electrolysis/laser hair removal

[dawn]

Hi, advice as to where to go and as to what to go for:confused:there doesn't seem to be many people doing electrolysis in the area! have had conflicting reports about effectivness of the laser treatment. I have studdied different things written on the web which has only confused me more. Anyone who can shed light on what and where and who I should go to from their own experience would help no end.
Hugs dawn

[Tina Johnson]

Hi Dawn, The issue of 'to laser or not to laser' does seem to be quite a minefield; and just to confuse things a bit more, a lot of operators state that they a registered with the Healthcare Commission as some sort of badge of excellance, when in fact it is a requirement. There is however a commission to monitor their standards of service - CHAI - the report is long and boring - after all why use one word when 1000 will do just as well. If asked, they have to show it to you, but an easier method is downloading the info from the CHAI website http://www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/homepage.cfm To find a clinic / salon , just type the town, county etc into the 'entry field' BE warned, select independant, cosmetic (btw there are only 5 in lancashire) - Have plenty of coffee to hand - you'll need it, You can skip most of it , and just look for info relating to recommendations

On Electrolysis, they're not governed by CHAI, and many are not even registered with any commission at all, just with the council for a permit to operate (thats not the same as being able or trained to do it) - their agency is - BAIE http://directory.electrolysis.co.uk/

Bet you wish you never asked now lol

Personally, I went for a few sessions of laser first, to remove facial hair, and then went for electrolysis to remove hairs that were left, and remove the hairs as they regrew.

With electrolysis, a couple of tips, take a paracetamol before you go, and you may want to get some EMLA cream too (topical anaesthetic) which is available from any chemist, you have to ask for it, but just say your doctor advised you to use it for electrolysis. And, try not to wear makeup for at least 24hrs after.
BTW I go to Tricia Greens in Manchester.

[Jennifer D]

With electrolysis, a couple of tips, take a paracetamol before you go, ...
Although I don't find it hurts that much, bar the occasion hair and with the exception of the area just under my lower lip, I would agree with the paracetamol advice - particularly if you have a 2 hour session - and even more so if you are foolish enough to spend 30 mins at the dentist immediately before 2 hours of electro, like I did once :eek:

I don't use ELMA cream though - the paracetamol is enough to take the edge of it for me.

I have heard that the "agony" changes over time as you get sensitised to it, but I am finding it easier at the moment than I was when I started out. With fewer hairs per sq cm (on the areas that have been worked on) there is less work done in each area at each session. That's after 50 hours of electro though, how it will be after the next 50 may be very different.

BTW I go to Tricia Greens in Manchester.
Likewise!

Oh, I had 6 sessions of laser at 6 week intervals before I started electro. If I could start again I'd have skipped the laser. I have, or had, about a 50-50 mix of black and white hairs and 6 sessions of laser was not enough to permanently kill of the black ones - it seemed to but then a load suddenly came back about 18 weeks after my last laser session. I'd be further ahead now if I'd spent the 36 weeks of laser on electro instead.

But it will depend on how many black hairs you have compared to white ones, and whether you want to try laser to save some money.

[Jennifer Kielty]

Interesting response Jennifer!

You say that 6 sessions wasn’t enough to kill off the black hairs? Do you think if you had more than 6 sessions your black hairs would be have been killed? If not, why bother at all with the laser and just opt for electrolysis? I presume the only way to get rid of the white/grey hairs would be to go down the line of electrolysis?

You also mentioned cost, but if laser has a limited effect then surely it’s a false economy going/sticking with laser, when for the extra money on electrolysis, you are going to get a better return for your money and fewer hairs left?

I am considering having hair removal and as Dawn pointed out, this is a mine field of contradictions. Who or what do you believe, everyone seems to have different opinions and as for the results???

I’ve been looking into this for months and still cannot decide a course of action.

