My electrolysis

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I just had my first electrolysis treatment, and overall, I was (and am) very pleased. I had 30 minutes and the electrologist thinned both lips and sides. I don’t have coarse hair, except for some on the upper lip, so I think that helped her to treat more hairs quicker.

Pain was tolerable. Side effects were minimal. Mild redness that has already gone (two hours later). The worst of all was the anti-inflammatory cream that she used post-treatment. It stank!

My electrologist seemed knowledgeable and good at her job. She was quick, I didn’t feel any plucking, and I felt very comfortable with her. The only thing that worries me a bit is the machine that she used. It is not a computerized machine, and she didn’t even know the brand of it.

I know it depends on many factors, but on average how long does it take for upper lip full clearance? Also, I heard that sometimes people get scarred by electrolysis due to (I suppose) incompetent electrologists. Is scarring something that happens soon after the treatment, or is it something that people realize that happened to their skin years after the treatment?

#2

Scarring is rare, but it can show up months down the road. Full clearance depends on many things. It can take any where from 20 minutes to 5 hours to flly clear an upper lip. Repeated overtreatment causes scarring. You will know if you are repeatedly overtreated because you may not heal well within a week or so. Temporary side effects may happen, but should subside soon with good aftercare. Tell your electrologist if you have any concerns.

Even if she has not invested in better equipment, if she knows her epilator and is adept at using it correctly, you will still get permanent hair removal.

#3

The fact she doesn’t know what brand of machine she is using is a bit… odd. It should say right on the front (Apilus, Instantron, Fischer, etc.) Especially since she has been using it for a long time I assume? :confused:

Everything else about your visit sounds positive and a sign you found a good electrologist!

The time it will take to clear depends on several factors. Are you male or female (I assume female?) Skin type?

#4

My electrologist said that she wouldn’t treat the same area too often, and I was happy with that too. I will start with weekly visits, and then I will probably visit her once a fortnight.

I couldn’t see any brand name on the machine. It seemed quite old too me, but the electrologist was quick. I am not sure if it is possible to find the machines that you use in the US here, as I am in Australia (Melbourne). In addition, I was very pleased with the electrologist. So, I don’t want to give her up to find a better machine.

I am female. I think Skin type III.

#5

No need to give her up! If you are happy because she is skilled enough to remove the hair with good healing outcome, then onward march.

#6

2nd day post-treatment and my face is absolutely normal. No redness, scabs etc. Awesome! I just used tea tree oil on the treated areas, as you have suggested several times. It smells much better than the anti-inflammatory cream that the clinic tried to sell to me!

I am going to have diamond microdermabrasion in a couple of weeks. How many days do you recommend to wait before/after electrolysis?

#7

I am not sure I understand the question.

In most cases, you would wait until your electrolysis were finished to do microdermabrasion. If you have done electrolysis, you would wait at least 3 to 4 weeks before doing dermabrasion and if one has done a dermabrasion, one would want to wait the same amount of time before doing more electrolysis, if one wanted to be on the safe side. Some guides would say 6 weeks in either case.

#8

Yes, please avoid microdebrasion until you’re done with electrolysis. Since you need to go in for electrolysis at least every 3 weeks or so, there is really not enough downtime for you to do it now.

I would recommend using witch hazel instead (a few bucks at a drugstore). It’s not as harsh as tea tree oil. You can use the oil once or on parts that are most irritated. But on the majority of areas I would use witch hazel a few times a day.

#9

Just dab tea tree on sparingly with a cotton swab. Do not contaminate the bottle by double dipping, though! Get a fresh swab. Don’t use your hands either for applying or you will contaminate the bottle. Many people do not like the smell of tea tree oil and thus, will not use it even though it would be helpful.

#10

I didn’t know that I should avoid microdermabrasion. I had actually microdermabrasion about one week before my electrolysis treatment. Just to clarify things, I am talking about microdermabrasion. Not dermabrasion.

If exfoliation is ok in between electrolysis treatments, why not microdermabrasion too? It’s just a deeper, non-invasive exfoliation process.

#11

Doing microdermabrasion prior to starting electrolysis gets one off to a good start because it helps remove dry skin flakes and such that may block the follicle opening, same as mildly exfoliating your skin in between treatments would. How often are you thinking about having microdermabrasion while having electrolysis? What does your electrologist think? Why not mildly exfoliate instead between treatments? You want your skin to be totally healed before doing anything, but exfoliating would be cheaper. Are you thinking that microdermabrasion will be needed because you are having electrolysis or is ths something you have always done on a regular basis?

#12

I just started microdermabrasion treatments to improve my skin texture. I can see a huge difference after only one treatment, so I would like to continue. It will be one micro treatment per month. I will definitely ask my electrologist when I see her next time!

