Help, I am freaking out

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

Help, I just started a new electrolygist for the first time and after many consults, started on my fore arms. Well, my trial treatment went well, so this last time she had a cancelation and decided to work longer on me…Well, now I have TONS of pin point scabs that are taking forever to go away…It has been 10 days…Is this normal (they are red in color)?? It looks terrible. How can I heal this, and will it leave all of these little brown spots I see…I am going to a black tie event in about 1 1/2 weeks (sleeveless gown). Thanks I am really freaking out… So my questions are…

  1. Is this normal??
  2. How can I heal this, I have used tea tree oil and aloe with minimal success?
  3. Is Cortizone okay?? and can I use Sterex medicated make-up to mask it for now??
  4. Is this going to leave all of these little brown spots??
  5. I went back 4 days later to show the electrolygist and she said it looks good and is fine, well not to me, I thought you should not see this amount of dark scabbing…
  6. Is this the result of an older machine? Too high of a setting???
    I am just so upset and concerned about what to doo, it is impacting me greatly…I went 2 1/2 weeks ahead to avoid this problem, and I always heal well, so I do not understand the problem…Your help and suggestions are appreciated I am beside myself, maybe I should give up this entire electrolysis thing…
2

First of all, this is a frequent occurance for those using older style machines, and or higher settings, and should go away. There is a short term thing where the treated inner follicle is being shed, and pushed out and that should finish in a short time.

I would be interested to know if you kept the area free from sun exposure after your treatment. They heal quicker if you do.

Feel free to add cortisone to your treatment, although I would find a good Aloe Based Cortisone. Not a petrolium based product with aloe added, one where Aloe Vera is the first or second ingredient listed.

An Aloe based Hydroquinone will help fade any spots as well. They are usually marketed as fade creams.

The Medicated Make-up is fine for masking.

Any spots should fade if you don’t sun tan them into the skin.

You did not say what your skin looks like, darker people are more prone to this type of reaction, but even then, it fades in a short period of time.

Electrolysis properly done brings renewed self image. Unfortunately, the feedback I have received both from this board, and from the clients I have driving in from the state of Ohio says that finding a good practitioner in Ohio is so hard that they would rather drive or fly in to see me. I wish I could help you, but I have yet to find anyone in that state who someone has good things to say about, after seeing them. :frowning:

I hope it is just a thing where the best people are just too busy doing good work that their clients are just happily going about their lives, and not posting around places like this. After all, most of my clients are not reading boards like this anymore. They are not searching for anything you know?

[ August 18, 2003, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: James W. Walker VII, CPE ]

3

Hi!
James, I am not sure I understood this sentence:
</font><blockquote><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>quote:</font><hr /><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>There is a short term thing where the treated inner follicle is being shed, and pushed out and that should finish in a short time.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>Does that mean that after having the electrolysis-treated hair removed with a tweezer, part of the follicle will anyway stay inside and been shed after a few days, once pushed out by the skin?

4

thanks for the information James…No I did not go out in the sun at all, I am very careful about that…Also, I have fair skin, I have never reacted like this before, she does use an older machine…She does seem to do good work, but I cannot damage my skin either…Do you think I should ask if she can lower the settings, just a bit…My hair is fine…Thanks for the information, it really helps…

5

Ashalee, I experienced that with my first two electrologists. The very first one, well, I doubt she was professionally trained and either way she was not skilled and I think those scabs resulted from not inserting the needle properly and hurting my skin and the area around the hair follicles.
With the second one, who was very skilled at insertions, it still happened very often. But then, she used an old machine at a high setting, which seems to be the same thing that James has noticed. By the way, that lady used the thermolysis type of electrolysis machine.
With my current one, she uses flash, which I think (correct me James if I am wrong) is a combinaton of the thermolysis and blend methods) and I only have that problem veeeery once in a while.

Anyway, it is correct that staying away from the sun or wearing heavy sunblock in the are is a key element for the skin to heal properly. At least that is my experience. Trying not to pick at the scabs and using a loofah while showering (but not rubbing it too hard against the skin!!!) also helped.

Good luck and keep us posted!

