Overtreatment and scarring - what to do next?

[Hazel]

my upper lip

Hi all,

Had I known about this forum sooner I would have not have to post, but regardless, I’ve been having electrolysis for the past 6 months (trans female) around twice a month and my professional used a Sterex SX-T. I had 8 laser sessions before this to very poor results.

As the treatment seemed to work i continued going and I was told that the lip will heal over time, its been 3 weeks since my last session (and 4 weeks since the one before that) and the pitting did not get better. Over the last two days I became an expert in electrolysis (lol) and diagnosed myself with pitting due to to overtreatment.

Having asked my professional about my lip they said that at the end of treatment they will do a “dermapeel” with me which should make my face look better. Unfortunately I do not believe she has my best intentions at heart.

I am now asking what I should do next, as I have replaced one 5oclock shadow with another, now red one. I have a few options that I am aware of :

• Continue treatment with them and do the dermapeel
• See another electrolysis professional that could finish off what is left of my hair
• See a dermatologist
• Take a break from electrolysis? Would that even help?

Any suggestions or ways reducing the pitting would be highly appreciated, or even if I should not bother and invest in some filling foundation

[Thermo]

Let’s start with the overtreatment. Did the treatment or your skin reaction immediately after treatment give you any indication of overtreatment? This includes extreme pain during treatment, leaking fluid from the follicle, blisters, excessive blanching, excessive bleeding, large scabs that are joined together? If not, it’s less likely that you were overtreated.

Next up, the pitting. This is definitely something that can happen from overtreatment, especially after many months of repeated overtreatment, but I don’t see any indication in your post that you experienced any overtreatment.

Looking at your upper lip, I’m more inclined to say that this is normal wound contraction and hyperpigmentation, both of which are very typical reactions from electrolysis on the face. These reactions can be minimised with skilled electrolysis and a cautious approach, but they almost always occur at least to some degree in this area.

These reactions are both temporary, but complete healing can take many months to a year. If you keep getting electrolysis, you will keep experiencing this reaction, so the condition of your skin won’t start to normalise until you either stop treatments or you continue until all the hair is gone.

You could see another electrologist to compare treatments, but I think that you may be better served by stopping electrolysis altogether. Allow your skin the time to heal and prove to yourself that it’s all okay. If you can accept the temporary reactions and the long healing time, you can finish the process at a later time.

[fenix]

Do you have any photos immediately or couple days after treatments? How would you describe your skin post treatments? How many days did redness or swelling occurred? It is possible that what you’re developing is part of normal wound contractions that occurs during healing process. If you were getting treatments regularly that wound contraction hasn’t had time to completely heal. You can be on cautious side and stop treatments for 3-4 months and allow your skin to continue to heal. In the future you should avoid long treatment times on upper lip and chin in one session. Clear slowly, not in one session. Watch this video from an electrology educator that may explain your situation Chin Dents or Scars? - YouTube

[Hazel]

Hi all,

thank you for the replies. Here is a picture around 2 days after my 3rd or so session.

@Thermo

• Treatment is incredibly painful, after the first two sessions I started using numbing cream
• I routinely got leaking fluid from follicles, but never blisters, bleeding or scabs.
  @fenix
• My face would swell up a lot for around a day, with redness persisting for around 3-4 days
• My practitioner is very keen on removing the most dense areas first, so very often they would deforest the upper lip and chin

Watching the video it seems that these might be orange-peel. I will share my concerns with my professional asking them to leaving some hairs in the area after taking a break from that area for a few months. Thank you

[Thermo]

Based on the picture, it seems that this is overtreatment, but not necessarily horrific enough to cause any significant permanent issues.

I agree with your approach moving forward. Take a break and see how your skin heals, and if you continue with this person, her treatment needs to be less aggressive, and it would help for her to not treat hairs too close together.

[koiralam93]

Hi Hazel,
I was wondering if the pitting has faded.
I got some pitting and hyperpigmentation on my upper lips too, so kind of worried that it’ll be permanent.

[Hazel]

Hi, due to a surgery (and this) I have taken a break from electrolysis and I am on week 9 / 15 of said break, so I will post a picture at week 15 (for science). The pitting looks much better now, its still a very rough texture but it reads as bad skin and not a 5 o’clock shadow of craters. Interstingly the pigmentation on my upper lip has reduced sigificantly but it is still present on my cheeks.