how should i treat my skin after electrolysis to prevent redness from treatment. how long does the redness usually last. it’s been 3 days and it is still very red.
Following electrolysis, take the following steps:
Immediately after treatment:
- No astringents!
- No shaving! (but DO shave after redness has subsided)
- No sun exposure!
- No makeup!
- No perfume!
- No scratching or rubbing!
Treat skin with one or more of the following:
- Cool water (esp. if witch hazel is irritating)
- Witch Hazel
- Aloe leaves or a prepared Aloe Vera Gel (no menthol, and no lotion-- get gel)
- Simply Smooth (see ordering info above)
- Sterex Apres Cosmetic Cream
- calamine lotion
- Post-Epil
- Tend Skin for treatment of razor bumps, ingrown hairs, skin redness after hair removal. To reduce redness, apply immediately after. To treat ingrowns, apply before sleep and after showering until ingrowns are cleared, then use it several times weekly to keep skin clear. Because it’s an exfoliant, be careful using other exfoliating methods and products with Tend Skin. (phone orders: (800) 940-8423)
- Foille
- Oatmeal mask
- Savlon (chlorhexadine gluconate)
- Hydrocortizone cream (not ointment)- 1/2% or 1%. (This can aggravate acne, though, and is a steroid, so some recommend avoiding it.)
- Banana Boat “Soothe-a-Caine” for after-treatment burning.
- Antibiotic ointment, spray, or lotion like Neosporin, Bactine, Bacitracin or generic equivalents
- Harsher antibiotics like hydrogen peroxide gel and benzoyl peroxide products (like Oxy 10) may be too much for sensitive skin, but some like these.
- Some suggest preparations made from tea-tree leaves and bark, but many people find this to be an irritant.
Cataphoresis
Some galvanic practitioners claim the reversing the machine’s polarity (called cataphoresis) helps reduce temporary side effects. There is no clinical data supporting this, but if you are having severe reactions, you might consider trying it.
At home the evening after treatment:
Cleanse the face with a mild liquid detergent soap like Clean and Clear Sensitive Skin Foaming Facial Wash. Continue to use aloe or Simply Smooth-type products until swelling and redness have subsided. Don’t use bar soap, which can be very alkaline (just like lye produced during blend and galvanic treatments), and may make things worse. Once the irritation has subsided, add a non-astringent toner like Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner after cleansing, followed by a mild fragrance-free face lotion like Lubriderm Moisture Recovery GelCreme. Some find relief from their itchiness with Dermoplast spray.
From one day after treatment until your next session:
Once the redness and swelling are gone, you should use a daily sunscreen. I find that Lancome SPF 15 spray sun screen and Clinique spf 25 sun screen lotion don’t irritate my face.
Try to avoid shaving if at all possible until your redness and swelling have completely subsided. However, it can be good to shave a couple of days before your next appointment. Any hairs that grow out will be in anagen phase, and they will be in more effectively treated. If you can get in often enough to keep up with this new growth, you’ll save yourself time in the long run. The longer a hair is allowed to grow after it surfaces through the skin, the stronger the root gets. For me that meant going in 2-3 times a week for a while. This is another reason to try to get done before you go full-time.
If you shave between sessions, you may find an electric foil razor less irritating. If you use a regular razor, make sure it’s sharp, and avoid any shaving creams with menthol and other irritants. Some find a non-spirit-based aftershave like Clinique’s Post-Shave Healer helps. REMEMBER: Don’t shave for 24 hours prior to your session-- your electrologist needs a day’s growth to determine a hair’s direction and to grasp it with forceps.
Once you’re to the point you don’t need to shave between sessions, you can start letting your fine vellus hairs grow. Shaving removes the, and this can make your face look waxy and unnatural. The sooner you can let this fine down cover your cheeks the better (yet another reason to start before full-time).
Diet can help your complexion as well. Get plenty of antioxidants by eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Drink lots of water, which can help with skin moisture levels. You may find a humidifier helpful, too. And as if there weren’t 500 other reasons to quit smoking, it can affect the health of your skin.
As I have gotten closer to completion, I’ve had more ingrowns at my jawline. I can see them just under the skin, but I resist the temptation to dig them out. Sometimes you can get them to surface by GENTLY scratching at the skin above them. Your best bet if to do as much exfoliating as you can in that area. This should get many of them out.
Once you’re clearing your face in one session a week, you may want to battle ingrowns and tombstones with a gentle skin exfoliant like Physician’s Formula Beauty Buffers Exfoliating Scrub the day or two before your next treatment.
There is a product called Tend Skin which some people have claimed helps reduce ingrowns. Tend Skin claims to clear “razor bumps” (a frequent post-shaving problem for African-American men) in 48 hours and to lessen redness. They further claim that if used regularly, it will prevent future ingrown hairs and “razor bumps”. Be careful if you have sensitive skin, though-- the active ingredient is acetylsalicylate, in an alcohol/propylene glycol/glycerine solution. A user writes “Don’t get it anywhere too sensitive or you’ll be sorry.”($20-4oz; $50-16oz). In many drug stores, or call 1-800-940-8423 for a store or for ordering info.
For those who want a much stronger alpha-hydroxy type exfoliant, I recommend M.D. Formulations Facial Cream with glycolic acid (despite its $60 price tag for 2 ounces). Keep in mind that any exfoliant can be too much for sensitive skin-- start slowly and use very sparingly at first. I can only use this about once a week.
Andrea,
Can you clarify this a bit?
</font><blockquote><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>quote:</font><hr /><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>* No astringents…
Treat skin with one or more of the following:
- Witch Hazel…
- Tend Skin…</font><hr /></blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>My bottle of Witch Hazel, in big letters, says ‘Astringent’. Tend Skin is mostly alcohol and aspirin (!), the alcohol obviously an astringent. Seems to be contradictory, what am I not understanding?
[ July 12, 2003, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: fred7625 ]
skin is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial tissues that guard underlying muscles and organs. Skin pigmentation. varies among populations, and skin type can range from dry skin to oily skin.there are a number of disease on the skin like acne blackheads and more .