6

I am not sure what to do with the loofah, I am afraid of taking off scabs and then scarring, I am so upset that this happened, Elenacam, how long did it take yours to heal, I do not have much time here…I am not sure, but it sounds like I need to find a better electrologist, once again I am back to the drawing board, all I am asking for is someone willing to clear and area by putting in multiple hours, using sterile practice, and with skill, and with updated equipment, why is this so difficult to find??? Geez, if I ran my profession like many of these electrologists, I would suffer serious consequences…I am so distraught and discouraged…Any further suggestions or help are appreciated…

7

While your body is healing from electrology, sometimes it is necessary to push coagulated matter up and out of the indentation that is the follicle. In addition to this, if you sweat at all post treatment, you are literally pouring salt water into the wounds. That is why we say to keep the area clean and dry.

It is very possible to do a perfect treatment, and then have the client go to the gym and sweat his or her way to red dots. I don’t know why this happened to you, but the sweat thing is one way you could have had perfect treatment and still got dots.

Either way, just treat the area with the aloe, Aloe Based Fade Cream and keep it clean and dry, and out of the sun, and you should be fine.

8

You know? I think James’ approach is the best. Funny you asked me about the loofah now, I was just wondering if I should write to you again and warn you that the loofah thing can actually make more damage than good if you are not used to using it and knowing how much pressure to apply so as to help shed dead cells without actually removing the entire scab (which would mean a longer recovery!).

As for me, it usually would take me 1 week to get totally rid of that kind of marks / scabs, more or less depending on how careful I would be about not sweating much in those spots, about avoiding the sun and resisting the temptation to try anything too aggressive about them. (A tip? try to cover the problem area with medicated concealer, but to only look at that area when applying that stuff as to avoid to feel the temptation to pick on the scabs).

Oh! if you the wedding date approaches, and your scabs are still looking “bad”, let me know and I will let you know of some concealers that seemed to work for me when I was in similar situations (with my legs, not my arms, but the problem was basically the same).

9

Oh my!! Thanks for the feedback, but it seems to not be getting any better…I am sure to keep it clean and dry and only use products as you and James stated and I do not tamper with it at all. It is a very old machine she uses and she said she had it set high up…I am so upset, I have this event and I am going away, please help me find something to mask this…I have cried for 6 hours straight and even called off work…I do not know what to do…I am so afraid I will be scarred or hyperpigmented…The worse part is she did not treat certain areas, do you think I could go to someone else to clean up the bad, dark ones in the untreated area while letting the rest heal??? Pleeeeaseeeee help me!!! Thanks in advance!!!

10

Almay concealer in “light” seems to blend well with my skin and make the scabs not obvious when dotting it (the Almay concealer) over the scabs ONLY (if you put it around the scabs, it won’t have the same concealing effect because the borders of the scabs will be noticeable). Using white eyeliner (clean the tip!) and painting with a crayon in white the scabs, then covering them with concealer (can be any other closer to your own skin color) also seems to work. Loose powder over it, and you will avoid the shine in the pics and the blending will be better, and the concealer last longer.
Sometimes dotting on some non greasy foundation over the scabs also work.
Something I never tried but that people say work wonders at hiding anything and everything are Dermablend products. Not sure what products, nor what shades, etc. I heard tons about it in the site icompact.com, maybe you could ask there, there are gals there who know a huge deal about makeup and how to conceal anything and everything (unfortunately, I am not one of them).

11

I had scabs after my first 2 electrolysis sessions and the scabs lasted for a super duper long time-like 10-12 days or so & i stayed away from the sun applied neosoporin…etc.etc. Well I told the electrologist ( & make sure u do!) so she lowered the settings & i had no more scabbing but the process was really slow. I soon switched to a electrolysis clinic that has super new machines & they r able to take out my hairs at a high setting w/absolutely no scabbing & low discomfort. ( I have fine hairs too). So I suggest you to either ask ur electrologist to lower the setting or go to a place that has newer equipment.

12

Newer equipment is key.
If you know someone in Cleveland who is doing good work, and has new equipment, PLEASE tell us. So far no one has been able to give a good recommendation in the Cleveland area.

Please tell us what machines your person is using Mona.

13

Thanks for the replies, Mona, could you pleeease send me the name of your practitioner, everyone I had consults with had very old equipment and it just does not work with my skin…thanks!! Also, what is peoples opinion on finding someone to take out the darker ones in an untreated area to even me out while letting the rest heal??? And I am noticing the spots are becoming really dark brown (NO, I have not been in the sun or sweating). It this going to be permanent, as each day passes I am really freaking out!!! Thanks for the help!!!

