Will these marks ever go?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Hi, it’s been nearly six months since I’ve started my treatment and I thought it would help me feel less depressed and self conscious, in fact it’s done the opposite. It has been several months since I got these spots/marks and they still haven’t faded. Now I’m really worried if these are permanent scars/ pigmentation. I feel like my skin texture had changed and it’s forever red and blotchy. I used to have smooth clear skin. Also the area around my mouth and chin IS SO DRY. ALWAYS. no matter how much cream I use or how many times a day I moisturise. I have tried everything. It’s not as bad as before but is this supposed to happpen? It’s like my skin is all flaky and lots of visible pores? The texture is so different now. I feel like I’m stuck. Will I have to sacrifice my skin to get rid of the hair? Is that worth it? I have been patient for so long, hoping something will change but it hasn’t. I feel like I’m in too deep now and that I have to carry on with electrolysis no matter what. Even if there is no hair on my face I still feel so embarrassed to go out, even go to work because my skin looks so bad. People have pointed it out that it looks like acne scarring. Every day I feel depressed because I feel so ugly. What should i do? It feels like it’s gonna take forever for the hair to go because I’ve barely seen any progress. 18 months to get rid of it and then 18 more for my skin to be ok again? All that time not feeling ok in my own skin?? Not being able to step outside my house. I feel like I’m out of options. If I stop this, what other options do I have? Honestly I can’t take this anymore.

#2

Yes, your skin will look like crap for months if not years during and after treatments. I learned from personal experience and from this forum that colour changes will always come back to normal, however texture might not (scars in very rare cases).

I looked at your pics and your previous posts and you need to learn how to stop worrying over the tiniest skin reaction. Your skin barely looks like it had electro done on it so stop this obsession right now! : )

#3

Just asking, wont work you know. They are obsessing because they dont understand the processes behind what is occurring . Also they read comments like “Your skin is going to look like crap throughout the process” and this causes further anxiety.People are, as people ,very anxious about their appearance in general.
A Long time ago, I admonished Michael Bono over his bedside manner, that is, comments about particularly anxious hair removal customers. In fact, I nicknamed him “the asshat” at the time, a title he’s worn with pride. But it did serve to point out to him that understanding the process , of the way the skin healed, is a more effective strategy than telling them to “just get over it”. He truly took it to heart, because he’s published a crapton of educational material since then aimed at doing exactly that.
Please consider that telling someone their face is going to look awful, is alarmist at best and only serves to increase that anxiety. And it’s not even true in most cases. I treat people with skintones similar to purple potatos every single day.And their faces in general do not “look like crap or like a bomb has gone off” and neither does purple potatoe’s .

Purple potatoe, hyperpigmentation tends to take a LONG time to fade. A year or more in some cases. Your skin tone is particularly susceptable to noticeable hyperpigmentation. But what I see, mostly seems to be hyperpigmentation caused by acne of which there are 3 pustules currently on your face. Whatever the cause,expect it may take some months to completely fade away but it will …and always does fade completely. In all my years here I’ve seen probabaly a thousand threads here with people concerned with “permanent hyperpigmentation”. here has never been a single instance that it haasnt resolved completely with time. And there is one thing I will back up zapmyface on, and that is that your skin looks great, and you have nothing to worry about.

zapmyface, purple potatoes skin is the example you arent thinking of whenyou think of skin postelectrolysis. And it’s more oftenthe case, than not .

Seana

#4

‘‘Looking like crap’’ can mean a lot of things for different people!

Well if she has those skin reactions after electro, wouldn’t telling her that this should be the norm and that it’ll last until her treatments are done (and then some) simply be the truth? I don’t think it will change unless her treatments change…

It could appease her fears that this is relatively normal instead of perpetuating this false notion that electro does nothing to the appearance of your skin.

What could be my nickname?

#5

That’s what we do tell them! That the manifestation will fade some months after the cessation of treatment. But no where in there, does that include telling them that their face is going to look bad for the duration of treatment. While it’s not usually possible to have zero skin reaction of any kind, that doesnt have to and usually doesnt involve “looking like crap” and when a client shows zero sign of scarring, is not the time to start suggesting this as a possibility when they are already anxious and the liklihood is low.

It’s not that your message is wrong necessarily, but the delivery leaves a lot to be desired.

#6

I’m torn because on one hand I like my ‘‘exaggerated’’ delivery, but at the same time I see where you’re coming from and maybe it could scare a few people off.

I honestly think it can help some people (with the according mentality) when told about worse things that could happen, but I guess like you said some will simply fuel their anxiety with it.

I’d be curious to know what’s everyone’s opinion on this.

That’s why I (still) wanna do that 3 paragraph thing that can explain everything concisely so we can all copy-paste it whenever some worries over electro!

#7

Yes, your skin will look like crap for months if not years during and after treatments. I learned from personal experience and from this forum that colour changes will always come back to normal, however texture might not (scars in very rare cases).

