recovery from electrolysis scarring - stories

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi everyone,

I noticed that there are a lot of stories about people getting scarred from electrolysis (pigmentation both red and black/brown, wrinkles, ridges, enlarged pores, prolonged inflammation, indentations, etc), and while the Hairtell community seems good at offering moral support and a few suggestions here or there from people who seem to have never experienced electrolysis scarring themselves, I’d really like to hear updates from people who experienced the scarring, talking about what actually happened with their scars.

If anyone has been scarred from electrolysis, and has gone on to see some sort of improvement, or conversely, has discovered anything one shouldn’t do to/with an electrolysis scar, please post your stories here, as I find that personal stories are what give perspective and hope.

I’m aware that many members may have stopped visiting the forum after experiencing scarring, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to cast a line out to the community anyway.

To start off, here’s a summary of my own story so far:
I started electrolysis on my upper lip and between my brows about 9 months ago (May/June 2011), and continued it for 5 months. Over that time I developed redness in the treated areas that my (licensed and experienced) electrologist kept assuring me would fade…but it didn’t. At the 5 month mark, I noticed that not only was the color not fading, but the skin was actually starting to wrinkle and form ridges and indentations. Terrified, I stopped the treatments, but the degeneration of the skin on my face didn’t stop. My skin continued to wrinkle and eventually ended up rough to the touch, with lines all over and around the area that looked like disorganized cracks and potholes. The coloring of my skin was a splotchy red, with especially darkened spots right around the pores. I moisturized and used sunscreen and waited, but nothing changed for the better. If anything my skin just got drier and more uncomfortable. Then in January 2012 I started using some natural oils to moisturize: I started with tamanu oil and neem oil, which helped plump out the wrinkles a bit, and the color faded a little bit. A few weeks later I started experimenting with essential oil blends and a variety of carrier oils (coconut, argan, rosehip seed, among others). Over the last 2-3 months I have been religiously using a combination of healing and antiinflammatory essential oils on my face, in a blend of several nourishing carrier oils, and have seen some improvement in the coloring. I have also been rubbing castor oil into my face daily, which has also helped condition the skin and some of the deeper wrinkles have plumped up a bit.

While all of this did lift my spirits some, I am still far from fully healed. My improvement seems to have plateaued at this point in time, and I am not seeing as much or as fast healing as I was before. I am currently trying to take a break from the essential oil treatments, so that if the reason for my plateau is saturation and resistance from using the oils for a few months, maybe I can eventually kick start the process again and keep improving. But I really don’t know.

If anyone has tried using natural oils and essential oil treatments on scars or wounds, I would really appreciate your experiences and any input you might be able to offer.

Or, of course if you saw improvement in your scarring through some other treatment, please post your story here!

Thanks everyone!

#2

In my opinion the improvement you are seeing is due to the time that has elapsed and no thanks to all those substances that you have applied. I have hundreds of cases where you can see not only the skin remains intact, but it improves considerably after electrolysis.

#3

To be totally honest, I saw absolutely no improvement for several months after stopping treatments, in fact my skin only got worse, to the point where the area between my brows completely caved in and was riddled with cracks and lines. Then when I started using the oils, I saw healing in a matter of weeks. That cannot be a coincidence.

I understand that electrolysis performed properly may certainly seem to improve appearance (stimulation increases bloodflow to the area and plumps the skin out), but I don’t see how the skin can technically be better off after what’s essentially a thermal burn directed at the deeper layers. At most, any improvement due to the procedure would be because of the healing response mounted by the body after application of the high energy and high heat electric current…the damage to the area brings in blood and lymph, and stimulates fibroblasts to lay down new collagen and elastin to heal…except the problem with that, as with any injury to any organ, is that such healing is technically scar tissue, since it is not laid down in the same organized manner as the original tissue, and therefore doesn’t function the same (not as strong or resilient, more easily affected by mechanical stresses such as facial expressions). This would not be a problem if the treatment were localized to the hair follicle as it’s meant to be, since the whole idea behind electrolysis is to target the root of the follicle over and over again until it’s so damaged that hair no longer grows. It’s brilliant really. But when treatment does not happen properly, for whatever reason, it repeatedly damages surrounding dermal tissue, which includes blood vessels, the collagen matrix, and follicular stem cells responsible for renewing skin.

