hello I did electrolysis (thermolysis) on my upper lip 3 months ago, I had a lot of scabs, now it’s been three months and I have holes in every place where I had scabs , this session was much more painful than usual and the intensity was higher, I need some advice , do you think the pitting is permanent here? or is it going to heal , and what product can i use?
The two first picture are 1 days after
And the last is now
Please following the below links to see how other people heal. These are normally healing:
https://www.hairbusted.com/electrolysiscase-studies.html?fbclid=IwAR38Nhcl4SlgJlV1Z4vQ1KeW5LV1BbnoM2aN9zYKR6LlNjDNmvQEr6WJWAU
Examples of overtreated:
You dont need to use any product. This is temporary and will resolve on it’s own.Please try to be patient and give our volunteers a chance to treat their clients for the day. We will get time to answer your questions, but it isnt immediate.
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As I told you in our personal emails, it’s worrisome then scabs “line up” and form one linear scab (as in your photo 1). Why? Because it shows the insertions were too close together and could therefore result in a contraction scar … or, as you say, a “hole.” After three months, yes you have a “hole” … a contraction scar. This should fill in a bit, but normally these things don’t totally go away.
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I’m going to respectfully disagree with Michael with what we are seeing here.
First, this looks like rather scattered work. I think it likely the electrologist was using an uninsulated needle ( wouldnt be my choice but availability differs) but it doesnt matter for what we see here. It looks to me like someone dragged a still hot needle across the top of the epidermis when extracting the probe. Its also possible the probe was at too flat an angle when they treated the follicle.Either way this although somewhat unsightly, should most affect epidermal tissue, and not down into the dermis or subdermis. I honestly think that 3 months is still too early to tell that any kind of permanent scarring has occurred.In looking at the scab pattern it seems clear to me that the too flat insertions theory is likely. It appears to be resolving, and on skin so young, healing over time can be substantial . I dont agree that there will “always be a hole” but time will tell.
Thank you for confirming it was an uninsulated needle. I really wish electrologists would not do this.By “this” I mean using a uninsulated probe on delicate upper lip hairs in thermolysis. It’s sort of senseless? And this is the result.
If you look at the vast majority of the insertion scabs you will notice a trend. They are almost egg shaped or elongated, almost every one visible. This is from an High frequency short with the uninsulated needle. The scabbing is exaggerated by the high frequency in the upper epidermal layer but also by slightly, or in some cases significantly shallow insertions. Where a needle incidentally is in contact with the epidermal surface of the skin ( which it is in 3 different insertions in the same area on your right upper lip) it will result in the scabbed line that you see here.
Now the fortunate part, is the upper epidermal tissues are shedding and replentishing themselves all the time. They arent as susceptable to scarring or permanent marking the same way dermal or subdermal tissues are. For all practical purposes, this should resolve. The pit that you are noting is likely wound contraction at the treatment site. This too, carries a significant probability of resolving completely given enough time.
There’s nothing you can really put on your skin to “assist” healing. No products. All the “action” of the healing process is taking place below the skin. Your body is bridging the dead space and your cells involved in healing are hard at work. For more information on this,I recommend Mike’s “the healing skin” which will give you an excellent visualization of what exactly is happening and how the skin, will continue to improve well beyond a couple of months out.
For this kind of electrolysis, I really do recommend an insulated needle. I personally use insulated Ballet needles to do treatments on upper lips. And hopefully slightly less shallow insertions. IF your electrologist does these things, this kind of skin reaction doesnt need to happen.
By all means keep us updated, and come show us at 9 months or a year after treatment. I doubt you will see any difference in the skin by then from this single treatment.
Respectfully, it’s not a “you thing” or a “your skin too sensative thing”. It’s the method and equipment being used.
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Three months is not enough time for your skin to heal and settle.
Smaller needles run hotter with the same current than do their larger counterparts. This would explain the greater scabbing with the same intensity. I wonder though, how you are guaging the4 settings your electrologist is using? I dont know the type of machine, but most modern apilus will have a similar setting with a different probe size set up, and this will lead the machine to automatically adjust the current to a more appropriate setting for the given probe size. Therefore the actual EL used with a f1 will vary from that used with an f2 or f3, even though the setting may look similar ( example upper lip 6 on an f1 probe might be 260 EL whereas the actual energy on a f4 probe might be closer to 420 EL to make up for the larger surface area).
Seana
There could be something to your thought processes. I would go with that.
Please help …
Six months is not enough time for something like this to resolve. You will need to wait at least 12 more months before you will know the final outcome.
I concur with what hairadicator has said. Six months we could easily still be seeing normal wound contraction from the healing process. It will take over a year from last treatment before we will start to know the end result. I cant rule out the possibility of pitting, and this area on the sides of the lip are a danger area for this.But I cant confirm it either…
I really dont know. I’m not an expert on laser, and can’t formulate an opinion based on my limited dermatology knowledge.
How is the pitting now? You’re about a month or two away from a year of recovery - I’m hoping everything has gone well so far!
Ahh, really sucks that there hasn’t been improvement so far, so sorry to hear 
Definitely update along your journey omg I’m hoping for the best for you. This is pretty shocking and hopefully more electrologists take a conservative approach when starting with new patients (I’m recovering from pretty severe hyperpigmentation right now after switching to a different electrologist who went too far in just one session…).
Best of luck! Fingers crossed for you!
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Thanks you very much !!
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I understand your concerns about your skin condition. It’s important to remember that everyone’s skin heals differently, .However, laser surfacing CO2 is a common treatment option for some scars. It’s best to consult a trusted dermatologist who can evaluate your skin and provide personalized advice based on your needs.