I looked at your pics and your previous posts and you need to learn how to stop worrying over the tiniest skin reaction. Your skin barely looks like it had electro done on it so stop this obsession right now! : ) [/quote]

Wouldn’t doing treatment in the area with marks make them worse? Take it longer to heal? It feels like I have so much hair that it will take forever. When I’m hairfree I feel just as insecure because of the marks. Wouldn’t doing treatment interrupt my healing? Feels like I have more hair than ever right now. Also I have noticed that where there are marks there is less hair which tells me that for my hair to be ‘killed’, there will be some kind of mark or skin damage. So there is no win win? I have to live with bad skin AND hair. I have been struggling with this for so long. Last year I thought it was bad and now it’s worse. Will It ever get better? Is Josefa my only hope and I I can’t even fly to her. I’m just a student and going every week for treatment is so expensive. I’m starting to feel sucidal because there no light at the end of the tunnel and I CONSTANTLY feel ugly. Now I feel like I should have stuck with laser. So either I live with scars or a hairy face. I’m sorry if I come across as rude but I’m just so fed up. I hate my skin right now and Im scared that this will never heal. I just want to be able to live my life again. So 18 months perhaps two years to get rid of the hair then two more years for my skin to be ok? What if I stop and start waxing would that make my hair worse. I’ve heard you can’t stop once you start electrolysis. I feel stuck. I don’t know what to do. It’s so expensive. Is it even worth it? Please help.

#8

This is the reality of electro that no one wants to talk about. I know how you feel! I even ‘‘gave up’’ a few months ago for different reasons.

Just know that what I said (about skin looking like crap for years) and what you’re experiencing (worries over temporary skin damage) are just exaggerations made up by our amazing mind…

#9

I’m pretty tired at the moment so I don’t have the energy to reply in depth but here are my main points:

(1) Yes, electrolysis causes temporary side effects in the skin which WILL resolve once you finish treatment. In South Asian people, we will typically get post inflammatory hyperpigmentation that can take an extended period to go away. The important point is understanding what is normal and what is undesirable.
(2) The face is a delicate area to treat and requires a lot of skill and care. I don’t really care who I offend with the following statement but I would proceed with caution when having any facial work done (especially in the UK) until I was confident with the electrologist. Sadly, people are just too focussed on wanting to get rid of the hair to spend some time finding out particularly in regard to establishing whether the electrologist is even killing the follicles - the side effects should at least be worth it.
(3) I see nothing in your photos that is concerning. Pretty normal reaction. I loved Michael’s comment once about electrolysis being ‘mirco-wounds’. A wound is going to take time to heal but with weekly electrolysis you are constantly adding new wounds. The only area I would be concerned about (only you can judge; is your upper lip area). The skin is very delicate here and in some cases, the integrity of the skin would be compromised by removing the hair if the electrologist isn’t skilled enough in this work.
If you are fretting over this you wouldn’t be a suitable candidate for Josefa’s methods in any case. Your entire face would be swollen double its size for up to a week. It would be red, itchy, flaky, scabby and when the scabs fall off there would most likely be PIH that would last a few months. You’d need to be okay with looking like this. My electrolysis was no secret and to be honest, I encourage people to be open about it, it will be much easier that way.

Laser won’t help. Of course you can stop electrolysis.

#10

Thank you for replying. I wouldn’t fret by the side effects caused by Josefa’s treatment because I know that they would be worth it. I can honestly go through that pain because I know she kills the hair so I’d be more than happy to have those temporary side effects. However, in England I don’t think there is anyone that qualified or efficient like Josefa, Micheal, or Dee (sorry if I didn’t mention anyone else’:( ). You’re right about the side effects being worth it or not, especially if the hairs are not being killed. Let’s say I do a session and only two or three don’t come back. How long will it take for me to see a significant difference? Even then if I have relatively hairless skin, i’ll have PIH or marks which might take another year to heal. Plus all the money, downtime. What would you do if you were in my place stopit? Maybe it will take three years, for me to be in a good enough place- hairwise, minus the healing. I I know that’s small compared to the rest of your life but is that permancy even guaranteed? I’ll be seeing a dermatologist just to make sure it’s ok to have further treatment. Every one has facial hair, it’s a normal thing and I’m the one who created this whole scenario by making it worse and now I don’t know how to get out. I don’t know if it will be worth it. And that’s what’s scaring me. I don’t want to come across as petty and whiny. People pointing out my skin and how bad it’s become. I’m only 19, who can barely afford this treatment. The reason I started it is because I thought this was my only option. My only way to be ‘Ok’ again. It’s been months and I feel like I have gotten no where. The only thing that keeps me going is the ‘bigger picture’ and that my future self will thank me for it. Now I don’t even know that.

#11

Thank you so much zapmyface. Your replies have been really helpful and made me a feel less alone. I know time heals everything but I just want the struggle to at least be worth it.