First time electrolysis - harsh skin reaction

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I had my first electrolysis on my chin yesterday and am super stressed out since waking up.

A few hours after treatment, those yellow pustules already started to appear but over night things escalated and my skin is red, bumpy and covered with them.

I’m not sure if it’s my electrologists fault since I’ve been tweezing the hairs since years and the follicles must be very strong.
On the other hand it’s a beauty/spa place where they don’t specialize on hair removal/electrolysis and the lady struggled to get the hairs out at times. I definetly felt some plugging sensations even though the setting was apparently pretty high, having to do some hairs 2 or 3 times.

I called the owner and she told me it’s normal and won’t leave any scars and told me to come in for free light therapy today to speed up the healing process.

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I’m now not sure if I should ask for a refund (paid for 5 sessions in advance) and go look for another electrologist or give them a second chance?

Some advice would be appreciated.

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#2

I agree with your electrologist on one thing, which is that you don’t need to be concerned about scarring. This is definitely a very poor outcome, but it’s not that horrible.

I find that the chin is a very easy and predictable area to treat, so much so that a beginner electrologist should do a decent job of getting the hairs out. If your electrologist is using high energy, struggling to treat the hairs and plucking, that’s a red flag.

Your skin reaction is a bit too severe in my opinion. Redness and bumpiness are very normal - the occasional pustule is also not concerning. The degree of these reactions in your case is what I find unacceptable.

If you see this electrologist again, I would expect her to explain how she will change her treatment to avoid this outcome. If she can’t do that, then it’s time to ask for a refund for unused sessions and go elsewhere.

#3

Thanks for the reply!

Well, I dropped by the studio yesterday and they said that some hairs at my chin are indeed very “stubborn” since I’ve been plucking since a decade so they need a lot of electricity and often times 2 or 3 attempts of zizzling to get the hairs out. Is this a probable cause?

I mean… this is a very fancy studio and apparently they’ve been doing electrolysis since years and assured me that next time they will be more gentle - it’s just gonna take longer then.