Will it scar? Concerning post-treatment reaction

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello HairTell, I come here terribly scared and stressed and looking for advice. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and help me find answers.

Beforehand I’d like to mention that I thought I put a lot of care and time into choosing an electrologist and my provider has shown me all of her certificates and credentials, boasted about using the most up-to date machines, showed me her previous work as well as spent about two hour simply explaining the process to me. She also reached out to me after the first ‘trial’ session to ask how my skin was reacting and everything felt fine, so I came to trust her judgment and skill.

I’ve undergone two treatments with two weeks in between them. My 1st was 30 minutes and 2nd approx. 1 hour long.

Two weeks after my second treatment I started to get concerned with the looks of things and reached out to my electrologist, who first tried to reassure me that everything was fine but later retracted and begun telling me that those marks were ‘acne scars’ I’ve had since before treatment. She also encouraged me to come for another session, despite seeing the state of my skin.

Some quick facts:

  • My skin beforehand was almost completely smooth and even
  • The hair was virgin
  • Thermolysis was used
  • I followed her post-treatment care to a t
  • I was swollen for about a week
  • There was no bleeding, no pin-point scabs
  • I did have some crust and white heads form, but did my best not to touch them
  • The skin looks…scarred and has been very angry and uneven since about a week post treatment
  • The skin feels EXTREMELY dry, despite being well-moisturised

My questions are predictable, how bad is it? Is it scarring? Will it heal? Or will at least the
discolouration fade? What can I do?

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423599678_1905781296547926_2070287667450277519_n1125×1235 109 KB

First image is 12 days post 2nd treatment, 2nd is 30 days post treatment.

#2

@Andrea @Deedra @fenix @James_W_Walker_VII @Josefa_Reina @Iluv2zap @Arlene @beate_r Tagging every professional I have seen, for visibility, apologies. I’m just desperately in need of a second opinion.

#3

The first pic immediately after electrolysis does not show typical signs of over-treatment. But the lip is commonly described as danger zone and should not be cleared in same session and avoid treating it for an hour to minimize potential risks. Your skin type looks delicate and sensitive.

Some people do develop milia or acne type white heads during electrolysis. I think you’re seeing Orange Peel effect with some angiogenesis where skin texture becomes uneven due to wound contraction in healing period. You’re also developing normal outcome of post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. It will start resolving months after electrolysis process is finished. Does your practitioner use insulated probes?

1 Like
#4

Thank you so much for taking your time to answer. She used Pro-Tec probes (by Dectro?). I did go and see another practicioner, who was very worried/upset with how my skin looked and said that she’s never seen such a reaction in real life…maybe it is worse than the photos make it seem? She gave me a healing salve and told me to wait at least two more weeks to see how the skin will feel by then. I am sort of reluctant to go back to my first provider, maybe I’ll try out a small patch with the second electrologist soon. My further questions to you are, can I continue treatment if my skin looks like this, or slightly improved? Right now it has been almost 5 weeks since my second appointment. Are there any products you’d recomend for this phase of healing? I have tried cicaplast, but it made my skin burn and turn bright red…I think I mostly need something to keep it calm and cool and hydrated. And, for reassurance, so this is somewhat normal? Not a electrolysis-gone-horrendously-wrong case? I am very young and quite worried I could have messed up my skin for life or something… Again, thank you SO MUCH.

#5

Do you know which ingredient in cicaplast you’re reacting to?
You can’t go wrong with using 100% petroleum jelly and if you’re not sensitive to zinc oxide creams like Triple Paste ointment over night is good for skin healing. If you continue treatments now, expect to see more redness and swelling. It will be up to your electrologist to decide if you should or can continue treatments. Do you feel comfortable with amount of healing you’ve seen over these 5 weeks?