I’m been thinking of switching my electrolysist and I had a 10 min ‘trial’ with an new lady today. The plus side was that she had a new machine (Apilus), used a clean pair of gloves and needle, but she didn’t use any kind of magnifying equipment at all. I asked why not and she said she had really good eyesight and only used the magnifying equipment for areas such as the forehead and neck. Is this a big no no?
I wouldn’t want her working on me or my clients with no magnification. I have actually seen people work without magnification and am horrified by it and I don’t scare easily.
Nobody’s eyesight is that good.
Also, she may likely cut her career short if she does not use magnification. I just had my annual eye exam this morning and all is healthy and well. I attribute my eye health to many good things I do for myself (colorful food choices, proper rest, protection from sunlight) and having proper magnification for doing my job is not only a proper tool to have for the good of my clients, but quality magnification protects my eyesight as well. Protecting ones eyesight equals prolonging one’s livihood and general enjoyment of life.
Dee
Thank you both. I definitely won’t be seeing her again. I’ve been looking at my upper lip in the mirror and it looks okay, although it does looks as though I may have a sunken mark right on my lipline.
The only place I can see someone doing decent work on without any visual aid would be legs, and I still use magnification on legs.
Unless this lady was cross bread with an eagle, I would expect that she too should be using visual aids.
What is the best kind of magnification device? Some electrolysists use the eye piece, and some have just a magnificating lense they look through that is fixed. Where would one buy or learn more about the need for magnification with use of electrolysis?
If you go to the search feature above and type in magnification, newer than 4 years > SUBMIT you will find lots and lots of references, more than you need, actually. But, this may be helpful for you:
Best kind of magnification device? It’s my belief that it will be different for different electrologists. The best device will depend on the electrologist’s vision. I also believe that every electrologist should use SOME kind of magnification, even if they have been “cross-bred with an eagle”, as James put it.
My favorite so far are the Zeiss binoculars. They are 3.5 magnification and are worn like glasses, but don’t look like glasses. (Mentioned because I did not see reference to them.)
More important than the consumer concern about magnification is the fact that all treatments should be provided with the electrologist wearing fresh gloves and a new needle. Since the original post mentioned it, I wondered if you (Still04) had run into electrologists that did not feature this essential practice.
My electrologist doesn’t wear gloves!!!
roma18,
There are many reasons the electrologist should be wearing gloves. Gloves provide protection for the client and the electrologist. If the electrologist has a small break in the skin, then the client may be exposed to germs from the electrologist and when a tiny drop of blood comes to the surface of the clients skin then the electrologist is exposed to the germs of the client. Even if we are healthy, why should we share germs?
I will admit that I was reluctant to begin wearing gloves. I’d been in practice many years without gloves, and as I learned about the risks involved (albeit small) by not wearing gloves, I bought some. My reluctance to wearing them had to do with my concern that I would offend the client - that the client would think that I was afraid of them…
Gloves are available in all sizes and materials. If you or the electrologist are allergic to latex, the nitrile gloves are great! They even come in blue and pink! You might ask your electrologist why they are NOT wearing gloves.
Right-o Barbara, and little drops of blood come out of those mini hematomas routinely. My big concern would be the bare-handed electrologist absorbing mumbing agents from resting her hands and touching the client’s skin. this would most certainly add up over daily exposer, unneeded liver wear and tear? Possibly. I wear the blue nitriles when I work on myself. I don’t want more of that stuff in my system than what’s absolutely minimal.
Mantaray
Roma,
Does your electrologist wash her hands or use a hand sanitizer in front of you before commencing with treatment?
If hands are washed, with soap and water, for at least 15 sec. or hands are rubbed with the proper amount of hand sanitizer for at least 12-15 seconds then better for you. Even if she wore some finger cots that would be better than nothing.
If you are bothered by your non-gloved electrologist, then tell her so. This glove thing cuts both ways: it’s good for the electrolgists welfare and good for the clients welfare.
I wear vinyl gloves. Latex gloves allergies are not worth the risk for both practitioner and client.
Dee
Roma,
I guess I will forever be amazed by what I hear. I thought California was one of the most Regulated States when it came to Electrology. I attended school in California and I can tell you the school stressed wearing gloves very much. I was kind of disappointed that they did not go more into the correct technique for putting on the gloves to keep them sterile, but that is another topic. They did stress wearing gloves at least.
As far as eye ware is concerned. Every Student was originally given clip-on magnifiers, with 5 diopter which is almost 3 times magnification. But these require the operator to be very close to the client. Most paid extra for professional loupes. The loupes the school had available were not adjustable, and with my eyesight I had to stay with the clip-ons with my glasses. Since I have purchased professional Magnification Loupes which work wonderfully with my eyesight with 3 times Magnification. These allow me to remain farther away from the client and concentrated my eyesight into just the area that I am working on.
I am amazed that anyone would try and perform electrolysis without proper eyesight and proper sterilization. I mean I even use gloves when performing electrolysis on my spouse. Knowing what I know today, if I were to go to another electrologist and had them coming at me without gloves or eye magnification, I would immediately get up and run as fast away as I possibly could.
Just to add a little more specificity here, Martha, gloves do not have to be sterile when performing electrolysis, only the probes and forceps do. Gloves are clean items. Sterile gloves are needed for surgery or other medical proceedures, but not for electrolysis. Gloves for the purpose of performing electrolysis offer barrier protection for client and electrologist. If we all wore sterile gloves, that wouldn’t alter the purpose as to why wear them. It would be okay to wear sterile gloves, but more expensive for us in the long run and we can do without more expensive overhead,right?
Dee
Now you know why I have yet to finish all the electrolysis I dream of having done. Who would you trust to do all your work if you had lots of work to do?
I fully understand your feelings in odregards to having someone else perform electrolysis on you when you know what should be done. I now realize how much my electrologist that I had about 12 years ago was not doing by todays standards. But he is not in business any longer either. Things like reusing probes without even sterilizing them between uses. No wonder I had problems with skin healing back then. I am so thankful that the knowledge about electrolysis has increased so much over the years.