Advice on electrolysis reaction

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello, new here, 22, female. Heres a the situation:
I have a patch of darker terminal hairs right under my chin that started coming in about a year ago, and i also have longer / denser vellus hairs than usual on the sides of my neck that i am less concerned with but would also like to take care of eventually. I may have PCOS but still investigating, free testosterone was just high of normal range, testosterone was high but within normal, I’ve done an ultrasound and waiting on results. However my periods have always been regular and pain free and i dont seem to have any symptoms other than the hair. The darker patch i had previously been tweezing about once every 1-2 weeks, but stopped all hair removal apart from trimming 3 weeks before my first session. I have very fair skin, sunburn very easily, and dark brown hair. I get the odd pimple every now and then, but no acne or breakouts. For skincare i just use cetaphil face wash in the shower, benzac 5% on individual pimples and tea tree anti septic cream for ingrowns.

I had my first session 5 days ago for 20 minutes and felt it went well, i didn’t find it painful at all except for maybe 1 or 2 hairs (I do have a generally high pain tolerance, fine with tattoos, piercings etc). The whole area was a bit red with no particular spots or anything immediately afterwards, i would say less red than it used to be after tweezing. The electrologist has 20+ years of experience and is highly recommended with great reviews, she also has PCOS and has undergone facial electrolysis herself so overall i really trust that she knows what shes doing. She applied some aloe and gave me an ice pack to take home which i used until it melted. I then iced it on and off for the rest of the day for about 15 minutes an hour because to the touch i could still really feel the heat under my skin. I also applied some tea tree antiseptic cream when i got home and took an antihistemine and some ibuprofen, and then some pure aloe gel before bed (i noted that the aloe really burned so i didnt use that again). By the evening it had developed into red patches / blotchiness around areas where the probe went in rather than overall redness.

The next morning (48hrs) the red patches around where the probe had gone in were much redder and bumpier, with some white / yellow pustules. If i weren’t wearing a face mask anyway i definitely wouldnt have been comfortable leaving the house like this. I put tea tree cream on again in the morning and then again before bed. Also took antihistemine / ibuprofen.

The next day (72 hours) the tea tree seemed to help with the pustules, some of them had gone and no new ones formed but still a fair few of them and only ever so slightly less red. Again i would not be comfortable leaving the house without the face mask with the skin like this. I bought some witch hazel in the middle of the day and applied that followed by the tea tree. I did this once more in the day and then again before bed. Also took antihistemine / ibuprofen.

Next day (4 days since treatment) most pustules gone, barely bumpy anymore but still extremely red, it looks almost like acne or an allergic reaction. Continued using witch hazel followed by tea tree cream 3 times throughout the day and then once more before bed, took antihistemine and ibuprofen.

5 days post treatment (now) all pustules have gone and its no longer bumpy but im still covered in pretty bright red marks ( i wouldn’t say dots because theyre much bigger than hair-follicle sized scabs). I have continued with witch hazel and tea tree and antihistemine / ibuprofen. My next session is scheduled for 15 minutes 3 days from now (8 days from first session) and i have a weekend trip 2 days after that and I really cannot look like i did at 2 days post treatment this time round.

My questions are:

  1. Is this a normal reaction? does it look like the setting may have been too high?
  2. How long roughly should it take for the red marks to fade?
  3. Is there anything i did in my post-care that may have made it worse / anything i could or should do to improve the reaction?
  4. Given my first reaction, what are my chances of looking somewhat normal in time for my trip after my next session?
  5. I will of course consult with my electrologist, but would a lower setting produce less side effects next time? and if so what is the cost of this eg might this mean the hairs are not successfully killed?
  6. If its still red by next session is another session likely to make it drastically worse? i would assume so but ive also read that the effects lessen each time.

I have photographs for each time frame outline above if someone could advise me the best way to attach / post them here. Thank you if youve read this far! sorry I know its a long post

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#2

I have been an electrologist for 40 years. This reaction is normal and will heal in about 10 days (without you doing anything). My advice: DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT and leave your skin alone, don’t put anything on it. Also, let the electrologist do their job. If you want to “look normal” all the time, don’t have electrolysis. If you cannot accept normal post-treatment healing, you are not a good candidate for the procedure.

#3

I do see some areas of concern.
First, the pustules are not ideal. They are indicative there might be some contamination , or that we might have a histimine reaction . One common cause of this is histimine reactions due to the stainless steel in the probe. I’m also wondering if an insulated probe was used here. IT’s by no means an "aweful " aftermath and I agree with David it should heal fine, but I do think an insulated probe should have been used to keep the energy in the lower 1/3 of the follicle . But I think the pustules come down to some kind of contamination. I use Aloe as pure as I can get it refridgerated , but some clients do react to aloe, so this is a possibility as well. I dont see reactions like this, and it comes down to the choice in probe and energy levels.The BEST thing you can do for your skin is wash the area with a cold facecloth several times over the 12-24 hours after. Keep the area as clean and contaminant free as possible. Some people can also react to pure teatree oil and I normally dont introduce that untl 24-48 hours after treatment if at all. Mike Bono used to drill this factoid into people here and it comes down to this: If it doesnt need to be on the skin, dont put it on. There is nothing you can put on the skin that can penetrate the follicle to assist in skin healing. You’re better off with nothing but plain water.Keep the area cool and clean . Use an insulated probe to limit inflamation to deeper tissues. Do all of this, and reactions like this dont have to happen.

1 Like
#4

Thank you this reply was really helpful! I had my second session today and we used an insulated probe and a slightly lower setting and swapped out the aloe for just witch hazel since i seem to react to it. I also took a stronger antihistemine and a few hours before the session instead of after. The reaction from today’s session is already a lot better than last time, most of the redness seems to be the same redness from the first time. I am planning to use just refrigerated witch hazel for the first 48 hours this time and introduce the tea tree cream after that (its not pure tea tree, ive made that mistake before and it’s not one i’d like to make again). Im also taking extra care to keep the area clean and to touch it as little as possible. Thank you again i really appreciate it

#5

Thank you for the indication on healing time for the first session and confirming that its within the normal range of reactions. To clarify i never thought this wouldn’t completely heal or anything. I don’t think anyone, whether doing electrolysis or not, expects their skin to “look normal” 100% of the time, and i certainly am not expecting that. However there is a big difference between the initial estimate of a few hours to a few days maximum vs over a week to heal. I still want to do it of course i mean i dont have much of a choice, but taking longer than a week to heal means i need to do a lot more shuffling around like potentially dropping to part time study. One of the main things i was trying to get an idea of in posting is whether or not i should expect this going forward so i can plan accordingly, or if there was anything i or my electrologist could do to minimise it. Perhaps i should have worded it more as is this a necessary reaction rather than simply within the range of reactions that may be seen.