Off I go for my first electrolysis, kind of nervous. Just...It is in a salon so...I will let everyone know how it is.
Good luck :]
I'm sure you'll be happy with the pain level!
Wasn't to bad. $24 for half hour with 15min free. So 45 min. For $24. It was not to painful, just a slight burn up to the tip of my chin. Other than that it was a good experience.
I'm jealous, congrats!!!!!!!! :P
Quote from: Kira on January 12, 2010, 03:21:02 PM
Wasn't to bad. $24 for half hour with 15min free. So 45 min. For $24. It was not to painful, just a slight burn up to the tip of my chin. Other than that it was a good experience.
That is incredibly cheap! in the U.K it would be about £150.00 per session, not sure what it would be in dollars.
That is really cheap. Either way, I thought it was worth it myself. Being of some Eastern lineage, it's either that or carry a razor blade everywhere.
I wonder if anyone else here found that the pain level increased over time.
I was able to have quite a bit done at the first session, and it didn't bother me at all. But as time went on, I needed more and more EMLA plus all the other tips I could find to make the process more bearable.
By 60 hours, I couldn't take it anymore and had to quit.
I agree. The first time it wasn't so bad. I had the area by my ears done first. Its good to start easy and work your way into the harder (painful) areas.
wasn't so bad huh :icon_pissed:
I have to get stoned out of my mind to endure this torment, but I really am happy for you, lucky bitch.
Ya Becca, I am afraid that may be what it takes before I am done.
I think they like to start low to see your pain level so they don't scare you away in one session haha.
The last time I had electrolysis, by the end of the treatment I was noticing a mild sexual response at the end of each zap.
It was one of the most 'Oh crap, no' moments of my life - the last one I recall really was the first time I learned what being transgendered means.
I'm a sadist, not a masochist. So it's really perturbing to me. However, for you girls out there on the more submissive side, maybe you can get more than meets the eye out of it. I normally go into a zen state where i shift my consciousness to another part of my body, far away from where the pain is. Deeper to the core, or my thighs in past treatments.
On the last one, I think I was taking solace in the removal of the pain after each zap ended. Crossed wires, argh.
Quote from: Kay Henderson on January 17, 2010, 03:47:07 PM
I wonder if anyone else here found that the pain level increased over time.
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I'm having penile and chin electrlysis and some days its painless and other days its quite a sting...really cannot think of any reason why which is annoying.
I tried to be clever and on two occasions tried different painkillers but they made it worse! Weird.
I had been going to one operator for over 100 hours... tried EMLA as well as Tylenol and Percoset. Even with that it varied from damn (but tolerable) to toe curling.
At the recomendation of a friend, I finally tried another shop. The difference is AMAZING. She is clearing more and faster as well as being much less painful. I no longer use medication of any kind and end up sleeping through much of the two hour plus sessions.
I'm FINALLY (almost) done...
So bottom line, don't hesitate to try another operator even if it means traveling a little further.
I had my upper lip done first, because that is the most sensitive area. I then discovered a prescription cream, BLT (Benzo Lido Tetra 10% 8% 8%) that works amazingly well, but you have to go to a compounding pharmacy to get it.
I no longer shave my upper lip, and every week I take 5 oo4 10 minutes to get rid of teeny gray ones there, but I'm now working on the rest of my face. I can go a couple of days without shaving if I want, it's all gray, but I hate the feel of the hair there so I still cut it off most days.
Oh, and cloves under your lip will numb the skin fairly well. Just don't swallow them!
I thought electrolosis was a bit old hat these days. I actually prefer laser.
Quote from: Tasha Elizabeth on January 24, 2010, 10:03:18 AM
laser is reduction, not removal. while it was very effective for me in the short term, it was starting to come back.
granted i have a lot less hours on the table than i think i would have, so the combination is worthwhile.
both laser and electrolisis are not perminant. Hair will grow back eventually from both proceedure's.
laser isn't permanent, I had 9 sessions and it grew back. I get electrolysis now 6 hours a week with 2 machines/32 probes the whole 6 hours. I alternate weeks from face to genital area for my upcoming surgery. My technicians are real professionals and know their stuff, but it still hurts like bloody hell. Last week it was face and she had to stop a couple times because I broke down in tears from the pain.
We may never know the pain of childbirth, but dayum this kind of blitzkrieg electrolysis can't be far behind.
Quote from: FairyGirl on January 25, 2010, 01:55:45 AM
laser isn't permanent, I had 9 sessions and it grew back. I get electrolysis now 6 hours a week with 2 machines/32 probes the whole 6 hours. I alternate weeks from face to genital area for my upcoming surgery. My technicians are real professionals and know their stuff, but it still hurts like bloody hell. Last week it was face and she had to stop a couple times because I broke down in tears from the pain.
We may never know the pain of childbirth, but dayum this kind of blitzkrieg electrolysis can't be far behind.
That sounds ...intense. I can hardly handle 1 hour a week. =O
I think that's smart. In retrospect, I kind of wish I went that route.
Quote from: Tasha Elizabeth on January 25, 2010, 12:38:08 AM
sorry, i have to disagree about electrolysis. i believe that is permanent.
I have to disagree with you again. My friend has had various extensive electrolosis over the last 18 years and the hair has grown back again. She has more recently had laser which is far more effective and hasn't damaged her skin as much as electolosis had. I understand the theory behind electrolosis but I actually prefer laser.
