Scabs around areola, normal?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hello, I have been lurking for a little while before joining as I was trying to gather information on hair removal methods. I have 40-50 hairs (some black, some just coarse but blond) around each areola that have caused me much distress since I was around 13-14 years old. I’m now 40. Until now, I have shaved and plucked. I just had my first electrolysis on Monday the 19th and this is what my breasts are looking like. I am horrified at the redness and scabs. Is this normal?

I wasn’t very thrilled with my consultation, but thought maybe I was just nervous and needed to trust her, so I went ahead with one treatment. She cleared most of the black hairs, but left the lighter courser hair to be done at a different time since we ran out of time. Understandable.

I asked her about the blend method, because the hairs are coarse. She told me that she prefers thermolysis, and that she might clear everything the first time with thermolysis (in separate sessions), and go back and use blend at some point. She told me galvanic was outdated and nobody does it anymore. She’s working with an apilus but I can’t remember which model and she did use an insulated needle. She also told me she was not comfortable clearing both breasts completely in one sitting due to skin reactions. I have read many things on this forum about doing full clearances so I was confused as to why she would be opposed to that. They are not densely packed.

She claims to have been doing electrolysis for 25 years and has been at her current place of business for 15 of those years. She also told me I was going to scab right off the bat, which I know is not uncommon, really. I guess I need help deciding is this is normal scabbing or not? I felt a lot of pain (intense heat) and bled once. The machine beeped multiple times per follicle and sometimes I felt like she did a swirl in some of the follicles while it was beeping. I knew to be well hydrated and avoid caffeine.

She told me to swab with witch hazel once I got home, put on aloe vera and then lather with Desitin. I did do the witch hazel, but used tea tree oil at night instead cause that’s what I had bought in preparation from what I have read on here. I have repeated witch hazel in the morning and tea tree oil again at night. They itch so bad but I am leaving them alone.

Any and all advice is welcome.

#2

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#3

How long after treatment was this image taken?

I have to say it looks a bit rough, and there are follicles that appear to have been treated with hairs still present that seem shaved or clipped. Thermolysis is totally fine for these types of hairs, so there’s nothing wrong with her modality or equipment at face value.

Scabs are very normal for body work, but if this level of redness and swelling is still very visible on the skin many days after treatment, then it becomes clear that the electrologist was using a bit too much energy. Having said that, I don’t see anything that would be concerning long-term. It should heal up normally within a week or two.

Any bleeding is likely due to pricking the sides of the follicle entrance as she tries to slide the probe in. This can happen in areas with more fatty tissue or excess skin if the electrologist doesn’t stretch it out properly. It’s not a huge concern, but it’s annoying to see it happen multiple times within a treatment.

I don’t really understand the hesitancy around doing a full clearing of both breasts either, but this isn’t a huge issue. You could ask her to soften her approach to avoid these results, but it might be worthwhile for you to do a treatment with another electrologist so you can compare.

#4

Thank you for your reply Thermo. This is about 50 hours after treatment.

I have booked two consultations with other electrologists. I came home and did that immediately after not feeling too great about this treatment.

I had not plucked for 6 weeks, but I had shaved about a week and a half before my treatment. I let them grow out so she’d have an easier time seeing the lighter colored hairs. She also wasn’t using loupes, but instead a magnifying lamp.

I do not feel she stretched the skin much during treatment which I had read may be necessary for this area. I whole heartedly realize that everyone’s timelines are different based on different variables but she would not even answer my questions about how she would like to time my sessions out. I had asked her what’s the longest she had treated an area like this and she said it varies. I wish she would have just been honest. I know the correct answer can be 12 months plus, but she wouldn’t even say that. I don’t know how to feel.

#5

Ashley, all looks good and normal. I don’t think you need tea tree oil here. The healing process can cause the itchy feeling, but so can the tea tree that you have used. Aquaphor or organic coconut oil are nice products to use. Don’t give up. This is an area that is highly demanded and it is rather easy to do. You will rejoice at the permanent results in about a year to 18 months. Make sure the hair slides out - NO RESISTANCE SHOULD BE FELT. If you feel it happening, she feels it happening. If she feels it, she should tell you and then reinserts into the empty follice to give another "blast " of energy.

