Topical Erythromycin

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi all,

As you can see from my other post I’m just starting out with electrolysis on the face! Found a brilliant electrologist who if close to where I live and biae registered! Had 10 minutes test patch and recovered well I think!

I’m constantly doing research on the Internet and I’ve seen on a few transgendered sites that they reccomend topical Erythromycin which I’m sure you are all aware of is an antibiotic. They say it aids greatly with recovery and lessens any reactions to the electrolysis?

Anyone have any knowledge, observations or experience of this? I can get access to it no problems, but would have thought it would have been mentioned here more if worthwhile???

Thanks

Mark

#2

Hi Mark,

I don’t know anything about this but imo you don’t need anything like this for the work you are doing.

I would think this is something clients which who are removing a lot of hair (whole beard) and quickly would be looking into.

Temporary redness and swelling is something expected and normal and you need to ride it out.

My gut is telling me a topical antibiotic isn’t going to help with that, or scabs if you are prone to develop them.

I now know a number of people who are or have been regular clients with the same electrologist and except one, no one else seems to scab with her blend treatments. And to be honest, there is nothing wrong even if you do, it’s just undesirable for some clients. When my sister started with her, we wanted to clear up her eyebrow region asap so opted for thermolysis, knowing we could expect some pin point scabbing, which did turn out to be the case. It wasn’t a big deal and the hair came off quickly and then she could switch to blend.

#3

As always stoppit … Thanks for your help!

#4

I could be wrong about that, so let’s wait for the HairTell electrologists.

I think if you are having a lot of work done in a short period, a topical antibiotic or a similar cream will help to prevent infection, which can be important.

But knowing the electrologist you are seeing, she would never do that much work in the first place, I think.

#5

I’m not positive but I don’t think it would help lessen the reaction unless you get infected following treatment, in which case it would definitely be useful… but it is probably better to follow good hygiene and not get infected =)

Chlorhexidine gluconate (hibiclens) is also effective at treating and preventing infection and can be had without a prescription in the US. I use it before electrolysis and also afterwards sometimes, I used to get infections sometimes but haven’t had any since I started using the chlorhexidine.

Probably the reason I was getting infected spots is because I’m a dork and often go out and exercise/sweat alot right after doing electrolysis, despite having read all the warnings about not getting too sweaty within the first 12-24 hrs post electrolysis.

#6

I’ve found tea tree oil particularly helpful. It dries out the skin a lot but it does prevent and it does deal with any unpleasantness very quickly.

#7

Thanks for the help, I’ve got thayers withch hazel, tea tree oil on hand already. I may just get a tube of topical Erythromycin to have to hand just incase but won’t use it as a matter of course!

#8

Remember folks sometimes less is more :wink: Don’t give bacteria a helping hand in becoming resistant to antibiotics certainly when they might not be needed. T tree oil and drying out the “wound module” (Mike Bono) isn’t a good thing where normal healing is concerned. Give mother nature a chance she’s been doing this for years and has refined her technique over millenia… Just ask Charles Darwin :slight_smile:
Take cover! INCOMING! :wink:

#9

Mother Nature could use some help at times. Tea tree oil has a long history of traditional use. Australian aboriginals used tea tree leaves for healing skin cuts, burns, and infections by crushing the leaves and applying them to the affected area.

Aftercare depends on the situation and skin type. If one can do well with just using a mild soap and water, then thumbs up. Many cases do fantastic with witch hazel, small dabs of tea tree oil with aloe vera gel spread over top of the tea tree oil for THREE nights after a treatment. That would eliminate the need for any antibiotic topical. I have not needed to suggest an antibiotic topical for any of my clients, because the tea tree oil is an antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral. It is all NATURAL, thus, we don’t worry about resistance headlines.

#10

I’ve got ridiculously sensitive skin and a past history of staph infections so I began using triple antibiotic cream when I started electrolysis many months ago. Some people are allergic to the neomycin component and obviously this is not recommended for those people. But the other thing I found was my daily moisturizer was causing problems with redness and scabbing. I’ve been avoiding the moisturizer for at least three days following each treatment, and I stopped using the triple antibiotic several months ago after I determined it was entirely unnecessary. I use a good liquid facial soap (includes salicylic acid as an antibacterial) and warm water with a clean fresh cloth (flannel for the Brits), rinse well, and allow to air dry. Afterward, I wipe with pure witch hazel and again allow to air dry. Doing this for three days following electrolysis treatment keeps my skin clear and clean with no worries of inflammation or infection.

#11

Staphylococcus aureus can become resistant to tea tree oil if used at sub-lethal concentrations and hence it is generally advised to use 4% concentration or higher.