I had my second themolysis treatment after recovering from my first treatment. My second treatment I had very few and very small scabs that went away with a few days, nothing major. However, I have slighly raised red bumps which appeared on the third or the fourth day and a week later they are still there. What has caused these bumps? My aftercare was witch hazel and also applying aloe vera at night as well for three days. What am i doing wrong? I would really appreciate some advice. Could it possibly that I am not suited to electrolysis?
Looking forward to what the pros think about this because I had the same problem after my last treatment. Despite very careful aftercare and absolute cleanness I developed bumps.
However the (reverse) insertions were particularly deep and painful in that area and I wonder if that’s what caused those bumps. Question for pros: is there long lasting damage to be expected by repeated insertions that pierce the bottom of the follicle?
I’m starting to really hate those reverse insertions. Good straight insertions are hard enough to accomplish, never mind “reverse” ones!
If they are tiny white spots that can be easily neutralized by passing a cotton with hydrogen peroxide. Silver sulfadiazine prevents this type of alteration.
If the bumps are deeper, and symptoms are pain when you press, swelling, and redness. Ideally, channel and drain to avoid any permanent sequel, but this should be done by professionals with experience in this type of extraction.
These are side effects that often occur in seborrhoeic skin and can not be avoided by the electrologist. Occurring a few days after treatment. Keeping the skin clean and dry is not enough.
these bumps look like bumps that you get when you shave. Two of the larger bumps have formed into whiteheads. These bumps do not appear to be deep, just on the surface of the skin. There is no pain when i press my skin or swelling just redness. Do you think I should my electrologist and let her know?
It would be best to discuss issues with your electrologist first because it can be resolved immediately. She has your health history chart and she sees your skin before, during and after. We don’t see your skin. If you show us photos of the area, then we might be able to make some suggestions.
What are your post treatment instructions and what do you do after the treatment?
Post treatment instructions was simply to apply witch hazel and no make for 48 hours. I regularly applied witch hazel throughout the day for 3 days after treatment and wich hazel and aloe vera for three consecutive nights.
Is it possible that these tiny spots can be caused high settings? Or the way the electrologist performed the treatment incorrectly?
If the bumps are deeper, and symptoms are pain when you press, swelling, and redness.
Thanks Jossie,
yes, that’s them. It’s true that my skin is prone to those but they developed only after being treated with too deep insertions so I wondered if there was a connection.
Hi green, can you post photos?
You describe your bumps as closed, not open wounds.
You describe your bumps as, “whiteheads”.
Your aftercare sounds good.
How about spot treating with tea tree oil or
mixing your aloe with a little bit of bacitracin for those first 3 days?
What has your electrologist said?
Do you workout/go to the gym after treatment?
Don’t.
Wait 24 hours.
Unfortunately i am not tech savvy, so i cannot post pics.
The two bumps were red and then turned into whiteheads. I have been putting tea tree oil on now. I will be calling my electrologist tomorrow, they are closed today.
Could these red small spots occur because the hair on my chin are very close together and I had the whole area cleared?
No i dont go to the gym or worked out after the treatment.
I visited my electrologist regarding these tiny red bumps. She was stumped. She had no answer or no explaination why this is happening. She said If didnt follow my aftercare properly then i would have the reaction immediately not a few days later. So what she did do was a patch test using a gold needle, she said i might be allergic to steel. As my hairs are very close together she will target hair that are not close to other hairs. She also said that I might be of the those few cases were i am not suited to electrolysis. Is that possible that electrolysis is not suitable for everybody?
I would really appreciate any advice.
Everyone does not react the same way but saying not everyone is suitable is not right in my opinion. There are many temporary reactions one can experience from electrolysis, this seems to be one of them. As long as it heals, it’s fine. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be avoided. Trying a different needle is a start. To be honest, from my experience, gold needles are standard. I haven’t met anyone that uses steel.
Thats so encouraging to hear stoppit&tidyup i thought this is the end of the road for me regarding electrolysis. She said it will heal. She seems relcutant to treat me again. Why I so many people afraid of asian skin?
I do not know any electrologists who are afraid to treat asian skin. I do know lots of electrologists who prefer not to treat clients who tend to be very nervous about tissue reaction. Your electrologist told you that it would heal. Since you are unable to post pics, there is really no additional guidance that would make sense from this end.
Electrologists are not afraid of Asian skin. Like Arlene said, our bunny ears go up if the prospective client verbalizes that they are afraid of a skin reaction. Even if we explain that you will most likely have a skin reaction, they may not accept this honesty. We tell them that the skin may be pink or red for minutes to hours. You will have some edema (swelling). You may look mosquito-bitey for a little while. You may have a few pinpoint scabs in a day or two that lasts for 7-10 days for the face work. You may have scabbing for body work that lasts a little longer.
If a client of mine freaks out and focuses on these normal TEMPORARY skin side effects after I carefully walk them through what MAY happen and give them written information reinforcing that, then I get nervous, too, and tell them maybe electrolysis is not for them or go seek another electrologist. We don’t want to cause the client undue discomfort with side effects. There are acceptable and unavoidable skin side effects and there are some side effects that are too harsh and should not be repeated over and over again.
Without a picture, it is hard to specific. From what you described, all sounds good and normal. Don’t over use the tea tree oil. A little aloe vera gel over top of the tea tree oil is helpful for the first three days, but ask your electrologist about this. It sounds like she is doing all she can for you.
I am dark skinned as well and experienced discoloration. I was informed by Josefa before starting the session. I am now one month post electrolysis and the discoloration faded and my skin is very clean. I am so happy.
I guess it depends on the electrologist. Also as I am dark skinned I knew I am prone to discoloration as I had laser before but noway I compare the trauma after laser with electrolysis. Laser gave me discoloration lasted for about 3 months !!
I am dark skinned as well. I guess because we are prone to discoloration?. Josefa informed me about this prior to having electrolysis. I imagined I would experience large patches of discolorations but nothing at all ! actually few tiny spots which faded in a matter of days. The area is very clean and you can’t tell I had anything done apart from hair-free skin 
No i am not afraid of skin reaction, the redness, the swelling or the scabs. The fact that i get these red bumps three days after treatment is what is concerning her. She doesnt know what is causing it. I can deal with the normal temporary side effects but she said by the 10th day I should be ready for my next treatment and i am not due to these bumps. I just want to know these red bumps developing few days after treatment are normal or not, as she has no explaination. I was wondering whether red bumps can be caused by treating an area where the hairs are close togther?
My aim is now to have shorther treatments rather than get rid of all the hairs and in this way my skin might tolerate the treatment.