14

I have been an electrologist for many years and I am amazed at some of the remarks etc. on this board. Firstly, a good machine does not mean the person using it will give you the best treatment. The key to all treatments is having a good qualified electrologist. Not everyone that performs electrolysis does not mean they are good and should be working on people just as every school teacher is not “called” to be a teacher. So just to say that in the beginning. There are so many questions and comments that has been made that it would be difficult to respond to them all. I would like to say though that you should not use anything to remove the “scabbing” as it is a natural healing process. To do so can cause small pit scars. They will fall off when given the amount of time. It is a possibility that the electrologist may have used a higher setting than needed but but it also depends on how sensitive the indivuals skin might be. Everyone’s skin is so different. On my more darker skin clients they normally never have any problems whatsoever. On my fair ones sometimes they do but not scabbing that last 2 weeks or more for certain. There are so many factors involved that it is really difficult to help without knowing all the details. If the insertion is done correctly it doesn’t matter if the probe is insulated or not. For the most part; only disposable probes are used now and are not insulated to my knowledge. Hope I have helped and if not keep posting.

15

Disposible insulated probes are available from the Ballet, IBIS and other electrolysis probe makers.

If you have been reading around this forum, you would understand that it has not been said that new equipment is the be all end all of treatment. What has been said, however, is that an average practitioner can do better work faster and more comfortably for the client with a new machine than a really good practitioner can with an older unit. That doesn’t mean that a horrible electrologist can’t do damage with a newer unit, it is just something that is minimized by all the newer features and benefits.

16

I could easily have scabs for a month after treatment. And even older treatment areas have pinkish spots wherever the probe was inserted. My electrologist says that it is OK.

She has many years of experience and looks like she knows what she’s doing. I don’t think that she uses too high of a setting too. I does hurt tons when she zaps each hair multiple times. But I think that the settings are OK, since she has to zap many times until the hair comes out.

-Could it be just an old machine?
-When will those reddish spots that remained after scabs disappear? I have them for months and months and they don’t seem to go away!
-I’m considering to see Fino Gior soon. Is it a given that he would have a new machine? He claims 45 yrs of experience, and I hope he doesn’t use the machine he bought used when he was starting out.

Thank you.

17

It does not sound like good treatment if you have scabs that long…I still cannot believe the difficulty in finding a decent practitioner, it makes me so angry, I would have lost my job a long time ago, if I practiced with a license with such incompetence, I am just saying this from the electrologists I have visited, the last one I tried, did not use ANY magnification or lighting, and when I asked she said, “Do not worry, I have 20/20 vision.” The place was dirty and the equipment ancient. I could feel her tweeze (the skin lifted up and a pop sound was made when she removed the hair). I asked her if she could set it higher but she insisted it was fine, so I made her stop. How are these practitioners in practice for 10 or more years??? You have got to be kidding me. I am tired of wasting my time and money…I would like to know, has anyone out there had treatment from Fino and if so, was he as good as he states, I would rather spend more money and time in travel, if I could actually have success. Anyone had successful treatment in New York at all, with anyone, for larger areas??? I am beginning to be hard pressed to believe that electrolysis actually works. There needs to be reform… This is causing me great depression, nobody should be allowed to practice with such incompetence!!!

18

I had the same thing happen to me the first time I went to get electrolysis done. If your skin is prone to scabbing, I would recommend to stay away from thermolysis. I went to 3 electrologists and my skin still scabs from the heat. When I use straight galvanic, my skin heals much more quickly and it doesn’t damage my skin as much. Ask her what method she used as some people’s skin are more sensitive to heat than others. If she used thermolysis, go and see another electrologist and try straight galvanic. Hope this helps!

19

This thread just shows that one person’s skin is totally different from another.
In my case I get red marks that last for a month if blend is used on me but rarely get anything if thermolysis is used instead.

I’m presently in school for electrolysis so they use both methods there and I also work on myself in certain areas…some areas react worse than others as well.

My underarms never get marks no matter what is used on them but my bikini line always gets marks…my face only had marks when blend is used.

I think each person has to get a lot of consultations and try the different methods before finding what is right for them. :grin:

20

offbroadway:When you finish your schooling and go to work as an electrologist, will you be willing to work on men as well as women? Also how do your fellow students think about working on men? Also are there men students in class and will they work on both sexes?