Quick recap . . . I have been having two hours of treatments since the spring. Afterwards, I do get a little pink but nothing major and most of it disappears before the end of the day. However, I am now having treatments out of the country (living in the US for a few months). I found someone who has 25 + years of experience and is using "flash?? (I think). She is very very speedy . . . a definite bonus. However, my skin is quite inflammed after each treatment and I end up with scabs. After treatment I put a warm face cloth on several times a day, use witch hazel and use absolutely no makeup or creams. The scabs seem to last about 4 or 5 days. I know she said she is treating the hairs agressively even though they are blonde/fine. She did turn down the setting this week but the problem still persists. In fact, after my treatment yesterday I stayed in the house all day because I was just way too damaged looking to go out. Are the scabs/inflammation etc caused by her going deeper into the hair follicle or is it being caused by her using a high setting? Is treating the hair more aggressively going to mean less regrowth? Should I ask her to change things so I don’t end up looking awful after each treatment?
It is most likely the high intensity.
If you use Tea Tree Oil overnight, the scabbing would resolve sooner. Maybe only a day or two.
You don’t really need to suffer with this kind of reaction. I don’t know about her skill, machine, lighting and vision qualities. Speed is good, but other factors need to be present so that skin outcome is not something that pins you down inside your house for days. Some skin manifestations are predictable, but should not be the topic of yours or someone elses conversation.
Please talk to her, nicely, and ask her if she can do something to minimize the reaction, but don’t expect total perfection neccessarily the minute you get off the table. All I can say is, many people look like nothing happened within minutes to hours after a treatment. Good equipment, a caring attitude and practitioner skill makes this more possible than not even on the most sensitive skin. If all is tried that can be tried, and you still get skin reaction that is very noticable, then all I can say is this can be a very common reaction for many in those beginning treatments over the first month or two, but all should calm down with subsequent treatments.
Your aftercare seems okay. First step is to talk to her about this.
Dee