possible pitting??

Hello,

Just want to start off by saying wow!! this forum is incredible, the professionals are truly a wealth of knowledge.

I’ve got some concerns but i’ll just start from the beginning. I’m an 18 yr old female, I’ve waxed my upper lip quite a few times, and tweezed for a while but started bleaching around 2 years ago when I found out (on this forum) that those hair removal methods only stimulate more hair growth.

So, I went to my first electrolysis trial session on July 15th 2018. The electrologist only had 4 years experience but was a BIAE member so I thought she would be competent as her website also seemed to showcase her comprehensive knowledge on the topic. During the trial she only zapped out a few hairs on the right side of my upper lip and 3 days later I developed a few pinpoint scabs, nothing noticeable at all, so i just put aloe vera and let them fall on their own.

I went back around 3 weeks later, where I had a 20 min session and she adjusted the setting so instead of one zap she used 2 quick zaps to kill the hair, I had no scabs after this session.

the next session i had was 2 weeks after the last and she had adjusted the setting back to only one zap, this time i had quite a lot of scabbing, almost over every place she had inserted the needle so i told her my concerns. She said next time she would lower the intensity a bit but would have to lengthen the time in order for the treatment to remain effective.

so the 4th time I went which was 9th August, all the scabs from the previous treatment had fallen off but i think there was still a slight bit of redness (perhaps the new skin under the scab??) Anyway, it was another 15min procedure, she said she lowered the intensity a bit, increased the time of the zap a bit and decreased the needle size. However, I still developed pin point scabs over most of the treated area.

around about 4 days after that last electrolysis appointment, i had to go somewhere so i wanted to put a bit of bb creme to conceal the scabs, however, i may have rubbed a bit hard and i noticed a tiny streak of blood which i think was from me accidentally rubbing a scab off, so i gently washed to creme off, dabbed a bit of aloe vera and left everything alone until all the rest of the scabs fell off.

Its now been two weeks since the appointment i had on 9th august and all the scabs have fallen, but now there are still patches of red/brown ( which is i think is PIH??) But when i look in the mirror under bright lightning it seems that the reddish spots are where she had made insertions and they look somewhat concave, a bit like orange peel skin, especially on the left side but not only concentrated to the area where i think i accidentally rubbed off one of the scabs. Im not sure if this is just hyper pigmentation and a trick of the eye making the colour contrast look like i have pitting. I’m not sure though, because i thought hyper pigmentation was supposed to be brown and not reddish? If its just hyper pigmentation, i won’t be worried because I know that it will fade with time.

As of now, i’ve contacted my electrolysis saying i would like to take a break from treatments with her, but i’ve booked with another lady who has around 30 years of experience, is highly reputable (been recommended on this site) and is also a BIAE member for a consultation with her on September 13th.

Sorry for such a long post but i guess my main concern is whether I have anything to worry about and whether I have or will develop pitting? I’m pretty sure the scabs were a result of over treatment, and if im not mistaken pitting can also occur as a result of over treatment? I do have some photos, but they are of poor quality (taken on my phone) and none of the ‘pitting’ i seem to see in person can be picked up by it. I might post them later on.

Thanks in advance!

The scabs could very likely be due to the use of an uninsulated probe in your treatment.
They wont cause pitting ( or if they do this wont be known for a very long time) and should resolve completely. Any PIH or slight uneven texture should and likely will resolve over time. This is not to say the treatment was ideal but lots of people can and do get smallish scabs during facial treatment and they resolve .

Hi Seana!

Thank you very much for your response. I’m pretty sure she did use insulated probes as i did ask her this specifically at the consultation, so perhaps it was due to too high intensity?

Thanks again for the reassurance. Just another note… if by September 13th the PIH or seemingly uneven skin texture doesn’t resolve completely, would it still be safe to continue with electrolysis with another electrologist?

Also, throughout my ‘short’ experience with electrolysis, i’ve only been using aloe vera as my after care. Is this sufficient?

Aloe is fine. You dont have to put anything on your face to help it heal, your body does that without any help from you putting stuff on there.Refridgerated aloe right after treatment feels wonderful however and sooths the skin.

I dont think the scabs you describe are from an insulated probe. Your electrologist was doing thermolysis or blend? A smallish honey colored scab is possible when doing blend, and nothing to worry about.

