Hi there,
I would like to know what would be a ‘normal’ experience for electrolysis and how would i know if i chose an inexperienced practitioner.
BACKGROUND: I am of indian background, with light brown skin, and have never used electrolysis before. I am in my late twenties, therefore while some hair is dark in the upper mouth and chin area. I have been using predominantly plucking and threading in my past to remove hair.
CHOICE: I chose this particular practitioner due to location and cheap price. Due to her many good reviews online i felt comfortable with my choice. She is of asian background, therefore her communication skills were not great, but okay. She treated my upper lip and chin area using thermolysis.
TREATMENT: My experience to say the least was horrible. It was extremely painful. I was screaming under my breath throughout the entire process when she was doing my upper lip. I hated my hair so much that i just tolerated the pain, and since i was making noise (clearly out of pain) i thought because she didnt react or turn down the heat, i thought this was normal pain. She essentially told me that if high heat settings is not used then it wont kill the hair follicle, and that other practitioners take advantage of our money by not using high enough settings. All up she did 1.5 hours treatment for $95 AU (cash).
She told me 1 scab would appear on my chin, because it was a thick hair or something like that.
While she was friendly, i thought she was a little unprofessional by saying she would perform electrolysis on her own nipple hair and asked whether i needed any done also. This was weird, but at that time i thought nothing of it at the time.
AFTERMATH: After my treatment, my face felt like it was on fire. It was so painful. She gave me an ice pack, and i put it on for maybe 10-20mins before paying her and leaving. In my car, i put the airconditioning on high, because my face was still burning. I went home and iced it for another 1.5 hours, before my face somewhat settled down. My practitioner told me this is NOT normal to have to ice it for so long, and tried to shift blame on me saying that i shouldnt have left the clinic until the heat was gone out of my face. I didn’t know any better, nor did she tell me this at the time.
The next fews days it was the weekend and public holiday, so i was at home. Next day my face was inflamed (i wasnt alarmed by this) ,but over the next week 2 pastules (white puss filled pimples)and then another 2 formed on my upper lip area. I contacted my practitioner who said put on aloe vera gel and petadine and these would go away. She also offered to pay for these products for my next session (is this an admission of guilt?).
These pimples were very large and painful, and i had to take time off work because i didnt want to cover it up with make up. I also formed scabbing across my entire upper lip area (something the practitioner also told me was NOT normal but it will go away).
The scabbing fell off naturally and now i have hyperpigmentation marks (after 2 months). I understand that this could be normal and that is what my practitioner advised me. However, i eventually saw dents in my upper lip area also - which left me very concerned. I still tried to stay calm while the practitioner kept saying this is normal reaction and it will go away - however, i decided to seek advice from another electrologist (up to 20 years of experience) after approximately 5 weeks. This experienced electrologist told me that she has another client who has severe pitting on her chin as a result of the practitioner that i saw 
She looked at my face and the type of hyperpigmentation and dents i had, and she told me i had been overtreated. The intensity of her settings were too high (like i originally thought), and now i have what appears to be permanent defects on my face. She was actually horrified when i told her about my experience. She told me no one should be performing 1.5hr treatments on someones face.
I also get laser IPL hair removal at another clinic (for my arms and legs), and the lady saw the marks on my face. i explained to her what had happened, and she said that her experience of electrolysis was much different on the upper lip and that it looks like i have been scarred. She said that it is very common for people to obtain certificates, but not be experiences or skilful in the practice of electrology and it is important to do my research.
It seems i made a poor decision with choosing this practitioner which makes me sick in my stomach that people can practice and feel okay with destroying the integrity of someones skin.
Was my electrolysis experience normal? Or would you say that i have probably been mistreated by this practitioner? is a 1.5 hour session normal? I would love to hear from some professional advice as well as other patient experiences.
Thanking you.