ELECTROLYSIS help needed please!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
1

Hi everyone! I’m so happy to have stumbled across this website. :slight_smile: To think I thought I was all alone with this hair business! I have tan brown skin and dark black hair, which just so happens to be all over my body. It’s not thick, but rather it’s very thin and fine, but when I say it’s all over my body…well I don’t think there’s an inch of me that’s not covered in hair! As a kid I used to wonder why I was so unfortunate to be the girl with the hairy arms. Who knew I’d grow up and have to worry about facial and body hair as well :frowning:

I’m now in my mid-20s and have gotten many electrolysis treatments done on my face. I started about 2years ago, but the problem is that I was on-off with my treatments. So I got about 6 treatments done (every 3 weeks), but then slowly I started waiting months at a time. The reason? I couldn’t afford the treatments since most of money went towards tuition!! Also, I found the treatment very painful. My dilemma? I went to one lady who only charged $40/hour…she’s been in the business since the 80s and is wonderful, but her machine is soooo outdated that it scares me! I think it’s because of the machine that I found the treatments so very painful. On top of everything else, my skin started breaking out. I addressed this with her and she said it was because I wasn’t treating my skin properly after treatment. Not true! I’m allergic to aloe vera, but I used Germiphene that I was given and so forth. Later on she told me that Germiphene was horrible to use because it dries skin out! After awhile, I just began to cope with breakouts after treatments. Then another problem - I noticed pigmentation problems, which I currently have (at least that’s what I think they are?) Basically if you look very closely, you can see pink dots (on my brown tanned skin) where the electrolysis needle was inserted each time!! :o IS THIS NORMAL???

So I stopped treatments with her. Not entirely, but like I said I stopped going regularly. I found another certified lady, but when she treated my face (so cheeks, sideburns, chin), I noticed that she would do one whole area (cheeks) and not spread out the treatment. So you could notice more than ever that I had sideburns because my cheeks were now cleared of hair!! Nevertheless, she was great. Whenever I got my hair treated from her (went to her 3x), I never felt any pain!! I think it’s because she has a fancy, newer machine? It’s white and it has an image of a lady’s body shape with arrows pointing to each area a person can have treated. Anyways, my concern is that shouldn’t the treatment hurt in order for it to be working??

Just need any advice. I don’t know if I should continue on with the 2nd lady (who charges $75/hr by the way!!) or go back to the 1st lady. :confused: OR should I get laser done?? I know soooo many people who have gotten laser done successfully, but at the same time there have been many horror stories too! Lastly, is $75/hr reasonable for that lady to charge? I live in BC (Canada) and from my research NO ONE charges more than $60 !! I’ve researched many places, but she told me that her price was fair.

THANKS EVERYONE!! Looking forward to your advice

2

First of all, let me say this: People are always concentrating on how many dollars per hour they are paying, while they blythly ignore how many hairs per dollar they are getting, and it is maddening to those of us who surpass 100 hairs per hour.

Second, Although there are those who believe the paridigm that “If it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t work” (in fact Apilus has returns on their products all the time because people say, “I could see the hairs came out well, but the people thought I was cheating them because they did not feel any pain”) the truth is, although what you feel will be individual and variable, pain is not necessary to receive good hair removal.

Your second lady has an Apilus machine that cost her more than 4 times what your first lady paid for her metal box, so that is just one expense she has that outstrips the first in makeing your hair removal experience both profitable, and comfortable. Shouldn’t she get paid at least as much as the first lady for all the hairs she removes? What’s that you say, she is charging more? Um, no actually, she may still be charging less!

Without getting too technical, an Apilus has many features, that when used properly, will increase the number of hairs removed per treatment hour, and the comfort makes clients more willing to do longer and more frequent appointments and therefore, if one using an Apilus works up to their potential, their clients reach full permanent hair removal more quickly than someone going one hour a week, once a month for 40 years with some one who can only remove 100 hairs per hour.

If the person removing 100 hairs per hour gets $60 shouldn’t the person removing 700 per hour get $420 per hour? Well, be happy, most electrologists don’t charge more than $100 even when they are in a major city, AND removing many more hairs than others in their area. (In most cases, in order to pay more than $100, one has to either go to a Spa, or have the electrologist travel to do treatments in your home or designated meeting place.)

3

I didn’t mean to anger you (hope I haven’t!), but thank you for replying back :slight_smile: Your post was very informative and I’m looking forward to continuing my treatment with an electrologist who isn’t as “painful” as my first. Thanks!

4

Can anyone answer my other question in my initial post?:

“I’m allergic to aloe vera, but I used Germiphene that I was given and so forth. Later on she told me that Germiphene was horrible to use because it dries skin out! After awhile, I just began to cope with breakouts after treatments. Then another problem - I noticed pigmentation problems, which I currently have (at least that’s what I think they are?) Basically if you look very closely, you can see pink dots (on my brown tanned skin) where the electrolysis needle was inserted each time!! IS THIS NORMAL??”

5

Can you list the ingredients in the aloe vera gel you are using and list the ingredients in the Germiphene, please?

How do you know you are allergic to aloe vera gel? Are you using the clear stuff or does it have blue or green dye in it? How pure is it?

