Does it sometimes take more than a week for the tiny scabs to go away after an electrolysis treatment?
Yes
I’ve had them stay up to 10 days. Gentle washing daily helps reduce this time before the scabs fall off.
Seana
I had scabs last for 3-4 months. Some are like embedded into the skin and would not come out with scrubbing (in the shower).
If “the thing” was there for 3 - 4 months, it was not a “scab” (unless you were picking the thing mercilessly).
Somebody seriously needs to write something for the public to explain the healing skin in all its splendor.
Isn’t it amazing that our skin, that we see and live with daily, is such a mystery to all of us? Nearly all the posts on Hairtell deal with said “mysteries,” voodoo remedies and misinformation.
I suppose cosmetic manufacturers perpetrate a lot of myths for, well, you know?
I was not picking the skin.
What else would it be?
My electrologist tweezed out ingrown hairs that slid out easily as a result.
Some of them were ‘stuck’ underneath pinpoint scabbing.
They thought I should use a loofah more often because scabs from months ago are still there.
When I brought up the hyperpigmentation, they recommended I use…lemons. And did not respond when I asked them if they thought the hyperpigmentation would resolve. I think they believe it’s permanent or simply do not want to give false hope.
Either way, I think they messed up my skin by overtreating BIG TIME (and in an already sensitive area with ‘thin skin’ as they put it… of course in retrospect they made that observation).
Dear “LD” person … I also have to note that the general understanding among a lot of electrologists is abysmal too … as far as the skin, and how it heals.
I lived through decades of fellow electrologists “freaking out” over normal skin reactions. Yeah, this hysteria REALLY helps clients when they are “freaking,” and then the electrologist “freaks out” too! When you know exactly what’s “going on” you don’t FREAK!
I would surmise that what you were seeing were “tombstones” (defined here on Hairtell), and some PIH. Technically, a scab cannot last for more than, say, 10 days … maybe 2-weeks “tops.”
The epidermis regrows over a wound (burrows under the scab) so quickly that it’s almost unbelievable. Once this happens, no more scab (sometimes called a “clean cap” for a wound.)
Well, “tombstones” yes … fine; good. If these were real re-growing ALIVE embedded hairs (they often form a little loop, by the way) … that’s BAD!
they look like tiny dots
my electrologist made note of this last Friday, saying to me that I should exfoliate better (i do use a loofah but I’m thinking of getting a scrub)
yes, about the ‘loops’ - there was one such hair. it was bent down and extended alongside my arm, but pinned UNDER a scab. i lightly scratched this because it was so obvious
and the hair became unbound
a lot of these hairs came out easily when my electrologist tweezed them.
its weird, i don’t know where these hairs came from.
i don’t recall them having that ‘bulb’ part at the bottom end, when my electrologist tweezed them (when I say ‘tweeze’, it wasn’t pulling/tugging. they lightly took them out, the hairs really just slid out with a little assistance)
LD,
Were you treated on other areas besides inside the elbow? If you were, and I think you said you were, did those areas heal fine? It is just this particular area where you get hyperpig, right?
Ah, this mystery! I do, however, enjoy a challenge. So, here’s another “could be?”
In certain people (usually young men) the telogen hair is about to release, and a very fast anagen hair is already starting in the (same) follicle; but has not yet emerged. So, you kill of follicle and sometimes there is enough of the follicle left intact that the new anagen hair makes a feeble attempt to grow … then, “drops dead!”
So, now you have this “a bit more than a tombstone” in the skin: a well-formed hair that has “given up the ghost” so to speak. This dead hair is going to cause some inflammation and, in your case, hyperpigmentation.
I’m actually NOT a fan of “exfoliation” (unless, of course, you use 60 grit sandpaper … just kidding!!). I don’t like the idea of clients rubbing off their skin and potentially injuring themselves. However, in your particular case, I think “exfoliation” is appropriate … just be careful and don’t tear yourself up.
hi michael,
i think that is exactly what is happening in my case.
its basically ingrown hairs that need to be released. then the rest is up to time
Excellent! (Maybe?)
I do enjoy this “mystery stuff,” and yes I suppose I DO need a hobby or a project or maybe even “get a life?” See, I’m too old for sex, but too young for “Bridge and the Garden Club” just yet! (Oh God! Playing CARDS with a bunch of OLD people? Just shoot me!) I suppose I’m in the “adolescence of old age?” HA, I’m a teenager again! I feel like “Drag Racing!” (Oh, I mean the car-type!)
All seriousness aside, I’m only a bit concerned with the number of these “things” on your arms (We need to find a good name for these, any suggestions? I was thinking, “ghost hairs?” You know, hairs that are “giving up the ghost?” Well … maybe not?)
Right now, I’m doing the second-clearance on a young fireman (25) and just finished-up the whole upper back and shoulders (the guy is “Gynormous,” 6’7”). In that entire field of “billions of hairs” (after 1-clearance and 4-months) there were only TWO “ghost hairs!” At first I thought, “Oh damn … hairs I missed.” But, when I pulled on the “looped ingrown hairs” (to zap ‘em again) the things “fell out” … DEAD hairs (poor things).
So, there it is. After 300 years of doing electrolysis, I’m still trying to figure this out and I’m still learning about this stuff (and the miraculous skin too).
Again, the sheer number of your “ghost hairs” concerns me. I have a feeling that you are actually dealing with true re-growth? Just guessing, of course.
Now, where’s my old “Flat-Head V-8 with dual quads? Ever try to “lay rubber” in a Prius?
What about “Zombie Hairs?” They aren’t quite dead, but they really are dead and just don’t know it yet? (New word for our zapper terminology?)
Got a LOT of good ideas from clients. Rochester (NY) guy came up with “pebbling.” And, kid from Georgia invented “the Sequoia effect.”
Talented people … talented!
I feel like I need to switch electrologists.
Wish I could find someone nearby. I was lucky to find my current one but they seem to be unable to properly/skillfully treat someone with my skin tone and areas on the body.
Where’s nearby?
Northeast Ohio
It may be a bit of a drive to columbus, but what about going to see Dee Fahey? You’d have to travel pretty far to go find anyone better.
Seana
I actually had a consultation with her back in November or October.
I was willing to see Dee (if she had any free time for new clients), but I couldn’t get ahold of her in the following weeks. Then I found my current electrologist.
It’s a bit of a drive yes.
LDLD
Actually, what you have been showcasing is not anything that should send you scurrying to find another electrologist. All of these anomalies are within the normal range of treatment outcome. There is nothing that is going to cause you any long-term difficulties.
To put this another way: when you injure the skin, shit happens! (That’s the actual medical name for it too!)
I’ve had a couple odd things happen with my recent basal cell surgery … it got all the doctors “scratching their heads,” and, of course, I was greatly amused. But I’m pretty used to seeing odd things happen with injured skin. Nicely, I know such issues will take care of themselves.
Here’s the deal: you CANNOT and will never be able to fully predict exactly how your skin is going to react. You can drive yourself nuts asking 10,000 questions and getting reassurances, but “mother nature” always has a way of fouling things up and tricking you just when you think you have the whole thing figured out. I love nature! “She” keeps us humble.
Just get the hair off! Your zapper is doing a fine job! (It was fun trying to figure out what was going on … but in the long run, it won’t matter at all.)