Allegro... here's what you can expect after almost 3 years of tweezing (will be 3 years next October).
Can't remenber if I had shaved or not in that pic... guess I had shaven 3 days before...
actually ALMOST no shadow at all...
Have you experienced any permanent hair loss? I'd imagine that eventually some of the hair just stops growing back after being repeatedly yanked out.
Allegro thanks for the post. What brand of epilator did you use? I purchased an Emjoli last week in order to try it out but couldn’t get any good results from it. I had let my hair grow for 2 days and the Emjoli didn’t seem to want to grab the hairs. I could feel it grabbing hairs in some place but not in others. Someone told me I needed to let my air grow for 5-7 days in order for it to work. The small amounts that were pulled out didn’t really feel all that bad. Yeah it felt like someone was pulling your hair out but it was a minor pain and didn’t last all that long. But maybe that was because I wasn’t getting much hair out.
As for the permanent hair loss from tweezing there is a condition called Traction Alopecia. Traction Alopecia is a common cause of hair loss due to pulling forces exerted on the scalp hair. This excessive tension leads to breakage in the outermost hairs. The 2 types of traction alopecia are marginal and non-marginal. In the initial stages, this hair loss is reversible. With prolonged traction, alopecia can be permanent.
Typically, traction alopecia is associated with sustained tension on the scalp hair. In theory, this phenomenon can also occur on areas where hair is constantly pulled out. Traction causes hair to loosen from its follicular roots; however, hair loss also occurs secondary to follicular inflammation and atrophy. Hair loss is often symmetric and along the frontotemporal hairline; occipital scalp involvement is less common. Vellus hair is usually spared in the affected area.
Traction alopecia tends to follow a series of progressive events. Initially, pruritus and perifollicular erythema may be present. These may be accompanied by hyperkeratosis, creating a seborrheic picture. Pustules and scales may form. Eventually, an abundance of broken hairs can be detected. With persistent traction, the follicles atrophy and no longer produce the typical long and coarse hair. Instead, thinner, fine, short hair is generated.
So yes some of the hair will stop growing after prolonged periods of tweezing. Tweezing should only be done by those who really and truly want to remain bald for life. It’s possible to tweeze for a few times without damaging the follicles for most people, however if you tweeze for six months or more permanent damage is very likely to occur and if you continue to tweeze the more permanent the damage will become. For me this is a plus and one of the reasons I am looking into this method. I do not enjoy shaving but love the sly look. I don’t have the money for laser treatments and am hopping this will be an alternative.
So I think now that I have seen and heard Allegro’s story I will give it another try. So I will start another post so that those of you who may be considering it (although it sounds like most of you are just wimps
) will have 2 stories to compare and see if you would like to try it. Isn’t that what this site is all about? Helping our sly brothers find the look that makes them feel good and comfortable with whom they are.