I’ve had about 4 treatments with this electrologist and each time my skin is horrible (red, inflammed, scabs for more than a week after the treatment). I have never had this with anyone else. She has turned down the intensity each treatment as well as changed to a silver? needle but the same problem persists. If I ask her to turn down the intensity to the lowest possible setting that will still allow the hairs to slide out, would this still kill the hair root? Do electrologists normally keep the intensity as high as possible or do they normally keep it as low as possible . . . just enough to allow the hair to slide out? My hair is blonde and most of it is very fine. And PS . . . someone was mentioning price . . . I pay $90 an hour and this is the rate that everyone around here charges. But she is super fast and removes a lot of hair per hair . . . many more hairs than anyone else has ever removed.
In the “Electrolysis Religions” there are “Orthodox Maximizers” and “New Testament Minimalists”. The Orthodox preach that you find the treatment energy that is the highest the person’s pain threshold can tolerate and go forth with treatment. The Gospel of the New Testiment is that one need only find the treatment energy that actually removes the hair, and need trouble the person no further.
Thin vellus hairs don’t need to be painful to remove. It is my opinion that you are being grossly overtreated, as what you describe sounds like the setting is way above what is needed (because you can stand it that high) and once the necessary area is treated, the excess energy spreads to surrounding tissue.
Of course, full disclosure requires that I inform you that I am the Jimmy Swaggert of the New Testament Gospel Minimizers 
Then again, as the equipment one uses gets more advanced, one can’t continue to seek out the customer’s pain tolerance, as when one tries to do this with a Platinum, SX-500 or Sequintium VMC, one reaches Nuclear levels before the client protests. :o
Skin reaction like you describe is TOTALLY unecessary! I am not even close to $90 an hour, but maybe I should be after hearing stories like this. I mean, what are you getting in return for your $90 with this kind of reaction? Please cease these sessions or you may be heading down the road toward pitting and scarring. Find someone skilled with excellent equipment and I’m serious!
Hi ht, I was wondering if you have ever contacted the Dectro Institute. I know Canada is huge and I don’t know where you are in relation to the Dectro Institute but this facility provides great electrology training - I read all of their educational manuals and know that the electrologists coming out of their training institute get a good education. Google Dectro International, you will find contact information and possibly referrals.
Keep on looking for that person who graduated top of the class! Oh, and BTW, they are not always the one’s charging the highest rates.
I kind of have the same problem, I am juggling two different electrologists who seem to be good etc. but regardless I’m getting really bad pitting and ingrown hairs. It’s so annoying because the hair is starting to thin out but my skin always looks wrecked. I think I’m just plain unfortunate in having really fragile skin.
There is the sensitive skin thing, but most people can have treatment where there is nothing noticeable in 3 days or less, assuming proper post treatment care.
This is the part where the treat the hair people really hit a wall arguing with the find the pain threshold people. They say that the skin usually heals up well in 3 months after the last treatment (whenever that is) but again, if the treatments are so slow that one never finishes, one never looks good either.
Thank you for all your replies.
James: you gave me a good laugh and even managed to give me a clear understanding of the different rules that different electrologists live/learn/study/practice by. That said, today I went to the treatment and asked her to turn it way down. She said that would turn it down only to a point where she felt I would still get results but if this didn’t work, she wasn’t prepared to turn it down further because IHO, this was the minimum needed to see results. The good news is, I walked out of there with a little bit of redness and it is now nighttime and it looks pretty good. I even did a no-no and through some makeup on tonight so I could go out. When I washed it off, I can see some redness but very very little. So I will continue to go to her with the understanding that she is not to raise the intensity anymore.
Arlene: I only live in Canada part of the year and when I’m there, I do have someone I go to and am very pleased with here. Right now I reside in the US so I was trying to find someone here who could do the job. Boy oh boy . . . the prices are sooooooooo different. In Canada I pay between 35-60 per hour. In the US I am paying $90 a hour. Gosh, I wish I could earn $90 an hour . . . I’m obviously in the wrong business!!
Price depends on overhead as I’m sure you understand. Some electrologists that work out of their basement can charge $35 per hour and some that have higher expenses, which can include giving a 30%-40% cut to “the man”, need to charge more. Whatever one charges is not what they take for themselves at the end of the day. Rent, communication (website, cell phone, land line, internet access) credit card expenses, malpractice, supplies, advertising, city tax, state tax, federal tax, social security tax, (and there is more!!!) has to be factored in to that hourly fee. If you are an electrologist that is married, even more of your income is eaten away by taxes.
If she is willing to turn the intensity down, and your skin outcome improves, then you have saved yourself a new search for a practitioner. This is the beauty of communicating. Don’t let anyone overtreat you repeatedly.
Oh yes, don’t forget that price must also cover Continuing Education Credits, which in some cases include $1000 trips to where those C.E.U classes are given. (that’s what licensing brings)
I am forever telling my clients no make-up for 24 to 72 hours after treatment, and they nod their heads and say Ummm-Hmmm as they are applying it right there in my office. I repeat myself, and they say, I have done this before, its ok.
I hand them the hand out that says in writing, no make-up and many other post treatment info and leave it to them.
Oh, yes, continuing education!
Oh, just thought of this on the hourly rate. If I purchase surgical loupes ($1,800), or a $3,000 or $10,000 epilator, then my hourly rate should reflect the better equipment used. I can go faster because I can see better. Skin outcome is better because epilator is of the modern variety. Time to completion is less, thus one actually pays less for permanent hair removaL IN THE END.
I am an electrologist, and have another problem with a client or two. How soon after having Laser Treatments is it safe to have electrolysis? One client schedules treatment with me just 3 weeks after having laser performed. Last time it resulted in overtreatment. That was with 3 hours of electrolysis performed 3 weeks after laser. Now she wants to schedule a similar appointment. In my opinion this is excessive, but she really wants treatment. How soon after having Laser Treatment is it safe to perform electrolysis. IMHO, the Laser is not really doing any more good anyway. Plus add to that, how long after SRS should one wait?
Medical literature says 6 weeks before one would have electrolysis, and some doctors would say 6 months after SRS.
In practice both are done the next day, but one must understand the reasons for the wait times.
For LASER, the skin needs to heal, and usually it is the electrologists who is blamed for any “overtreatment” problems. For SRS, one’s immune system is compromised after surgery, and the doctor doesn’t want to invite additional potential infections.