). If it was closer I would be all over this.
My only concern would be the swelling. Even now if my technician doesn't scatter I get pretty good swelling that lasts a couple days. My face would be a giant blob :)
Thank you for this info Lisa. I'm curious if they give any information on a hairs/per hour breakdown.
Can they do more hairs/per hour since you are anesthesized?
Quote from: staciM on May 12, 2017, 07:08:29 PM
My technician uses the exact same machine, but I'm intrigued about the time savings. I'm doing 2 hour sessions every week, sometimes 2+1 hours. After considering the added up costs, time commitment and scheduling your life around growth, having it all blasted for 3-5K isn't at all that bad....almost a "deal" :). If it was closer I would be all over this.
My only concern would be the swelling. Even now if my technician doesn't scatter I get pretty good swelling that lasts a couple days. My face would be a giant blob :)
Hey Staci...Yeah, I blew up like a beach ball. I looked absolutely horrific! But it was worth it. The time to do something like this is when you have a week off and are on vaction. You certainly couldn't show up to work 48 hours later.
Quote from: Jane Emily on May 12, 2017, 07:35:28 PM
Thank you for this info Lisa. I'm curious if they give any information on a hairs/per hour breakdown.
Can they do more hairs/per hour since you are anesthesized?
I couldn't really tell you, Jane. I suspect since they can crank up the machine that there's less time letting the probe sit in the follicle. But I'm just speculating. Sorry I can't be of more help on that :(
Quote from: jentay1367 on May 12, 2017, 07:38:17 PM
Hey Staci...Yeah, I blew up like a beach ball. I looked absolutely horrific! But it was worth it. The time to do something like this is when you have a week off and are on vaction. You certainly couldn't show up to work 48 hours later.
My wife and I are actually seriously talking about traveling out so I can get this procedure. Do you know how far in advance she books?
Quote from: staciM on May 12, 2017, 07:58:48 PM
My wife and I are actually seriously talking about traveling out so I can get this procedure. Do you know how far in advance she books?
I don't Hon. Anything I tell you would be a big old lie. Her phone is in my OP at the bottom. Keep in mind though, this is not a one shot deal. I know another girl who's been in 5 times now. Less every time of course....but she's almost through too. Irina will have you send pictures of your face in to her and she'll assess how much time she'll need to clear you. Chicago's lovely this time of year...lol
Quote from: staciM on May 12, 2017, 07:58:48 PM
My wife and I are actually seriously talking about traveling out so I can get this procedure. Do you know how far in advance she books?
And as an aside, I was there and had my work done in concert with having my FFS consult with Dr. Zukowski. You don't look like you need that, but if you feel you do, you may want to get a consult with him while you're there. Heck...it's free, so why not?
Quote from: jentay1367 on May 12, 2017, 08:06:57 PM
I don't Hon. Anything I tell you would be a big old lie. Her phone is in my OP at the bottom. Keep in mind though, this is not a one shot deal. I know another girl who's been in 5 times now. Less every time of course....but she's almost through too. Irina will have you send pictures of your face in to her and she'll assess how much time she'll need to clear you. Chicago's lovely this time of year...lol
Thanks again. When I call her I'll be sure to discuss realistic expectations. I'm only ~10 hours and 4 laser appointments into this "project". My hope is that this single high power full clearing will significantly reduce local appointments and make things more comfortable going forward. As mentioned, my current technician uses the exact same machine but due to my swelling (and pain) she's unable to take advantage of its full power. After the initial clearing in an area the hair comes back pretty sparse and much thinner and therefore on subsequent sessions she doesn't need to use as high of a setting and can use a smaller diameter probe....both makes things much more comfortable compared to the first zap on a follicle.
Quote from: staciM on May 12, 2017, 08:34:26 PM
Thanks again. When I call her I'll be sure to discuss realistic expectations. I'm only ~10 hours and 4 laser appointments into this "project". My hope is that this single high power full clearing will significantly reduce local appointments and make things more comfortable going forward. As mentioned, my current technician uses the exact same machine but due to my swelling (and pain) she's unable to take advantage of its full power. After the initial clearing in an area the hair comes back pretty sparse and much thinner and therefore on subsequent sessions she doesn't need to use as high of a setting and can use a smaller diameter probe....both makes things much more comfortable compared to the first zap on a follicle.
