400 hours of electrolysis?!?!?!

[JoyceJ]

Hey everyone, so I started seeing a new electrologist (my old one was giving me terrible rashes ans the salon was gross and headache inducing). The new one's nice, the place is clean and she knows her stuff and she doesnt use a foot petal. I feel like shes doing a good job and is very thorough but today she told me it will probably take 400 hours to just do my face and neck.

Now, I'm 22 years old, really not that hairy, and im on Spiro which is supposed to stop new hair growth. I can tell she's going slower than the other electrologist, but surely 400 hours is wayyy too long. Am I getting taken advantage of? The research I've done makes me think it should take like 100 hours.

Im kinda freaking out because I dont really have other options and I'm afraid the first place I went will damage my skin. I cant afford 20,000 worth of electro! I barely make that much in a year... but I need to take care of this as soon as possible. Any advice???? Am I being swindled???

[Nicole Erin]

Keep in mind that the more electro you get, the less evident facial hair will be. That means - it is not gonna take 400 hours (if that is even accurate) to notice less beard. Plus it is several small investments, unless you get a hell of a deal, don't go paying 1,000's up front.

One thing you could do also is tweeze some of the hairs. I mean it is not permanent but you will get less shadow.
I cant afford electro so I always tweeze. Makeup covers up very nice, even if I go a few days without tweeze.
Since the goti is the worst area, just concentrate on that mostly with electro. I also have the advantage now being close to 40 that my facial hair is mostly gray and easy to hide.

[sandra-leigh]

Joyce, is laser an option for you, to thin out what you have? Laser is rarely a complete cure (especially for light colored or grey hairs), but it is relatively fast for what it does do.

[JoyceJ]

Thanks for responding nicole. I could probably live with a *few* fine hairs.... but I need to get rid of the darker, course hairs asap. Is this electrologist going too slow??? I dont want to be out thosands of dollars more than if I had just seen someone else. Also, I dont really grow hairs on my cheeks... just the chinstrap area so shouldnt it go faster?

Laser isnt permanent so I just see that as even more expensive without accomplishing anything and I can damage my hair for electrolysis further down the line. :-/

Also I heard plucking isnt a good idea since it can stimulate nearby hair cells to start growing and irritates the hair. Ive got enough ingrowns as it is!

[Stephanie-L]

Unless you are really hairy, or have a very slow tech, 400 hours sounds like a lot. Most of the estimates I have seen say anywhere from 50 to 200, depending on a lot of factors. If you do have a slow tech, then you should be paying less per hour, as the number of hairs they get per dollar spent should come out about even. As to laser, my electrolysis tech recommends it first for larger areas, it gets the easy stuff quickly, and allows her to concentrate on the difficult stuff. It gave me a 50% reduction in beard hair, so less time with the needle...............Stephanie

[Cindy M]

I'm doing laser and electrolysis in between sessions. I don't think it's proven that laser isn't permanent. I could be wrong. I'm 50% gray, so that's the part my electrolygist is working on. I've had 10 hours of electrolysis... working on the sides/cheek area. I'm already seeing clearing there. I think 400 hours sounds high. At your age, I would look into laser. It's much faster, and if you have hair come back later on, then keep them in check with electrolysis. This is just my opinion. Do your own research before making a decision. Good luck!

[ReneeT]

Do you know what mode of electrolysis is being used? Thermolysis ("flash") is the fastest, galvanic is the slowest, and blend is in between. If galvanic is being used, it could well take 400 hrs, unless multi-channel is being used

[Sally24]

She's trying to be realistic. I've got around 50 hours in and I've probably eliminated a third of my beard. Luckily its almost all the dark hairs. Hormones will have little if any effect on your.facial hair, only body hair.

[Frances]

400 hours seems like a lot for a 22 year old with little facial hair. That's how long it took for me, but I was a 40 year-old gorilla when I started. You should consult with other electrologists.

[Bree-asaurus]

Could be 400, could be 50. I don't think I'll hit 50 to kill everything but I was lucky in that department and I also did (and still do) laser.

It seems overwhelming, but take it easy. A little at a time, a little at a time.

[sandra-leigh]

Laser isnt permanent so I just see that as even more expensive without accomplishing anything and I can damage my hair for electrolysis further down the line. :-/

Laser, properly done, is "permanent reduction". It hasn't been on the market long enough to establish figures on how much reduction; the Mayo Clinic says 40% to 80%. I did see one site claim 98% to 99% but that is... ummm... not in accordance with any study I have heard.

There usually is some regrowth with laser, and for some people there can be a lot of re-growth I gather, but the results I have heard discussed (even by people who do electrolysis) is that the regrowth is slowed and often not notable until on the order of two years, and that for lighter skinned people with dark hair, that most of the time the regrown hair comes out finer. Results differ for darker skinned people.

I have seen potential laser side effects listed on various sites, including sites that are emphasizing electrolysis, but I have not encountered any claim of damaging the hair for electrolysis.


Ive got enough ingrowns as it is!

Laser is considered to be effective at treating ingrown hairs, as it effectively gets underneath the skin.

[GrayGirl83]

I'm doing some digging on laser now. The stats on the Tria seem to be pretty solid, but I'm still checking out how reliable those numbers are

[CharleneT]

FYI, neither hormones or anti-androgens will affect facial hair growth. Your body hair should change, in some cases a lot ;) !

[sandra-leigh]

FYI, neither hormones or anti-androgens will affect facial hair growth.

cypro seemed to increase my facial hair growth a fair bit!

[Sally24]

Laser is "generally" a good starting point for people with all dark hairs. Regardless of the proponents claims, it's outcomes are wildly different from person to person. I have friends that had a great result. I've also know someone who had their face completely cleared only to have it mostly return in 2 years. Many get a few solid sessions of laser and then start in on the slow process of electrolysis. Pretty much everyone has to do some electrolysis anyways to get tuff hairs or stragglers that laser can't kill. Total hair removal is not a fast process. Be patient and just keep at it. If your tech seems to have good results I would stick with her, otherwise try finding someone more to your liking.

[Aprilrain]

Laser won't make electro harder down the road but it may not give you the results you want either. 100 hrs of electro will probably get rid of the shadow especially if you focus on the upper lip but it's not going to get rid of all the hair. There are 10s of thousands of hairs on the human face and not all of them are visible at the same time plus just because a hair has been treated dosen't mean it won't ever come back. Each hair needs to be treated maybe 6-8 times each folical can contain multiple hairs. I don't think 400 hrs is an unreasonable estimate you probaly won't need that much but I wouldn't be surprised if it was around 250 to 300 hrs. 50 hrs of electro is barely scratching the surface!

[josee]

So from what you all are saying a combination electrolysis and lazer is a good idea? There is a Groupon in this area for 6 sessions on a small area (mustache and chin) for $99 and a medium size area (beard) for $149. I have started electrolysis already...maybe I should jump on this?

[Stephanie-L]

Josee,
I started with the groupon for my laser because I didn't want to spend a lot of money for something I didn't know about. My only regret was I didn't go for the larger area, because I needed it. So, yes, a series of laser in between electrolysis is helpful, and try the groupon. The only thing is check out the place doing the laser first, they are probably good, but it doesn't hurt to check.................Stephanie

[josee]

Thanks Stephanie. I appreciate the response. Guess I'll probably give it a go after I check the place out.