Hi!
I just recently made the decision to start electrolysis after dealing with bothersome facial hair for most of my life. Around the age of puberty the hair on my chin became dark and course and while I always had semi-dark sideburns, they began to be visible further down the sides of my face and the hair became thicker. I have been shaving my chin/neck and sideburns for years. I switched to tweezing everything last winter, which only lasted about 3 months because I just could not keep up with tweezing for hours every single day. Shaving was just quicker and easier for me.
I have read through a lot of the forums, (which I must say are extremely helpful and informative !!) and so I think I may have some sort of hormonal imbalance. I’m going to make an appointment soon with a doctor to see what they think.
Anyway, I just wanted to make sure everything about my experience looked and sounded okay. I wasn’t referred to the woman I am going to (looked in the phone book) and I don’t know anyone who has gotten electrolysis done before. I had two consultations with people close-by to me and between the two I chose the one who had a private practice in Westport, MA. During the consultations, the other lady didn’t explain anything about the process and was very pushy towards laser, which made me feel uncomfortable. The lady from Westport explained the whole electrolysis process and told me a bit about herself and seemed professional.
So, yesterday I went for my first 15 min appointment with the lady located in Westport, MA. I decided I would start with some of the chin area first. There was hardly any pain besides the pinching feeling of the machine zapping and I don’t think I felt any plucking (which is good right?) She did say she had to do some of the hairs over because they were so thick and coarse and said that I may have some curved hair follicles from the tweezing.
After the session, she put a cold compress on my chin area and then applied Neosporin. She said that I could put ice on it when I got home to reduce swelling and apply neosporin about twice a day to be safe from infection.
My skin was very red and bumpy when I left and the swelling did go down considerably after about 4 or 5 hours. It wasn’t painful, but it did have that warm feeling your skin gets have burning yourself.
Today I have no pain, and it is still slightly bumpy. I have tried not to touch it and have been washing my hands even more often than usual in case I accidentally rub my chin or something with my hands and applying Neosporin twice a day. Again, I just wanted to make sure everything looked and sounded okay since I was not referred to her by anyone and am a newbie at this experience. Here is a photo of my chin area today. There is still some hair near the neck because we hadn’t gotten to that area yet.
Is witch hazel better at reducing the redness, than Neosporin? I’ve heard a lot of good things about it in the forums. Also, do I have to wait for the redness to go away before I can shave off the excess hair?
Thank you for replying so quickly!
She said she had about 16 years experience and is an R.E. I don’t know what method she uses but I can check next time she’s in her office.
Should she have known not to use Neosporin? Will the witch hazel/tree oil protect against infection?
Thank you for the advice. I think there was a place in New Bedford that was posted in the MA Electrolysis forum, which I might try next week. I will try that place and compare.
Also, sorry to ask again, but do I have to wait until the redness disappears before I can shave again? My hair tends to grow quickly, so I would like to be able to shave again asap.
Do not use Neosporin. Many people are allergic to the neomycin in this product. Tea tree oil is fabulous. Do not overdo it with the tea tree oil, as it can make your skin red and dry. Get the tea tree oil and use it at nighttime especially. Apply with a cotton swab sparenly. No re-dipping the used cotton swab back in the bottle. Get a new one with each dip you make.
Apilus products are very good, but the pricier models are exceptional tools for great electrolysis care.
THe picture is very helpful. It appears that you have about 200 hairs on the surface - now. If an electrologist can perform the faster forms of thermolysis (microflash, picoflash or better yet Synchro, with the later two found on the Apilus Platinum) you can get a first, full clearance in less than an hour. You are probably doing 15 minute appointments as you check out different electrologist’s?, but if you settle on someone well-equipped and well-trained, you should do longer than 15 minutes at a time. I fully recommend that you get cleared each and everytime you go for a session.
I think you may want to try some type of ointment other
than neosporin on your face overnight.
I make my own cream with aloe vera, vitamin E cream,
tea tree oil and zinc oxide. Tea tree oil undiluted
may be a bit too strong, It is better if diluted somewhat.
Also it might be possible the treatment settings
were a bit high, and it is important to let your
electrologist know what your skin reaction was to
the treatments so she could adjust her settings
accordingly.
It is also possible that the neosporin or something else
such as soap or shaving irritated the area
after the treatment rather than helping it.
Alicia reminded me of something. After I do a treatment, for most cases I put undiluted tea tree oil on an then I use cold aloe vera gel. It works great on certain skin types after a treatment.