That’s just my take on it. If you have clients that claim electrolysis helped their skin improve, then I’m happy for them. But I’m hesitant to believe that electrolysis as an absolute is beneficial to skin health.

In any case, the reason I started this thread is to see if anyone else has seen improvement or recovery from electrolysis induced damage. If people have seen healing from simply waiting it out, that’s fantastic and very encouraging, I’d love to hear about it.

#4

Excellent information about the healing process, but you have overlooked a “small” detail, the time necessary to say that the electrolysis has left a scar, the 18 months of rigor.

I can understand your skepticism if you are a victim of overtreatment. This shows the importance of submitting to a test before deciding if you are in the right hands.

“But I’m hesitant to believe that electrolysis as an absolute is beneficial to skin health.”

You are on your right to believe what you deem most appropriate, I am in my right to show that the electrolysis help ALL alterations produced by the hair or the pilosebaceous apparatus. Basically, electrolysis has a preventive effect. A follicle disabled prevent:
Furunculosis,

Folliculitis:

BEFORE

AFTER

dermatitis, keratosis pilaris, etc…

A follicle permanently disabled, close the pores avoiding the appearance of orange peel.
Before:

A year later:

The gray skin because deep roots becomes homogeneous dark hair like before the development of the hairs.

BEFORE:


A year later:

Before:

A year later:

#5

Before:

A year later:

If this does not represent an improvement in skin quality, maybe I should devote myself to something else, maybe alchemist?

#6

Querida Josefa, this is amazing!

Your photos always makes me so happy.
What a difference!! This is a very lucky woman.

#7

Nobody doubts that well performed electrolysis can have spectacular results and improve the skin.

However bad electrolysis happens. And I dare say it happens equally often. Sweeping it under the carpet does a huge disservice to the profession. Sometimes all a person wants to hear from a professional is, “yes, scaring happens, here’s how to prevent it.”

Or at least, “here’s what you can do to keep it from getting worst.”

Most people want to get rid all of the hair in one session. But unless you are very sure about the ability of the electrologist, it’s far better to have short treatments in sensitive areas and wait enough time for the skin to heal in between.

I’ve noticed that while the first swelling may go away quickly, it can take several weeks before the skin settles down sufficiently enough to notice any potential for long lasting damage.

Also, be careful of poking sensations. If it feels like the eyebrow or upper lip area is being treated with a toothpick, better stop sooner than later.

Scabs and pustules are unsightly but not necessarily bad unless you pick on them.

If after a few appointments you still feel wary, unhappy and anxious about the outcome of your treatments, take a long break before looking for someone else. In doubt do without.

I think most patients know intuitively if they are in good hands or not but often choose to ignore warning signs because they are so desperate to get rid of the hair.

#8

Totally agree impossable, and I think at least 6000 of 7424 messages Dee Fahey, contain some kind of warning of a possible overtreatment. The same with James. Beate has her own photographs as evidence of what she suffered in her own skin.
As for me, I am constantly emphasizing on the need to make just the injury to affect the follicle, without including the interfollicular tissue, I am constantly updating the thread of Laurier, if that helps colleagues to achieve a safer treatment . I have no economic benefit to the promotion of the IBP. I can post each of the bills I have paid to the company Laurier. Maybe I will.

Of course there is malpractice, as in all professions. But it is unfair to condemn the electrolysis, because this is the only option for many people.

#9

Why do you think the IBP was invented in the first place ? :wink:

#10

Well… Your Dad did a perfect job, Mike.

I used a # 3 IBP on my client’s upper lip this afternoon. Gave her a second clearance which consisted of doing a thousand insertions in about 90 minutes. When I was driving her back to the airport, seeing her sitting there in the daylight, I could hardly tell that anything was done. You must be working day and night, hand making all these probes, Mike. They are real beauties under the microscope. My client will feel swollen for a couple days, but she won’t look swollen. (This kind of aggressive electrolysis should not be attempted unless one knows how to do this properly, using certain tools and strategies.) No DIY’ing!