It sounds as though you have a great Tech. I'd talk to her as well before making the Appointment. Ultimately, if she's effectively killing hair and your seeing less density every time, I'm not sure it makes sense for you to fly in, get a hotel...blah, blah,blah. I posted this more for people with no access to quality care. Those people need an efficient method to get the job done because they have no other recourse. You're early in. Be patient. There's plenty of transition goodies to spend your money on. Just playing Devil's Advocate, Staci. But if you got a good person, I'd really think about what's to be gained.
Quote from: jentay1367 on May 12, 2017, 06:41:26 PM
Hi Liz...I actually had 88 hours going in, not 200. The tech told me because of the pain killer, that they in fact can turn the machine up. They also used the most advanced machine made. Now my other Electrologist told me it's all in the tech and the machine doesn't matter much. But I will tell you when you have the machine and the tech....look out. It's ridiculous how effective what they did has been. If What I'm experiencing presently sticks, and the regrowth doesn't just pop up again (which doesn't seem likely after 6 weeks) I'd reckon that she had an 80 percent kill rate. I have no complaints other than I am broke. I would certainly contend that with this type of procedure, you do get exponential results. I just saw my old electrologist last week and she was gobsmacked. She literally couldn't believe it. The only problem with this is of course, you need a Doctor on premises to handle the I.V. as well as the injections. They were done twice by the way. In the beginning and then again at mid way. Frankly, I think I will hide for a 2 week period here in the future and let them do it again. I can't, I just can't imagine going back to the old methodology. I was wondering how I was ever going to finish. I was not being rational regarding the pain and it was beginning to send me over the edge. This has been a godsend. Another member here named Clara Kay used their services and her experience motivated me to use them as well. Not cheap to be sure. But worth it? No question in my mind. Please feel free to ask all the questions you want, Liz. I'm happy to help any of my Sisters if I can. And ya'll can call me Lisa! Jentay1367 is a user name l.o.l.
Sorry Lisa
I see a pattern and I can't help but wonder if "current" is the Key. I went to another Tech and she didn't use the higher currents and maybe even an older machine. I could feel her pulling hairs even with injections...with My current tech I fell almost nothing and it wasn't for that dam beep I wouldn't know when I was being zapped.
As a kind of experiment I did ask my tech to turn down the current until I could tolerate it and she told me at that level we would never make any progress as the current did not kill the hair properly and there was still resistance when taking it.
I trust her because the results are there. When she clears an area there is very little regrowth/new growth. My tech says she has the currents really high which enable the higher kill rate but needs to be balanced so that there is no burning. I quite often get small scabs that heal very quickly and leave no marks.
Quote from: ElizabethK on May 13, 2017, 12:59:21 AM
Sorry Lisa
I see a pattern and I can't help but wonder if "current" is the Key. I went to another Tech and she didn't use the higher currents and maybe even an older machine. I could feel her pulling hairs even with injections...with My current tech I fell almost nothing and it wasn't for that dam beep I wouldn't know when I was being zapped.
As a kind of experiment I did ask my tech to turn down the current until I could tolerate it and she told me at that level we would never make any progress as the current did not kill the hair properly and there was still resistance when taking it.
I trust her because the results are there. When she clears an area there is very little regrowth/new growth. My tech says she has the currents really high which enable the higher kill rate but needs to be balanced so that there is no burning. I quite often get small scabs that heal very quickly and leave no marks.
Hey Liz, No problem on the name. Everyone does it. Just thought I'd start letting everyone know. I definitely think it's a current thing. My original told me she couldn't crank it up cuz' my skin was to sensitive. Well, that's fine, but I was getting very tired and frustrated seeing what appeared to be everything coming back in a few weeks time. The key I think is having the mastery and equipment to turn the machine up high enough to kill the hair and not the patient or the dermis. It seems to me that many of the practitioners are simply paranoid to raise the current. They don't want to harm you or your skin or frankly....get sued. The most frustrating thing about this whole procedure is there's no baseline or way to substantiate in any substantive way that anything is being accomplished. It allows people who have no skill at this kind of thing to continue doing their thing with impunity. I mean, if somebody paints your house, you can immediately look at it and know it was done correctly to some certain degree. Not with electro. So you may have a bad tech, who just keeps pounding away at you and taking your money. It truly sucks. I was hearing stories of women with 500 hours in? Really, are we all so different? Something else is at play here. That was my purpose of posting this. I wanted to give frustrated women the option to get this horrific job moving along in a meaningful way. Emtying someones wallet does not seem to be the key to a smooth face. I don't know about anywhere else, but here in the U.S., there needs to be substantially more oversight. Below, I've posted a link to a place in Dallas, TX. that does the same thing as the place I went to with comparable costs...just another option for the gals that are looking for alternatives.
www.electrology3000.com/
Hi Lisa,
I did see you sign your name as Lisa but since it was the first time I ever saw it I wasn't sure I should use it. (I did put it on my user name vs real name cheat sheet though) I'm glad to see you tell liz it was okay to begin using it.