No hair removal process is permanent and hair will eventually grow back on your face. Obviously not to the same degree but it will gradually come back to some extent.
Quote from: Naturally Blonde on January 24, 2010, 05:57:47 AM
I thought electrolosis was a bit old hat these days. I actually prefer laser.
Believe me, I prefer laser as well, but unless somebody knows something my local laser centers don't, laser does not work on grey or white hair very well if at all.
I had some electro then at the recommendation of my dermatolgist did some laser to thin down the dark hairs, still going back for the white/grays :(
And dark hairs are still popping up every now and then despite all of that :(
Mmm, I will disagree with both of you.
Laser is often marketed as being permanant 'reduction' while electrolysis is often said to be permanant removal (still have to get through some cycles of regrowth though as the hair weakens).
I've had a lot of laser on my face. Definitly some areas were just really resistant like my upper and lower lip. But the laser cleared my cheeks and neck really well (10 sessions though). I still have the odd hair growing out. I'm now getting a clean up with electrolysis to get the strays and do my upper and lower lip.
I think the laser is great if you have a lot of hair over a big surface. It is value for money. But I think electro is great for smaller work and is more of a sure thing in the long term + you can get all the hairs laser can't touch like blond hairs. But as with anything you need a good electrologist?, success really depends on the skill of the operator. If you have a one with crappy technique you will have more pain and bad results and possible scaring.
My electrolysis is $40NZ for 30 minutes (about $30 american). That is pretty standard over here. I seem to manage the pain well, I have a good tolerance. I really enjoy the sessions and don't find the upper lip too uncomfortable. She often uses direct current with a hit of alternate on the end which I find more painful but she said it is quicker. For me it is like "ok, not too bad, then ouchy!" but weirdly right under my nose I can't feel the hit at the end. Only now and then do I get a real toe curler.
I found laser to be much more painful.
I'm getting laser for the dark hairs and electrolysis for the light hairs (white, mostly) which the laser won't touch. The laser is less painful as the number of dark hairs lessens. Electrolysis is more painful in some places than others. My electrolygist said to stay as hydrated as possible to make the electro less painful.
My understanding is that electrolysis is permemnant, but I seem to be growing hair where I never did before as I get older. So of course that will continue.
The laser tech said I should come in once or twice a year for a touchup. Sounds reasonable to me.
And my electrolysis costs $US 60/hour. So far I've done about 25 hours. I would guess I have at least another 30-40 to go. :(
- Kate
Stay hydrated... but also I was told to not drink coffee before my electrolysis appt. Affectsd the sensitivity some what. I've done it both ways and am still looking for there to be less hair.
do the numbers? i've read we have between 200 and 300 hairs per square centimetre on the main chin/jaw/upper lip area which means in USA terms that is between 1000-1500 per square inch and about say 8 quare inches of chin area so that is 8000 hairs of which only about a quarter will be actually growing and visible at any time.
So if a person can stand the pain and the elecrologist can zap one per minute for one hour which means 130 hours minimum but if the pain is so bad that only a few get zapped every hour or if the person has more hairs per square inch this 130 may be over or under by 100%. Which is why we hear talk of the 400 hours/2 years and still not done etc That's just for the front of face.
I have heard that some topline clinics with resident medics can offer painkilling injections so a person can just lie there with two electrologists working at once and they can zap the whole face in a few visits. Goodness knows that cost of that. When I win the lottery that is my first priority.
It's quite a bit more than one per minute, but it usually takes more than one zap to kill them, so there's that.
I've done laser and it did absolutely nothing for me. . . so I had to move to electro and it's working but it's def slow with a lot of pesky regrowth at times on some hairs.
I'm new here, a new friend just told me about the site. I did 6 sessions of light sheer laser and then switched to electrolysis and am super happy with the results. Both hurt but differently.
What are peoples opinion on the efficacy with or without hormone therapy. Sometimes I wonder if the hair will stay away better once I start the hormones or if I am just being impatient.
jenna
Welcome to Susan's, Jenna. :icon_flower:
Don't be impatient - it won't do you any good. ;) Hormones may make the facial hairs grow a little more slowly and be a little softer, but they don't affect facial hair much unfortunately.
But there's a whole lot of other good information and good people here, too. Each of our stories is unique but we have a lot in common. Settle in, pull up a keyboard, and explore.
Be sure to look under the Announcements heading. There you will find the rules we live by in this little world of ours: "Site Terms of Service and Rules to Live By", "Standard Terms and Definitions", and "Post Ranks". Look through the other stuff there, too, like "Age and the Forums".
Happy exploring. :icon_wave:
- Kate
Quote from: Naturally Blonde on January 25, 2010, 02:20:32 PM
a bunch of cynical stuff
I can see being unhappy with the results of hrt (though I think you're WAY too hard on yourself :icon_bunch:), unhappy with pills and patches and a system that doesn't permit injections, but electrolysis doesn't work there either? Remind me never to visit the united kingdom, it sounds like an aweful place.
I think some people have a problem of assuming their experience is the only possible experience.
That's all I'm going to say.
This is the one area that I have yet to explore. As I don't have a ton of facial hair, seems I don't handle pain too well... Hopefully one day I will be able to pursue this and be done with it...
I agree ashley. Just like some people find EMLA to work best and others swear by ELA max 5.
Also I abandoned an old account here ages ago because if this very problem (subjective experiences) with someone in a thread about results from hormones.