Jenny:confused:

[Jennifer D]

Hi Jenny,

You say that 6 sessions wasn’t enough to kill off the black hairs? Do you think if you had more than 6 sessions your black hairs would be have been killed? If not, why bother at all with the laser and just opt for electrolysis? I presume the only way to get rid of the white/grey hairs would be to go down the line of electrolysis?
At the time I started laser I had no basis to work from - just like everyone else the information available was non-conclusive.

Since then I have met people who had far more laser than me, but then after a few years off it suddenly found black hairs re-appearing. On the other hand I have also met people for whom it worked very well.

The reality, I think, is that you'll never know unless you try - and one type of laser machine may work far better for one person than for another as well. It is a gamble.

You also mentioned cost, but if laser has a limited effect then surely it’s a false economy going/sticking with laser, when for the extra money on electrolysis, you are going to get a better return for your money and fewer hairs left?
Well laser may cost you around £100 per session and each session will treat your whole face. Electro may cost around £30 an hour and starting from where I did my first hour treated one half of the area above my top lip - and did I look odd after that :eek:

I never really saw cost as the main issue in that I knew I'd need electro, and a lot of it, and so I had budgetted for it. What mattered to me was time - had the laser worked really well then it would have saved time, as it was it didn't really.

The question I can't answer is whether I had spent another 36 weeks on laser, say, would it have really worked, and so, perhaps saved time in the long run. But it is a bit acedemic since I am going FT at Christmas and the electro I have had since March this year has already left me in a far better shape than another 7 months of electro would have done.

Laser may be a quick fix, it certainly meand that I could get away with less shaving and so be out & about as Jennifer for 4 or 5 days before my face was red raw with shaving.

Perhaps the best option is what a friend of mine is doing - a few laser sessions, then switch to electro, and then keep having laser on the areas which the electolysist is not working on. Laser and electro aren't recommended on the same area without 4 weeks or so in between, but there should be no problem having laser on your throat area if your electrolysist is only working on the area around your mouth.

I am considering having hair removal and as Dawn pointed out, this is a mine field of contradictions. Who or what do you believe, everyone seems to have different opinions and as for the results???

I’ve been looking into this for months and still cannot decide a course of action.
I think that it is different for everyone - there are no hard and fast rules.

I think that you also need to consider what your objective is - in my case I sometimes travel on long haul flights and any shaving is going to be a nuisance. Ultimately I want to have a completely hair free face.

However, if you are not planning on going FT, or you have a more sensible job than mine, then laser may be good enough in that it will certainly reduce the amount of (dark) hair and so reduce the need for shaving

The killer is the cost - 6 sessions of laser, say around £600, perhaps a bit more these days - 350 hours of electro, which is sort of typical for clearing a face, may be around £10,500.

Sorry - I don't know the answer any more than anyone else. All I know is that electro really is working for me, but laser was not such a good investment.

[Jennifer Kielty]

Hi Jennifer

Thank you for your comments. I have no plans to go full time but maybe in the future who knows? I am very lucky in the sense that I can shave in the morning and I am still reasonable smooth in the evening. I think it’s down to life style and not having to shave, you could class me as a lazy crossdresser? I am quite fortunate that the salon I go to have my waxing, is licensed for Laser treatment, so I might make some enquiries? Then this opens another load of questions as to what power rating etc, etc. I will continue to research and give Laser a go, and see what sort of results I can achieve. I’m in no hurry, but would love to be able to have a quick shave before applying my makeup.

Jen

[jamiekenyon]

My own experiences are that I have been undergoing treatment at Cristianos for 18 months and currently have very little growth (if any). I have been having laser for the dark hair and electro for the white hair. The combination appears to be very effective. The laser has cost me £150 to £250 per session depending on the machine used. Once you have had ten sessions it reduces to £50 or less per session depending on the area treated. The electro costs £30 an hour, but Cristianos will only offer electro in conjunction with laser treatment.

On the pain issue I agreed with taking paracetomol just before the electro, yet I actually find laser more painful.

So far I am extremely happy with the results.

Jamie xx