Electrolysis + oral hygiene (updated and expanded)

Hello everyone!!!
Since one of my new year’s resolutions is to update the blog monthly, here I go with a new post;)) As it has been a while since I wrote the posts on electrolysis and oral hygiene, I felt that I had to update and expand that information a bit, since I have learned /discovered new things that I want to share.

Let’s start with electrolysis. I have visited the lady that I already mentioned twice more (one week at a time) and she epilated those parts of the body that I cannot reach, and those that are more complicated too (back, butt, pubis…). But, as I said to those who wrote to me both on the blog and in private, I still think that buying my Apilus Junior machine (7 years ago!) was perhaps the best investment I could made. It has served to: review legs, armpits and eyebrows, epilate arms, and now also mustache and knuckles. As an example, you can compare the photo I posted when I started epilating my arms myself, and how my arm is now, clean, clean (and my moles are much more noticeable than before):

 

Brazo1Brazo2

Two months ago I decided to start with my mustache. I was epilating it with wax but I wanted to finish with that too. I had always done it with hot wax and although the results were fin I found it very cumbersome, specially when going on a trip, if there was no microwave…So I changed to facial bands of cold wax, much more practical in that sense but less effective waxing, in my opinion. I checked my moustache every week and yes, it was a moment, but after much meditating and investigating I decided to venture and do it myself with my machine. If I had not do it before, it was because I was afraid of having a disaster in my face (as I did at the beginning in my thighs, but then the marks go away) and because once you start there is no going back to wax. If I had had a good electrologist nearby I would have gone, because the mustache is a small area and I do not think it would be expensive. The problem is that it is a facial area and I cannot stand seeing myself with hair there, so I would have had to go every week during the process, and where I live now I do not have that possibility.

So, I waited a week for some hairs to grow and I started with the first round. Obviously at first it seemed very simple because in a week you have very few hairs. But with time fuzz comes back, and epilating fuzz is quite complicated. Hairs that are black are easy to epilate, because you see them easily. But in the moustache there is a lot of fuzz, very small and blond hairs. Go, if I do not see them I do not mind having them, but if there are may they are noticeable. So, for the second and third rounds, things got a bit complicated.

The procedure that I have followed is as follows. I try to do it at night, or one morning on the weekend if I’m not going out at least until night. I put Emla cream (anesthetic) and cover it with plastic so it absorbs well. I wait an hour for the area to fall asleep (if the center area-under the nose is not asleep it is impossible, it hurts very much) and then I start to shave. You have to hurry because the effect of the Emla there (at least to me) fades very fast, like in half an hour. I use the finest needle and parameters of 0.20 sec, 98% and 1 pulse. I found these parameters in a forum and I really appreciate it because they have worked very well for me. I had the ones I use for the body and these parameters are better for the mustache. I use thermolysis and an Apilus Junior (the most ancient model of all). With other machines the parameters may be different (it also depends on each person, obviously a man’s mustache would need more power). And, with my magnifying mirror I epilate hair by hair.

I focused first on the blackest and noticeable hairs (two months later no longer existed) and later in the fuzz (which is much more complicated to eliminate). The most difficult area is under the nose, the center and the edge of the lip. But little by little it has been fading. It is better epilating during the day or at night? During the day, with the window that I have and natural light, the view is great, but it is so good that it is difficult to focus on what to remove, and you lose a bit of perspective. At night you have to make more effort with your eyes but you can do better when selecting. So I decided to alternate. Of course, at night it is better in the sense that your skin is red and the next day that disappears. I do it during the day if I’m going to stay at home. Another trick that I saw, so that there are no scars left there or marks, is to put Bepanthol (the cream for babies) when you finish and cover it with a plastic (I leave it until the next day or the time I’m home if it is during day). This way, the area is superhydrated, oxygen does not enter and you don’t have crusts. You should let the sun touch that area for some days.

I have also removed hairs in my knuckles, since I had already removed all hairs from my feet. Whenever I saw photos of engagement rings or wedding hands I thought, “how ugly it would look like with hairs on your knuckles”. In biology class I studied that it is a genetic trait to have little hairs there. I used my old epilady to remove them. When I decided to epilate them I did the same as with the mustache: I let hairs grow and I removed them each week. Although, of course, on the knuckles it is not a big problem to let some hairs grow, as it is on the face.

Regarding the teeth topic, I still think that the So-Wash device is a wonderful invention and much better than the Waterpik device. My dentist-periodontist used to tell me that I did not brush my teeth very well, but now he always says the contrary. I have no gums problems or cavities. I find suspicious that dentists do not recommend its use, since for me it is key. When travelling, if I could not use the irrigator, I did not feel my mouth was as clean. So, I bought the new adapter for travels. Now the company has launched more products based on the same idea, for washing the colon and to wash after going to the bathroom if there is no bidet (I have not seen bidets outside of Spain and Argentina, in spite of how practical they are for that and to wash your feet after wearing sandals).

