I went in for my first treatment yesterday - June 21, 2008. I had my upper lip treated for 10 minutes. The hairs there are fine but visible and many. I used to bleach that area every two weeks. She used thermolysis on me with a Fischer machine on a high setting. I was surprised at how quickly the lady worked. She must have removed about 80 hairs. I felt pulling of the hairs only a few times, otherwise they came out easily. The lady who worked on me also said she had a hard time seeing the direction of hair growth as the hairs were bleached and asked that I no longer bleach. The swelling and redness went away after about 4 hours. I am very happy about that as it looks like I had nothing done there (in a good way I am applying tea tree oil to the area until I buy witch hazel.

I am a little concerned about a small mole above my upper lip (1.5-2 mm diameter). The lady who worked on me refuses to work anywhere close to it. I spoke to the owner of the place and she said she is willing to work more closely to that area and actually go into it with a doctor's note (the other woman said she would never go into the mole itself). I will probably book an appointment with the owner next time instead.

Is there any risk of going into the mole? At the consultation I was told that some moles are cancerous and a doctor could tell if it is or isn't just by looking at it... (no tests)

P.S. Kindest regards to rachelle for the reference

It is always a good idea to keep an eye on moles. Most electrologists will want a note from a physician to make sure that the mole is being looked at for any changes. There should be no risks in treating the mole - as the hair can be an irritant to the mole tissues.

Regarding that bleaching - it can help the electrologist if the hair has grown out slightly after being bleached. The electrologist can then identify the growing hairs on the skin because they have a dark root. If you'd just bleached - well then I certainly understand the electrologists request!!!

Electrologists are in a good position to see moles up close. I always require a doctor's prescription before working on a mole. Removing the coarse hair from a mole is very satisfying because the bump of a mole will almost always lay flat to the skin after the hair is removed permanently and thus look less obvious. Treating moles are not risky, but initially, a mole should be evaluated by a physician.

I am still very worried about a client who has three moles on the back that have irregular borders, mixed with different colors. I have frimly advised this client to see a dermatologist asap, but have not had any feedback. Electrologists should always observe moles and not hesitate to advise clients to seek a medical evaluation when something looks funky.

I like bleached hair, too. It is easy to see if one has good magnification and halogen lighting.

Dee

Thanks for your feedback. During the consulation, the owner of the place advised me that the mole doesn't look like it's anything out of the ordinary; but she still requested that I get a note from my physician. I am mostly concerned with the hairs growing close to it (which are not course). Hopefully she can work close to it without feeling uncomfortable. I will make an appointment with my GP in order to get a note in a month or so.

Also, I did bleach a day before I went for the treatment as I didn't want to expose my skin to those chemicals once the treatment started.


Edit:
Here is a picture of the treated area one day after treatment:
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5486/dscf0270fz8.jpg

Dee: Do you utilize a camera at work? You might take a digital photo of the moles to show this client. I had a client with a bumpy growth in her scalp. She could feel it, but couldn't see it. I took a picture and showed it to her - she called the dermatologist on her way out of the office. It was not a skin cancer, but it was removed immediately! (Test: http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u276/Greathouse2201/VMScalp.jpg)

Angel: Your skin looks great!

Good idea Barbara. I do have a camera at work and will do this in the future. I think a picture would have helped as I he didn't seem too concerned. He loves the sun. He's young and very busy with work. I'm fearful that he won't follow-up on this. He has moved to another state, so I won't be seeing too much of him, unless he comes when he visits his family.

Day two post first treatment - some red dots have shown up above my lip (It was just a little bumpy before with no redness). I believe this is just the normal healing process.

Yes, this is acceptable.

I had my second appointment on June 26, 2008 (5 days after my first). It was for another 10 minutes even though I was hopig she would do 15 this time. The lady said she felt sorry for me as my lip was very red and swollen and she wanted to stop. I had also not taken any tylenol prior to going for the appointments (I learned my lesson). For some reason it seemed to hurt more this time and I felt more pulling as well. I think she was having a hard time seeing the hairs as they have been bleached a week before. I think I will not bleach anymore and just go for the appointments on weekly basis.

So it's now one day after treatment and my lip is still swollen and there are red bumps (unlike the first appointment where everything had gone down after 4 hours).