#11

Stories like that are what makes it all worthwhile Dee. If you don’t hurt the client in the first place, aftercare becomes a non-issue.

But remember, the violin did not play itself…

#12

Josefa, thank you for posting your before and after photos, they’re great! I see what you mean by improvement of skin quality. Removing the hairs improves the skin due to the effects they can cause by being there in the first place (such as ingrown hairs, infected follicles, and color imparted by the hair root). How quickly did the discoloration on the woman’s upper lip resolve? And was that “before” picture taken during treatments or before electrolysis was started? I had no skin texture or color problems in that area, just some dark hairs I wanted to get rid of.

Yes, I’ve heard the healing process can take up to a year and a half, and I have not overlooked it…it has been only 5-6 months since I stopped treatment, and that knowledge is the only thing that reminds me that my healing window has not yet closed, that there’s still a chance these changes might not be permanent, but I just can’t be sure. What makes me stop and think on it further is that wound healing itself happens rather quickly (weeks rather than months), and what takes such a long time is scar maturation. In my case, I would like to nourish the skin and promote the “normalizing” of the scar as much as possible before it stops changing, instead of letting it potentially mature into a dysfunctional patch of tissue. This healing support is what I believe the oils I am using are doing.

When I started electrolysis I did submit to a test treatment, and was doing okay for the first few sessions, with redness and tenderness in the treated area subsiding pretty quickly as everyone says it should. But eventually the redness just stopped subsiding. I brought it to the attention of my electrologist, who has successfully treated people before and who I chose because of her extensive experience in both treating and teaching the procedure. She said it would go away eventually, but then when I started to see texture changes in the skin, I had to stop. Perhaps I was overtreated by accident, or perhaps my skin turned out to be more sensitive than other people’s, truly I don’t know. I’m not looking to assign blame, I just want to heal. All I know for sure is that

  1. my discoloration did not start fading until I started using oils,
  2. the textural changes were not normal (my electrologist claimed she couldn’t see them and insisted electrolysis did not cause wrinkles, then I went to several dermatologists who confirmed the issue but could offer me no help other than tretinoin, which causes further dermal swelling and sensitivity, or steroid cream which can cause permanent thinning, so I couldn’t in good conscience put them on my skin),
    and 3) I will never do electrolysis on my face again. I did have some done on my underarms and bikini area for a few months, and both areas seemed to hold up rather well between treatments, but I eventually stopped those as well because I was so disappointed and discouraged by what happened to my face.
#13

"How quickly did the discoloration on the woman’s upper lip resolve? And was that “before” picture taken during treatments or before electrolysis was started?"

Brown spots on the lip of this woman, were a consequence of years of plucking with tweezers. The brown color was replaced by the red due to electrolysis, and later by the natural color of the skin. The picture of “before” was taken a few days after the first session a few minutes of electrolysis.

I share your opinion about what is best to try to help in the healing process, but I’m sure that tretinoin would have been more effective than the oils. I do not like steroids either.
I am a big fan of tretinoin because I attended miracles in improving old scars. Side effects such as redness and peeling are temporary. The reaction is necessary to obtain a significant improvement. I have a client with old acne scars that are applying tretinoin for 2 months, we have made many pictures for monitoring. In a few days we will know what happened.

It is important to avoid sun exposure until the healing process is complete.
Melanocytes are involved in the healing process. I do not know if they have a role in this complex process, or is just something accidental. In any case, if the skin is exposed to sunlight before the process is complete, the result will be a full-blown hyperpigmentation. I wonder why all the books prohibiting the sun for 2 or 3 days, when the truth is that the recommendation should be for at least 3 months. The greatest damage is to a depth of dermis, and remind everyone that skin layers are formed mostly transparent cells. The sun will affect the damaged area, whether there are scabs, or not.

#14

Mith, this is an interesting case of scars from ingrown hairs.

In red, old scars.
In black recent injury from an ingrown hair removed a few days ago of the photo.

One would think that the white spots may have been caused by overtreatment because electrolysis. Something that would have enough sense, given its status as point-shaped scar.

