I am posting this message to let everyone who is interested in permanent hair removal know that electrolysis really works. Yes it really does! However, there are a few things you have to understand before you start electrolysis.

First, it is very painfull. How bad do you want to have your unwanted hair removed.

Second, it is not a one shot deal. You have to have the area where there is unwanted hair treated over and over until the hair is permanently gone. There are three different hair growth phases. After the first phase is cleared you still have the other two phases to do. The area has to be treated over and over until the hair is permanently gone.

Third, you have to be committed and see your electrologist once a week for an appointment to treat the area. The appointment will last for a few hours until the hair is almost all gone. As time goes on the appointments will be shorter and shorter and less frequent until their is no more hair.

Fourth, it is very expensive. for example, if you plan on having all the hair on your genitals permanently removed because of the three cycles and legnth of time needed to kill all of the hair folicles expect to go for at least one hundred hours of treatment to reach your goal of permanent hairlessness. At $60.00 an hour this is not cheap. But, how bad to you want your hair permanently gone.

Fifth, you better do a lot of research because a good electrologist is like finding a needle in a hay stack. Don't go to the very first one you see. Shop around and do your home work. If you get a good electrologist you will be pleased and have no regrets. If you get a bad one you may be permanently scarred. In addition, the hair may or may not be permanently removed. Electrolysis is not a game.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST! If I sound harsh, and am scaring anyone don't be alarmed. I am only telling you the facts. I have been lucky I have a very good electroligist his name is James Walker he regularly posts on this site. Give him a call, listen to him and do what he says. You won't be sorry. I'm not. There are not short cuts were electrology is concerned; you get what you pay for!

GOOD LUCK!

There is no question that electrology really works. Over my 46 years in full time practice I have treated over 10,500 patients successfully counting my associates double that amount.
If you have further questions go to the site ElectrolysisInformnation.com

Another example of consumer vs. professional on this site. The first post by a consumer eloquently discusses the reality of electrolysis, including the pain and time involved as well as the costs. $6,000 for the genital area and about 100 hours of pain. He went through it, and is glad he did, but he also said the truth about the pain and costs. Gino Fior says the exact same thing about electrology on his web site that he promotes, only he makes it seem much easier and a lot less painfull. Oh yea, a lot cheaper too. He also points out the pitfalls of laser using a pricing structure compiled in 1994. How much did computers cost in 1994 vs. now? How much better are they now? He also compiled this data from unsatisfied customers of laser. This is the exact opposite of a professional, scientific study. Shameful self promotion and negative campaigning. The consumers in this Forum are the ones that should be listened to, and the Professionals should simply answer technical questions and not sell themselves. Oh, I forgot I'm living in the real world!

Also, those "bad" electrologist that CMUSKETBALL talks about, the ones that can cause scars and not permanently remove hair, could be used by unscrupulous laser practitioners to show how electrology doesn't work and is dangerous. This is exactly what peole like GINO FIOR are doing. They find facts that they can use, and discard the rest. UNSCIENTIFIC and MISLEADING. The sad part is that GINO and JAMES are probably amazing Electrologists that lower themselves and lose credibility when they manipulate the facts and promote themselves as experts in the failures of laser. Just pay for advertising the normal way and stop trying to get it for free here!

Just for the record Redhead, I have NEVER passed myself off as any kind of expert on Laser.

I take my time answering questions here for the benefit of those who are here searching for answers. I don't expect even a small percentage of the readers of this board to ever have a single hair removed by me personally. It is a very frequent occurance in these forums that if I don't answer a question, no one here ever does. Just see what happens during any period of time when I am away. If Andrea and I don't put in the time, you get many question posts, and zero replies.

For the record I never said you were passing yourself off as an expert on laser. I said an "expert on the failures of laser". This is because you talk about laser in terms of the dissatisfied patients that come to you. This is not a scientific way to determine lasers effectiveness. I also said that you SHOULD give technical advice, and I for one find it valuble. I said you LOSE credibility when you self promote and manipulate facts in your favor (SEE GINO FIOR's WEBSITE). Maybe Gino is more guilty of this than you. I also said you are probably a great at your chosen profession as is he, but I came to this Forum because I have been betrayed by advertising and false promises and quite frankly don't enjoy seeing it here.

