I’m currently getting consults from different electrologists here in Texas and haven’t really liked anyone. It got me to thinking that maybe I don’t really know what an electrolysis treatment should be like.
I’ve seen a lot of videos posted by Josefa and wanted to see other videos as well, if that is possible. I don’t know if it’s the difference in country or skill or experience, but the electrologists I went to, don’t work like that. I had one electrologist who went into the hair and swirled the needle around. Luckily, I had a 20 minute session with her and the area is not too exposed. I had severe scabbing and after that I have hyper pigmentation dots.
I wanted to make a request to the esteemed electrologists here on this forum - if they could post some videos or links to videos - Michael Bono, Dee, James, Arlene - I’m sorry if I’ve missed someone.
I think it’ll be a great resource for other people as well, who have no idea what an electrolysis treatment should look like.
From a distance, most electrolysis treatment will look the same other than perhaps how quickly the insertions are done and how long the probe is in the follicle.
It would be much more informative if you could see what the hairs look like after being treated. If it was a good treatment, you should almost always have a coagulated root sheath being pulled out with the hair, the coagulated mass will look slightly different depending on what stage the hair was in (telogen, anagen, etc) but there should be some kind of coagulated creamy looking goop. If they are just pulling hairs with no coagulated cells then chances are you have not been treated well.
Vertical movement, moving the tip of the probe up/down in the follicle while the energy is on is a good technique, this is what Josefa is doing in her videos although she does it very quickly in one seamless motion.
Horizontal movement or swirling the probe side to side while in the follicle is a very bad idea. The goal of electrolysis should be to treat the absolute minimum area directly around the hair, by swirling the probe a much larger area than necessary is treated which raises the potential for pitting significantly. Also, if the probe is too deep when swirled it may still miss some of the stem cells at the upper bulge area despite the amount of damage done at lower depths.
The reason why vertical movement is the ideal technique and horizonatal movement is bad is because the energy is most concentrated at the tip of the probe. Proper vertical movement ensures that all of the stem cells are treated by the concentrated energy surrounding the probes tip, and also that no one area is overtreated by leaving the tip in one place for too long.
Positioning the probe and then delivering the energy with no movement is a valid strategy also, but skilled vertical movement allows for the use of lower treatment energy and raises the chance of killing the hair on the first try.
It was a nightmare to get the footage. It’s only 2 hairs but it was a difficult position to hold for any length of time. It’s pretty high magnification and was filmed with a usb microscope taped to my leg I’m planning on doing more footage in the future to give people an idea of what things look like up close. The probe really isn’t as large as it looks As can be seen there was no reaction at the skin surface and the hairs slid out beautifully. And yes I know I do have very dry skin at the moment.
s.Tehfe - thank you so much for the link. I saw all the videos (in the gallery section) and I saw the coagulated creamy looking goop coming out when the electrologist slid the hair out. In some the white stuff doesn’t come out, does that mean the hair is not being treated properly?
Dee - I can’t wait to see your videos
t4ngent - thanks for the info. All the electrologists (three) I have been really nice, and I keep hoping -“oh, i hope she works out for me, i hope she’s awesome, i hope she has time for me”. But, it’s been really disappointing so far.
follizap - wow, really like how your insertion went into the hair follicle perfectly. It was my first time seeing that bent black needle. Also, I can now see why there wouldn’t be much skin reaction. Thank you so much for this video and please apply some lotion.
Michael Bono - I saw some of your pics on the temporary side-effects of electrolysis thread, really helped me understand the difference between normal and abnormal skin reactions.
On a different note, I found this video online: http://www.videojug.com/interview/permanent-hair-removal-electrolysis . I don’t know why but a lot of doctors/ aestheticians are anti-electrology. I used to go (1-2 years ago) to a medispa doctor for vibradermabrasion on my face and she used to keep telling me to get laser done on my face. I told her that I wanted to get electrolysis done, and she told me that it’s going to take 4-5 years to get done, and it’s stupid… I wish I could send her some information about electrolysis. I had fine hair on my face at the time (it’s a little course now). I’ve also been burnt by laser 6-7 years ago, when I got IPL for skin glow, didn’t have any issues with hair at the time. Also I’ve heard plenty of horror stories of friends, cousins and aunts who have tried laser on their face. One beauty aesthetician in India told me, she would never in her life recommend laser for the female face, as she’s seen so many blotched jobs leaving women with even courser hair and bad skin.
Follizap, I can not imagine how you have managed to record video through the microscope and also see where you insert the probe, but the truth is that it has gone great. Congratulations.
There is a set up that would let me shoot video, or put it up on a screen during treatments, but the best price I found for even a well used one was nearly $2,000
I love you guys, but… no one is paying me to do that, you know
Hello Josefa!
You are SO kind posting so much about electrolysis, doing blog and posting videos on Youtube.
If it is possible, could you please, write a description to your youtube videos (or post a description and a link here in special topic)? I think that many electrologists who uses Apilus Platimun would benefit from it! It would be really very kind of you and I am sure it would be very very helpful to many electrologists!
It would be great if with every video you will write next description:
treated area and type of hair (fine, medium or coarse)
percent of telogen and anagen hairs in this area (how long ago the area was shaved or waxed)
size and type of needle used
epilator set-up (type of current, intensity, timing, pulsing)
depth of insertion in mm for telogen hairs and amount of pulses
depth of insertion in mm for anagen hairs and amount of pulses (with displacement: the first pulse at papilla and another pulse at bulge area? Or with displacement: the first pulse at bulge area and another pulse at papilla? Or without displacement: two pulses at papilla?)
I am sure it would be So much more helpful for many electrologists (and to whom who will plan to be an electrologists in future!
Well, that would be very nice of course, if Jossie chooses to do this herself.
But I doubt it’s fair to expect this from her, particularly when she’s already gone above and beyond the call of duty. Besides, the extra info as great as it would be is not what ultimately makes someone else a better electrologist.
Imho the best way to improve one’s skill in any area is by paying very close attention to what’s in front of you. That’s all. Close observation of your own work, keeping track of the results and a strong willingness to try out new ideas will help more than any set of stats.
Oh, you shouldn’t sacrifice your sleep, dear Josefa!
I just thought that if you will have time and desire, it would be great to hear details of real cases.
It’s okay, Ekade. Have you thought about dedicating this profession? I think you have everything a electrologist needs, and you could bring a lot with your enthusiasm.
“Imho the best way to improve one’s skill in any area is by paying very close attention to what’s in front of you. That’s all. Close observation of your own work, keeping track of the results and a strong willingness to try out new ideas will help more than any set of stats.”
Not every day you read things so wisely written, impossable.
Thank you for your kind words, Josefa! I did think about being an electrologist in the future. Though, I do not know when I will be able to go to school. Maybe in several years.
I’m planning on doing more footage in the future to give people an idea of what things look like up close. The probe really isn’t as large as it looks 