Well, the photos “before” show that these white spots were there before starting electrolysis. Successive waxing were the real cause.

The abundance of hair became almost impossible to locate the old scar, I had trouble finding it, but finally there it was.

This guy is applying tretinoin two days a week. We have high expectations that their old scars from acne and ingrowns will improve. In any case we have nothing to lose but everything to gain.

#15

Thanks Josefa.

I stay out of the sun as much as possible, but there’s only so much I can do about it really. And my pigmentation is red rather than brown, which makes me believe it’s prolonged inflammation or blood leakage of some sort, and not actually melanocytic activity. It changes color intensity when temperature changes (it stands out more in the cold weather or when I wash my face with cold water, and it flushes just as red as my cheeks when it’s hot out or when I exercise), and it fades momentarily when I press on it with my fingers, then comes back.

Please let me know what happens to your client using tretinoin for acne scars!

#16

I use tretinoin on my face to keep my acne in check. Tretinoin 0.025%

It does help with pigmentation. It takes a long long time to work though(just like other depigmenting agents). 3-12 months of regular use with sunscreen.

Tretinoin can’t improve ice-pick scars significantly.

#17

wound healing itself happens rather quickly (weeks rather than months), and what takes such a long time is scar maturation

This has been my experience too. I’ve pigmented scars on the body, from 10 years ago, that are still in the process of fading. But once they turn white you can be fairly certain the healing process has been mostly completed.

was doing okay for the first few sessions (…)But eventually the redness just stopped subsiding

Where you going in weekly/bi-monthly? Frequent treatments of a facial area can be just as dangerous as one big cleaning session.

3) I will never do electrolysis on my face again

I can relate to this feeling. I also had body work done and was very happy with the results, but after what happened on the face I found it impossible to continue with the rest. What’s even more discouraging is when you go to someone else and it happens again.

That said I can imagine having electrolysis again but only with a practitioner who has been vouched for repeatedly by other patients.

I would NOT go to an electrologist recommended by another practitioner unless that person has actually been a patient there.

PS. I’ve found Urea to be very helpful to the process of rebuilding the skin. There are some creams which contain 25% Urea for the soles of the feet but it doesn’t really matter, skin is skin.

#18

impossable, i was going every few weeks. there was always 2 weeks between sessions, sometimes more, and each session was 10-15 minutes.

i’ll look into the urea idea, thanks!

#19

My left upper arm was treated using Laurier and in comparison with my right arm the difference is amazing. The right arm however was treated at 700 els which left much bigger scabs and are still more prominent than my left arm and it was treated much later. left arm around 400 with laurier. I apply rosehip oil to right arm hoping it will speed up recovery. Just aloe on my left to alleviate itching as it seems to be healing at much faster rate as less trauma initially.

#20

Yes, I think you’d really like high percentage Urea creams for electrolysis problems.

Mine helped improve the wrinkles, pitting and discoloration rather quickly. (I can’t say the same for all the other creams and oils I’ve tried and I’ve tried a few. In my desperation I was even ready to try the really expensive stuff.) And while Urea can’t heal white and/or hard spots, at least it softens them up enough to be less visible.

In fact, my “desert island keepers” would be urea based products, pure tea tree oil and Tend Skin for certain issues.

All the other stuff, like harsh soaps, hot steam facials, citric acid/alcohol based tonic lotions, as well as peeling products (“Dead sea sands?!” What was I thinking?!) have left me with some rosacea (even though I’ve no inclination), adult acne and a skin that peels dry at the drop of a hat.

I avoid silicons (dimethicone, etc.) now too, they just cover up the problem for a short while, then my skin/hair are dryer than ever.

Less is definitely more.

It sounds like you’ve tried your best and in good faith, as I did. And I can imagine it must be very scary to develop problems after what seemed like regular treatment. At least in my case I could tell something was going wrong while it was happening, I just couldn’t interpret it at the moment.

Such experiences certainly help me understand why an electrologist like Josefa won’t let an apprentice near the face even after 4 years of body work. But this is a problem with just any industry. About 20% know what they are doing, another 20%-40% are mediocre and the rest should not even be near a patient.