i had electrolysis on my upper lip a week ago - the person treating me put aloe vera gel and then i did not put anything on at all for 24 hours
its a week later now and the sides of my upper lip are still swollen on one side it feels like a small hard bump
is this reaction normal and will it go
what can i put on it? i was told aloe vera gel which i do at night but its not helping the swelling at all
please help
Your lip should not be swollen for one week. Did you inform your electrologist? I don’t know what icing will do one week later, but it may help. Don’t ice for more than 10 minutes at a time and do not put ice directly on your skin without wrapping it in gauze or something similar. Cold aloe vera gel (out of the refrigerator ) should still be used.
Ask your electrologist if you can come in and show her your problem. She needs to do something different next time to prevent this from happening again.
How long did she work on you? Did you have any scabbing or prolonged redness? What kind of epilator does she have? She needs to know your outcome so this is not repeated again. You will be fine with time and care. Don’t have another session until you are totally healed.
she worked on one side for five minutes and the worse side for about 7, it was the blend method, the machine is quite up to date - i think it is apilus
i tried the ice and then aloe vera gel last night and it felt more swollen to me this morninig. How often should i apply the aloe vera gel?
i did have scabbing and some redness - the sweliing was worse when she did it - im thinking maybe this treatment is not for me
what other aftercare advice would you give - i don’t put my normal cream on that area - just aloe vera gel - should i be putting sunscreen on the area - its just the corners of my mouth - i put sunscreen on around the area
help please - im so upset!
I’m in the same boat as you. I had a treatment 4 weeks ago where the swellign was there for about 3-4 days. I got some hard scabs which I left be until they fell off. Now after 5 weeks I still have redness and some pits on my skin. What the elecrologist told me is that it will heal and look like normal pores with time… I sure hope so…
Neither of you should have this kind of reaction for so long. If the electrologist does not know about this, she cannot correct the problem. Please call her and ask if you can come in so she can see this. Some minor, temporary skin manifestations can occur, but should not cause this kind of angst. You must complain about this and show her.
Is the electrologist using stainless steel probes? Are you allergic to nickel? Does she use surgical magnification? There are so many things that could have triggered this. Yes, use cold aloe vera gel. Sunscreen is fine.
Can she try thermolysis? If she has a model of Apilus that does MicroFlash?
I have told my electrologyst and she has reduced it by two settings (from high to average). I am not sure about magnification, but she is using a Fischer machine - thermolysis. She is using stainless disposable needles.
I think the skin damage I got 4 weeks ago will not go away. I’m quite angered by this as I have done my research and read a lot of posts on this site before deciding to go. I heard fizzling only a few times so I assumed everything was going fine and I would not get skin damage. I also followed all the recoomended aftercare instructions (witch hazel 3-4 times a day and tea tree oil). And here I am now… only 5 weeks into treatment with pits above my upper lip and some red redness that has not dissapeared yet…
Maybe it’s the nickel in the stainless steel probes (I like gold or insulated probes) or too shallow of insertions??? I don’t know? I would be angry, too.
If she doesn’t use that Fischer machine correctly, then you will suffer the consequences. Many people use Fischer epilators and their clients are well-pleased. Temporary skin manifestations can happen, but it is not reasonable that you should be noticing any skin reaction longer than a week.
It will heal, but it will take time. No more treatements until you are healed. This is one practitioner. It is not the fault of ‘Electrolysis’. The deficiency lies with the human working the machine and holding the probe holder, so don’t give up on electrolysis. It works beautifully well. Sorry for your plight, angel, but find someone new and tell them about this wary experience.
Thanks for your reply. It made me feel a little better. I think I will take a break from electrolysis for about a month or two to let the skin heal. I would like to see whether pitting will start to go away. If it does not get better, I am hesitant to continue with treatment. I will submit a picture in my diary when I get home.
I have been treated by three different electrologists at the same facility. The one that was problematic was the first one. I was treated by another lady afterwards and she surely heard my concerns and used a much lower setting.
I’m just glad that a site like this one exists where people can share their experiences to help others.
Thanks!
I agree with Dee. You should not experience swelling and redness for a week. You could have what is called “hyper-reactive skin”). I will get the correct term for you shortly.
To help your self with treatments you could take 400-600mg of motrin,that is if you have no contraindication to the drug. I would follow that up through the following day.
I like Dee suggest cold compresses. No ice should be directly on the skin. I do not use any topical ointments after treatmentes without transfering the heat out of the skin(cold compresses for 20 minutes on and off).If the skin is occluded with gel/ointment it will hold the heat in the skin,
Allergic reaction to the probe is also a possibility.
Talking to your electrologist is vital to sucessful treatments. If the problem continues, shop around for another professional.
