True , but my pigmentation from electrolysis predated the at home peel. I have however ceased to exfoliate since I’ve been told not to
Oh dear. Where do I start? Thank you for these details. It is so helpful and I appreciated your private message.
Electrolysis would be highly sought after in India if it was performed expertly, using practiced principles and techniques. It is the only permanent method for those that did not get results with laser or IPL treatments, so there should be high quality training programs all over India to prevent this kind of outcome. Maybe there is?? I don’t know?
My thoughts:
Two hours on the upper lip and 2 hours on the lower lip is outrageous!! No wonder we are seeing these horrifying pictures.
The closeness of the sessions - horrifying. I like to clear and wait and clear again in 6-8 weeks at minimum.
The medicants you are using are not necessary and can interfere with the natural abilities of your body to heal itself. These natural abilities have evolved over 356 generations, so that means something special. The only thing I like is refrigerated organic cold-pressed aloe vera gel used liberally and often over the treated areas for a couple days. Witch hazel is okay and some skin types benefit from small dabs of tea tree oil. That’s it!
You shouldn’t have a lot of big scabs after a session - a few smaller ones are expected, but often times clients have none.
Back this up and have no more treatments until you are healed and certainly not with this person, unless she changes her ways. Give her feedback so she can learn. This scares clients and IT IS NOT what a consumer should expect or accept from well performed electrolysis. Where was she trained??? I would think she would have seen the skin being over stressed and would have stopped. I do not like saying negative words about other colleagues treatments, but client safety overrides that. You did come here for help. We try to help, with the information you provided and part of that help urges you to reach out to her so she does not repeat this on you or anyone else. I do not know what equipment she is using. That is an important part of the equation. Are the probes sterile or are they re-used, since you are purchasing them? How big are the probes?
This is why people are afraid of electrolysis. Please understand that it is not electrolysis, but rather the human being doing the treatment incorrectly. So many things did not line up for you and I’m sorry that happened to your beautiful skin.
3 Likes
I have to jump in on this! I specialize in laser and Electrolysis and have been in practice since 1991. My clinic evolved over the years into a Laser, Electrolysis, Medical skin care and Plastic Surgery Clinic. Along with my credentials of an Electrologist and Laser Specialists(Alex, Diode, Yag, Profractional, Fraxel, Erbium and the IPL. I also sold Medical Skin Care Products which included Obagi, ZO, SkinTx and AlumierMD. All physician products and I was in the top 30 for sales in Canada. I also was a credentialed plastic surgery consultant with a science back ground.
To understand what is happening here is that the melanocytes which give your skin that lovely brown tone are being over produced as your skin tries to heal itself from the damage caused by overtreatment. I work with the Blend all the time and my clients have none to minimal scabs. Browner skin tones always heal dark from over treatment. And it takes months to years to clear up if ever. There are things you can do to prevent these dark spots from
happening. First is get a new Electrologist that doesn’t cause scabbing with either Blend or Thermolysis. Second is to use Retinol .05%, hydroquinone (HQ) 2%, Vit C and Sunscreen. The product line I recommend to my Clients is the AlumierMD. These are treatments not feel good products. If used as instructed you will see a major improvement in your skin within 3 to 4 months. The injury from Electrolysis is causing an over production of tyrinonase which is the enzyme that stimulates the melanocytes to overproduce causing the darker melasma appearance. The HQ is a Tyrinonase inhibitor which allows your skin to go back to its normal tone. Retinal helps to make your skin work and not be lazy while helping to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamin C is the only antioxidant that can give and take an electron from an imbalanced skin cell making it balanced and is very important in helping protect the skin from the UVA and UVB rays.
You can have Electrolysis done while using these products. Just don’t use the Retinol for 2 days before and 2 days after.
This was the regime we recommended for both laser and Electrolysis and we didn’t have issues. Though I must say I am shocked by the scabbing happening with Electrolysis treatments done these days. Flash Thermolysis was not done on the face only on the body during my training. The Blend was used mainly for the face with no scabbing allowed. Your clients were supposed to be able to have their treatments and continue their lives with no one knowing by scabs left behind. If anyone has questions, please ask.
1 Like
Very helpful post and good information, Joyce. Thank you so much for taking your time to help advise this poster. Being that she is India, I’m not sure what products she can get for this and I’m wondering specifically about hydroquinone. It is banned in several countries.
One thing I want to add here is, I have been doing thermolysis in all its forms on the face for many years and have never had any problems with hyperpigmentation on women of color. I know many of my colleagues do facial thermolysis as well, with no issues. I’ve see bad outcome with blend and galvanic. It is tells me that it is not the modality, but the over excessive use of energy, in whatever form, that causes the pigment cells to “excite”.
Very close to that, like you said, is to prevent this from happening in the first place!
I always calm the skin down with the simple action of using refrigerated, cold pressed organic aloe vera gel. Works like a charm so that other future serious medicants are not needed. In her case, damage has occurred and if she can get treated with other creams and serums, it is worth a try.
This should never be the case if one perform electrolysis with the principles of good care, by a well-trained human, with good equipment. You are good as gold if everything lines up. I still don’t know what epilator was used on this lovely lady. I’ve seen videos where a so called electrologist was not using a unit designed for professional hair removal and the skin was being absolutely “butchered”.