So hereafter you shall be known as Lisa as in Leaning Tower of Pisa! yeah that works. (no idea what the Moni will come up with)
22 work hours zapping hairs still boggles the mind.
Hugs,
Laurie
It would boggle it, if I had one ::) Thanks for the props on the name. I usd to sign most of my missives with my name, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't stick. So I decided to just get vocal about it. You guys can call me whatever you like, but I wanted everyone to know my name isn't ::)"Jentay" ::) :laugh:
I've only recently started thinking about getting started on electrolysis. This sounds preferable to weekly appointments.
Quote from: jentay1367 on May 13, 2017, 09:45:00 AM
Hey Liz, No problem on the name. Everyone does it. Just thought I'd start letting everyone know. I definitely think it's a current thing. My original told me she couldn't crank it up cuz' my skin was to sensitive. Well, that's fine, but I was getting very tired and frustrated seeing what appeared to be everything coming back in a few weeks time. The key I think is having the mastery and equipment to turn the machine up high enough to kill the hair and not the patient or the dermis. It seems to me that many of the practitioners are simply paranoid to raise the current. They don't want to harm you or your skin or frankly....get sued. The most frustrating thing about this whole procedure is there's no baseline or way to substantiate in any substantive way that anything is being accomplished. It allows people who have no skill at this kind of thing to continue doing their thing with impunity. I mean, if somebody paints your house, you can immediately look at it and know it was done correctly to some certain degree. Not with electro. So you may have a bad tech, who just keeps pounding away at you and taking your money. It truly sucks. I was hearing stories of women with 500 hours in? Really, are we all so different? Something else is at play here. That was my purpose of posting this. I wanted to give frustrated women the option to get this horrific job moving along in a meaningful way. Emtying someones wallet does not seem to be the key to a smooth face. I don't know about anywhere else, but here in the U.S., there needs to be substantially more oversight. Below, I've posted a link to a place in Dallas, TX. that does the same thing as the place I went to with comparable costs...just another option for the gals that are looking for alternatives.
www.electrology3000.com/
Hi Lisa
I think I have probably said this before but my Electrolysis tech will not compromise treatment for pain. She is of the belief that you need to deal with the pain adequately so the procedure can be done in an effective and timely manner. When you consider this, what other medical procedure would you have where they compromise the procedures effectiveness because of pain issues normally they will do the procedure that needs to be done and provide what they consider adequate pain relief through out....From everything I have been reading from other members it would seem the number of hours that it takes varies hugely with the exception of places like Studio 3000 where 4 to 5 visits for a heavy beard see you cleared. Each of those appointments won't be 8 hrs and be decreasing amounts of time but even if we say 5 x 8 hr sessions that is still only 40 hours, lets go double that and call it 10 x 8 hrs sessions(never heard of anyone needing it but still could be true that is still a clearance in 80 hours....most here are talking about having done more than this already and still not being finished.
Pain Control, Adequate current for the job and Technician Skill seem to be the big factor and the skill in determining when a current is high enough to take the hair without resistance, balanced out with skin damage.
How many more hours will you need to complete the job based on this last experience?
We seem to be of the same mind as to how this whole process plays out. I don't know, Liz. In a perfect world? I'd think another 50 hours would see me completely finished. That's IF I have these people do it. as little as 30 but I'm not going to get myself talked into that. Anyone else....i.e. every little mickey mouse operator with a machine that calls themselves an electrologist?, who the hell knows. I literally see some of these places as houses of torture with no end to to the fun. I think much of what we read about in terms of 300, 400 and 500 hour odyssey's come from women who have been forced to deal with incompetency. And frankly, it appears to be rampant. As I said, it's just so hard to know if you're dealing with someone that knows what they're doing. I suspect many of the operator's don't know that they don't know what they're doing. So my hope is that late this summer, I'll hide like a mushroom for a few weeks and go back up and let her have at me again. I'm just so happy I found her.
I can vouch for the incompetent tech I had probable 12 hours with her before I had enough and went back to my original which in actual fact works out cheaper because I can have my injections for free...so with the other tech at 120 per hour I had to pay between $50-100 for the injections So at best it was $170 per hour and worst $220...Now it is a straight $180 and I have free injections from my Gyne
Yes....to all you pointed out. Of course, we have to think these things through and make effective decisions for ourselves. Sometimes, as an old American maxim states, you can't see the forest for the trees. So we waste money and time and our precious emotional equity.
