I had a few hairs removed at my consultation and I now have two small bumps that look like bug bites. One of them formed a small whitehead.
I didn’t do any aftercare as I didn’t have supplies and figured it wouldn’t matter for such few hairs treated. Of course, I am going to talk to my practitioner about this at my next appt.
I went to the store today and bought tea tree oil, witch hazel, and aloe vera. The only aloe vera they had is a green gel by Vaseline. It says 100% aloe vera.
A few questions:
I assume the red bumps are not out of the ordinary and can be lessened by proper aftercare right? Or should I be concerned seeing red bumps after having so few hairs treated?
I am not familiar with aloe vera. Is the product described above what you guys recommend?
If it is green, and made by Vaseline, you can bit that it is 100% aloe vera WITH added vaseline, green coloring, and maybe even propyline glycole, magnesium sterate, and sodium laurel sulfate.
go to the health food store instead and get food grade aloe that must be refridgerated after opening.
I read your previous post and your practitioner sounds good to me.
Since she has the advantage of seeing you - before/during/after - ask her what she thinks about your tissue reaction and perhaps she can trouble shoot and make suggestions.
Generally, these are guidelines for aftercare:
*keep your hands off of the area - touching the area might be causing the delay in healing.
*drink plenty of water
*use oil free sunscreen before going out
*use witch hazel morning and night - preferably low alcohol content or if you have dry skin, then use an alcohol free witch hazel
*use tea tree oil only sparingly 1x a day and spot treat with a q-tip NO double dipping as the active ingredients in the bottle become less potent.
*use your clear gel aloe several times throughout the day if you like
When James says there is a difference between the common topical aloe vera gels and the aloe vera gel that is made to be a dietary supplement, he isn’t kidding. It is hard to find anywhere, but a regional supermarket chain just started carrying it here and I was finally able to try it. All I can say is, what a difference! Compared to common aloe topicals, it is much cheaper and does it ever work! Not only did it help with healing from electrolysis, it made the skin I applied it on noticeably softer in just a couple days. I even noticed it caused a bit of a warming sensation on my face for a minute after I applied that (James, is that typical?)
The only downside is it is a bit hard to apply, it is not very thick at all and it is like trying to apply icy slush to your skin. Once you get used to applying it, it isn’t bad at all.
PROPS to food grade aloe! I was trying for months to use 100% aloe and then i was at the health food store and found aloe, for consumption, ppl take it to cleanse their insides. I LOVE IT!!! It has made a huge difference to my healing process, I apply it morning and evening for two days after treatment and then nightly until my next treatment. It is a bit slushy and hard to get use to using, I have found if i use dixie cups, or keep a shot glass, YES a shot glass sterile, and put about a teaspoon of aloe into it, and then set a cotton ball in the cup it soaks up the aloe and makes it much easier to apply!
I have had plenty of bumps with white heads on them after treatment, i had HUGE bumps and lots of redness for the first few months, we turned the machine way down and i started using a product called tend skin and the aloe for consumption and what a difference! My electro site looks wonderful! Even those hairs that pop out between treatment are bearable with good after care!
I still have to shave sometimes between treatments and have found that using skintimate brand shave gel for sensitive skin and a NEW razor each time helps with razor burn and ingrowns! BUT DONT shave for at least two days, i have made that mistake and its not fun!!!
Good luck finding what works for you and happy permanent hair removal! =)
Thanks guys. I got some aloe vera gel from the GNC (the kind that you can drink) and applied it last night. It may be that the bumps healed on their own, but they are completely gone this morning - so I am now a huge fan of the food grade aloe vera.
Props to the food grade! With fine hairs you should be done and ready to go in no time. Im happy for ya! I had a full beard 6 months ago and I am happy to always report its getting more sparse and easier to deal with every day! YOU GO with your bad self!!!
I just bought Jason Aloe Vera Gel (it’s green) after it was suggested in another thread on this forum (can’t remember which one). Is this not a good brand? It’s too late to return it. I still get whiteheads after my treatment even though I use tea tree oil at night and witch hazel throughout the day. Should I switch to another aloe product? I only used my aloe vera gel once and it made my skin quite dry. Don’t know what to do
Have you told your electrologist about the whiteheads? She may want to adjust the intensity. Hopefully, you are not perspiring a lot after a treatment and you are not touching the treated areas with anything dirty. Are you sleeping on a fresh pillowcase? Little things like this do make a difference.
If I have to give a brand name product I suggest Lily of The Desert Aloe Vera Gel or Juice. It is pure, and requires refridgeration once it is opened and it is easily found all over the country. Any product that is green in color is probably full of artificial colors, preservatives, and maybe petroleum. Those are not good. Why don’t you read the ingredients on the package and see what it says is inside this bottle? If it says more than 100% pure Aloe Vera, then you may want to consider bying some Lily Of The Desert.
Yes, I talked to my electrologist about the whiteheads. They occurred after the consultation when she just removed a few hairs. To be honest, I was touching the area as I rode home on the bus and then applied my usual skin stuff later that night, so I think this was part of the problem.
I had my first treatment on Tuesday and she lowered the intensity a bit. I have been doing aftercare as suggested on this board and my reaction has been tolerable. I have a few very small red dots (which I don’t think other people can notice) and one bump that looks like a bug bite. I find that they are less noticeable after I apply the witch hazel and aloe vera.
I had my entire chin area treated and she thinned out some of the hair on the upper lip. We only did a 15 min session as I expressed concerns about my skin’s reaction on my previous visit.
She said a few red spots are normal and as I continue on with the treatment and the hair gets weaker, my reaction might improve. So what do you guys think? This sounds within the acceptable range of skin reaction right?
Ok I think I’ll go out and buy the Lily of the Desert brand. It’s quite reasonable in price (compared to the Jason one I bought). I told my electrologist about the whiteheads and she turned down the setting to a very low one. However I still break out the next day. The whiteheads are small but visible the day after and then grow and become even more visible two days after. I have been applying witch hazel several times in a day starting from right after the treatment to at least two days on and then doing the tea tree oil dabs at night. I think I 'll give it a shot with the aloe as well. My Jason aloe says it is 98% aloe vera (this is the one I bought Walgreens: Pharmacy, Health & Wellness, Photo & More for You). I work with the public so to not have these breakouts would be so much better. Should I get the Gelley or the dietary supplements of the Lily of the Desert?
Hi James, my electrologist is using thermolysis on me. She uses an Apilus SM 500. I’ve been going for 1/2 hr sessions to work on chin and upper lip for about a month now and without fail, I get whiteheads the very next day. It’s not fun to deal with I will try the gel and see how it goes. Thanks.
