Hi
I am currently using an over-the-counter 2.5% benzoyl peroxide gel on my face to get rid of an outbreak of spots I’ve had in the past couple of months. I foresee myself using this gel for the next few weeks. This gel has a drying effect on my face (this is expected).
Would anyone here know if/how this would affect my electrolysis treatment? Sharon (my practitioner) largely uses blend and I wonder if it needs skin to be moist to be most effective? I could be totally off the mark here but I thought it best to get some advice on this.
Thanks very much for your response. I went for my treatment last week and I think BP actually helped avoid the skin reaction I generally get. I tend to get tiny whiteheads on a few follicles on the outer sides of my upper lip the day after treatment.
This is the first time in about 10 sessions that I didn’t have this reaction. I didn’t apply BP for 24 hours before and after treatment and just followed my regular aftercare routine but I’d like to think it was responsible for my skin healing so well.
When hair is removed around the corners of the mouth, antiseptic should be used so saliva does infect the tiny, open wounds. The peroxide effect from the BP was helpful I’m sure, but you can also use other antiseptics as well, such as alcohol, sea breeze, and witch hazel, tea tree oil and peroxide.
My regular aftercare involves tea tree, witch hazel and aloe vera. Also I don’t wear make up and don’t touch my face.
I’m not even sure it was the BP that did it. It could simply be statistics. It’s not every follicle that gets inflamed (probably the wrong term to describe it) so it’s likely I was going to have a session where none of them did.
Oh, we have had posters tell us that Benzoyl Peroxide helped them a lot. Others have used hand sanitizer, but honestly, the aftercare you use is probably one of the best.