Skin care after electrolysis?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi everyone,
I’ve just had my first electrolysis treatment today - something I worked up the courage to do after reading and reading and reading on this board, so thanks to everyone for their posts! I’m feeling comfortable with my electrologist - she is also a nurse and involved in professional development activities and licensing which I think is a good sign.

Anyways, I have some redness and bumpiness in the area which was treated (my neck). I’m just wondering what are the to-do’s, or not-to-do’s, to reduce this irritation as quickly as possible. The electrologist did say to avoid makeup and sunshine for the next day or so, but should I leave my skin alone as much as possible, or dab tea tree oil or aloe on it? Should I use my regular skin care products (cleanser, toner, moisturizer, etc) after treatments?

Thanks in advance for your help!

#2

As she recommended, don’t apply makeup or harsh cleansers and avoid the sun on the treated area right after treatment. If you need to clean the treated area, clean it with witch hazel, and apply (pure) tea tree oil before bed. Apply aloe vera gel twice a day to the area. Try to avoid touching the area if you can, and don’t pick any scabs that may appear.

#3

I agree. Witch hazel a couple times a day and tea tree oil at night works best for me. And don’t use makeup or any of your products for 24 hrs.

#4

Thanks. It actually looks almost back to normal this morning, with barely detectable redness. Two other questions if I may:

  1. She advised (as have you folks on the board, I see!) to not tweeze in between treatments but to trim if I feel the need. Is there a minimum length that hairs need to be for electrolysis?
  2. Is it appropriate to give an electrologist a gratuity?
    Many thanks!
    Tanya
#5

We have a saying in electrolysis: Pluck only the hairs you want to KEEP. If you pluck the hair, then you are making it unavailable for treatment, and you could be making it stronger, thicker, and possibly distorted.

As for the gratuity thing, the short answer is you should talk to your practitioner about this to see what that person’s views are. For the long answer, check out these past threads on the issue, and why not add your own thoughts to them. We did not seem to get much participation from the customer side of the equation.

#6

I only need about 1/16" - 1/8" in order to grasp the hair. I have a good magnification and lighting setup. For those that don’t, 1/4" may be the necessary length in order to work at a steady pace.

I do not take gratuities. There are two clients that insist, so I accept for their need to say “thank you” in the way they want.

No tweezing if you want to get finished as fast as possible.

#7

Thanks – I understood that tweezing was counter-productive but wondered if trimming would make the hairs too short to be treated. My electrologist uses a Zeiss (sp?) microscope and was able to treat hairs that I had trimmed prior to coming in so it doesn’t sound like it will be an obstacle. Yay!