I think at this pace I will be able to get first full clearance in 4 more appointments. The hairs that are left above my lip are mostly short and thin - although I still want those gone as well (I think she picked out the longer and thicker ones first). She was also very gentle on the lip area just under the nose as she says that's the most painful. She only removed a few hairs from there.

I have booked another appointment 7 days from now with another lady from the same place (she is the owner).

Note to self: take Tylenol next time!

Added some pictures. This is the 4th day after 2nd treatment of 10 minutes with electrolysis on Fischer machine on high setting.

Some of the bleached hairs didn't show up on the image. But this one is a better quality than the one I posted last time (I finally found the close up setting on my digital camera).

It's been 7 days since my second treatment and most of the scabs have gone away. It's just a bit red in spots. I am worried though because they are a few pits (about 4-5) above the lips where she has made insertions. I don't remember whether I heard fizzling during those particular ones. Has anyone has this experience before? Will the pits go away?

Are you applying any tea tree oil or witch hazel?

After my first treatment I applied tea tree oil. But after the second I applied witch hazel (distilled).

I had my third treatment today with a different lady. Since the redness has not gone away since my last treatment she asked me how long ago I had my last appointment (I said a week - 7 days). This treatment was much more tolerable than the last one. She worked on me for 10 minutes. Since I booked a 15 minute appointment I asked her whether she could work on me for 5 more minutes but she said all the other hairs were fine and she didn't want to touch them. During the treatment I told her that the lady who worked on me last (on the same machine - Fischer) used a high setting. She told me she was using advaned setting on me. She said the machine has advanced, medium and high; but since the hairs were sliding out ok at advanced she thinks it would be alright to use this setting. If some hairs were more stubborn it would be increased to medium for those.

Now my question is: if a lower setting is used does that effect the quality of the treatment? During treatment I felt most of the hairs slide out without being plucked (there were a few that felt a little plucked). One strage thing I noticed is some feeling of being pricked with the needle. I guess it was just her making the insertions with a fine needle.

I had my 4th appointment today (7 days after my last one) with the 3rd electrologist at the same place. Even though I prefer electrologist #2 and #3, I think I might give #1 another try. She worked on me during my first and second visit when I had more hairs on the upper lip (and bleached), so she might have had a harder time getting perfect insertions and using a higher setting.

Today I asked the lady to use average or medium setting on my upper lip. She tried average but the hairs weren't releasing so she went with medium. I still think that's better than high because the insertions from 2 weeks ago on high (by electrologist #1) are still slightly red and I don't want skin damage from too high of a setting. There are also small pits where those insertions were made. I am hoping they will heal with time.

Anyways, the appointment was for 10 minutes again and she mostly cleaned up the darker new hairs and longer bleached hairs that were missed during the last treatment. I have stopped bleaching and haven't bleached for 4 weeks now (I used to do it every week or 2). So I am much happier now that I don't have to be so self conscious.

Also, I don't know if it's worthwhile to keep posting pictures on here as the area would probably look roughly the same each week.

Thanks to everyone again for maintaining such a wonderful site.

Until next time,
Alexandra

Thanks for the update.

Are you using aftercare to help with the healing? Are you waiting long enough for all the side effects to go away before retreating the same spots?

I use witch hazel about 4-5 times a day to keep the area clean. If that's not available I use polysporn. I also use cortate cream to reduce the redness on the first and second day after treatment. I generally book the appointments 7 days apart and the hairs that are now being treated are scattered so I don't think any particular area is being overheated.

Although, I think the treatment that gave me the problem was the second one because a lot of hairs were removed from the same area on a high setting (I think medium would have worked fine as it is working fine for me now). After the second treatment my upper lip was slightly swollen for 2 days. I will see how it heals after the 4th treatment of scattered hairs on a medium setting.

Alexandra

I had my 5th treatment today. The lady used an average setting on me on a Fischer machine. The redness was gone within two days.

I am very concerned about pits forming on my upper lip. It seems that my first two treatments on high setting may have been the cause. The insertion points are still slightly red (this is 4 weeks after!)I am thinking of stopping elecrolysis altogether. I hope these pits will go away :S I'm so afraid right now that they will stay. Do these pits generally fill over with time? What are the signs that they will become permenant skin damage?

