Day 273 – Zap! Zap! Electrolysis!

11 days of facial hair growth in super Hi-Res (The longest it’s ever been!)

Today I had an electrolysis consult and had my first few hairs zapped! I will be documenting the removal of all my facial hair in a new section under the timeline page. It felt good to make another step towards femininity.

I found my electrologist online through a site called the Massachusetts Association of Electrologists (MAE). I basically went down the list of local electrologists and sent emails to the ones I would be willing to drive to. One of the first to respond was June, from the Advanced Electrology and Skin Care Center in Newburyport, MA. I heard from a few others but she had the best prices and seemed like she had a lot of experience.

At the beginning of my consultation I was met in the waiting room by June and was brought back into a room where the electrolysis equipment was kept with a desk and a few chairs. The first thing to take care of was paperwork. Any place that performs laser or electrolysis will most likely require you to fill out a form to make sure you have no pre-existing health conditions that may interfere with the treatment as well as to take care of any liability issues. She then began to explain about how electrolysis works and about the different stages of hair growth. All of this was pretty interesting even though I had a good understanding of the process from my own research. The type of electrolysis that she chose to use was High Frequency, or Thermolysis. This method sends high frequency radio energy through the probe into your hair follicle. The energy agitates or vibrates the hair follicle and the surrounding tissue and creates heat in an attempt to do enough damage to prevent re-growth.

By the time we were done talking there was only about 5 minutes left. In that amount of time she was able to get prepped and treat 5-10 hairs in a minute or two. It really did not hurt much at all. It hurt about as much as plucking a hair from your leg or eyebrow. The only difference is that it is more of a hot/burning sensation and feels a bit like a bee sting(Just not as painful). She thought that she might be able to clear my face with two 1 hour sessions which would be awesome, the optimist in me is hoping the first wave is that quick! I made an hour appointment for next Tuesday, a few hours before my endocrinologist appointment. Next week is going to be busy. 🙂

This site provides an excellent description of the various electrolysis techniques and has a lot of information about hair growth: http://www.transgendercare.com/electrolysis/methods/overview_methods.htm

Weight: 177

Abbey