Is this acceptable over treatment?

[Minerva]

Hi all,

I’m new to this forum and I’m new to thermolysis. I switched from an electrologist who was doing blend to someone who specializes in thermolysis. This is a picture of the treated area about 2 days after treatment.

Is this an acceptable amount of over treatment for beard hairs that had previously been treated with blend?

Should I continue with this electrologist, find a different electrologist, or stop thermolysis altogether?

Thanks in advance!

p.s., I think she may have had poor probe activation control. I often heard it beep when she wasn’t inserted. I don’t know how much that matters, but I wonder if she was activating it too close to the surface of the skin.

[pnwelectrology]

I personally would prefer to see less scabbing but this isn’t out of the realm of normal after effects. Don’t pick and be diligent with sunscreen and gentle skincare.

As far as beeping goes, I accidentally step on my pedal while adjusting my seating position quite a few times per session while I’m safely holding the probe away from the client. Your electrologist could be doing the same.

If they are expressing the current too close to the surface repeatedly you’d see many white blanches immediately post treatment and likely quite a bit of oozing of fluid immediately post treatment.

[Bono]

I have been hoping for such a photo … thanks.

This is the type of post-op situation that Dr. Schuster (dermatology) highlighted. As you can see in the photo, the treatment scabs “line-up.” When contiguous follicles are treated “in a line” there is a potential for later developing a crease … usually vertical (as you are showing).

For this reason, those of us trained in California schools (whatever the modality) are cautioned against treating contiguous hairs “in a line” … especially on the upper lip that is already prone to develop what Schuster calls “raggedies.” If you look critically, you can see a couple areas on the lower lip that could also produce such problematic post-op marks.

Additionally, I would not consider your treatment “over-treatment.” Scabbing like this, on a beard, is to be expected … and normal.

[Bono]

A bit more on this subject:
While this treatment is not particularly “over-treatment,” there are a couple areas that might be problematic in the future (see photo). Because the area will be continually treated, the normal swelling “masks” the possible problem until many months after the treatments are completed. As one of the writers stated, she eventually saw such marks … months later … even though she was never over-treated. It’s all about treatment placement … not about the size of scabs, or oozing, or other signs of over-treatment. (Just my 2-cents on this.)

[Bono]

I do not know the age of this patient … However, if you “click” on the photo you will see the beginning of vertical lines. This could just be normal aging, or if the patient had a lot of electrolysis … it could be the start of electrolysis-induced lines on the lip.

[Minerva]

For you or a future reader: Age is approximately 40, trans woman on HRT, with approximately 100 hours of blend done recently on all beard hairs above the chin line with a focus on the lip hairs.