About the healing and fading of dark marks/scars due to ingrowns.

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I hope someone has the energy to read this long post and share their experience and knowledge.

Before IPL and laser I epilated all the hair on my upper body with this epilator machines and I got many ingrowns on certain areas on my chest, on my abs and on my upper and lower arms. The hairs in all the places I got ingrowns were very coarse and the ingrowns were the kind that you rarely can get out of the skin, just a hyperpigmented and initially redish inflammation mark with altered skin texture.
A very strange thing though is that the hair on my shoulders and back was very coarse too but I never got one single ingrow in those areas. Very strange.

Anyways, the thing is. I digged a lot and without mercy in my ingrown-marks with needles which I didn’t even sterilize and the marks became even more dark an scar like. And I literally DIGGED!
Then I stopped epilating because of the mess and after maybe a year or more started IPL and laser which I have been doing for like more than one and a half year.

Now to the issue: The marks/scars/hyperpigmentations on my abs have almost completely resolved and you can’t see a trace from most of them. I noticed this just a week ago. I had completely forgotten about them and I looked at my abs and remembered how the skin looked before, dotted with greyish, redish, brownish and shimmery marks/scars. The healing is excellent!

The marks on my arms have faded remarkebly too but can still be detected if you look close and they are still obviuse on the back side of my upper arms. But I also remember how I once thought that a tan would make the marks on my arms dissappeare and I sat in the sun and fryed my arms (I’m brown so I tan very easily) and directly after that I saw how the marks had become much worse! So dark and shiny! I shouldn’t have listened to my aunt.
But also I got many ingrowns on my arms when regrowth occured after my last LHR/IPL so my arms have got MANY new marks, red and shiny dots and marks with different skin texture. So actually I can’t estimate the rate or degree of restorement(?) and fading as accurately as on my abs which haven’t had any new ingrowns.

I’ve also gotten ingrowns on my back and shoulders now in the last two regrowths after the two last IPL/laser treatments. The last treatment killed my skin: burns, swelling etc etc.
The ingrowns on my back and shoulders tend to become very hard bumps, but the bumps seem to get smaller and smaller with time.

THE QUESTION: If the bad marks from ingrowns and digging for ingrowns on my stomach can heal/dissappear, is it realistic to presume that the marks on my arms and back will heal/fade away too?

#2

Maybe my post is to long to read <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
So I will put the question at the end of it here so that one can read it directly without having to read the whole post:

THE QUESTION: If the bad marks from ingrowns and digging for ingrowns on my stomach can heal/dissappear, is it realistic to presume that the marks on my arms and back will heal/fade away too?

Has anyone had old ingrown spots and marks that has resolved with time? And I mean ingrowns where you haven’t been able to detect and remove the hair from inside the skin.

#3

I’m no professional, but I’d say that the fading of your first set of scars is a good sign.

How long does it take for these ingrown hairs to go away if you don’t aggravate them? I stopped using the epilator because of the swollen red ingrowns myself. I figured if it was between hair and sores, I’d go with hair.

I had pretty bad acne for a while and I know how hard it can be to not concentrate on these types of swollen areas. It seems like, with a little help, we can hurry along the natural processes of our bodies working these problems out. Unfortunately, in my experience, it’s usually just me trying to control something that I really have no control over, and usually making it worse.

Maybe some of the pros here can give you better advice about the chances of your problem areas healing, but one Hair Sufferer to another . . . there’s a fine line between grooming and self-mutilation in our society and we all need to love ourselves enough to see the difference between a “solution”, and another “problem”.

take care of yourself,
M

#4

It abviously must have taken over two years for the marks on my stomach to resolve.
Bút I digged in them a lot as I’ve mentioned before. They became very dark, almost grey because of this.
It seems like the marks on my arms don’t resolve as good as the ones on my stomach.

Maybe there is a difference in how good skin heals in different parts of the body?
I know that scars become more prominent/raised where the skin is thicker because of the thicker dermis, but these things a get from ingrowns aren’t scars. They are inflammations. Some are swollen becuase of pus and then the swelling subsides slowly and there is a redish and then brownish mark left and the texture of the skin is slightly changed where the marks are if you pay atention. They reflect light differently, they are more shiny. So it’s not just a pigmentary change. I think the skin heals the tissue incorrectly because the cause of the inflammation is still present, that is the ingrown hair. But the strange thing is that on my stomach the marks seam to resolve completely, and also on my face. I get ingrowns on my cheeks, most of them I can get out becuase the skin is thin and the hairs thick, but some have just dissappeared in the skin. But the marks resolve, though it takes a while.