#13

Okay. That sounds good. Make sure your skin is all healed after electrolysis. If your electrolysis appointments are spaced out, say like, every 3 weeks, you may be okay with having a treatment a couple days BEFORE you have an electrolysis performed. Your electrologist has the final say since she can see you.

#14

Today I had my 2nd treatment. My electrologist doesn’t want to spend much time on one area, because my skin is fine. I had booked her for an hour, and in this hour she did a few hair on the upper lip, and some on the sides. Then, she stopped because she couldn’t find any hair! Just reminding, that she is thinning my hair, which are not dense anyway. So, I asked her to do my abdomen. She did a quite large area of it quickly. I am very pleased with my second treatment as well. Three hours later, I can hardly see any evidence of electrolysis on my face. However, my abdomen is still red. One would expect face to react worse than abdomen!

I didn’t ask her about microdermabrasion, simply because she said to me to avoid scrubs and the rest, and use only gentle products while undergoing electrolysis. Common sense says to avoid micro as well!

#15

Body work is different than facial work. Expect a longer time to heal for body areas like the abdomen. Clothing rubs against the treated areas and the the circulation is not as good as on the face,so that’ two things that slow down the healing process. If you get some red dots or if you are prone to hyperpigmentation, don’t freak out. It will all heal and your skin will gradually return to an even color.

Facial work, when done well, heals much faster and usually, one is back to normal in minutes to hours. If it takes a week to fully heal in those beigining sessions, that’s expected as well.

If you can do without the microdermaabrasion until your electrolysis treatment plan has been completed, then all the better. If you are insistent that you need to do this, then do it after you are completely healed and then one or two days BEFORE you have an electrolysis session.

Thanks for checking in.

Dee

#16

3rd treatment. I was a bit disappointed when I arrived to the clinic today, just to realize that they wouldn’t do my face (upper lip). I had a treatment on it on Wednesday and the electrologist said to me that she didn’t want to overtreat this area. I was quite happy as well, as it seems that she does care about her clients and their skin. Anyway, she did my abdomen. I post a picture of it after the treatment. The area I highlighted was treated on Wednesday. Some scabs are visible. My face didn’t react like this at all. It was clear after a few hours. She worked on my abdomen for 45min and she cleared the area below my belly button and also thinned the area above the highlighted area. I think it is obvious where she worked because it is red.

If there are no obvious signs of electrolysis, does it mean that the skin has healed? I am thinking of having my microdermabrasion treatment next Thursday. It will be only 8 days after my last electro treatment, however, my skin is already fine.

By the way, do you consider my skin as Type III or IV?

#17

Can’t see your picture. You may want to upload it to www.photobucket.com instead and post the HTML tag here.

I would NOT get microdebrasion AT ALL on any areas where you’re getting treatments. You really don’t want to damage your skin by doing too much to it. I would wait until you’re done with electrolysis. There is down time after microdebrasion, don’t forget that. And it’s hard on the skin.

#18

Sorry about that! Hope you can see the photo now.

The areas that were treated yesterday are normal today. No scabs! I am wondering if that has to do with the electrologist. Treatment was performed by a different electrologist on the area that has the scabs.

#19

This is so weird! Last night I realized that I am still experiencing shedding. For those who don’t know or don’t remember, I had two IPL treatments on my upper lip. The last one was on the 26 June. My upper lip had quite a few fine hair that fell when I touched them with my fingers. Obviously, they were sitting on the follicles. At the moment, it is almost hairfree.

#20

4th treatment. Today, my electrologist was sick, so my treatment was performed by another electrologist. She was really good! She is a mature lady, who has been working as an electrologist for more than 20 years (that was the first thing that she told me, when she met me probably to reassure me that I was in good hands!). She took really good care of me before and after the actual treatment, something that I mentioned to her. The other two electrologists that I had in the past, cleaned my face really quickly before the treatment, and spread carelessly an anti-inflamatory cream after it.

So, she got rid of the 5-6 hairs (yes, I could even count them!)on my upper lip, and thinned the sides. She said to me that my hair are really fine and light, and she had a hard time to see them. She also mentioned that not all electrologist would accept to treat those fine hairs, because they require a high-level of skill. She suggested to me to have treatments every fortnight, as I don’t have many hairs, however, I prefer weekly visits to keep things tidy. Also, I think that one of the reasons that my skin heals so well and quickly is that there are not many hairs: the less the insertions, the better the skin reaction.

Less than two hours post-treament and although my skin is still redish, it’s not as red as it was straight after the treatment. I am pretty sure that it will be normal in a couple of hours. I am so glad I switched to electrolysis! And I am very happy with my clinic, and all three electrologists that work there (although I have a preference for my original electrologist).

Question: she suggested to me a hair retardant spray to use post-treatment. I didn’t buy it, because as far as I know they don’t work. What’s your opinion on this?