Is this the first practitioner you saw or did you get other consultations. These kinds of problems are reported if any epilator is used with lack of skill, but more so, if the top of the line epilators are used with skill and diligence, you would not be here complaining about your treatment.

Redness, beyond what's normal is caused by excessive blood circulating in the injured area due to blood vessels that are dilated. Pitting is caused by overtreatment or infection. Let this heal before having another treatment. Healing depends on your aftercare and the health and healing powers of your body. Permanent skin damage? I would say the chances are slim to none. It will take weeks to heal, so don't assault this area again. Repeated overtreatment is what you want to be concerned about and it doesn't sound like you have been repeatedly overtreated for months and months.

I will stress with passion as I always do: TELL YOUR ELECTROLOGIST ABOUT YOUR CONCERNS. Tell her you want her to see what happened to you after she worked on you. She should make time to see you. Either she will be defensive or she will learn from this and not repeat this kind of treatment on anyone. We all say we want to help people in this life, well, this is a special way you can HELP a business person become a better business person. Let her know that this is not acceptable and then be ready to move on to another electrologist if she is defensive and dismissive, that is, if you are blessed to have another electrologist in your locale.

It is okay to come here and complain or vent about what worries you, but what really matters is settling this between the two of you.

Can you submit another picture?

Here are the pictures. As you can see the pitting got progressively worse (especially on my right side - the last picture). All these pits were caused by my first two appointments during mid and end of June 2008. And from far away they still appear red. I think i will just stop the treatment for a month or two to see if they go away... I just really hope they aren't permanent. Any advise?

Thanks!


Picture taken on July 4th, 2008



Pictures Taken on July 25, 2008

This will heal, but it may take up to three months, give or take?? It appears that the insertions may have been too shallow and the intensity too high. Will you show these pictures to the electrologist(s) that worked on you and ask them when you will heal. This is bad for their business if they are turning out clients who have to suffer with skin manifestations like this for longer than a week. Many electrologists can work on upper lips and no one ever knows that a woman is having hair removal because any redness and swelling is gone within hours and there are no scabs. The electrologists that can't achieve a good outcome that heals in a resonable amount of time, should be admonished.

Thanks for your pictures,angel. Keep us posted about your healing.

Dee

Thanks for your advise. I will definetly talk to the lady and let her know. She treated me on the highest setting on a Fischer machine. I also heard some fizzling during a few insertions - which I guess indicated that the insertions were too shallow.

What worries me is not the redness, but the pitting as I am afraid it will be there permanently. It actually doesn't look as bad on the pictures as it actually is. As you can see in the last picture some of the pits are even connected :S... This is really horrible as it's my face.

As for the time being I will put my treatment on hold until it heals - may it be three months or longer. I will keep on updating on the healing progress.

Best Regards,
Alexandra

Honestly, you are doing something good for yourself by not simply going away. I really hope you complain about this. They have to know. They need to analyze their technique and go back to basic skill principles so they can IMPROVE and save their business. When clients get minor, temporary skin manifestions that last less than a week, that is acceptable. What you have described and shown raises my attenna. Be sure to give them feedback about this prolonged skin reaction.

Use some good aloe vera gel on your upper lip to help the healing along. A dab of tea tree oil at bedtime is helpful, too.

Has anyone had a similar experience with overheating an area causing pits and redness to remain for weeks? If so, do the pits generally go away? :S

Hi angel_85! I just recently posted for the first time
under "here's my story" and i am not getting my upper lip done right now (i just wax about once to twice a month myself and that works great for me) but i am having the longer finer hairs on my face done and when i went for my first and second apt the lady did the areas next to my mouth with blend and that was four months ago and i still have total little purplish hue marks all over where she treated and it REALLY bums me out! I have NO idea when this will go away. Every night i put pure vitamin E oil on it and some hairs have grown back and have retreated by the new lady that i go to and it doesn't seem to be affected by her treatments after it heals but i don't notice it getting too much better. i looked at your pictures and my marks look similar to yours. To be honest with you i would be scared. I DID not return to this lady again and if i did i DO NOT know where i would be today. Very angry i assume. Are you bothered by the idea of waxing this area, because it is common and if your skin can handle it and not break out and stuff it might be a better route . Or of course finding a new electro. I know electrolysis works, but this is not fun to have this dammage on your face and then know it also needs to be treated and again and again to be permanent. I dont mean to be negative in any way, but i want to let you know this happened to me and i am not a happy camper and i dont want the same to continue for you.