Regarding toothpaste, in the other post I recommended Fluocaril. But I changed my mind. One problem that I had and did not mention is that sometimes I got spots on my teeth because of tea, vegetables, juices, etc.  I have not had that problem again because for two years I’ve been making my own toothpaste with coconut oil and baking soda. Baking soda is not abrasive, or it is not as much as any toothpaste (there is an online comparative table with the degree of abrasion of different tootphastes and of baking soda). In addition, it is mixed with coconut oil, which whitens. What you Keep in mind that it is better to throw the oil in the trash because if it is cold outside, coconut oil solidifies and may clog the pipe. If it is too hot, coconut oil becomes liquid. Here is my pasta:

Pasta dientes1Pasta dientes2

The only problem is that I find it a little messy for travelling, so when travelling I use Weleda’s salt pasta instead.

Another trick to prevent stains is to have liquids with a straw. This works also for acidic juices like orange juices, because acids weaken your enamel. I bought a stainless-steel straw and I wash it after each use (cheaper and more ecological). Remember: it is not good to drink hot drinks with plastic straws, because with heat the plastic releases substances that can pass to your drink. It is also not recommendable not to heat or put hot food in plastic tuppers, but to use glass tuppers;))

Here is my straw:

Pajita

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Stop Unwanted Hair: Electrolysis Hair Removal

Hello!

My second post is going to be about electrolysis hair removal, a quite unknown method. In fact, I did not know it existed until I found some information by chance on the Internet. I was already 25 years old and I had been suffering with hirsutism since childhood…

First: do not be fooled. Laser (no matter which type of laser) only works (and not totally) for black and thick hair, i.e.: legs, armpits. In fact, on thighs (where hairs are weaker than in the rest of the leg) laser does not have very good results. I’ll talk more about laser in another post.

Those who have hirsutism know that hair in the places I have just mentioned may be the least worrisome, after all those are places where having hair is normal. The misfortune of hirsutism is that hair grows on your face, your neck, your belly, your back … With hormonal hair, the more you touch the worse it gets (waxing, tweezing, shaving to have laser…).

Today, and after years and years of trying it ALL: Diane 35 for nine years, Androcur, bleaching creams, tweezers, wax, laser … I can firmly state that the only thing that works in this type of hair is electrolysis. It is a type of hair removal in which a fine needle is inserted through the hair pore, a small electric shock is applied, and the hair gets “loose”, coming out alone. Some hairs never grow again, others do grow again and require more sessions. In the most hormonal area (chin), hair always comes back with time, but much softer. In the eyebrows, for example, the results are perfect (I have not tweezed my eyebrows again for years, and I used to tweeze my eyebrows daily).

This type of hair removal does not have as much publicity or is as well-known as laser, and I do not understand why. Maybe the technique is more complicated, and less people apply it. In addition, as it goes hair by hair, it is better for small areas, otherwise it can be quite expensive (but it also works very well to achieve definitive results in legs / groins / armpits after finishing with laser).

But what happens if we have a belly or a back full of hair of with that type of fine fuzz that is also annoying?

* First option: we spent lot of money in electrolysis sessions. If you find a good and honest electrologist, it may worth it. My first experience was bad because after a 30 minutes session during which the electrologist took all the hair out of my jaw, in the following she did very little and I realized she was doing it to lengthen the sessions. Anyway, even if the electrologist is honest, cleaning large areas is expensive.

* Second option: we become electrologists ourselves. I found an esthetician who was selling her old electrolysis machine. It cost me 1200 euros, but I think it has been one of my best investments. It took me a while to learn the technique, but I ended up epilating my own eyebrows, face (with a 7x magnifying mirror) and now the hairs left on legs, armpits and groins (after having done 5 laser sessions, which as I said never give perfect results). The needles I use are called Velona (since I only use them for myself I can reuse them). Magnifying glasses for electric hair removal can be at: http://www.productosdeesteticaypeluqueriaprofesional.com/

The frame of my first magnifying glasses did not work out very well and I had to buy new glasses in an optical shop. Normally there are 3 options: 1’5x, 2’5x and 3’5x. The more you magnify, the closer you must be.

Now I have begun to epilate my arms and belly and for the moment I am happy with the results. I do it during the day to take advantage of natural light, next to the window. Although of course, I’m better and faster on the right arm (I’m left handed) than on the left arm. Every time I insert the needle and push the pedal (the machine comes with a pedal that must be pushed on to activate the current) I must take the tweezers (that I hold with the mouth) and remove the hair. Obviously, a person who uses both hands (like when you epilate someone else) would go much faster.

I guess electrology professionals would not agree with what I say, but I think this type of hair removal is like sewing: it requires a lot of patience, practice and good eyesight to insert the needle into each pore. That’s why I think buying a machine, needles and glasses is a good investment to make as a family (between mothers and sisters, for example) to have the machine to help each other. If you decide to do so, it may also be a good idea to invest in a magnifying lamp like the ones that estheticians have. For now, I’ve only epilated myself, but I’m trying to convince to my sister so that she can learn and help me with difficult access areas.

Here I put some pictures of the machine, the glasses and the first results on my arms (for the square that you see it took an hour on the right and hour and a half on the left). Afterwards some scabs will appear, you should not touch them, they will fall alone. It is best not to sunbathe in the areas where we have epilated, at least until the area is well healed (it is not like laser, nothing happens if you have sunbathed or you are tanned BEFORE epilating).

Foto1Foto 2Foto 4Foto 3

A renowned professional electrologist in Spain is Josefa Reina, from Málaga. Here you have the link of her YouTube channel, where he posts videos of the wonders that she achieves. You can also look at the professional forums in this regard on Hairtell.com

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