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So I have gone for my second professional electrolosis appointment. She spent 1-1/2 hours on my upper lip. She is using what she called flash but explained to me that it is the old galvanic type but with high current pulsed on short times. She inserts the probe and hits the trigger 3 or 4 times, then tries pulling the hair. Her probe looks like it has a ground electrode on it as well as the probe needle. It does hurt a lot more than when she had me try the blend setting. Big difference is the blend took 5 seconds or so per hair where the flash took a couple seconds.

Anyway I assume she is right and it is galvanic since my pores started seeping and kept doing that a good day after. Guessing the sodium hydroxide causes this reaction. The next day my upper lip looked like I was stung by bees. Today it looks kinda bloody scabby.

I've read some things saying the lye can kill the blood vessels for future folicules in that pore and it might eleimine multiple hair growth. Is that true at all.



(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4528/38719305022_42b87ce246_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/21Zuyqw)_20171130_102447 (https://flic.kr/p/21Zuyqw) by Josie H (https://www.flickr.com/photos/149006210@N03/), on Flickr

OMG IM SO SORRY THAT LOOKS LIKE IT HURTS :::((  i started with lasers because im a slight chicken when it comes to a hundred needles in my face so i salute you for being so brave. I doubt that lye would do anything for that certain scenario BUT i know you wont need those area treated again. Thats just going based of the photo she ruined those follicles they shouldn't be comming back i would definitely reccomend washing it gently and getting some ice on it to reduce the swelling. Keep me updated!

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What's electrolosis?

Basically using electrical current to cause a chemical reaction that destroys hair follicles permanently preventing them from making new hairs. Usually accomplished by inserting a needed like probe alongside the hair and running a current through your skin. Fun times.

Quote from: Cenna on November 30, 2017, 03:26:43 PM
Basically using electrical current to cause a chemical reaction that destroys hair follicles permanently preventing them from making new hairs. Usually accomplished by inserting a needed like probe alongside the hair and running a current through your skin. Fun times.

Is it a lot different to electrolysis?

Electrolosis electrolysis, potato patattoe

Galvanic type forms lye (sodium hydroxide) in the pore from your body's salt and the electric current. That kills the hair root and dissolves hair. So even after the hair comes loose and is pulled out, the lye continues killing blood vessels, ect.

So in theory could you pluck and then use lye?

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Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PM
So I have gone for my second professional electrolosis appointment. She spent 1-1/2 hours on my upper lip. She is using what she called flash but explained to me that it is the old galvanic type but with high current pulsed on short times. She inserts the probe and hits the trigger 3 or 4 times, then tries pulling the hair. Her probe looks like it has a ground electrode on it as well as the probe needle. It does hurt a lot more than when she had me try the blend setting. Big difference is the blend took 5 seconds or so per hair where the flash took a couple seconds.

Anyway I assume she is right and it is galvanic since my pores started seeping and kept doing that a good day after. Guessing the sodium hydroxide causes this reaction. The next day my upper lip looked like I was stung by bees. Today it looks kinda bloody scabby.

I've read some things saying the lye can kill the blood vessels for future folicules in that pore and it might eleimine multiple hair growth. Is that true at all.



(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4528/38719305022_42b87ce246_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/21Zuyqw)_20171130_102447 (https://flic.kr/p/21Zuyqw) by Josie H (https://www.flickr.com/photos/149006210@N03/), on Flickr

Is your electrologist a professional? I ask because you display a lot of irritation. In fact too much. Nanci, who does my face will move to another area if my face starts getting irritated. This is very important because I am on blood thinners. My face is usually back to normal within the hour it takes to drive home. A couple things help. Keep hydrated, drink lots of water. Don't drink coffee or soda the day of the appointment as it leaches moisture.

Quote from: Taylorcaudle on November 30, 2017, 05:40:12 PM
So in theory could you pluck and then use lye?

No, the lye forms down inside the pore. This is what kills the blood vessels and the hair sheath stem cells that form new hairs.

Quote from: DawnOday on November 30, 2017, 06:08:22 PM
Is your electrologist a professional? I ask because you display a lot of irritation. In fact too much. Nanci, who does my face will move to another area if my face starts getting irritated. This is very important because I am on blood thinners. My face is usually back to normal within the hour it takes to drive home. A couple things help. Keep hydrated, drink lots of water. Don't drink coffee or soda the day of the appointment as it leaches moisture.

Dawn, she is a professional and an RN. She's so good that I don't feel the needle enter the pore. Just the zap when she hits the trigger. My first time she worked on my right cheek. I had some irritation but nothing like the upper lip. However I asked her to try to clear my upper lip and that is what she did. She actually spent an extra half hour when I paid for an hour.
Yeh the swelling and reaction is pretty bad. I'm just hoping it really can "clear" an area, at least mostly anyway.