Janet
she used the gold needle - she used this when i had my consultation and it was fine
i was advised to use ice wrapped in cloth etc if the area felt uncomfortable or hot - i didn’t feel anything after so i didnt put anything on apart from aloe vera gel before i went to bed
the only thing i put on for the next 24 hours was aloe vera gel
it is still swollen and a bit hard - its very unusual and looks horrible - i will arrange to see the technician but i don’t really see the point-she said it will fade in time - i really really hope so - i am young and this has given me lines where the swelling is - i look older than i am
i don’t think i can go back to electrolysis - i’ve had so much bad luck with upper lip hair removal i wish i never started - my face looks like its been punched and i feel very ugly
i wish i could turn back the clock
Can you post pictures? What does the electrologist say? How long was the treatment?
It’s important to get sample treatment in my opinion to avoid situations like this. How did you find your electrologist? Did you sample treatments? What type of electrolysis is being used?
Also, could you be allergic to aloe vera?
I don’t think aloe vera helps with swelling. Icing the area does. Witch hazel is also a lot better in my opinion for post-treatment.
i did have a sample treatment - no problem with that
when i had my first proper treatment, she overtreated on one side and i ended up with this - it was the blend method
ill carry on with the icing and use a mix of tea tree and witch hazel gel
im going to make an appointment with my doctor also to see what he recommends
thanks
How long did she treat on this area? I would look for another electrologist. Overtreating the same area twice is not a good sign. Plus, your treatments will be faster using thermolysis if you can find someone using that method instead.
Take pictures and then show those pictures to your electrologist. An electrolysis practice is just like any other business, if you purchase a good or a service and if it does meet with your reasonable expectations, then you complain. Right?
No more treatments until you are healed and you feel that the electrologist sufficiently understands that you do not expect to be overtreated again, that is, if you have no where else to go for treatment.
Dee
Is this the same electrologist you saw in October that you had a reaction with? Did you have additional IPL treatments after the October electrolysis? Had your skin returned to normal before this round of electrolysis? Are you taking any medications that may make you photosensitive?
The term for hyper-reactive skin is “Dermatographic”. It is not that uncommon and most people are not aware of it until multiple factors come together,such as in your case-ie. manipulating the skin,generally slight trama. You can do a check for yourself by using a cap off a ball point pen and writing something on your stomach. If you see an imprint for more that 5 minutes,and can decipher what you wrote,then It is likely you are dermatographic.
What convinces me is that you said it feels hard under the swelling-that is indicative to hyper-reactive skin.
Janet C.E.
There is a product called Topricin. You will find it on Google. It is homeopathic, no perfumes or dyes and contains natural ingredients such as Echinacea and Arnica. You will be able to buy it at most health food stores. I use it for an after treatment cream and find it to be miraculous. I would not be without it in my house. It is the treatment of choice for burns, bruises, etc as well as after electrolysis. I have used it for years with much success. Best wishes.
Hi Flowers:
You said:
"i was advised to use ice wrapped in cloth etc if the area felt uncomfortable or hot - i didn’t feel anything after so i didnt put anything on apart from aloe vera gel before i went to bed
the only thing i put on for the next 24 hours was aloe vera gel"
When I first started getting electrolysis on my face
I needed a lot of hair removed, and some areas did get
swollen.
I found that an ice pack right after the treatments
really did help with the swelling. Once you are further
progressed with the treatments you should get a lot less
swelling. In the meantime you may have to let her know
about the swelling and maybe she can go slower in that area
at first. I have seen photos of people who had intensive
treatments on their face at E-3000 who were quite swollen
after treatments. Intensive work in one area can do that.
Also to reduce the scabbing, etc. I made up a special
paste with Aloe,Tea Tree Oil, Vitamin E cream, zinc oxide
and a bit of lavender. I applied that for 3 nights
following the treatments.
Alicia
Hello everyone thanks for replying
its now over 2 weeks and the swelling has not gone down
i really wish i had applied ice after the treatment
i am applying ice wrapped in a cloth in the morning and the evening - is this still advisable and how long should i continue this for?
i was also advised to take an antihistamine - i have for 4 days now - no difference at all
the scabbing is not a problem - the scabs have fallen off so thats not really a problem
i have an appointment with the electrologist tomorrow so she can see it
i had the treatment on both corners of my upper lip - one side was 5 minutes and the other 7 minutes (the side that really swelled up was for 7 minutes) it was the blend method and a gold needle was used. I had a test patch done five weeks previous to this and that was fine - obviously not for that long
someone said that you shouldn’t put aloe vera gel on? is this true - what creams/gel can i apply to it?
thanks again
I have had electrolysis done by several different people and it would be red for only a few hours. However, last winter I was out of town and went to someone who supposedly had 25 years experience. I had sores, swelling and scabs that lasted more than two weeks. She tried different probes, different settings etc and I would always end up with sores, swelling and scabs. When I got back home, my current electrolysis looked at my skin and said it looked like the skin around each follicle was being burned/melted. Be careful. Just like in every profession, there are good and bad.