I am a 23 year old male and I have fine but noticeable hairs all over my face even my nose. When I was younger I used to pluck them and found that I would sometimes get acne. My skin if fairly acne prone. If I were to permanently remove these hairs through electrolysis am I condemning myself to a lifetime of acne? This may be a better question for a dermatologist but if anyone out there could give me some information I’d appreciate it.
Hey kris.
Electrolysis doesn’t cause acne. The relationship between the plucking you did and acne that followed was most likly caused by bacteria from your hands that touched newly plucked follicles. Also, dirty tweezers or plucking skin that hadn’t been washed before plucking and skin that wasn’t properly cared for after plucking most likely caused the problem.
Acne is related to hormonal changes and overactive oil glands (sebaceous glands) during adolescence. It is a self-limiting condition which many outgrow. Being that you are 23, perhaps those days are almost behind you???
Some electroloysis sources say that electrolysis can actually improve an acne condition.
If one were to treat an infected and inflammed area with electrolysis, and let’s say the probe touches a pimple that has pus, then one could spread an infection to an unaffected area and cause a new infection. As electrologist’s we are taught that if that should happen, the probe must be discarded and a new probe used.
If you have acne, generally speaking, it is not advised to epilate hairs in inflammed,infected areas, but rather to work in areas where the skin is calm. If your skin is calm, hair removal can be done without concern. You must do your part to follow STRICT aftercare instructions for the first 24-72 hours if you are prone to acne flareups, and it sounds like you may be because it happened after tweezing.
There are some people, however, that just have a certain amount or kind of bacteria on their faces where attempts to control the outcome for their electrolysis healing sometimes seems futile. If you are thinking about electrolysis, have a little area done and test your skin’s reaction. I seriously doubt that having electrolysis will condemn you to a life of acne.
Dee