Electrolysis Scarring - With Pictures

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I have been doing electrolysis for last 10+ years. In the last year I have noticed pitting and scarring.

For about 7 years I did Thermolysis and last 3 years I have been doing Blend. The pitting and scarring have occured in the last year or so.

The last 3 years I went to another electrologist who has been doing electrolysis for the last 20+ years and she appears competent and professional.

This has happened only on the upper lip and chin area. The side burns seem perfectly fine.

I have stopped electrolysis since about 5 weeks and these pictures are from last night.

  • What are my options to fix this problem?
  • Will these fade over time?
  • Do I need to get some procedure done to fix it?

Here are some pictures

#2

Hi Juniper,

the healing process is not finished until your treatment is finished for 18 months.At 5 weeks post last treatment it’s nowhere near done.So my primary advice, would first to be to wait out that period.
I’m a bit mystified by how this all can appear within the last year, when you’ve been treated for that year by the same electrologist for 2 years prior to that with no issues?

If you look at michaels video series “the healing skin” it talks about how pitting like that can happen through the healing process, and how it resolves. I highly recommend you review it:

Mostly, you just have to wait out the healing process before you will know anything about any scarring ( of wich there could be none).
I know I beat up my chin pretty badly when I did it with blend, extremely overreating some follicles. Looked like it had been beat up too. It’s all resolved.

Seana

#3

Hi Seana,

I am a bit puzzled too. Few reasons I can think of, I might have done more treatments in the last year with her, I am getting older (37) so I believe my skin is not as it used to be & I also started using makeup in the last 18 months which I never used to earlier!

I am using prescription Retin A daily & rosehip oil 2 times a day. I am also going to see an esthetician to microneedling in the next month or so & I do feel it will improve with time

A few questions

  • How long did it take to resolve for you,
  • What did you do during the 18 month period while your skin was healing?
  • Had it improved 100%

Thanks!

#4

well I didnt even start doing electrolysis until I was in my 40’s ( full beard removal) so, there goes your age theory.Actually my experience is that the skins ability to heal is not inhibited by age, I have a 89 year old client who heals just fine!

Skin reactions fade over a period of time so its really difficult now years later to put a timeline on it I’m sorry. But for example, last september I did a few minutes of self work in thermolysis on my eye and ended up ( I thought) putting a permanent slit into my eyelid. Well I just did an update to that because 8 months later there is no evidence of having ever occurred. The beat up skin resolved i would think, the visible part at least over 8-9 months, btut the entire process takes 18 months to complete.
What did I do during the 18 monthhealing process? Well, I did more electrolysis, on other people :slight_smile:
Today there is no evidence of any scarring anywhere on my face. So yes I would say it has improved over 100 % In general this is how it goes as electrolysis continues there is short term inflamation but after ceasint he skin returns to normal and to a better condition than it was pre-electrolysis.
If you have any true scarring ( Which I dont believe you do ) there is microneedling, which I’ve never had done and found the idea of pretty frightening at first, but I have heard reports of it reducing the appearance of scarriing by jumpstarting the healing process of the skin. But again, I dont believe you have scarring. It is possible the makeup is causing inflamation of the treated follicles. Many believe this shoulfnt happen with hypoallergenic makeup, but I always warn away from its use. Basically anything put on the skin can irrritate and contaminate freshly treated skin.

You’ll hear me say this alot around here Juniper. "Dont sweat the skin reactions, and dont fixate on the small stuff. " At 5 weeks from treatment the terrain is stil rearranging itself quite a bit.

Seana

#5

I’m happy Seana and yes, it takes a lot of time and eventually you can’t find what was making you frantic.

A couple years ago I had skin cancer that required an 8-inch “chunk” taken out of my belly for a skin graft on my face. Great big scar that now I can hardly see. In another year or so … gone. (I just wish the surgeon would have taken out some FAT when he cut my belly … dang!)

#6

Wow that’s awesome to hear Seana and brings me great relief!

I have PCOS so I have dealt with hair problems all my life. Believe or not, inspite of these scars I am really glad I did electrolysis as it has really changed my life in so many ways :slight_smile:

For now, I am planing to stop electrolysis and don’t plan to touch my face for another 5 months. I am easily able to hide my scars/pitting with makeup for now so I am going to be conservative and stick to Retin-A & microneedling.

What do I do long term? Though my facial hair has reduced a LOT (I would say 80%), what do I do with the course hair that still grow around my chin & neck area? Are women with PCOS ever truly done with electrolysis?

#7

they are if they gettheir hormone levels under control, usually this requires an antiandrogen ( often spironolactone is used) to suppress the excess androgens and prevent then from binding to Androgen receptors. One the Di-hydra-testosterone is blocked, even PCOS patients get a break. But those hairs growing already, will continue to grow unless removed with electrolysis.If you need evidence that antiandrogens work, well I treat some strays on my face about every 6 months or so but a full beard is gone. There is hope to be done with the issue, if you stick with electrolysis.

I wouldnt hurry into microneedling. You healing process is already kickstarted from the electrolysis, I’m not sure that microneedling would do much.
There is always the possibility what you think is “scarring” is a reaction to the Retin-a. I dont know all that much about retin-a.

As for long term, lets wait and see if there is anything to worry about first. I dont agree that this is scarring.

#8

I took Spironolactone for a grand total of 3 days and stopped :slight_smile: I read that it is only going to treat the symptom (facial hair) by suppressing testosterone & not the underlying issue (PCOS).

The moment I am off Spironolactone, my facial hair will come back and with a vengeance as suppressing testosterone will only make my body produce more! Not sure if this is true by makes sense…

I am researching how to change my entire diet to see if I can get the PCOS issue under control.

Looks like my values are high for TESTOSTERONE, ULTRASENSITIVE, LC MS/MS & rest seem OK?

Testosterone, TOTAL | 53 ng/dL | <=75 ng/dL
TESTOSTERONE, ULTRASENSITIVE, LC MS/MS | 67 ng/dL | 2 - 45 ng/dL
Testosterone free | 5.1 pg/mL | 0.1 - 6.4 pg/mL

#9

Unfortunately there is no cure for PCOS and, unless you take spironolactone for your whole life, you are likely to continue to develop new hair. As far as I know suppressing testosterone will not “make your body produce more” though of course if you stop taking medication your levels will rise to what they were pre-treatment. My advice is to get on spironolactone or a similar anti-androgen to reduce/suppress new hair growth and clean up what you DO have with electrolysis. If you don’t do something to suppress your androgen levels, you are likely to find hair removal an uphill battle.

#10

Actually there is a cure for PCOS.Diet is a posative course of action as welland great success has been achieved by controlling diet. I defer to my Friend James Walker for more information on this . Another option involved removing the ovaries, which most women would find offensive if they ever hope to bear children.
I take spiro every day. Its not completely horrible.Androcur is way worse!

#11

Thank you everyone. I feel like my scars/marks are improving already!

Seana, so it might not be scarring after all :slight_smile: I guess my skin just needed healing. I am putting Retin-A once a night & applying rosehip oil multiple times a day & I wonder if that’s helping. Last week my skin was looking wrinkled and this week its beginning to look tighter.

Infact when I wake up in the morning and when our faces are plump, I can barely see the marks/scars anymore. During the day I begin to see a little more

I will update you guys in a few more weeks… thanks again!