Hey everyone.

Getting Electrolysis done for my face is something I plan to do for shaving repeatively every morning is really taking is tole on my face . However I know all to well Electrolysis can be quite expensive and was wondering if simple plucking over and over and over again could help get the job done? I.e if one were to pluck her face and pluck again each time a new hair grew would the hair in time begin to reduce and prehaps over a long span of time cease all together? Probably not I'm assuming as Electrolysis seems to be the only recorded permanent hair remover but I thought it was worth an ask anyway?

Plucking can make electrolysis harder as it twists the follicle.  The needle can not reach and destroy said follicle.  Stop plucking if you're going for electrolysis.

Quote from: Ms. OBrien on October 20, 2012, 12:08:52 AM
Plucking can make electrolysis harder as it twists the follicle.  The needle can not reach and destroy said follicle.  Stop plucking if you're going for electrolysis.

Janet O is exactly right. My electrologist is a 30+ year veteran of hair removal and one of the best in the western US. She writes the testing material for certification boards. She is adamantly against plucking especially of facial hairs for the reason Janet gave. She'll even fire a client if they insist on plucking between visits.

By the way, the only area of the body that plucking does semi-permanently reduce the hair grown is the eye brow area. The roots are shallower there and the damage done by plucking can scar the skin so that it can't produce hair any more. You've probably met women who have to draw in their eyebrows. Some have a medical condition and others overplucked their brows for too many years.  Electrolysis works great on the brows too if you haven't plucked them into  oblivion.

I plucked hairs on my lower legs like a maniac for a few years back in my teens.

16 years on that is the only area where I am not ape like - I have no hairs left there at all.

Its a sample of 1, but there were many hairs so I say it does work wonders!

Sarah

It's hard to say it hasn't any effect. Logically, it should have at least some effect. However, most of the time, the effect is mild, especially on beard, which is an especially resilient kind of hair. So I think the safest way is Janet's. And even if you did get an effect, I very much doubt you'd get anything satisfactory enough.

Moreover, as someone who sometimes just can't help but pluck, it's addictive and causes scars and pimples sometimes. So stop while you can.

Quote from: sarah c on October 20, 2012, 07:24:01 PM
I plucked hairs on my lower legs like a maniac for a few years back in my teens.

16 years on that is the only area where I am not ape like - I have no hairs left there at all.

Its a sample of 1, but there were many hairs so I say it does work wonders!

Sarah

You've got a good point Sarah. Hairs on legs have shallow roots and sometimes a pluck will take the root and end the hair. I have matching bands of near hairlessness on my legs where the tops of my socks plucked out the hairs for 20 years, and another set of hairless bands on the mid-thighs where holy-underpants yanked out my thigh hairs back in my younger years. I don't epillate on purpose though because I'm prone to ingrowns when I yank my body hair.

However, male pattern facial hair has roots as deep as 1/2 inch and plucking cannot get the roots but can harm the follicles and your face. On the face, it's either laser for semi-permanent, or electrolysis for permanent, or a combination.

Ah I see thank you all for your advice. Fortunetly I havn't done any serious plucking to my face as of yet, tried a few years back but the pain and the fact that the cursed thing grew back cause me to cease further attempts. I'm looking into an electrolysis professional tomorrow to start work on my facial hair. So excited to finally get started!

By the way~

Unless your whole face is blond, red of white, it's not advisable to go straight for electrolysis, if you ask me. Electrolysis takes longer, hurts more, and costs a ton more than laser. It's much more economical to go for laser then kill the survivors off with electrolysis.

Oh really? I've always been wary of laser due to the lack of permanency (Last thing I want is for the dam stuff to return after all the effort gone into removing it, even if it takes awhile). My facial hair is fairly dark brown though.

Most of the hair killed with laser stays down, if not all of it. Part of it might come back to say hello after a while, but laser being fairly inexpensive compared to electrolysis, you can just return for a complementary zapping. Or just get the "rising dead" with electro just like the blond ones. My laser contract, although expensive, also includes 90 % off extra face laser sessions, so I'm not afraid.

The main reason it's labeled as "semi-permanent" or "permanent reduction" instead of "permanent removal" is that it doesn't affect all hairs, and some need to be killed with electrolysis.

But regardless, even if you're unlucky and you have a lot of hair that comes back, the part that didn't come back will for sure have cost you less than getting it with electro.

So while only a few lucky ones can get away with laser only, it's also true that only a few unlucky ones will get the most out of electro only. And I'm pretty sure no one with decently dark hair is in this last category.

If 40 plus years of plucking my Mentat eyebrows is any indication of the effectiveness, then the answer is No

Heh, Mentat - mine are like Worf if left untrimmed.

Quote from: Paige0000 on October 21, 2012, 03:47:04 PM
Oh really? I've always been wary of laser due to the lack of permanency (Last thing I want is for the dam stuff to return after all the effort gone into removing it, even if it takes awhile). My facial hair is fairly dark brown though.

Yea laser is a big help. The permanent reduction part is true. After I got done with laser, I went for electrolysis and my problem areas is the chin and underside of the jaw. Nothing horrible as they are white wiry hair in spot but the laser literally made my lip and cheeks hair free. The only sucky thing about electrolysis is growing out your facial hair for the session.

Jennifer