Tag: Hirsutism

Hirsutism and acne: my experience

Hello!

After the post about electric hair removal I thought it would be convenient to go a little deeper on the subject of hirsutism and acne. These are two problems that I have suffered since I was a teenager (now I am going to be 30 years old) and which have taken me so much time to have under control. It really is a problem that has made me suffer a lot, and I had to do a lot of research on my own to see how to solve it. Doctors do not take you seriously because they do not consider them a health problem, just an aesthetic issue (in my case I do not even have polycystic ovaries), my mother did not give it any importance, all the insecurities I had when putting on a bikini or to intimate with a boy … and some years ago there was not as much information on the Internet as now! I did not know that electrolysis hair removal (very important to know for girls with hair problems) existed until I was 25, although it is a method that has been working more than 100 years!

Let’s start with the issue of hair and then I will move on to acne. As I explained in the previous post, laser (Diode Lightseer is the one I know and I know it works, as long as the person who applies it takes his time-minimum 2 hours for legs-and puts it at a considerable power) only works in very terminal hairs (very “hard” hair), and even though it does not work impeccably. For me it worked more or less in my legs, even though my hair is black and my skin is quite pale so that I am the ideal client. Well, even after 5  laser sessions, I had to go over my legs with electrolysis (although much more on the thighs than down my knees, since on the thighs my hair was less thick). Having done electrolysis in the first place on my legs would have been too much because it is a very large surface, although I know people who have done it and spent less money than me. Laser works better on your groins because it is the hardest hair we have in our body. As for the armpits, I think I would have saved money by doing electrolysis directly, since it is not such a large area (after 5 laser sessions, I left it and I have removed the rest with electrolysis, by myself). For arms it will depend on the person, but I do not recommend laser since they ask you to shave them before, and at least in my case I have fine hairs there. Although whole arms are also a large surface, I think it is worth doing them directly with electrolysis.

Let’s move on to treatments that are not laser /electrolysis. When I was a teen I bleached my lower back for the summer, using a bleaching creme. I had quite good results. But when the hairs grow back, they have black roots! I also used to bleach my facial hair at first, but I do not recommend it: hairs started appearing longer and longer because of the bleaching. So I started waxing my face. At the beginning it was great, but with the wax you also eliminate fuzz, and then that fuzz starts growing stronger. In the end I opted for tweezers, to remove only those hairs that were black. But tweezers make hairs grow stronger and bent. If you then want to start with electrolysis, you must wait a few weeks without tweezing. When I started with electrolysis my nightmare (at least in my face) disappeared, in addition to achieving perfect eyebrows! (When I tweezed my face and eyebrows I used to spend half an hour every day with the tweezers, which added to the body hair removal once a week).

Now let’s see treatments: contraceptives Diane 35 (for 9 years). Yes, it works perfect, it improves skin and hair … some people gain weight or have depression, it was not my case and that’s why I took them for so many years. But it does not solve the problem and it’s not the best solution for your health. I took Androcur for a few months, but I do not recommend it because when I stopped (although I did not stop Diane 35 at the same time) I had a horrible outbreak of acne: that’s when my treatment with Roacutan began. Ant egg oil: I tried it and it’s a scam, it does not do anything. Peppermint tea: I drink tea twice a day, I really do not know if it works or not, but it is harmless. Ovusitol (inositol+vitamine B): I started with it when I stopped with Diane, I have one per day and the same thing: I do not really know if it is doing something but it is a supplement, and it has very good reviews

Regarding the issue of acne, I had teenage acne but not very serious, just some spots on my forehead. To get rid of them I started buying all kinds of treatments at the pharmacy, and they only made it worse. Just two years or so after having my period for the first time the doctors put me on Diane 35 and I forgot the problem. But when I was 20 (I forgot including this in the previous paragraph) I tried laser hair removal on my face. BIG MISTAKE!!!! I have to say, first, that I did not shave before (and I’m happy I didnt do it!!!!). The medical laser center where I went (opportunists with no ethics at all, taking into account that I was just 20 years old, with a low self esteem and going by myself) charged me almost 90 euros per session and I had a total of only four hairs eliminated (just the super black ones) and spent about three months (I think I did three sessions in total) avoiding social life and classes because they would not let me tweezing, or waxing, or bleaching or anything. I had to avoid sun completely. A total nightmare. And it did not work at all. Just in those months I stopped taking Androcur (I only had it for some months, I started feeling depressed but I dont know if it was due to Androcur or to all those circumstances). So, I do not know if it was the laser or stopping with Androcur, but I started having a cystic acne that I had never have before. Laser on your face, which is an hormonal zone, can produce more hairs, you only have to Google it: laser + paradoxical effect. I had never had severe acne, with painful pimples leaving scars. Trying to fix a problem I got a worse one. The solution was Roacutan: six months and problem solved. For all those girls who have problematic acne, it’s really worth it. It’s worth 6 months of not drinking alcohol (better for you!) and avoiding sun and putting on cream and chap stick all the time, really. Contraceptives only hide the problem. It’s not the same case if you just have the typical hormonal pimples before your period, I still have those, but it’s not a big deal.

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Love Roacutan!

Although some say it doesn’t, I think diet has an influence, not only in acne but in the general appearance of your skin. I recommend having plenty of fruits and vegetables, for me it was quite difficult but I made a total change in my diet and I have been drinking smoothies for years. Down here I  put a link to a page that I follow (in Spanish), where they propose very varied juices. The author proposes juices because they are easy to digest and smoothies may have too much fiber, which can cause some people bad digestions. I do not have a juice extractor, just a simple blender, so I always drink smoothies with fiber and it’s fine for me. Also, I do not like wasting food and I dont see myself cooking with the leftovers:

http://www.habitos.mx/

Enough for today. I still have things to say about cosmetics and different foods (also associated with the topic of acne), but I will develop these topics in other posts.

I hope my experience may help you, and if you have any question do not hesitate to comment or contact me !! :))

*To buy the products I speak about (I only recommend products that I’ve tested):

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

*From the United States:

  • Ovusitol (don’t buy with vitamin D because it doubles the price, if you want vitamin D it’s better to buy it alone): https://amzn.to/2FGFVO9
  • As an alternative to Ovusitol you can buy inositol+folate (as long as you ingest the same quantity of inositol and folate as in one ovusitol dose). The resulting price per day is almost the same and folate is supposed to be better absorbed than folic acid.
  • Inositol (in powder format you get a better price than in pills, with a precision kitchen weight you can calculte the exact amount): https://amzn.to/3ksI9zp
  • Folate: https://amzn.to/2ZSLMH8

*Fom Mexico:

-Inositol (sólo estaba disponible en cápsulas): https://amzn.to/3iKEk8a

-Folato: https://amzn.to/2FL3iWu

*From Spain:

*UPDATE!: read my post Electrolysis + oral hygiene (updated and expanded)

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).

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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

*To buy the products I speak about (I only recommend products that I’ve tested):

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

*From the United States:

*From Mexico:

*From Spain: