Electrolysis for facial hair

I was left with tiny little scars right from the start, the person doing it told me not to come back . toom may wrinkles now to see them .

Laura837 There is a thread 'Facial Hair' which started earlier this year you might like to look at that too.

Over the years I have been to a number of beauticians. The first two were attached to the hair dressing departments of local department stores. Some times these changed, left to have babies etc.

25 years ago we moved to our current town and , again, I found a beautician working within a hairdresser and she has been my electrolysis technician ever since.

All the beauticians i have beent treated by, are trained and approved with certificates stuck on the wall, but further than that I have not gone. I always felt that one bad treatment was unlikely to cause me any permanent problems, so if I experienced this with a technician, I just wouldn't go back. But that has never happened.

All my treatments have been for chin or throat area. My upper lip isn't too bad so I wax it at home. I had the fine needle version no holding onto anything. No sign of scarring.

M0nica

I started at about 40. I have only ever had the kind of electrolysis where the beautician sticks a fine needle into the hair follicle and gives just a short sharp burst of heat to kill it.

It can take a couple of applications to kill the coarsest hairs, and of course, as fast as you get rid of one set of hairs, others grow. However, I have always had a lovely thick head of head of hair, unfortunately, that applies to anywhere else hair grows and without electrolysis I would have a beard to rival my husband's or a visibly shaved face.

I am sure there will be others whose experience is not as happy as mine, but from my point of view, it is marvellous. The one downside, it can be painful and I have never got past 10 minute sessions. That is sufficient.

Thanks so much for sharing this and the detail too, do appreciate it! I am worried if I leave it it'll get more and then that in itself will become daily maintenance.
I'm really pleased yours was so successful and that your skin has done so well after the time of treatment this would be my perfect outcome! Can I ask where you go for it? Is a specialist? I see lots of beauty parlours offer it then I found the BIAE which seems to be a board for certified electrolysists so figured that would be safest but it's like a whole new world!

PinkCosmos

I had the fine needle in the follicle electrolysis about 25 years ago. It was on my upper lip.

Over the last ten years I have noticed fine white lines on my upper lip. They are not smoker's lines (I don't smoke) or wrinkle lines so I can only think that they are, as Laura837 scars showing up over time as my skin gets thinner.

Ah thank you for sharing this! I hadn't expected it could show something like this. Do you mind me asking what the lines look like? Are they like vertical lip lines? How do you feel about then if you don't mind me asking? Thanks again for sharing

GrannyTracey

Would you not consider lazer hair removal ?

I'm unsure on Laser tbh, I've read it can actually stimulate more hair growth on the face so quite scared of that happening. Not sure how true this is but if you do Google it does seem to come up. And similarly the initial cost is quite a bit to begin. But thank you for the suggestion

Ah thanks so much for sharing @fiorentina51! Was it on the face the first time you had it too? Did you hold a bar or anything?
That's so great about your skin this is bit I'm a bit unsure of has it seems it can affect people differently long term

I resorted to electrolysis on my hairy chin about 20 years ago. I had it done about every 6 weeks for several years then stopped for a few years as any grow back was hardly noticeable and could be dealt with tweezers.
I restarted electrolysis again about 5 years ago to deal with the pesky whiskers now erupting on my chin and throat. I probably get it done every 8 weeks or so.
No sign of scarring, I'm 71 and very pale skinned.

Laser hair removal has limitations. It only works on pale skins with dark hair. It is not effective on dark skins or on people with fair hair.

It needs to be repeated regularl, so in that case is no different to electrolysis - and it is much more expensive than electrolysis.

Would you not consider lazer hair removal ?

PinkCosmos, which is preferable, the hairs or these fine white lines?

I had the fine needle in the follicle electrolysis about 25 years ago. It was on my upper lip.

Over the last ten years I have noticed fine white lines on my upper lip. They are not smoker's lines (I don't smoke) or wrinkle lines so I can only think that they are, as Laura837 scars showing up over time as my skin gets thinner.

I started at about 40. I have only ever had the kind of electrolysis where the beautician sticks a fine needle into the hair follicle and gives just a short sharp burst of heat to kill it.

It can take a couple of applications to kill the coarsest hairs, and of course, as fast as you get rid of one set of hairs, others grow. However, I have always had a lovely thick head of head of hair, unfortunately, that applies to anywhere else hair grows and without electrolysis I would have a beard to rival my husband's or a visibly shaved face.

I am sure there will be others whose experience is not as happy as mine, but from my point of view, it is marvellous. The one downside, it can be painful and I have never got past 10 minute sessions. That is sufficient.

Wow that's amazing to hear! Just working out so did you begin in your 30's? Was there a certain type you had my friend mentioned something called thermolysis and another where you hold a bar? Will definitely take on board your advice on moisturising - this makes me feel a lot better though thank you!

I have had no problem whatsoever, and no scarring and I am now in my late 70s. However I am, and always have been an assiduous user of moisteriser and my skin has always been well moisterised. Whether that affects how the skin responds to electrolysis over time, I do not know.

Thanks for your reply on this! I was wondering how has it affected your skin over this time and what areas do you treat? A friend went for it and said the person doing it said it can scar the skin underneath if done a certain way and as you get older and skin thins it shows up? I know nothing about this so wanted to see how people had found it over time you see!! Many thanks!

I have been having it, off and on for about 40 years. Initially weekly. Now a couple of times a year.