You are right. One keeps looking at the marks, ingrowns etc so much in the mirror as if it would help. But it’s a matter of control. You might not be able to control the healing process, but you have some kind of control by knowing exactly what’s happening on your skin. And maybe you can take one ingrown out, or prevent one, or squeez one, or see if one has shrinked or healed…etc etc etc

How about your ingrowns? The ones you got when you epilated. Are the marks still there or have they resolved?

#5

Have you tried applying any type of cream? My boyfriend gave me Mederma, a cream his doctor suggested when he had shoulder surgery. I’ve started using it on a scar from a mole removal.

I also have a lot of small white scares from waxing. They never bothered me before, but now that I am having laser hair removal they really annoy me. I wonder if there is a cosmetic procedure to remove them - like laser scar removal.

#6

I had an infected ingrown hair on my thigh several years ago. I lifted the hair out, applied Neosporin ointment to the area and the infection did go away. At first, I had a brown spot on the area too, yet after one to one and a half years the darkness did fade. The skin looks normal today.

#7

Hi Jessica.
No I haven’t tried any cream, but I think I will visit a dermatologist soon. But I don’t think that one can do a lot when the hair is still trapped in the skin. The cause of the inflammation that creates the mark is still there.

Hi Lisa.
Yes I know the skin heals if the ingrown hair is removed. But the issue is that in my case most of the ingrown hairs are stuck deep in the skin. Only their marks can be seen.

#8

You have to get the hairs to come to the surface of the skin. I have found that Tend Skin liquid works well. It exfoliates the top layer of the skin. I have seen it for sale on the internet and also in retail stores.

I have had clients try digging the hairs out themselves, yet I highly advise against this practice. You can permanently scar your skin.

#9

Hello Lisa.
I do use tend skin. I’ve been doing it for maybe a month now on my arms and it does seem to help.
But if the hair is trapped in the dermis Tend skin can’t do anything I suppose becuase it’s only the epidermis that is renewed and it’s the epidermis that tend skin exfoliates.

I’ve digged a lot on my arms in the past with unclean needles and I don’t know if that’s why the marks have pesisted for so long.
But if the marks were scars, wouldn’t they be more white/pale than the rest of my skin and not more dark as they are now?
Because when I scar, for example if I cut myself with a knife, the scar becomes more pale than my own skin. I’m brown.

You talk about your clients. Are you a electrolysis practitioner?

#10

The Tend Skin does take time to lift the hairs depending on how close they are to the surface of the skin. The process can take 6 months or even longer. As time allows I have been killing the hairs on my legs and I used to have quite a few ingrown hairs. I never tweezed the hairs, but I believe it was just from many years of wearing pants. I started using the Tend Skin and the ingrowns have lifted.

You now know not to dig into your skin to try to get ingrown hairs. By doing so you can make the problem worse and introduce bacteria. Just promise, no more digging! The darkening of the skin (hyperpigmentation) can last for a year or more.

Yes, I am an electrolysis practictioner in California.

#11

Thankyou for the reply!

Do you meen that Tend skin brought the ingrowns on you legs to the surface? Were these ingrowns the kind where the hair can’t be seen through the skin? deep ones?

I haven’t been digging as much as before since I started IPL and laser treatments, and I will try to not to dig in the future either.
But most of my ingrowns can’t even be seen through the skin, only the mark is seen. Will Tend skin also be helpfull fot these?
Also one can se a change in the skins texture and light reflection property and not only hyperpigmentation where there is a ingrown har.

Also, is there a difference between Tend skin and PFB Vanish? Maybe I could try Vanish and see if it works better for me?

#12

I-boy:

Check out these websites:

www.pfbvanish.com for PFB Vanish. Ask them if they will send you a free trail kit. In fact, ask all product makers if they will send you a free sample.

www.bumphree.com is another option.

Follique has a sensitive skin formula. Google it.

I believe one of our posters, real sore, likes NeoStrata Lotion Plus. Check out www.skinstore.com for this product. Check and see if they offer coupons or free shipping.

Someone on hairtell mentioned In-Grow Gold. Google it for more information and pricing.