See, this is what separates this site from others. I have said that I am biased on the laser question exactly because just like my average male client has over twice as much hair as is normal for an average male (after all, that's why they come to me in the first place), I also accept the fact that it would only make sense that any post-laser client seeking out my services is by definition a dissatisfied laser ex-client.

I am on record as having said just that in other posts on this subject. I am not here to argue that fact. The thing that gets me hot under the collar is the thing where people want to glaze over the fact that the FDA says that advertising laser as Permanent Hair Removal is fraud. According to the FDA, whatever Laser DOES, it is not Permanent Hair REMOVAL. We can argue over what Permanent Hair REDUCTION means, but it sure is not the same as Permanent Removal, that's why the FDA makes a distinction.

So here it is, Laser and Electrolysis are two different things. If people would understand that, and not try to evaluate them as if they were competing forms of the same thing, we would have less problems.

I totally agree with you, especially your last sentence. I believe that those looking for total hair removal should start with some sort of laser or IPL (Practitioner is of utmost importance) and then finish with electrolysis (Practitioner is of utmost importance). If it is a very small area then just do electrolysis. I think for women's faces that electrology is often the best solution as they are really looking for total and complete hair removal, but even then I think they should look into starting with something else first. I really take issue with the idea that one is definitely better than the other. They are different and compatable, and I have to say that any electrolysist that dismisses laser and any laser practitioner that dismisses electrology is not worthy of my trust. I say now to you James that you are indeed trustworthy, and would like to remind other Electrologists that bashing lasers does not promote electrology. My person experience leads me to the following conclusions:If you want to reduce the amount of hair in the quickest and cheapest way with the least amount of pain then use a laser (for insance if you have a pelt on your chest that you want to just look "normal". If you want total hair removal of a large area start with laser and finish with electrolysis.Total hair removal of a small area should just be electrology. I will never be convinced that a normal person under normal conditions could have really large areas treated all the way through with electrology( you would totally have to make hair removal a lifestyle). And am likewise convinced that laser cannot ever , ever eliminate 100%of hair permanently. On a final note I am now being treated with the Aurora and find it to be very unique in a lot of ways, and therefore I don't yet know what it's limits are. (SEE MY POSTS ON THIS AS WELL AS RJC2001's)

Hi readhead......... I was slow to answer your reply to my post regarding lasers and MELANOMAS due to faulty equipment, however, this is corrected now. Your answer is just below your comment on my post.

You state James and Fino in the same sentence as though they were equally excellent electrologists. I believe James is more ETHICAL on the basis of how much “noise” either makes about how many patients they have or how long they have been in business. Length of time is important in some cses but in the state where Fino practices there is NO LICENSING of electrologists. All you hear about him is his own noise and it has been repeated so often that it is believed by many in our field but there is NO PROOF.

Why isn’t he board certified? Can he pass the test? We do not know. All electrologists work in a closed room for the patient’s privacy and I do not know who is an excellent electrologist as I never saw anyone working on a patient or spoke to a patient to find out if they were satisfied with the work and looked to see if the area treated had any surface marks. I know many electrologists who sound as though they may be good but their work is a secret to them. The same holds true for me.

I worked for a dermatologist for 10 years (one day a week). I treated all his electrology patients. Most of them were women who were Doctors or medical students. When he asked me to work on them I became his AGENT and he became LIABLE for any problems that might cause a malpractice suit. No doctor wants to assume this responsibility unless they are confident about their assistant. That is why I wanted to work for him....the PRESTIGE of working for a Board Certified Dermatologist elevated me in the eyes of other doctors from who we recieved referrals.

Harvey, please do not disparage other contributors on the board like this. Any assertions you make need to be backed up with evidence that anyone can verify for themselves, such as government data or published papers.

I have no problems with people linking to their professional sites or consumer experiences, just as I have no problem with people being critical of those sites. I do have problems with unsubstantiated claims, and I expect everyone to back up their statements with verified evidence.