I'm pretty disappointed in my Wyoming town right now. I just called the two places that advertise electrolysis and neither one of them "perform electrolysis with a needle". ???? What???

The first one said that their "hair removal gal" uses tweezers and not a needle, but it IS electrolysis. The gal that does it doesn't work Mondays so I couldn't talk directly to her.

The second place sounded even sketchier. The woman I talked to said that she uses a permanent hair removal machine but it is NOT electrolysis. I asked if it was laser and she said no. She explained that it used "some sort of gel and electric current to remove the hair, but there were no needles to be afraid of". I asked what the make and model of the machine was and she said she didn't know. I asked if it was permanent hair removal and she said, "Yes, but you just have to be patient. It takes a lot of time to be permanent"

Ugh. These are the only places that supposedly offer electrolysis OR laser, and neither one of them actually offer it. And to think of all the poor women that are being taken by them. Grrrrr. Makes me so mad.

Okay, thanks for reading all of this. Vent over.

Yes, small towns are where these kinds of devices flourish. Most consumers lack the sophistication and research skills needed to tell what works and what doesn't. You might check with local physicians, and see this page for other thoughts on research:

http://www.hairfacts.com/wiki/index.php/Wyoming_hair_removal

There was a place in my area called
"AT LAST! PERMENENT HAIR REMOVAL"

They plied the IGHRS "Transdermal Electrolysis" scam. For over ten years they fooled people into paying them $60 per hour for tickling their faces with electrode gel, and plucking their hairs out. They would start by saying one had to come every week for 12 weeks ($720) and then say that the person had really resistant follicles, and tell them they should either do another 12 weeks ($720) or start coming in at least once a month for the next year ($540) and re-evaluate their hair situation then. Depending on the path the consumer took, they would pay At Last! either $2,880 or $1,260 a year, until they wised up.

Every now and then someone sued for a refund, and got their money back. Of course, if you can sucker $65,000 a year out of people, while only refunding on average $6,500, why stop?

Finally, one angry victim took action and started contacting other people who had utilized this place's "service" and set up a run on the place. They all filed small claims cases on the same day, and a ripple effect took place where others then filed in the months that followed.

Soon, the office was up for sale, the business retreated to the basement of the owner's home, and very soon thereafter, she fled to Florida and filed for bankruptcy. Not everyone got their money back, but the business was finally killed off.

Even with all the publicity surrounding this place, there are still very high profile places in Buffalo boldly calling what they do "electrolysis" when it is only certifiable high priced tweezing.

Perhaps I need to make a monthly trip to your state and show them what permanent hair removal is really all about.

have you checked out the "how to find an electrologist" sticky thread? there are many links there that could be helpful.

what about the link that Andrea provided above?

and really, none of the 6 links had anything in Wyoming near you?

btw, i just replied to your other thread, and for your situation, i would definitely advise to do laser. It is really the most efficient method for bikini and underarms on light skin and dark coarse hair. Although I've had electrolysis on almost every other area with finer hair, laser worked great on those 2 areas and ended up being much faster and cheaper. You can read my treatments diary for more information. And if you do decide to look for laser clinics, check out the link for GentleLASE providers on the Candela website (manufacturer) as this would be the best laser for you. You can type in your zip code there. http://www.candelalaser.com/patients/index.cfm?task=practSearch