Overtreatment and Damaged Skin?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi everyone! I have yet another “Is this damage” / “is this overtreatment” question for you all.

First, a pic:

IMG_0480
IMG_0480.jpg2274×3032 1.08 MB

I’ve done around 36 hours of electrolysis with my current practitioner, and I took a long break after the first 35 (around 4 months). After that, I noticed some pock marks popping up along my chin and upper lip. I’ve seen the fantastic “orange peel” video, so I’m holding out hope that these will fade, but you can see some in the upper right of the above picture.

I went in for 30 minutes yesterday and an hour today, and perhaps because of the existing scarring and perhaps because I had such a strong reaction, I’m seriously second guessing my provider.

My main questions are:

  1. Do the pockmarks you can see in the photo look typical for those you’d expect around 4 months after electrolysis sessions?
  2. Does the chin area (including the yellow pus and open red spots) look like overtreatment to you? It’s worth noting that the hair in that area is super coarse with pretty large follicles.

Basically, I’m wondering if I should find a new electrologist or if I’m overreacting.

#2

This is overtreatment. I’m not sure about your long term outcome for skin or hair removal. You have a lot of hair on the jawline. Has your healing situation always looked like this?

#3

I’ve only had one other instance where it looked this bad, but it’s always been pretty red, swollen, etc. in the past. The only unique thing about this time is that I hadn’t done electro in a while, and I had a bit of pseudofolliculitis in the treated area. It’s still swollen a day later, which can’t be a good sign.

Either way, sounds like it’s time to find a new electrologist…wish I hadn’t used her for my first 36 hours…

#4

I agree with Dee. that this appears to be overtreatment. If you zoom in on your high quality picture you can see several scabs that appear that seem to have yellowish discharge. This is most commonly lymph fluid and is common when too much high frequency is used in the two thumb-sized patches on either side of the chin. This area of dense hair can be particularly sensative to overtreatment and this type of leakage is quite frequently the result. It comes from using a little too much high frequency in very close adjoining hair follicles ( as these areas can be quite dense) and having those energy patterns overlap on ajoining follicles.
I’m of the opinion it will heal completely but we wont know for many months

This is to say, I think your concerns are justified.

edit: mispelled a word

1 Like
#5

Thanks for looking! In that case, I’m going into full “find a new electrologist” mode, and I’ll try to take as good care of the area as I can. Is Aquaphor and Witch Hazel a sufficient mitigator here, or is there something else I should be applying?

#6

Those products are fine… but time and Mother Nature are the true healers. Good nutrition helps.

I always tell the consumer to check out as many electrologists as you can and get short sample treatments. It doesn’t have to be this way for healing. It happens to all of us that we have had rough skin outcome on some clients, but we should change something in the recipe to make it better next time.

#7

Yeah, the biggest red flag to me in this is that she A – charges for 5 sessions up front and B – blames this on large follicles. I definitely have sensitive skin (i’ve had similar reactions from other electrologists with thermolysis), but this is definitely a red flag. Should have listened to my instincts sooner.

Hopefully microneedling / microdermabrasion down the road can clear up some of these scars.

#8

I dont believe microneedling or dermabrasion will be necessary. I am of the opinion that this will heal without issue. Just be patient and give it time. If such measures do prove to be necessary it wont be for at least a year from now that you will know this.

Charging for sessions ahead isnt all that unusual. I offer clients the chance to purchase small packages at a slightly discounted rate but they are by no means required to purchase these , it’s just an option to make it slightly more affordable for those using large amounts of electrolysis. I justify this thinking that it takes me less time at the end of a treatment to do billing so the package discount is justified in my opinion.
Pay attention to google reviews. They can often make you aware of less than fantastic electrologists. . For example when I google “Electrolysis Ottawa” I come up with a map and listings for all places that offer the service…

#9

Thanks, that’s good to hear. I hear you on charging up front. It definitely is common to have package rates.

Believe it or not, this electrologist has 4.9 stars with ~120 google reviews. I suppose not all patients are doing 30+ hours with her though.

#10

Believe it or not, this electrologist has 4.9 stars with ~120 google reviews. I suppose not all patients are doing 30+ hours with her though.

Completely believable. A large number of 5-star reviews can indicate that the electrologist offers other beauty related services and has many satisfied clients who are receiving treatments other than electrolysis. It’s much easier to do a facial properly than it is to do electrolysis properly. In addition to that, an electrologist that overtreats dense facial hair on one client may not produce the same overtreatment on someone with sparse facial hair or on body hair.

Despite that, I definitely agree with others that you should find another electrologist. Apart from overtreatment, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the damage was from her using a probe that was too big for the hair and she wasn’t taking care and time to get a smooth insertion.

#11

Oof, well this is disappointing. Should have listened to my instincts. It’s still swollen and now sort of pockmarked two days later.

Does anyone know the prognosis for clearing up electrolysis scarring?

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#12

the prognosis is very good. The reality is, if there is “true scarring” you wont know for months to years. Everything you see now is temporary and part of the healing process.

#13

Hello @puzzledhair;
I had exactly the same scars after first session (2 hours) on my legs. I don’t know if I sould stop electrolisis, or not? Can I have your feedbacks if they are gone after mouths or do you always have those scars on your chin? DId you use any cream/treatement? And how many time did it take to all gone…

#14

I have exactly the same issue… Today is the day after the first treatment and i have some scabbing like this with yellow discharge…
How long did it take for it to heal? Has it healed completely? Did you continue with the treatment? What did you put on it?

#15

@SDK @puzzledhair

#16

the discharge of lymph fluid ( the yellowish discharge) is a sign of overtreatment and you should use caution. I’d avoid that electroogist for now, and give it time to heal. Pictures would be helpful.

#17

Hi folks – Unfortunately, this did scar a bit. I’m not sure if it was this treatment in particular or just the repeated treatment on the area, but I do have some minor pockmarks (it isn’t super noticeable). I’ve since switched electrologists and am generally glad I did, as I haven’t had any issues with the new person.

I am almost done with electrolysis now (yay), so I’m planning to do a round or two of fraxel once I’ve given it all time to heal, which I hope will improve the texture a bit.