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#6

Thanks Deedra for your reply. I will switch to organic coconut oil tonight! I did feel a couple times where the hair might have pulled/tugged but most of those times she let up on pulling and reinserted and zapped it again. I didn’t get a good look at the hairs she removed, I wish I had.

I have my next appt with her in 3 weeks (due to scheduling issues) and I am due to go back every two weeks thereafter. Is that too soon? Will my skin have time to heal between each session or am I going to be a red itchy mess for the next year plus?

#7

If you are getting cleared every time, I think every 6-8 weeks is the very soonest you should go back. If a clearing was done every 12 weeks, that is okay as well. Both time frames gives your skin plenty of time to heal. You will have the maximum amount of NEW hair coming to the surface, so if you don’t want that, then it’s okay to go every two or three weeks. Any way you decide, you will be all clear in about 12-18 months. I tell my clients to clear and then wait 3 months. Works fine! I feel very reassured to hear that she reinserted if she felt any resistance. Super good.

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#8

You can try Sudocrem or Tripple Paste, both contain zinc which is main ingredient for healing cuts, irritations, burns, swelling.

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#9

I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. If this was your first Thermolysis treatment it’s normal for your body to resist and not like something that is foreign to your body. I think everything looks normal. I would avoid using the tea tree oil and just clean it with hydrogen peroxide over the next three days. This will help draw out any impurities and oils in the follicle. It will help heal your skin so much faster.

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#10

I had a consultation a week ago with a second electrologist. She really pushed me to do laser first. I told her I was not really interested in that and she said she was just trying to save me time and money. She has been doing laser for 24 years and electrology for 30 years. She used her own experience as an example. She has hirsutism and lasered most of her body 24 years ago. She showed me a before picture and she really has had amazing results but I declined the laser and asked for electrolysis only.

I had a 30 min blend treatment with her 4 days ago. She uses an ultrablend machine (looks quite old! Ha). She uses loupes as well. The blend hurt a little more than the thermolysis I had prior. She cleared the rest of both areolas (now 4 days later I have about a dozen or more hairs appearing which I know is the natural progression of the growth cycles. Most of these were just barely visible below the surface and she told me they’d be coming up soon). Since I had time left, she did a few hairs on my chin, and the edges of my upper lip (three spots on my chin are very slightly red but my lip looks like nothing ever happened there). She was efficient and I did feel a pluck or two on my lip but when I brought it up she said she reinserted when it resisted which made me feel better about it. I had on the darkest goggles so I couldn’t see much of what she was doing. She did cataphoresis at the end and told me to use aquafor at home. She sent me home with some ice to use on my face. While it hurt worse initially during treatment, I had no lingering burning around my areolas like I did with the thermolysis. I felt deep burning for hours after that treatment. I really liked her explanations when I asked her questions. She said she was choosing blend since areola hair follicles are not always straight and the lye needed the opportunity to run down into the crooked follicle.

All in all, I think I will go to her a few more times and see how things progress. I am, however, worried about how red the area around the areolas is getting. They look absolutely horrible, in my eyes. Worse than the picture I posted above. This time I did not have scabbing but there are plenty of red marks, which I’m sure will turn darker and be hyper pigmented. I’m just so fair skinned. I just feel like they look hideous and I’m afraid for my partner to see them continually getting worse. :disappointed: She suggested I come every two weeks but I was only able to make an appt for 4 weeks out because she’s so booked up. I’m still trying to decide if I can tolerate shaving for 6 weeks before going back so I could possibly stretch out my treatments. I hate the feeling of stubble and while my partner assures me he’s ok with it, I feel super self conscious.

#11

I think this sounds promising. Redness directly after treatment is to be expected and can even be quite shocking in some cases. Don’t base your assesment on how red your skin appears directly after treatment. This is just your body doing what it needs to properly heal. If redness is the only skin manifestation following treatment, then you’re doing well.

Glad to hear your turned down the laser option. I don’t think it makes sense in this case specifically.