I am interested in becoming a lasar hair removal specialist, but
I am unsure of where to start. Where are the best places or programs to recieve training? How much should my training cost? Where should I go to recieve work experience?
What would it take for me to have my own laser hair removal business? Will I need some liability insurance? What would be my actual running costs?

In response to some of your questions...

If you are in the US, regulations differ according to state.

For the most part, the training is provided by the manufacturer. There are some schools that also provide the training. Most of the people who attend these courses already work in the medical, appearance enhancement or hair removal fields.

Since the start-up costs are high, from my perspective, it would be a good idea to visit laser hair removal facilities and ask for a job doing anything you are qualified to do. Ask for an opportunity to learn. Again, administrating laser for hair removal is regulated by state. If you are a dermatologist, then you can work anywhere.

The malpractice/professional liability insurance for laser hair removal was about $3,000 but because of all the litigation, the insurance has gone up to $5,000 and I believe it will continue to go up. You can keep your insurance lower if you agree not to treat the darker skin types.

Good luck and keep us posted.

If you don't mind my asking, what exactly is a "Licensed Hair Removal Teacher?"

Thanks

Thank you for your response to my inquire. I live in Houston TX. I have no exerience in laser hair removal, but have a strong desire to learn more and own my own business. I am attending a Palomar Medical Technologies seminar this weekend to learn more and meet others in the hair removal field. I am also calling local laser hair removal places to see if I can get a job in their frount offices to learn more. Insurance is $3,000-$5,000 per (year?).

Good sources for the info you seek are:
Trudy Brown
http://www.advancedelectrolysislaser.com/trudy.html
&
Vickie Mickey
http://www.aboutface-ctc.com/about.html

Of course, at the moment Texas is in a state of change as towhat the rules are going to be for those who will practice LASER in that state. They are going from no real rules, to formulating rules. Information on what is going on is available elsewhere on the site.

You may want to check out franchise sites. Sona-Solana-Ideal Image etc. Joining up with a franchise may NOT be the best business move but if you request info they may send you a start up package/details about costs. I did this and got a boatload of info.
WARNING-They are persistent with follow up calls so if you don't want to be bothered forget it. The calls do stop when you tell them you have no money at this time

Vickie Mickey's course provides different levels of training. You get 20 hours of theory and 10/30 hours of hands on laser application. This class meets for five days in a row. Last I heard, the 50 hour laser training class was $3,600, the 30 hour class for physicians and nurses costs $2,500
20 hour for clinical time only, costs $1,500.

Dee

Hello sslhr,

In my state, in order to teach in a school that has state board of education approval, one must be a licensed teacher. You can get that by taking courses in education. Could you be confused by the fact that someone who teaches for a laser company, for example, does not need a teaching license?

Since I teach in a school, I have a teaching license from the State University of New York. I teach hair removal at a school where there are programs, all approved by the NYS board of ed., in laser hair removal, electrolysis, and waxing. Therefore, the title, "licensed _______ teacher". "Hair Removal" is the key phrase to fill in, in my situation.

PM me if you want more info.

Thanks. I was curious. One other quick question if you don't mind. Doesn't laser hair removal need to be performed with a physician on site in New York, or am I getting confused with other states? Assuming it does, how is the NYS board of ed. involved in laser hair removal specifically? Thanks.

From my knowledge, qualified professionals are on site for all courses that are offered.

Laser hair removal manufacturers should be able to help you with your questions should you have trouble reaching government agencies.

If you like, PM me and I will give provide you with the name of the school and you can contact the administrator/owner and ask your questions.

I believe there is also the Rocky Mountain school in Denver I think which is a national school. If you take a class from a laser manufacturer, I would take a class from Candela rather than Palomar just because they have better hair removal lasers and I would prefer to learn more about those. Also, since Smooth Solutions is in Texas, maybe sslhr can help if you PM him since he owns the chain there.

Well, lagirl, nice that you offer the info. about Smooth Solutions in TX but it leads me to wonder why sslhr didn't offer the information himself? What is that about?

