Quote from: lauraelliott1951 on September 07, 2016, 03:56:04 PM
1. She mentioned that electrolysis produces small scabs. I wasn't aware of this in all my research. is this common?
I had full facial hair removal via what I believe is the Thermolysis method (not Blend). I've also had Blend on some areas of arm and chest but most of my hours in the electrologist's chair were under Thermolysis for beard/facial hair. All other areas, legs, arms, chest successfully used laser. Facial hair was unaffected by laser which is why I sought electrolysis. I am very pleased with the results of all the work.
In my journey of facial hair removal, once in a while, there would be a little blood appearing out of a pore (like a tiny dot which dries)... so technically that's probably a "scab" but it was more about healing after a pore had a needle stuck into it and zapped. I have not seen that often, but more so in the early stages where I went into like 3 hours sessions of significant clearing.
Interestingly, when I would use a product with Zinc Oxide (recommended by my electrologist) on my face the evening after the appointment, my face would rarely have those dots in the morning. Something about the Zinc seemed to help my face heal faster overnight. After seeing that, I religiously went to sleep at night with a cream containing Zinc all over my face... I'd wake up shower it off and my face was looking much better than if I'd skip that. No understatement, I found that cream to be a night/day difference. I personally found it to be a little secret which helped me.
Regardless of any post-treatment used, I've heard it's critical to keep your hands away from picking at your face, especially those healing areas with that dot-like scab... which I've seen go after a day or so with cream, or several days without. But in all cases, I kept my hands away... I hear picking or touching those can lead to scarring. I guess that's like any scab.
As odd as it may sound, I used this Baby Bee Diaper Rash Ointment product which contains Zinc and was recommended by my electrologist...
http://www.burtsbees.com/Baby-Bee-Diaper-Rash-Ointment/792850030503,default,pd.html?cgid=diaperOintmentAndCare&start=1&q=#start=1... there may be others but my electrologist told me most baby diaper rash creams contain zinc so that's how I ended up there.
For daytime, I'd use arnica cream as a lighter healing alternative.
I'd recommend asking your electrologist or doctor (like a dermatologist) for a recommended cream for post treatment... your derm may have something prescription containing zinc but maybe even something more... I don't know but worth trying.
On hindsight, or as I learned during the process, I sort of view all electrolysis as somewhat invasive to the skin and body, so I sort of look at it as "mini" or "micro" surgery of sorts. I think it tends to be discussed as if it's some outside only thing, a quick session, that's it, simple etc. but especially for full facial hair removal I feel it's more invasive than it is often discussed. Not a bad thing, but just saying... it's more than just dainty zapping... a needle is inserted into the follicle and does zapping or heating or whatnot...
All forms of electrolysis are therefore essentially wounding the body (to kill the follicles) to get rid of hair. I therefore learned quickly to respect the treatment and process by not taking "post-OP" facial care lightly. After a lengthy 2 or 3 hour session, or even 1 hour, my face had pores which had been entered into, and my face was red, more vulnerable, so it needed TLC. When given that TLC with the right electrologist or dermatologist recommended treatment, it healed quickly and well.
After treatments I learned not to touch my face with dirty hands... I'd wash first... like no shopping at the store then touching my face, for example. I treated my face as if in a sort of "post OP" that needed to be kept clean, away from germs etc. I think that approach paid off.
After electrolysis, I personally feel I observed the face as being more open and vulnerable for at least a day or more, so respecting the healing process just seemed best. Unfortunately, beyond talking directly with my own electrologists or dermatologist, I don't see much community discussion on robust post-electrolysis care. Maybe it's out there, but I felt I learned a lot from my electrologist which I felt was not in any FAQs I'd read prior. I think most folks just figure out what works, hopefully getting great input from friends or the electrologist/dermatologist.
In short, ask your electrologist or dermatologist about post-electrolysis treatment plans, but also remember your face is healing from something somewhat invasive after electrolysis sessions.
Quote from: lauraelliott1951 on September 07, 2016, 03:56:04 PM
2. She said that each time a hair follicle is zapped, it's not entirely killed (this is absolutely contrary to what i've read). She said most of it is killed and that the hair will regrow, although thinner. Each continued zapping of that follicle works toward killing the entire follicle. Is this true? I thought one zap and the follicle is dead.
Yes, true... electrolysis is known and proven to be eventually permanent for any given follicle but it takes time to hit each such follicle the required number of times. The "required number of times" is unknown beyond estimates... each person and follicle is different, but your electrologist should be able to give an estimate.
I've heard, and personally experienced, about 1 year of regular sessions for complete facial removal, where "complete" here means that after about 1 year I still experience some very minor growth but it is so little I can go much longer between sessions, or where tweezing becomes viable for in between sessions... for example, if I skip tweezing for a few days, there's relatively little tweezing... just some hairs here/there. It's amazing... think about that, days or weeks pass and no beard or anything, just some hairs here/there. So that's sort of what the one year point was like in my case. I'm at two years now but have had few sessions in the last year so that's a testament to the process. I'm sort of still at the one year mark in that sense, but it's still great nonetheless.
I feel grateful to have found my electrologist... she cares, knows about good natural face creams and that sort of thing... I felt lucky to be in her care and I feel so happy to have endured those crazy long sessions in the beginning and not to have to deal with all that hair now. I can wear light foundation now, which I always wanted to do... I don't like pancake stuff for regular use... but I also go out often without any coverage and like who I see!
So I give electrolysis a huge thumbs up. Just do your research, check in with your doctors, find the right electrologist who you feel comfortable with, and take care of yourself throughout the process.
Best of luck with your treatments!
(I can never manage to keep it short.... please forgive me...
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