   I too question your electrologist's work. I have gad 5 one hour sessions on my mustache area using the blended method. In that time I may have had two or three points that looked like yours.

Here is a picture of me 4 hours after a one hour session today. She work on the left side of the picture. That about as irritated as it gets. My skin always turns red for awhile after she uses witch hazel on it and aloe at the end of the session. You'll notice both side look red when she used the lotions. Same happens at home when I use either on my face..

(https://i.imgur.com/1hEVHBZ.jpg)

Could be the blend would have been a lot gentler. I asked for the more potent setting. My cheek was spread out more and looked red that night but only some the next day. She spread it around there though.
IDK

Options are few and far between where I am right now. If I was back home I could also be looking in St Louis but I am here today.

We are just concerned with skin damage for you from over aggressive treatment.

What was your aftercare?  Did you ice for at least 10 minutes?  Use aloe and/or bacitracin?  Moisturize?

It shouldn't look like that.  At the very least show your electrologist the picture before your next session.

Never ask for any setting change other than a reduction in energy if the pain is unbearable.  A good electrologist should not increase on patient request, but don't tempt fate.

Quote from: Laurie on November 30, 2017, 09:05:38 PM
We are just concerned with skin damage for you from over aggressive treatment.

I do appreciate the concern. The day following the treatment I was swollen and my pores were weeping. Kind of that clear fluid that dries on the skin. I know gross right. The scabby appearence came after the swelling went down.

Quote from: rmaddy on November 30, 2017, 10:55:46 PM
What was your aftercare?  Did you ice for at least 10 minutes?  Use aloe and/or bacitracin?  Moisturize?

It shouldn't look like that.  At the very least show your electrologist the picture before your next session.

Never ask for any setting change other than a reduction in energy if the pain is unbearable.  A good electrologist should not increase on patient request, but don't tempt fate.

I will show it to her. The first day she worked on my cheek. She did some with the "flash" and some with the "blend" so I knew the difference. The blend felt a lot gentler but took longer. I was ok with the pain level of the flash so I told her to use it. She also said the flash had a greater chance of killing the hairs with less grow back.
The day I had her work on my upper lip she asked several times if I was alright or if I wanted to switch to the blend during the treatment. I told her to press on. It was a lot of pokes for that area of skin and I think my skin just reacted to the sodium hydroxide more than the treatment itself.

She cuts fresh aloe applies some to my skin and sends me home with the cutting to apply more later. I also used some antibiotic ointment when the swelling started going down and it looked scabby.

Hi Josie

Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PMShe is using what she called flash but explained to me that it is the old galvanic type but with high current pulsed on short times.

Hm. In the circles I've moved in flash refers to flash thermolysis—which means no galvanic current whatsoever is used.

Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PMShe inserts the probe and hits the trigger 3 or 4 times, then tries pulling the hair.

Again, where I move needle depth is sometimes adjusted between extremely short pulses to help locally damage more of the follicle while avoiding spreading damage wider to the surrounding tissue. Is that what she was doing?

Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PM
Her probe looks like it has a ground electrode on it as well as the probe needle.

I've never seen a machine like that. What's the brand?

Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PMIt does hurt a lot more than when she had me try the blend setting. Big difference is the blend took 5 seconds or so per hair where the flash took a couple seconds.

Again interesting. I know blend can take care of a hair in 5-6 seconds if the operator is skillful, but unless I'm totally mistaken, with flash the current should be on from just 0.1 to a maximum of  1 seconds.  Since you say the time per hair was three to four seconds, I assume each pulse length was just under one second? (With the machines I know of galvanic takes between 30 and 60 seconds per hair.)

Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PM
Anyway I assume she is right and it is galvanic since my pores started seeping and kept doing that a good day after. Guessing the sodium hydroxide causes this reaction. The next day my upper lip looked like I was stung by bees. Today it looks kinda bloody scabby.

The amount of lye generated in follicles treated using galvanic electrolysis is tiny, and I've not seen seepage continue for a day after treatment. Is your skin generally sensitive?

Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PM
I've read some things saying the lye can kill the blood vessels for future folicules in that pore and it might eleimine multiple hair growth. Is that true at all.

In a sense, yes. All electrolysis destroys capillaries. However, they always regenerate. If the damage is extensive that takes longer, and hyperpigmentation may be evident until the healing process is complete.