And why ask me odd questions about what a licensed hair removal teacher is?

Heaven forbid for the educational programs in laser that might create more competition! Could it be that is why sslhr didn't address the question about becoming a laser hair removal practitioner?


In any event, Ed, in my opinion, if you are already in the medical or esthetic field, check with your accountant should you opt to take a formal class at a school, you might be able to write the course off as an educational expense.

If you are in an unrelated field, hold off on taking the course because you might not be able to write it off. Get a job at a facility that offers hair removal, work there for awhile and you might be able to take the manufacturers laser course at no cost to you. Then, if you are still interested, take the laser course at a school at which time, since you would be working in the field, you might be able to take it as a deduction or your employer might even pay.

Should you want to own your own facility... well... learn first.

The free seminars that you are attending are marketing, PR, advertising tools and will not give you enough of the theoretical or hands on experience needed.

Good Luck and keep us posted!

sslhr stated several times that he prefers not to advertise his clinics here. he just comes by and provides expert feedback because he came by once to answer a client's question and i asked him to return once in a while for professional input that we always need ehere. since i feel he's knowledgeable on the subject (you can judge for yourself by reading his previous posts if you want) and in that state, he can probably answer more specific questions through a PM. that's why i suggested it.

Hi lagirl,

I don't venture into the laser threads much as my area of expertise is in other areas of hair removal but from reading the sslhr posts in this thread, I don't see expert advice nor do I see any attempt what-so-ever to help someone (who happens to be from his own home state) with a simple question about becoming a hair removal tech. And discovering from you that he owns a chain of hair removal facilities in Texas... well now that is a real shame... not to address his fellow Texan's question.

Arlene,

We all need each other's help and advice on hair removal options. I firmly disagree with your statements concerning sslhr. I hope he stays focused and thick-skinned and continues to visit us with his practical and honest laser hair removal advice, despite the unkind and unecessary attacks.

Dee

Dee,

This thread, started by Ed from Texas, is about getting information on becoming a laser hair removal specialist.

I, not being from TX, provided good suggestions, the best to my ability, as a non Texan.

Then, sslhr, who, is said to own a chain of laser clinics in Texas, enters, offers no help to Ed. Instead, sslhr asks me questions about myself. I asked him to PM me if he has any more questions but he ignored that and continued asking me questions when all the while, also ignoring Ed's request.

I use my real name. Anyone with a license is on file with the government so I can easily be checked out. On the other hand, I have no idea who sslhr is and why he is asking me personal questions that have nothing to do with this thread. I asked him to PM me if he wanted more information but he ignored that.

In light of all that, after reading your post, I have no idea what you are talking about.

Arlene

Yup. Okay.

It would be appreciated if personal attacks and accusations could be kept off the board. If one can not restrain oneself, leave these things to private messages.

On behalf of the community, we are happy for all the professionals and consumers who take their time to contribute here. It takes lots of reading, and research just to be able to contribute to the discourse on this site, and it takes lots of time to be a regular contributor to the site. I will also point out that the people who save money and health problems by taking the information they get from here don't usually give so much as a thank you for what they receive (and how can they, most don't actually post). We really don't need to have foul attitudes disuading the participation of any of our contributors.

To edc2, here is a few tips if you get your business going...
Sona uses this one,we guarantee we will remove 97% of your hair forever after 5 treatments.....another one....you will never have to shave your back again after 5 treatments guarantee... I also heard american laser center has a few good ones to get your hopes up.....hahahaha

i agree with James. there is no need to point fingers. everyone contributes to the best of their ability with regard to their desire and time. just because one has the time and desire to read through the entire thread and contribute, doesn't mean that another contributor like a physician with lots on his plate does too. Arlene, you for example prefered not to read sslhr's past contributions before making this statement as I suggested and noone's holding that against you. It's your choice with respect to your time and desire. we appreciate any feedback anyone, including busy but knowledgeable professionals, can provide here at the expense of their time, with no compensation whatsover.

