Bruising with electrolysis... what should I do?

[april]

I have just started seeing an electrologist. She has 32 years of experience and is a board member for her state's electrology association.

I had a consultation with her and the few small spots she did seemed to heal fine. I have since had 3 hours within two days on one leg. She has decided to use AC on my leg, since it is a large area (she also used an insulated probe). Yesterday's session was 2 hours long and the first session I had. She said that I swell a lot more than other people but I seemed to have had fairly minimal scabbing from the first session. I got one small definite bruise during that session, and some other spots that could be bruises, but it is hard to tell if they are bruises or just my vein showing through. I had a one hour session today. I scheduled a 2 hour, but I could not bear the pain for that long today (for some reason it was far more painful and the hairs had much more trouble coming out). I count at least 6 new bruised areas, though they are not bad bruises, except one which is about the size of a quarter and very, very dark and purple. It looks rather horrible Also, it is painful. The bottom half of my leg is not finished, after 3 hours. I don't know if that is normal or not.

My electrologist talks about these bruises as if they are common, normal, and no big deal. However, as I've been re-researching common side effects, I have not found bruising to be on the list of common effects. I see it mentioned that it happens, but is not necessarily common, nor is it necessarily normal and I shouldn't worry about it. Apparently, according to most places, it only occurs with incorrect insertion (too large a probe, too deep, etc). I have even run across posts in which electrologists who have many years of experience are freaked out because one of their clients got a bruise and they have never bruised anyone before.

So, I'm worried that I may be with an electrologist who could not be performing the job very well. When seeing this kind of bruising, should I seek a different electrologist? I would have thought with so much experience that she would be a good choice, and she is quite kind and attentive (though she was on the cell phone while working on my leg for a short amount of time). Anyway, should I be worried? Should I find someone else?

I have a lot of work that I want done. So, I want to be sure I'm with someone who isn't going to be causing any unnecessary damage, or heaven forbid, permanent skin damage, to large areas of my body. Also, she asks for almost double the amount of money I was expecting to pay, and I want to be sure I'm with the best I can be with if I'm paying that much money, especially since I will be having many, many hours of this that I have to go through.

Please, any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

[ShaunaNinjagirl]

Stop immediately or try something different. You do not want to damage your skin. I would swell up very badly when my electrologist used thermolysis, but she changed me to the blend. (The blend is a mix of AC and DC I believe). I tolerated it much better. If you still have bruising then have her turn down the current. Oh - the blend is slower than thermolysis, it does fewer hair in the same time. Unfortunately.

[Rita]

Generally with thermolysis the skin heals at least, but it is also slower than actual electrolysis.

I don't get many ill effects from it, sometimes I am red and sensitive but with a little ice it tends to die down.  Considering my skin is very sensitive there are times when we cant do the same area for 2 weeks.  Not because it looks horrible or inflamed but giving it time to heal is important.

[JennX]

She is doing it wrong. She is inserting the probe (aka needle) in too deep and most likely at a bad angle. There are many bad electro techs that have been at it for years, so sometimes the old "I've been doing this for 30 years" line is meaningless. The results are what counts. You should not have any bruising or 1-2 small penny size spots at most, and the tech should learn to not repeat the same poor technique.

[Stephe]

Yes time someone has been doing something does not = they are good at it. I'd look elsewhere.

[eli77]

In about 80 hours of work on my face, I got one bruise. And the lady was super embarrassed and apologetic about it - said that was the first time she'd done that in 5 years. Bruising is not a normal reaction. It means they stabbed a blood vessel. Find someone else.

[Rita]

Depends on the kind of "bruishing"  it could be as simple as a little redness that lasts a little longer than it should, without a picture we just don't know and people tend to get scared because its their face.

Personally there has not been any mark left anywhere on my face.

You know your electrologist is pushing too deep when the insertion hurts(before the zap).

[smooth]

I obviously cant see the bruise but it sounds like your electrologist inserted too deep and caused a small bleed below the dermis (a bruise) It's not ideal but it does happen from time to time. I wouldn't be happy if I caused it myself but it can happen. It doesn't mean she necessarily missed the follicle completely but she probably inserted past the papilla and rather than cauterising the blood supply she just punctured it, hence the bleed. On occasion you can also get a small bleed on the skins surface due to a missed insertion. Again this isn't ideal and it certainly shouldn't be happening much. It doesn't mean you're going to end up scarred and it will heal with no lasting marks.
I wouldn't be chatting on the phone whilst doing a treatment either, It doesn't inspire much confidence or suggest a level of focus or concentration. After all you're paying good money to have someones full attention whilst your being zapped, surely their mobile can be switched off during this time... not to mention gloved hands coming into contact with a potentially grubby mobile and the possibility of contamination from a dirty key pad, ear wax and spittle 
In spite of what you hear about never feeling the insertion this just isn't true. You will from time to time feel an insertion and it doesn't mean your getting bad treatment. I've noticed on many occasions that someone has reacted to an insertion (a small twitch or a grimace) but once the energy has been delivered the hair has slipped out perfectly. This should be your main concern, "you should not feel Any! plucking".
One of the things that would concern me about numbing injections which I've read about in another post is that it can encourage sloppy work and how are you going to know if hairs are being treated properly if you can't feel anything. You wont feel any plucking if you're totally numb. The discomfort from electrolysis isn't very nice but at the same time it's not unbearable and some areas are way more bearable than others. A modern machine will go a considerable way in ensuring a more comfortable treatment.

[Rita]

yea my hairs tend to be.... quad-polar.  Sometimes they respond to a lower setting, other days we needa crank up to maximum hair killage(aii I hate those days xD) I always say electrolysis is revenge for years of no PMS.  Painful, omg I wish it were over revenge.

[AbraCadabra]

I have had small bruises (size of the nail of my pinkie) and that quite regularly, yet mostly confined to areas under my chin.

It's my experience that it has a lot to do with one's blood-coagulation factor (low) and skin sensitivity (high).
Older skin like mine, also quite light, and low pigmented tends to be more sensitive.

Axélle

[Rita]

I love and hate my sensitive skin