I hope regardless of whether anyone uses the services I've spoken of here, that this at least triggers an epiphany in some woman who may otherwise go on like you and I did early on in our journeys. Because as we've discussed, It appears to be much more common than you'd think. Best to you, Liz! Lisa
As Lisa mentioned I had my facial hair removed by Irina Cardos. She is a wonder!
I first went to the Zukowski Center for Plastic Surgery for volume hair removal in November 2014. My first full face & neck clearing took 32 hours over two consecutive days! Irina was a contract electrologist at that time. She worked the right side of my face while the proprietor did the left side. My experience was identical to yours, Lisa. Lidocaine-epinephine injections to numb the face under an IV sedative. My face resembled a squirrel with cheeks filled with acorns at the end of the first day. I was not looking forward to going back for day two!
I do have a few observations that may be of interest...
I had four full face clearings there 6 weeks apart. The results were amazing, and I too estimated very high initial kill rates. Unfortunately, for me, those high rates dropped off considerably with each successive session. I don't know why. It might have to do with the high beard density in the beginning where treating a follicle also has an effect on its close neighbors. I was projecting complete hair removal in 100 hours. It didn't turn out that way.
There's something else I noticed. My right side (the one that Irina always worked on for those first four volume treatments) saw a better result than my left side. A friend who was going there concurrently had the same experience. It was very obvious to me after the 4th clearing that Irina was the more skilled electrologist. To this day, my right side is nearly hairless while the left side has a lot of fine, colorless peach fuzz some of which still grows out and has to be plucked. The abilities of the practitioner is the most important factor in the overall results you will experience.
What's odd, however, is that if you don't get a good kill rate on those first couple of volume hair removal sessions, it takes so much more effort to get a kill in later sessions. That may be because the hair density is greatly reduced, so the cross-kill effect is nonexistent.
I say this because for all the subsequent full face clearings (nos. 5 - 25) I chose to have only Irina work on me. Each of those twenty sessions took Irina, working alone, 5 to 6 hours to complete with more and more of each session using the more time consuming Blend modality instead of Flash thermolysis to minimize the cumulative damage to the dermal skin layer which is unavoidable to some degree.
It's been 7 months since my last electrolysis session after a total of 225 hours of treatment. I will most likely see Irina for some cleanup treatment on the left side. (sigh) Of all the transition medical procedures that I've endured in my transition, facial hair removal has been the most challenging in terms of travel, time, pain, and cost.
Hi Clara,
Thank you so much for your reply! I'm curious if you don't mind me asking, how long after your first session with Irina did it take before you noticed the hair growing back. Because I'm nearly the 6 weeks out and frankly, I don't think there's 4 hours work on the entirety of my face. Of real interest is that my neck and chin which were barely touched by my previous electrologists 88 hours of effort. I'm interested because I have remained almost 90 percent clear and the places where I had the most extensive work by previous tech's seem to be the places I'm seeing the higher density regrowth. Almost as if the previous electrologist damaged the follicle and now it's more difficult to kill, if that makes any sense at all. I also remember, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you had previously stated that you had a very dense beard with thick individual hairs. Could that have contributed to the extensive amount of clearings required? I remember your pictures and you look Scandinavian in descent and those folks seem to have very thick facial hair, generally speaking.
At any rate, it's so nice to hear from you and I very much appreciate your taking time to post in this thread. Lisa
Quote from: jentay1367 on May 13, 2017, 09:17:41 PM
Hi Clara,
Thank you so much for your reply! I'm curious if you don't mind me asking, how long after your first session with Irina did it take before you noticed the hair growing back. Because I'm nearly the 6 weeks out and frankly, I don't think there's 4 hours work on the entirety of my face. Of real interest is that my neck and chin which were barely touched by previous electrologists, have remained almost 90 percent clear and the places where I had the most extensive work seem to be the places I'm seeing the higher density regrowth. Almost as if the previous electrologist damaged the follicle and now it's more difficult to kill if that makes any sense. At any rate, it's so nice to hear from you and I very much appreciate your taking time to post in this thread. Lisa
It took 5 weeks for my face to feel fully healed after that first 32 hour clearing. If I remember correctly, there was very little hair growing back until week five. Much of the hair was what they called "baby hair". It was nearly invisible, so growing out my hair for the 2nd session was not as embarrassing as for the first session. My second and third sessions took 17 hours to fully clear, and my fourth took 14 hours. That was very discouraging to say the least. No. 5 took just 5 hours and I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still, it took another 19 clearings to remove all but the last bit of hair. Mainly the stubborn hair on the left side of my face. Grrrrrr! >:(
Your observation about the previously treated hair seems to corroborate my experience with the hair on my left side which was so hard to kill after having been ineffectively treated during those first couple of clearings.