Let me address your points. First, I didn't know that what I asked you were personal questions. Since you display your credentials on your signature, I thought they were legitimate questions to ask. Why did I ask? I try to follow what is going on in various states and was curious how you were involved in laser hair removal training as a certified hair removal educator. And then I was curious how the NY board of education was involved. Again, just curiosity as to what is happening in New York. I'm not big on PMing people and I swing by every once in a while. So I didn't think of this as something that needed to be PM'd. In fact, given the weather issues we had this week in San Antonio, I didn't want to start a dialog that I may not followup on and so just asked the question directly.

I also wasn't aware that there was a policy that one was not allowed to ask a question only peripherally related to the topic. So I assumed it was OK to ask those questions.

Now as to the rest of your criticism. First, I have tried very hard not to promote my company. I'm not trying to drum up business for myself. I figure if I am doing that, then I lose some of my credibility and objectivity. In fact, I would prefer that no one knows the name of my company since that isn't why I am occasionally posting comments. What I am really trying to do is to correct misconceptions about laser hair removal and promote a reasonable understanding of what it is all about. Much of what is out there about laser hair removal is flat out wrong and I hate to see misconceptions. Now whether you believe that I know what I am talking about or not, is something for you to decide. It doesn't matter to me; I know what I know. Though if you have disagreement about what I've written in the past, I will be happy to discuss those with you.

Finally, as far as giving advice to the person from Texas about becoming a hair removal specialist. By the time I saw the thread, there was quite a bit of advice. All of it reasonable. There really isn't anything more for me to offer. Plus, right now, there are major changes going on in Texas (something I am heavily involved in) but until those changes come in to effect, there is nothing to say. I would not want to give advice that turns out to be wrong. So I figure it is better to just remain silent. Which is by the way, is what happens when someone in Texas says they are looking for a place to do laser hair removal. I also remain silent.

That's my story and I am sticking to it. But just so you know a little bit more about me. We've been involved in laser hair removal since the Epilaser was approved by the FDA. We bought our first laser in May 1997. I've owned 6 different technologies from 11 different manufacturers. I've worked closely with several well known manufacturers to refine their products. And we've done over 350,000 treatments since 1997. I would like to think I know what we are doing.

I still hold to my story too. Informing Ed of the situation would have been appropriate.

In my posts, I invited you to PM. I offered to give you the names of school owners and administrators in NY who could answer your questions about education and gov't. regulations -- but you chose to continue here. I am finished with this conversation and retract my offer.

I too can't understand how anyone would find the question, "What is that credential, how did you get it, and from where did you receive it?" to be offensive. After all, the answer to that question may serve to spur others on to such heights of achievement.

Then start a thread for, "How does one become a teacher?"
This thread was about a guy looking to become a laser hair removal practitioner and I offered him the info. best to my knowledge. When I discovered that the most qualified person to provide information to Ed didn't even address that, I found that to be odd.

James, if one wants to teach, it isn't a big deal. Ayone can. However, if one chooses to teach in a school, one has to find out the laws in their state as it varies. How does one do that? By contacting their state's board of education. Simple enough. Then, you find out what those requirements are for that state.

If you want to know the personal details of my journey, sorry folks, maybe in private.

If sslhr want to know the laws regulating teaching different types of hair removal in NY he has to speak to others as I am not an administrator and I do not know all of the legal information; I know some but not enough to note them here with assurance.

I indicated if he wanted to know more, he could PM me and I would provide him with names of those who can provide info. but he ignored that offer.

On that note, I am outa-here. Yuk.

To sslhr:

Thank you for all your input here. I can only imagine how busy you are and stopping by when you can is a real sign of your commitment to hairy clients seeking honest answers regarding laser hair removal. You're a real gentleman.

Thanks,

Dee

Let me add this.

Arlene:

You have given great advice to so many. I have personally learned so many helpful things from you as well. Personal edginess serves no one well, especially someone as knowledgible as you when it concerns hair removal. I hope you continue to educate us. I'm at a loss to understand why the attack stance when not necessary? Be not too hard for life is short, as the saying goes.

Love to all,

Dee