Is your skin naturally tanned or do you artificially tan?

Can you post a picture of your hyperpigmentation problem? How was your healing scenario post electrolysis? What did your skin look like and for how long? Scabs? red dots? noticable size?

Hyperpigmentation can be a problem for some people because that’s the way their immune system responds to trauma. It gradually fades when the area is no longer being assaulted by whatever… bug bites, cuts, laser, electrolysis.

Dee

6

Hi :slight_smile:

I’m not quite sure what the ingredients are for Germiphene, but both electrologists I went to use it on their clients - although the 1st electrologist mentioned it wasn’t to be used more than once after treatment (I used it for a few days). I also know of a few other people that use it after treatment and it’s just to clean up any bacteria I think?

As for the aloe vera thing, I’ve been allergic to it for ages and my doctor determined this after I developed a bad skin reaction. When I started getting electrolysis done, the lady used it and I developed the same, red rash. Aloe vera is very safe for most people to use (and a lot of lotions contain it actually), but it doesn’t work for me.

I will try to take pictures to post. My skin in naturally tanned (I’m not Caucasian) and I would develop small scabs after treatment, which I know are normal. However the scabs stopped (perhaps because the treatment was being done at a lower setting - I don’t know myself) and teeny, tiny pink marks would form instead of the scabs. Not great on brownish/white skin!!! Everywhere she had removed a hair on my face was visible by a dot. Some have faded (or perhaps I could just be fooling myself), but A LOT are still there :frowning: My skin is very sensitive from the get-go and dealing with this just bothers me because I used to have great, clear skin. What’s worse is the breakouts (pimples) after treatments. NOT because I wasn’t cleaning my skin, but rather because of the “trauma” to the area.

7

How long have you had the dots after treatment? Maybe it’s still healing? Are you looking at your treated areas with a magnification mirror? Are you using numby washcloths or exfoliation mits, loffahs too soon after treatment? HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO HEAL? How many treatments did you have? How far apart? How thick is the hair? Do you expect your skin to look as perfect as before you started, right after treatment or are you willing to have minor skin manfestations for a short durattion (less than a week). Maybe this doesn’t describe you, but I don’t have enough information and no timelines to go with and so follows all these pesky questions. There are so many things that can be done to bring one good healing outcomes and there are some things that clients need to accept, short term, if they want permanent hair removal.

Germiphene sounds inappropriate for aftercare. I can’t find the ingredients on this product. If anyone can find and list the ingredients, I would appreciate it. I found information that relates to disinfecting surfaces, but not for skin care.

Skip the aloe vera gel. Use a very mild soap and witch hazel. Please keep all very simple and pure for three days. Don’t experient with products that may have several ingredients with names one can’t spell or pronounce.

Dee

8

I looked it up and I’m quite scared that BOTH electrologists use this product in their offices since it isn’t well known among other electrologists such as yourself. Not only that, but there’s NO information about it on the Internet. What I did find however, was this:

germiphene (70% alcohol, hibitane 2% solution, or providone iodine 10% solution)

As for the dots, well they’re not scabs and they’ve been on my face for months. I suppose my skin takes longer to heal, but I’m just very self-conscious. And NO I don’t look in a magnifying mirror haha …although I will admit I HATE looking at myself in the review mirror in the car! That mirror is the worst possible mirror ever!

The hair on my face is very, very thin. I think the problem (after reading some of the replies to my post) is that I just have hyperpigmentation and my skin might take longer to heal, especially because it’s so very sensitive. I suppose I’m just worried because I don’t want to be SCARRED permanently. As for how many treatments I’ve gotten, I would say at least a dozen on my face, perhaps a few more. I don’t do anything harmful to my face afterwards. I’m the type of girl who doesn’t even wear makeup and I’m in my mid20s! I suppose the problem is that having sensitive skin and never having done anything to my face before made my skin react poorly to the electrolysis treatments…

9

There are a lot of products in this world that people apply to their faces. I don’t know them all and maybe in your locale, Germiphene is the norm. So don’t be scared. Ususally I can find stuff on the internet, but I couldn’t find this. I know what alcohol and iodine is, and I’m thinking these concentrations are too high for your face. I’m guessing that hibitane might be some anti-fungal or anti-viral properties, but will have to look that one up when I get time. Again, keep it simple, pure and gentle for aftercare.

Some people take longer to heal than others, especially if they use products that interfer with Mother Nature’s special plan. There’s a very good possibility that if you allow enough time to pass, you will be just fine. Most people are.

Dee

Okay, no time ike the present. Here’s information on hibitane:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100001242.html

10

Thank you for the information - I think I’ll stick to tea-tree oil from now on :slight_smile:

11

Allow me to say “You are Welcome” and that you did not anger me at all, I was just expressing the frustration those in the industry who work to update and upgrade their craft. They are often put in the position of justifying their prices, when the answer is simple math. We provide a service based on a larger overhead due to all the upgrading and updating, which incidentally results in faster results for the client, which would mean that we would get paid EVEN LESS than the slower outdated businesses, if we charged the same rates, but got the job done faster, which is not rewarding better work.