Hi everyone, thank you all so much for giving up your time to contribute to this amazing resource. I only wish I had found it sooner!
Apologies for the long post, it has been a wild ride and I will be eternally greatful for any professional advice I can get for my situation.
I am 37 yo female with PCOS and started electrolysis in July. I had several treatments over one week totalling 3.5 hours all up to clear the area of my chin and the sides on my cheeks leading up to my mouth. I’m not sure which method of electrolysis I had but I did not hold a rod and each hair was treated one at a time for about 5-6 seconds each hair, some a second or two less. Each hair was only treated once.
It was my first treatment so I didn’t know what to expect and followed the advice of my electrologist. It was the only electrologist in my area, claimed to be the best in the country, teaching electrology worldwide with 40+ years expereince so I thought I had made the right choice. Sadly, I had not… 
I don’t know if the machine was faulty or turned up way too high but I was seriously burned and have been left scarred everywhere treated. My electrologist kept reassuring me that it was healing beautifully, everything looked completely normal, 3rd degree burns are normal for electrolysis and it would heal without scarring. It was my first time so I trusted her ‘expertise’ and continued to let her finish clearing the area.
My hair was course and thick due to my hormones and I now know this was overtreatment and the area should have been thinned first, but when I asked her about this she said I was wrong and every hair must be treated together when it’s course and thick for the process to work quickly and effectively.
I will post some photos I took a few days after the treatments to show the inital damage and then some taken recently to show the pitting and scarring after 3 and a bit months.
My question isn’t about if it’s normal, I know it’s not and have reached out to a lawyer who has taken me on and is confident I have a good case. Unfortunately I have learned that the country I live in doesn’t have any regulations for electrolygists and I won’t know until things move forward if the buiness has public liability insurance either… so I don’t have my hopes up for any financial support yet and I may be facing this alone.
My Questions are:
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How best can I care for my skin moving forward? Would any more LED light treatments be effective after this long? I have seen my doctor and taken antibiotics and increased estrogen and am applying vitamin E daily as she recommened. Also completely staying out of the sun, only wearing make up when absolutely necessary, letting my skin breathe, keeping it clean and using 50+ suncreen and a facemask when I’m driving or outside. Plus lots of water and healthy diet.
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I see a dermatologist next week, it’s very expensive and I want to make the most out of it. Is there anything I should discuss besides what’s already mentioned? The Derm clinic also offers laser scar removal and we will make a plan for that. Is it too soon to have that kind of treatment yet? Also will it affect my case if I do a treatment and it improves the scarring a little? From what I can gather, I will likely need many…
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Will my skin ever be able to cope with any more electrolysis after this? I have done 2 full rounds of laser hair removal in the past, the results were minimal and didn’t last because the hair is hormonal. Elecrtrolysis really was my only option.
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Could it be something wrong with my skin that has caused this? I do have sensistive skin, it went very red and blotchy for a lot longer than usual following laser, everyone that treated me commented on the redness. But it always healed back to normal eventually. My skin also reacts to a lot of creams and soaps ect but is ok with most products for sensistive skin
Finally, am I safe legally speaking to have posted this here? I asked for a refund and she refused. Then she threatened to sue me if I show anyone photos of my face. Blamed everything on my PCOS, said that this is normal healing for such an ‘unsightly facial condition’ and if I show anyone it’s slander. Surely this can’t be true… it’s my face and I can do what I want with it, right?
Anyway, sorry for rambling on. I really appreciate your time and expertise. Thank you all so much <3 <3 <3
