I think an electrologist destroyed my skin

Special Issues
#22

Sorry for the slow response. I can’t really tell you if you’re “safe” or not. If you’re looking for recommendations for a nearby specialist who deals with scars, ask the folks at the acne.org forums. The acne.org FAQ has plenty of recommendations, and the board seems pretty responsive if you post quality pictures of your skin. (See the FAQ for how to take quality pictures.)

I don’t know what part of the country (or world!) you’re in, but given what I see, you may want to talk to Dr Nelson Lee Novick in Manhattan, or Dr Peter Rullan outside of San Diego. Novick has a very good reputation for old-school subcision and filler work, although I’m told he’s quite expensive. Rullan’s specialty is with chemical peels, but he’s one of the few that I’m aware of who will readily perform procedures like subcision and CROSS. He tends to couple his subcision work with some sort of suction cupping procedure that you perform at home rather than injected fillers. His consultation is free.

Despite me recommending Rullan, my current electrologist has cautioned to be wary with peels, as she believes that electrolysis scarring is deep and that peels often uncover greater fibrosis that was hidden underneath. She’s not a dermatologist, so I don’t know if she’s capable of distinguishing between scarring and skin hypopigmentation from peel complications, but from what I’ve seen in the literature, peels can make the skin worse for that reason.

As someone else who wears electrolysis scars on her face, I’m very sorry this happened to you. Good luck.

1 Like
#23

Thanks. It has me feeling so regretful and suicidal now. Sadly I am in Canada, so I’m hoping to get it covered by insurance I just don’t know who to go to. I don’t trust anyone anymore and the last thing I want is more scarring on my face. At the same time I don’t want to live like this. I’m also going to contact a personal injury lawyer and pursue legal action. People shouldn’t be allowed to take your money and then scar you because of their incompetence.

#24

Hi Princess, Where in Canada? If you’re in Ottawa I can recommend a dermatologist here in town and I can get good referrals to a dermatologist in some other places like Toronto .Suicide is NOT the solution.
Also worth noting, depending on the condition, sometimes it can be covered by a provincial health plan or under employer benefits. If you want information on this I’d be happy to help.

1 Like
#25

Hi Princess,

I understand exactly how you feel. There are pits on the corners of my upper lip and several hundred white dots along my jaw that sparkle in the sunlight now. We’re social creatures that are hardwired to care deeply about stuff on our face. Scars are traumatizing! The last three months of 2018 I spent in curled up in bed wanting to die. I know you feel regretful, but poor treatment is not your fault. Please understand that suicide is not the answer. I’ve been seeing a therapist since the start of the year, and she has helped me tremendously. Please consider reaching out to a professional for help. If you’re upset or angry and you need to unload your frustrations, please fire away at my inbox. No judgment.

  • C
#26

Thanks, unfortunately I am in Windsor so I doubt I will have many options. If you know of anyone though that’d be great.

#27

Thanks samarkand, sadly I have been seeing therapists for years and eventually gave up due to them simply not being able to help and plus it was getting way too expensive and time consuming for such little return. My skin was perfect before, save for these idiotic hairs that are too “orange” to be lasered off, forcing me into this archaic method of skulding my face to get rid of them only to be left looking like a burn victim. I would have rather been a woman with a beard than scarface. The sad part is there is still a ton of hair left, it’s not even as though I gained much out of the whole thing. I appreciate the kind sentiments but for some who can’t feel happy in life maybe suicide might not be so bad. I’m not going to lie, the whole experience has made me jaded toward trusting people and just hearing you say some moron with a fraxel laser could mess me up even MORE is extremely discouraging and kind of just cements my already-negative beliefs. So basically I have to throw the dice onto the table yet again just at a hope of redeeming my messed up face somewhat. How does one feel good about this or accept it? It’s just bad.