The other thing I'll say is that results vary from person to person. Irina will tell you the same. Some people have follicles that are weak and are killed with one or two treatments. Others, like me, have very robust follicles that are the devil to kill.
I also will mention that Irina has hired all of her assistants. She has high standards and expects her people to meet them. To that end, she spends plenty of time honing their skills to measure up to those standards. I have never known a more conscientious, hard working, compassionate, and personable person.
Clara have you any idea what it is that really makes the difference between each Tech? is it their ability to apply correct current?, insert the probe?, actual hair selection or a combination of those?(these are really rhetorical) I was thinking if there was one good indicator that could be used to say this electrologist is more likely to be better than this one because they use X method...for example
Post Treatment you could say that "You should not feel any tugging or pulling sensation when a hair is taken...ever" This is an indication of poor technique but too late if you have already had the treatment. The follicle damage is already done.
What would be better if we could work out beforehand what types of questions we should be asking to find out if we are going to get a good result because good technique is used...I hope that makes sense.
Quote from: ElizabethK on May 13, 2017, 10:19:11 PM
What would be better if we could work out beforehand what types of questions we should be asking to find out if we are going to get a good result because good technique is used...I hope that makes sense.
Unfortunately, I think that's part of the problem Liz. A bad tech simply doesn't know what they don't know. So they may think they're good and in fact be complete rubbish. It adds to the frustration, to be sure.
Quote from: Clara Kay on May 13, 2017, 09:52:43 PM
It took 5 weeks for my face to feel fully healed after that first 32 hour clearing. If I remember correctly, there was very little hair growing back until week five. Much of the hair was what they called "baby hair". It was nearly invisible, so growing out my hair for the 2nd session was not as embarrassing as for the first session. My second and third sessions took 17 hours to fully clear, and my fourth took 14 hours. That was very discouraging to say the least. No. 5 took just 5 hours and I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still, it took another 19 clearings to remove all but the last bit of hair. Mainly the stubborn hair on the left side of my face. Grrrrrr! >:(
Your observation about the previously treated hair seems to corroborate my experience with the hair on my left side which was so hard to kill after having been ineffectively treated during those first couple of clearings.
The other thing I'll say is that results vary from person to person. Irina will tell you the same. Some people have follicles that are weak and are killed with one or two treatments. Others, like me, have very robust follicles that are the devil to kill.
I also will mention that Irina has hired all of her assistants. She has high standards and expects her people to meet them. To that end, she spends plenty of time honing their skills to measure up to those standards. I have never known a more conscientious, hard working, compassionate, and personable person.
Again, thank you very much Clara. That's very elucidating and helps me immensely. You can't imagine how much I appreciate your time. And Irina? I agree with everything you said. She is a wonder. She made an otherwise anxiety producing experience, pleasurable. She's a wonderful woman and I felt as though I was absolutely in the very best of hands. All my best, Lisa
Quote from: ElizabethK on May 13, 2017, 10:19:11 PM
Clara have you any idea what it is that really makes the difference between each Tech? is it their ability to apply correct current?, insert the probe?, actual hair selection or a combination of those?(these are really rhetorical) I was thinking if there was one good indicator that could be used to say this electrologist is more likely to be better than this one because they use X method...for example
Post Treatment you could say that "You should not feel any tugging or pulling sensation when a hair is taken...ever" This is an indication of poor technique but too late if you have already had the treatment. The follicle damage is already done.
What would be better if we could work out beforehand what types of questions we should be asking to find out if we are going to get a good result because good technique is used...I hope that makes sense.
That's a hard question, Liz. I doubt that I can offer a satisfactory answer. The one thing that I really appreciated about Irina Cardos was her willingness to listen to me and work with me to improve the chances of a good outcome. She has the ability to alter her methods and approach to suit the patient's unique circumstances. There are so many variables at play. The best electrologists seem to be able to make appropriate adjustments in technique within a session and between sessions. Every patient presents a unique challenge. Pain tolerance, the dryness of the skin, hair thickness and depth, power level, modality, probe type and size, number of pulses, timing, illumination, touch and visual feedback, and that all important intuitive quality that only comes with experience. Electrolysis is an art.