Heather

So... it's been 2.5 weeks since my last appointment and about 7 weeks since my first appointment. I am seeing some of the hairs from my first few treatments come back (the ones that were in the wrong growth phase I guess). But it's definetly less than it was before. So even after 5 treatments it's possibe to see noticeable reduction of regrowth.

I have not gone for another appointment and waiting to see whether pitting/scarring will get better. It seems like my skin has evened out a little bit (or maybe I'm just getting used to the pits) but they are still reddish in colour. I will post some more pictures if anyone wants in a month or so to update on the healing process. Maybe it will help those who are in my situation in the future - I hope that doesn't happen to anyone :P

Kind regards,
Alexandra

Thanks for the feedback struggling-girl. It's sad to hear that it's happened to you as well. Did you experience pitting/scarring where those purplish dots are as well? I will just hope that in a couple of years the skin will cover the pitting.

I do know that I will not return to this same lady, but I will ask her boss (also an electrologist) whether she has mentioned my poor skin reaction to that lady - in 2 to 3 months.

As for waxing, I have played around with this idea in my head but I am deathly scared of the hairs above my lip coming in thicker. I think I will go back to bleaching for now. It might not be a very good idea considering I am waiting for the skin to heal, but I have no choice.

It's too early for the hair from 7 weeks ago to come in if it was removed. It's hair in the next growth phase for now.

hey Angel_85! Yes my spots deffinately have a purplish hue to them when I spread the skin apart with my hands I can see all the dots and when its just normal it looks very purple in this area (the sides of my mouht about one inch out into my cheeks). This has been so frustrating and I truly hope it goes away for both of us. I have to say that i am having hair issues on my face for whatever reason, but i dont use any method but electro on my actual facial area and I pluck brows and wax upper lip, and i have been waxing my upper lip for about 12 years now.I am 25 next month. Some guy said i had i mustache in seventh grade and i have been waxing ever since. I don't feel like the hairs have gotten worse at all. I have SO many girlfriends who wax too and they do not have this issue. Now I know i have heard that with chin and cheeks and stuff it does turn into darker hairs. Everyone is different though and i understand your caution with your face. I am the same way. The idea of hair growing back thicker is terrifying! Even electro scares me, even though i totally trust that is works. Do whatever is most comfortable for you, but i would give waxing a try. It bothers me so little to wax that i would NEVER consider getting electro in this area ( but then again understand that you are hearing this from someone who is having other hair issues so my upper lip is the last of my worries). Good luck to you and i hope everything turns out great for you.
Heather

I had my upper lip done with electrolysis with no problems. It took only 8-10 ten-minute treatments or so. I bleached it for years before that and got tired of it. I got my eyebrows done with electrolysis too. Just finished recently actually. No side effects at all.

You ladies really need to seek out some other electrologists. This is pitiful nonsense. The chant is,
"Better equipment used by a professional electrologist equals uneventful results on par with what lagirl received."

Love,

Dee

Dee, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to read about our aweful experiences with electro when you have dedicated so much time and energy to your career and to this web site. It's amazing how badly someone can mess up your face in just as little as 2 hours and the results stay there for SO long! The lady i go to now, even with her old Proteus has never left so much as a small mark that lasts longer than 4-5 days and she has done 14 hours of electro on me!!! I am the girl that has been getting the zits, but i have not always had them. Just after the last 4 treatments, so maybe its just new little fine hairs trying to some through and its clogged with bacteria or something. Who knows? All i know is i really appreciate your patience and i am so sorry that you have to listen to this nonsence about our poor treatments. Thanks for listening and encouraging us.

Heather

Well, Heather, you summed things up very well. I sincerely appreciate your kind words. I know this can be so much better for people seeking electrolysis and I have to believe that people like youself who take their time to honestly tell about their electrolysis experience, can only help any electrologist or consumer that is reading hairtell. I have learned a lot from reading consumer posts over the years and it has helped me improve. I wasn't very good at this in the beginning and I knew I could do better, but I'm happy to say with all humility that I know how to do this well and get results. Electrolysis is hard to do, but like anything else, it becomes easier with practice.

I also like it when consumers report their positive experiences, just like you have.