Is this normal? I have received electrolysis for 8 months now. I have been a bit swollen and red for a couple of days after, but nothing like this. Yesterday my electrolysist had a new machine and said it would be a bit stronger. I guess she was right. What can I do now, and will it scar?
This is blood plasma, and you can expect each treated follicle to scab within the next few days. Don’t pick at the scabs, they must be allowed to fall off on their own. Picking or rubbing them off would interfere with your skin’s healing process. Avoid any exfoliants (chemical or physical) in the area and avoid sun exposure. Once scabs form, you can clean the area gently with mild soap, water and a cloth.
You can expect to see some hyperpigmentation and uneven texture while your skin heals, and this may take over a year to resolve. It should resolve on its own, but you can explore cosmetic options after many months of healing. Since this was one very poor treatment, I don’t expect it will leave a noticeable scar or any scar at all.
Continue to take pictures and monitor this. Post them here if you want, and definitely send these pictures to your electrologist and be clear that you can’t do any more treatments until your skin has recovered. I wouldn’t do any more treatments with this electrologist.
If an electrologist buys a new machine, it is their responsibility to understand how to properly set the energy for each client and take a cautious approach at first. It is not professional to simply accept that the new machine is “a bit stronger” - all that is needed is to adjust the settings. On top of that, the skin gives immediate feedback when overtreatment happens. For your electrologist to continue treating and not recognise this is very unfortunate.
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Good advice from Thermo!
Anytime we bought new epilators, I would practice on myself (legs) to get the feel of the energy levels.
Never practice on a client first.
My other concern was if the probe (needle) was over worked and had much bacteria on it from repetitive in and out of follicles and perhaps didn’t clean off debris on the needle tip. It can cause follicle oozing in my opinion.
For an hour of my electrolysis work, I changed out the probe at least four times and cleaned it with alcohol to remove any debris. Of course all probes were disposable.
Oy. This should not be repeated. For a skin reaction like this, there must have been some reaction. If we see “angry” skin while working, that is a clue to stop and readjust the recipe for intensity and timing. It should heal fine. Don’t disturb that area until it is well healed. Please inform your electrologist, so she can learn and adjust.