I totally agree. I myself was done with Thermolysis 45 years ago and never had a mark on my face. I am just concerned with all the scabbing I am seeing and people say it’s normal. I really don’t care about what machine is used, it’s all about the person’s knowledge and skill level. Scabbing is not acceptable on the face. Everyone wants quick and Quick treatments sometimes take the longest time with long term problems. You can over treat by not feathering your work and not changing the settings on different hair types. Many with automated machines will choose thick hair settings and treat every hair which will result in overtreatment of the finer hairs. When working I change my settings quite often depending of hair thickness. Concentrating your work in one spot can also over treat. I don’t understand giving a person a bald spot.
For the pigmentation Hydroxychloroquine 2% is over the counter in North America and 4% by prescription. HQ is made from blueberries and studies have shown it is extremely safe at these levels.
Kojic acid is also another product that helps with Hyperpigmentation for anyone not wanting to use HQ.
Most of these products are available world wide. It is also standard for clinics to recommend HQ or Kojic Acid to be started 1 month prior to treatments for brown skin tones.
Cortisone on the face treatments on a regular basis is also not a good answer. It thins the skin. Polysporin is also a no except if infection is present.
Retinols are available all over the world. Available in .25,.5 and 1 percent over the counter. Prescription strength Vitamin A is available through doctors and has been used since the 1950’s for fine lines and hyperpigmentation.
As you can see I love science based skin care. My biggest client/patient was people with hyperpigmentation and scarring for all skin types when it came to laser treatments.
This particular person’s can be helped, but needs to find another Electrologist.
And yes, good equipment is essential but an Electrologist with a conscious will maintain and keep their equipment up to date.
2 Likes
Hi Mrskilobravomike,
Hyperpigmentation-
Just read your post and reviewed your before and after photos.
Wow! This is my opinion.
1)Stop all electrolysis treatments until this is all healed. That timing could be months like even 6 months.
2) SPF 30+ apply every 2 hours while outdoors. Apply 1/2 hour before going outside.
Ask the Dermatologist about SPF 100, if you need that?
3) Go see a Dermatologist asap. They can prescribe a treatment plan to lighten this up and heal any potential damages to your face. At this point you need professional help.
As I see your case. You started out with good clear skin.
What may have happened is your skin didn’t completely heal between appointments.
Possible over treating it per visit. Too many hours per week. The most I did a week was 4 hours. 2 hours on Monday and 2 hours on Wednesday. It had time to heal. Thermolysis method. Gold probes (needles).
I change the probe about 4 new probes per hour for different reasons.
The blend method may not agree with your skin type??
Can you switch to Thermolysis and or switch electrologists. You may try a electrolysis school at least they have supervision of instructors. You can ask for an advanced student.
Also, if the current is too hot for a follicle there is a possibility the skin got a bit of singing on the skin top surface, again only a thought by looking at the photos. Then you went out in the sunlight and even one minute can darken the healing areas. If you had SPF on at all times, you perhaps may have avoided this darkening to happen.
If you are in a hurry to remove the hair…there are places in the country that do full beard removal that developed an intensive program for the clearing of facial areas that can speed up the process tremendously, by removing your facial and neck hair with a minimum number of treatments, and avoiding hideous scarring, pitting, or pigmentation of the skin.
With the intensive program, you have to let your facial hair grow only once per clearing session every 6-8 weeks. They inject local anesthesia which will make your procedure pain-free.
You can expect to lose beard shadows permanently after the 4th clearing, as long as they adhere to the 6-8 week clearing interval.
Email: drlaser@comcast.net
I welcome you or others to reach out for questions or ideas. Thanks:)
DATE: May 05, 2023 TIME: 5:30pm {America/New England}
1 Like
Hi,
Thank you for updating me.
Did you get this product from your doctor or a professional care person, Kojic Acid for brown skin tones?
Any of these products like glycolic acid, alpha hydroxy…you must be careful using them and then getting any sun exposure. It is like using the humidifier and the dehumidifier. And let them fight it out:)
Another words you maybe lightening, but then one minute of the sun darkens it again:)
Are you using SPF too? Put your product on and wait half hour, then apply SPF 30 for example. SPF only covers for a short time then you need to reapply SPF, depending on the SFP number. I do not know about mixing these products always check with your doctor. Some people buy online, some products and we can not be sure if the ingredients and amounts are accurate.??
Yes. You started off with amazing clear skin. We need to go back to that. Each session you have needs healing time and your skin should look clear and smooth each time. Otherwise, hold off electrolysis until you are happy with your skin appearance.
Your first step is to find an Electrologist that does not over treat your skin. Whether they use The Blend or Thermolysis makes no difference. It’s all about their experience, knowledge and ability to read what is happening to the skin during treatments.
Hydroquinone, kojic acid, azelaic acid, vitamin C and Retinols all help lighten hyperpigmentation. Sunscreen must be used daily and it should be a minimum of SPF 30. Mineral sunscreens are the best with at least 7 to 9 percent zinc. Medical sunscreens are quite thin and come in many versatile tints to match your skin tone.
All these products can be used pre and post Electrolysis treatments. But….the products do not prevent over treatment of skin. You need to find an Electrologist that can provide proper treatments with little to no scabbing and permanently remove unwanted hair. No tweezing is a must both by you and your practitioner. Electrolysis is controlled damage to the follicle and a true expert will keep the damage below the surface.
Retinol, Vitamin C and Sunscreen are what everyone should be using every single day. They are great for hyperpigmentation, fine lines and general skin health. You can ask your dermatologist.
1 Like
Hi, how is your hyperpigmentation holding up? Did the 2 weeks between sessions help your skin heal more?