Keep exfoliating those dead skin cells off. An uncomplicated combination of Dead Sea salt mixed with sesame seed oil, massaged into the skin is good for all skin types.

Never use animal or petroleum based products. They clog the skin pores.

You will have to do the footwork to get more information on these products as I personally have no experience with ingrowns. I just have big ears when others tell me about what products or methods they use.

At you later I-boy!

Dee

#13

If you do not see results from any of the products, or you do not see results quickly enough, see a dermatologist or an esthetician and look into microdermabrasion or skin peel treatments.

All of the money you spend on self care products will probably end up costing you more in the long run since you are not addressing the problem that started it all – the problem began with removing unwanted hair / ingrown hair – you still have the hair problem plus you now have hyperpigmentation.

So, address the issues with a dermatologist or esthetician for your skin and then an electrologist for the unwanted hair and the hair picking and hyperpigmentation will finally come to an end.

Good luck

#14

Thankyou Dee and Arlene for your answeres!

Is a professional peel much more effectiv in making ingrowns come closer to the surface than using tend skin? Can you do professional peel on arms??
I’ve heard that brown skin can’t tolerate strong professional chemical peels.

Is there any idea in trying PFB Vanish if I’m already using Tend skin? Isn’t it the same thing just in different bottles or can my skin react different/better to Vanish? I read that PFB Vanish contains all the ingredients of Tend skin, but Vanish seams to contain some extra acid kinds that Tend skin doesn’t have.

Hi Lisa.
Can tend skin really make all ingrowns surface? Even the ones where the hair is entirely buryed and “invisible” in the skin and you can only see a darkened mark?
If it can do this I will use tend skin persistently.

Thanx.

#15

I use microscopic scopes during treatments to see the hairs on my clients and myself. Honestly, it does take time for the hairs to surface, but it will speed the process if you are consistent with the Tend Skin. It might take until next Spring…no kidding. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> In the beginning, I had perhaps 10 ingrown hairs on my legs. The upper layers of skin have to gently peel off.

On a cautionary note, don’t get TOO carried away and use the Tend Skin more than once per day. This practice could have adverse affects. Easy does it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

#16

Thankyou for the reply Lisa.

So one is actually only speeding up a natural process when using tend skin?
You wrote that you had ten ingrowns in the beginning, do you mean that this is when you had the most problems with ingrowns.
I have much more than ten ingrowns. hehe <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I use tend skin two to three times a day or else my skin wont peel.

#17

Hello Lisa.

When the ingrown hairs can be seen through the skin after a while (like next spring, as you suggested it could take for mine to move closer to the skin surface), how do you then remove them? Do you do it with a special needle? Can you do it without causing a scar?

Also, what should you do if a ingrown hair have caused a hard bump in the skin? Should you just wait and the bump will diminish with time or should you go to a dermatologists and get steroide injections for example?

Thanx

#18

They can be removed with a needle sterilized with 91% isopropyl alcohol. Try to get a lance from your electrologist or laser tech. They work best and are safer to use. Lift it up than pull it out with a good pair of tweezers.

If you are getting electrolysis your electrologist can also remove the ingrowns and they are usually very good at that. Plus they can zap it before they remove it so it won’t grow back.

RJC2001

#19

Hi RJC and thankyou for the reply.

What is a lance?

When I try too remove a ingrown that I can see through the skin, it’s like the hard thing is to get the needle down there. It doesn’t pierce the skin good and you have to like press it in and the needle gets disoriented, you start to bleed, it all gets messy and you miss the hair anyway because of all the effort to get the needle to pierce. And becuase of the digging you get a inflammation that buries the ingrown even more. Very bad.

Also: those ingrowns that you can see lying parallell with the skin surface, can professionalls really remove them just by piercing the skin or do you have to cut the skin?? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />
Or those where you can only catch a glimpse of a small portion of the black hair through the red/brown inflammation mark if you pull on the skin and look closely and in good light. Can professionals just pierce, get under that hair and pull it upp and out of the skin?? I can imagine that it’s hard to estimate how deep the hair is and therefore to get under it and not just end up in some tissue to far down or end up on the side or something. But I mean, if the hair can bee detected it can’t bee that deep down can it? I hope I meet someone with miracle fingers that can perform this. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Piercing the skin sound much better then cutting because it shouldn’t give you a scar. It’s like when you get a shot from the doctor and they stick the syringe into your skin.