And yes it would be safe to do electrolysis with another practitioner.

I think my electrolysis was doing blend? and the scabs seemed to appear over pretty much every place she inserted the needle and they were slightly reddy/brown in colour?

Just another query, is it ok to keep bleaching the upper lip hairs right now with PIH etc?

I would classify bleaching agent so soon after treatment as un-necessary stuff on your skin that doesnt need to be there and for the most part we want to be eliminting potential contaminants. It probably wont hurt anything, but I’m an old nanny like that, if it doesnt need to go on your skin, better off without it.

ok, thanks for the advice! Its just that i have quite a dense amount of dark hairs that are all growing back since its been 3 weeks since the last appointment.

I have some photos from my phone that i’ll post up.

The first pic was taken today 3weeks after the last treatment i had of a total 3 treatments since around early July. Im not sure if its clear to see the uneven texture of the skin in the circle…that part is my area of my main concern.

the second is an image of the scabs I had from the last treatment on august 9 taken 4 days after this treatment. The second to last treatment produced comparable results.

Do these photos look alright?

Thanks!

The pictures are blurry, but I get the idea.

I would prefer that my clients not have this reaction. Don’t have anymore work preformed on these areas until the skin is totally healed. It will heal! Give your electrologist feedback about this outcome so she can make some adjustments.

It is possible to remove hair on the face with minimal side effects, but if you get side effects, they are temporary. Serious side effects that last longer than 7-14 days should not be repeated over and over again. Red dots here and small scabs there is nothing to worry about. When my clients tell me it took 4 days for the skin to return to normal, I burst out laughing. That’s what I call an excellent healing outcome - it’s not something to fret about.

thanks for your reply Dee! So, you do think that the pit like ‘things’ will fill in? The ‘dents’ seem very abundant in that circled area almost like every follicle has an indent. Its less obvious on the right side though.

Also is there an explanation for why the area looks kind of raw and that area feels tight when i stretch my lips?

I started electrolysis around the same time you did - mid July this year. I have/had dense hair on my chin and some under my chin/neck area. It took 6 1-hour treatment sessions to fully clear the area and I have been going back for 20 minutes once per week to get the stragglers. My electrologist is using thermolysis.

My first 2 treatments, I had a LOT of swelling and redness and my treatment area actually felt numb. My next few appointments had less swelling but still some redness about 2-3 days after the sessions and little numbness. I haven’t had any pinprick marks or any acne at all. Sometimes right after the session, my skin will look like it has a few mosquito bites (I very seldom hear a sizzle sound which I think is what is creating those mosquoto-bite-looking marks). I have had some scabbing that isn’t noticable. The only after-affects that I have noticed recently are the redness after the sessions and I feel some tingly/pinching sensations under my skin which I assume is part of the healing process (although I haven’t read about anyone else experiencing this). I don’t know if I would describe the area as raw, but mine is a bit tight as well.

That being said, I’m just a customer and have no knowledge about your electrolysis. I don’t have any of the pits or wrinkles (yet). From what I have read, those who do get pits, they don’t usually show up for a few months after treatment.

For my after treatment, I wash my face with diluted Castille soap a few times per day and put refrigerated Aloe Vera (as natural as possible) just to soothe and cool the area. I tried tea tree oil the first night and it made my face feel really weird so I stopped. I think the general consensus is that you don’t really need anything for after care and your body will do it’s business.

Correct. Pitting can take upwards of 9 months to appear depending on the treatment issue.

hello! I thought I’d give an update. I went to see a new, more experienced electrologist today, originally scheduled for next week but she happened to have a free slot today.

The sensation was completely different, a lot less painful and i couldn’t feel the probe going in at all. This electrologist also wore surgical magnifying glasses? I believe thats what they’re called?

My previous electrologist didn’t wear those glasses and I could sense she was struggling to find the hair follicle to insert the probe into. The treatments were also a lot more painful. I now realise she may have just punctured randomly in my skin.

I just have a question, can random insertions in the skin be a cause for the appearance of the pitting that i am noticing??

sighh… i’m just really regretting not starting with this new electrologist from the beginning.

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sorry, it thought i might just add that theres also what appears to be a cluster of circular red dots around the hair follicles where i’m getting the impression of even skin texture…