The real points of interest where destruction is concerned are the papilla and the bulge. Lye spreads the damage within the follicle so it can destroy them even if the insertion point isn't exact. Blend heats up the lye to enhance the effect. The thermolysis/flash thermolysis/picoflash thermolysis modalities I'm familiar with depend on just heat without any lye. That's why I'm quite interested in what model/make of machine your electrologist uses.

By the way, were you holding some sort of a metal piece during treatment? That's something that you only need to do (and always need to) when being treated using galvanic or blend. When using any type of thermolysis it's not used (except in a rather special case which I very much doubt is relevant here.)

Do avoid disturbing the scabs. The congealed blood acts as scaffolding for tissue regeneration so it's best to let them drop on their own when the time is right.

Yeh, I don't know.

I have one of those at home galvanic units. Runs current from a 9volt battery and grounds through the hand holding the probe. It turns on for about 20seconds when there is a connection made. It makes lye enough it comes up out of the pore. Usually I used is for 2-3 cycles then the hair and inner sheath just pulled out. With that unit I can only do where I can see decent. I used it around my upper lip once before. I had some scabbing but not nearly as much as from this machine. No idea what the brand of her machine is. I'll have to ask more questions.

Eef, I'd run from that electroligist.  Not only did it probably hurt too much, but damage can be likely.  I would question the experience, the equipment, training, everything.  Sorry to come down on her, but worried for you.  Even when I had fairly green people working on my face I didn't have this.

Bari Jo

Quote from: josie76 on November 30, 2017, 03:06:39 PM
So I have gone for my second professional electrolosis appointment. She spent 1-1/2 hours on my upper lip. She is using what she called flash but explained to me that it is the old galvanic type but with high current pulsed on short times. She inserts the probe and hits the trigger 3 or 4 times, then tries pulling the hair. Her probe looks like it has a ground electrode on it as well as the probe needle. It does hurt a lot more than when she had me try the blend setting. Big difference is the blend took 5 seconds or so per hair where the flash took a couple seconds.

Anyway I assume she is right and it is galvanic since my pores started seeping and kept doing that a good day after. Guessing the sodium hydroxide causes this reaction. The next day my upper lip looked like I was stung by bees. Today it looks kinda bloody scabby.

I've read some things saying the lye can kill the blood vessels for future folicules in that pore and it might eleimine multiple hair growth. Is that true at all.



(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4528/38719305022_42b87ce246_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/21Zuyqw)_20171130_102447 (https://flic.kr/p/21Zuyqw) by Josie H (https://www.flickr.com/photos/149006210@N03/), on Flickr

Just be careful the upper lip scars really easy. Mention this to the operator. She should know that leaving the needle inside to long can end up leaving you with holes. Good luck



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I can say for one I won't ask for a small area to be cleared all at once. The day before she cleared a lot of my upper right cheek but it was all spread around so it didn't end up like my lip.
It was actually worse looking the day after that picture was taken.

I've had more than 150 hours of electrolysis on my face over The last 17 months beginning about the same time I started HRT. Early on the swelling was minimal despite "clearing" a very dense beard. Then the HRT started to effect changes to my skin at about the 4 month mark and everything changed.  In the most sensitive areas of my face - upper and lower lip area, chin and jaw line - I experienced a lot of swelling and redness.  The swelling and redness was very noticeable but usually subsided within 24 hours with icy cold witch hazel compress, Sterex cream and ice pack immediately following and more icing throughout the day.  The further along I got with HRT the swelling became worse as did the level of discomfort (ok, PAIN!!).  As my facial hair density decreased my reaction to the skin "trauma" eased. The same effect can be achieved with a "beard thinning" approach versus clearing and while that's more challenging especially with very dense hair concentrations, an accomplished electrologist can manage that approach. 

Electrologists in Florida (my home) are required to complete 300+ hours of traning and then pass a test to get their mandatory license and certification . In your state (MO) there is no licensing requirement. I'm sure you've already checked out the training and other related educational background of your  Practioner because of the potential for permanent damage to your skin. If not it might be a good idea to check out her credentials before getting too much further along. You might find the website "hairtell.com" educational and enlightening on many of the most widely used hair removal methods.

Best of luck with the hair removal "journey".

I appreciate the info Paige.
While my home is near St Louis, I am on the Illinois side of the river. Right now I'm staying smack in the center of deep southern IL. Not ideal for a trans person but near a University town so it's not as bad as more rural areas are.
The lady I saw is licensed and a licensed RN. I think my skin just reacted poorly to so many close hairs being treated at once. I didn't realize I had so many active hairs coming back in my upper lip.

Glad to hear she has the necessary training and medical background. Don't get discouraged when she has to go back over the same area multiple times. This really is a process so it'll be helpful to set your expectations accordingly. 🙂