Electrolysis Didn’t Work For Me

I know how confusing it can be on the client side of things when you’re looking for permanent hair removal. I’ve been there and my frustration with being sold false promises and worthless treatments is part of why I decided to do electrolysis myself. When I started out looking for someone to take care of my unwanted hair (after failed laser treatments) I very foolishly paid the same people who failed with laser to perform electrolysis on me. Of course, you can guess the result. Electrolysis didn’t work for me. I walked out of there with puncture marks in my skin, which, thankfully, didn’t leave any lasting scars.

Electrolysis Didn’t Work For Me – Why Not?

When electrolysis is performed properly, it works for everyone regardless of hair and skin type. If electrolysis didn’t work for you then it probably wasn’t performed properly. Looking back I know that the woman who performed electrolysis on me had absolutely no training at all. And with no training comes no understanding of the basic principles of electrolysis, and alas, no practice before she got to me!

An unskilled technician is the most likely culprit if you think electrolysis didn’t work for you. The unfortunate fact of the hair removal business in Canada, and this includes laser, is that absolutely anyone can perform these services. And even more unfortunate is the fact that many people think that the machines do all the work so they just have to point and click and it’s a job well done.

Nothing could be further from the truth. An electrologist needs to understand what the machine is doing in order to provide a good treatment.

An important thing for a client to understand is that electrolysis is equal parts art and science (more art I would argue). Electrolysis training doesn’t teach you to remove hair permanently. It teaches you the basics of skin, hair, hygiene practices and the very basic techniques of insertion. The worst electrologist I ever knew (who is still practicing in downtown Toronto) has a wall full of certificates for all the aesthetics seminars she’s attended. Yet she is truly awful at her job because she’s hasn’t developed her craft. That’s the art of it. No one can teach you how to manipulate the probe or cut the current at just the right moment. That type of intuition takes many hundreds of hours to develop.

A good electrologist also has ethics. Some people have no problem providing shoddy services. I personally could never take someone’s money and offer nothing in return, but there are many people who do just that.

So how do you find an electrologist you can trust?

The first thing is to look for someone who specializes in electrolysis. Avoid any setting like a beauty salon where electrolysis is offered as a side service because there is a good chance you will be treated by someone who doesn’t understand the principles of electrolysis. The second thing to look for is someone who can at least give an estimate of the time it will take to get rid of the hair. For example, let’s say you want your bikini line done, depending upon the density of your hair and how extensive your hair growth is (onto the upper thighs or not), you could be looking at something as little as 8-10 hours, or as long as 12-15 hours spread over a year and a half. The important thing is that you get an idea of how much time you will have to invest in the process.

The client also has a role to play in ensuring that the electrolysis treatment is successful. Keeping regular appointments is crucial if you want to achieve a successful outcome as quickly as possible. If you catch the new hairs surfacing every few weeks then you will never see the thick, coarse dark ones again. Most hairs are quite soft when they break the skin and the ends aren’t blunt because they haven’t been shaved.

Another bad habit to break is tweezing. This will absolutely stall your progress because when it comes to the face, tweezing stimulates hair growth. The only way to make sure that you are treating every hair as it comes to the service is to trim, rather than shave or wax, the area you are treating. Even shaving can delay your progress because some slower-growing hairs will take weeks to emerge after shaving. This can add several more appointments to your treatment schedule.

Electrolysis Didn’t Work – Real or Imagined Regrowth?

Many people believe electrolysis didn’t work for them because they still see hair in the treated areas. Please read my essay on regrowth here. It will give you an understanding of the concept of real versus false regrowth.

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