Bruising

Hi,

I’ve been getting work done on my bikini for about a year, and I recently switched electrologists because I felt my former electrologist was plucking quite a bit. Now I don’t get that sensation, however, I’ve been experiencing quite a bit of bruising, and I just noticed one bruise which started to heal but is now getting a lot worse (turning bright red). Should I be concerned about this? Is this causing permanent skin damage?

Thanks in advance for your help!

The skin will heal with time, but the idea is not to keep repeating poor treatment to any area. Perfect insertions, using a probe designed to match the diameter of the hair being treated, with the correct amount of energy and timing is at the top of the list for a good electrolysis treatment.

Does your new electrologist use magnification? What does it look like? Do you feel the insertions most of the time? It kind of sounds like the wall of the follicle is being punctured. Are you by chance taking any medications that thin the blood?

Were you really feeling a plucking sensation or was it a popping sensation? Sometimes these coarse hairs in the bikini area have big bottoms, that when lifted out of the small follicle opening, create a popping type resistance.

Dee

Hi Dee,

Yes, the electrologist does use magnification, but I’m not sure what it looks like exactly.

I do actually feel the insertions with the new person, but no plucking, and I’ve been getting these bruises. With the former electrologist I did not feel the insertions, I only felt the ‘zap’ when she treated the hair. At first I believed the plucking sensation was a pop, because that’s what she told me it was, however I felt it about 40-50% of the time, so I got concerned. I thought I was doing the right thing by switching, but now I don’t know who to stick with.

Well it’s okay that you tried someone else. We actually recommend here on hairtell that you try out as many electrologists as feasible. Heck, I have even encouraged my new clients to interview and have treatments with other electrologists if they want to. They will never get the hard sell from me. They are free to choose.

We electrologists are not flawless. We don’t make perfect insertions 100 percent of the time, but if an electrologist is causing a lot of bruising then I’m assuming that the insertions need to be improved.

Maybe the one you went to first would be best for you. There is nothing wrong with asking her if she would be ammenable to adjusting the timing or intensity so the hair slides out better. If she reassures you that all is well, then trust her. At least you are not feeling most of the insertions and you are not being bruised. Just keep in mind that for some hair structures, you may perceive the treated hair being plucked, but it may really be a pop!

Dee

Am I correct in saying she may have gotten a little hematoma from the electrologist hitting an errant vessel? Chances are it was just reopened due to a twisting, or pressing on the skin area just as it was healing. Even the best electrologists will get one of these occuring. They take about two weeks to go away. Me, personally, if I was happy with the electrologist, I wouldn’t think much of it.

You could make it easier for your electrologist to insert and shave the areas three days or so before. This way she’ll have nothing but ripe anagens to insert into, a good short stubble guide, and no club-ends to insert past. Also, with fresh anagen hairs to be worked on, the plucking issue will be crystal clear. You’ll know if she’s plucking and will visually see this pain at just this time she epilates. It can be misleading with catagen or telogen hairs laying araound because those aren’t true textbook extractions.

Bikini line is tough, I think that long and large of a hair shaft needs two or three bursts, a deep, a mid, and a shallow burst. Otherwise, some part of the hair shaft could still be gripping on the side of the follical, causing a plucking feeling.

Now if it happened over and over in excess of two times an hour with a recently shaved anagen patch to work with, that would be a concern.

Mantaray

Yes, hematoma is another word for bruising as you well know, Mantaray, since you have a medical background. I liked all your comments and thanks for being more detailed about what helps for a better treatment. I am a real fan of shaving prior to treatment and wished my clients came to me more often with a couple days of growth for the body areas.

Dee

I also concur with the need for shaving or bleaching prior to a treatment. As you do get a better shot at only the anagen growth, this makes for a better, more economical treatment in the long run.

As far as trying other electrologists, feel free to do so, especially if you plan on having a lot of work done. Besides finding someone who will fulfill your needs, it makes things go a lot smoother if you can find someone that you feel very comfortable with as well.

Joanie

How long are your appointments and how large of an area is being treated?

When one works in the bikini area, it is usually for a couple of hours at a time, working contiguous hairs, stretching the skin, a bruise can happen. This can take about a week or more to fade as it changes color.

However, if you have the area cleared and had been feeling tweezed during the first year and still have lots of hair in the area, it could very well mean that you were being tweezed a great deal, especially in light of the fact that you indicated that you are not feeling the tweezing with the current electrologist.

If you are actually feeling the insertions but not tweezing, your electrologist might be using a thick needle on your bikini area. How does the scabbing from electrologist #1 compare to electrologist #2?

If you are located in an area where you have access to other electrologists, check them out.

Being tweezed is not okay, an occassional black and blue is understandable in certain situations but since most hairs are in anagen, you shouldn’t feel tweezed 50% of the time as you idicate.