Hello everyone. My name is Nicole and I am a MTF trans person trying to get her stubborn beard removed. In April, I had 3 hours of electrolysis performed on my neck (1 hour each week) using plain old thermolysis. I stopped the treatment because recovery seemed to be taking an unusually long time. After three months I am getting concerned about my skin:
It looks like ingrown hair, but persistent redness is visible over more of the skin than the follicles themselves. I have applied zinc oxide and exfoliated gently while keeping the area clean, no astringents. The entire area is still agitated after more than three months.
I don’t know what to think at this point. Most people report “a few days” of redness but I am well beyond that. Opinions? Am I destined for a visit to the dermatologist?
P.S. Thanks to everyone for contributing to such an important forum. And especially to Andrea for creating Hairtell, TSRoadmap, and the voice training CD’s (and also for being such a cool friend to my friend Danielle).
The good news is that it that the area looks as if it has less hair growth.
Has the area improved in terms of its healing? How did it look initially; how did it look 24 hours after treatment? What changes, if any, are you noticing?
Do you have any health conditions that might delay healing?
You mentioned that you are exfoliating. What are the active ingredients in the product? Were you exfoliating within 48 hours after treatment? Were you exfoliating afterwards and removing the scabs while you were exfoliating? Were you using a loofa/natural sponge or some sort of rough synthetic buff pad?
As a licensed skin care professional and an electrologist, I instruct clients to NOT exfoliate until the skin is ready for it, and use product appropriate for the situation. Instructions differ based on the client’s skin type and conditions.
Since this irritation is persistant, I am wondering what else is going on as with normal cell renewal, your skin should look fine.
Hi Arlene. I appreciate you taking the time to respond with these questions. Initially the entire area was much redder and stayed that way for several weeks. Over time it has faded but is still pink. In the shade it really stands out. The whole area looks darker than the beard area above it… argh!
None that I know of. I get regular physicals and they always check out 100%. Are there any relevant systemic disorders you know of that can contribute to excessive inflammation via electrolysis?
I waited several weeks before exfoliating with a gentle papaya enzyme and light strokes with a Buf-Puf pad. No messing around with scabs (which were few and far between).
My legs, shoulders, and arms have received some electro but have fared better than this. I suspect my ultra-sensitive skin may have been subjected to too much heat/current during treatment. I am considering giving galvanic electro a try instead.
just a side note that your hair looks very dense, coarse and dark on your neck. i would consider some laser treatments with an alexandrite laser to speed up the electrolysis process if I were you, if you have a knowledgeable clinic in your area. that hair looks like it would respond very well.
Hi lagirl. I have read many of your helpful comments before making an appearance here. Thanks for your input “across the board”.
Getting my beard zapped with an alexandrite laser is exactly what I am planning to do at this point. A nearby skin clinic has the GentleLASE machine and is experienced with using it on male patients (facial hair included). If the test patch goes well, I figure I can start at a low setting (around 20 joules) and see how my skin fares from that point on.
As for my current situation, I think my neck will heal given enough time. I didn’t expect electrolysis to take several months to clear up… but I guess everyone’s skin is different. Expect an update in a month or two. Hopefully we will see some improvement by then.
Since you mention that your skin is ultra sensitive, I would not suggest a buff puff. Use a soft synthetic cosmetic sponge instead or just use your fingers.
Have you considered an AHA, perhaps lactic acid, which I find is good for more sensitive skin types? Papaya Enzyme is mild and suitable for sensitive skin types, yes but not as effective as AHA’s.
Anyone who exfoliates regularly must not forget to use something to calm the skin, rehydrate the skin and/or moisturize the skin and MUST always protect with sunscreen. And by the way, in order for these products to work effectively, you might very well need to apply a toner to bring your pH level back to normal.
I am a highly reactive sensitive skin type, Fitzpatrick color is between a 1 and a 2 but my hair is dark. For me, laser actually induced facial hair growth. I suspect that my hairs were too fine but you look like you might get some decent results as long as you find the right practitioner.
You mentioned your interest in Galvanic. Well, Galvanic is great but so slow that you might give up.
Since you noted that you hardly scabbed, did you actually suffer enough tissue trauma from the electrolysis? I suspect it was something that you were doing or not doing that caused the delay in healing.
I would consider an AHA-based exfoliant but I have no idea where to start. My knowledge of skin care is limited to cleansers, toners, and moisturizers. Is there a brand of AHA exfoliant available at the drugstore that you would recommend for sensitive skin?
My skin wept and lightly crusted over in the beginning. I left it alone for a week, except for the use of Tend Skin which was recommended by my electrologist. I stopped using it after a couple of weeks because it was irritating my face. Other than that, I have generally left it alone except for occasional applications of a mild zinc oxide/aloe blend.
20 joules on 18mm spot size is actually max, not low. spot size matters a lot. if you trust them, let them handle the settings. for hair that is that coarse, you will probably be ok with 14-16 joules at 18mm to start. let us know in the laser forum what settings they use for your test spot. btw, where are you located? we can usually help more if you add your location to your profile.
That makes sense to me. Dallas people love their restaurants and beauty treatments. The plastic surgery section of the yellow pages is an inch thick! :o
Time for a new post in the laser section before this goes way off topic… ha ha.
