What if my state doesn’t have state regulations for electrolysis?
Should I be more concerned? Will it be harder to find a reliable electrologist?
Different people have different opinions on how useful government regulations are. I could see regulations being a useful as they set some standard and add some level of consumer protection. But regulations won’t protected consumers 100%.
If I were in a location without regulations I would do pretty much the same as I did here: Check out the place, make sure they have proper training and experience, proper hygiene procedures, etc. I haven’t seen any electrologist in unregulated states myself, but I would think that if you do your diligent you should be just fine.
I could write a really long and controversial piece about how state regs don’t really help consumers, but I will simply agree with the above statement by saying, no matter where you live, you still need to check out as many practitioners as possible and only after many sample treatments and consultations, and seeing what someone’s finished clients look like, should one then choose who shall win the job of being your hair removal practitioner.
PJ,
If you become knowledgeable about asepsis control, you will have a much stronger idea of what needs to take place. I am so glad that I completed Medical Assisting program prior to taking my classes in Electrology. In comparison, the MA program was about 4000 hours, where most states only require about 600 hours for electrogist. Obviously, Medical Assisting is aimed at the whole body, and being able to help a doctor in their practice by freeing them of jobs you can do.
12 years ago, I was ignorant myself of safety standards, and felt lucky to just find someone to perform electrolysis on me. Now I look back and I am shocked treatment went as well as it did. Reused probes without resterilizing, just placed in a bag with my name on the bag. But there was no regulations at all back then.
Just the other day, I got a call from possibly a prospective client, but because of the questions, may have been someone checking out standards in different offices. Actually, I wish more clients knew enough to ask about means of sterilization and whether single use sterilized probes are used. For far too many clients I seem to have to go out of my way, to explain the aseptis methods that I use. Then they usually appreciate the care I take.
Besides states requirements the AEA and other certifications out there, also publish standards they expect their members to use. But from my experience there is no followup and they really have no idea if you are following their guidelines or not.
You have not stated which state you are in. And even if there are no licensing, it does not mean that there are no regulations. Washington State has no testing requirements, but they do have regulations on some areas that deal with clean envirnment and aseptis control and using single use pre sterilized probes. The sterilization of forceps etc. So even if your state is listed as not requiring licensing, it may have health and safety requirements.
During my consultations, I always say:
These are the probes I use, they are formed from one single piece of metal, packaged and sterilized automatically. This probe has never been touched by human hands and has not known air since it was sealed and sterilized in this package. When I open it up will be the first time it will have had contact with either. When we are done here today, it will be discarded.
This makes you fortunate, because at some other electrolysis offices, you will be told “This is your probe. It has only been used on you. You can take it home, or you can leave it here, where it will be placed in a file, or sealed container until you come back, and we can reuse it then.” Please understand that is like going to a restaurant and when you are finishing your dinner the waiter comes over and says, “Would lick that spoon off real good? Now this is your spoon, I will put it in this envelope and write your name on it, and when you come back next time, I will get it back out for you.” :crazy:
Having said that, I find that I must also point out that there are differences between probes, and there are multi-use probes made, that can be resterilized between uses, but most of the people saying what I just said above are actually reusing single use probes, that are not designed to be resterilized and reused. In fact, of you look at the probes under magnification, you see that the act of using disposeable probes destroys the probes. There are times when I can’t even finish a treatment with the same probe that I started with. (Ok, I admit that many of my sessions go hours and hours on end, and so this is not all that surprosing to some) The point is, unless the probe were designed for reuse, it could not really hold up under reuse conditions anyway.
The largest reason for disposeable probes is to make it possible for the client/patient to rest easy that there is one more thing that one doesn’t have to trust the practitioner to do for your safety. When using multi-use probes, one doesn’t know for sure the electrologists actually resterilized the probe for sure.
James,
A client should be able to tell if a package has gone through either dry heat or autoclave sterilization. It would not be difficult to sterilize probes individually as they should be done and dated and initialized per requirements. But when probes cost about a dollar or less it just does not make sense to go through all the trouble required to do things by the book.
I had another electrologist in this state call me about a year ago, and somehow the conversation got onto using probes over again. I flatly refused and told her it was against Washington Law. I then sent her to the Washington State Regulations page, and she found the law stating that probes had to be single use and disposable. She then stated that someone she knew charged clients $10 and then that probe was theres. I told her that was against State Regulations. My probes are part of my services. Just as aftercare treatment is.
Yes, even when the State has very little in the way of regulations, there are those who will not even bother reading the regulations even. Sometimes, when I think back, I wonder if I was perhaps even talking to this electrologist that was using that practice of reusing probes and soaking the customers on the cost.
So Yes, James, I know very well there are others out there that use unsafe practices. However the analogy I believe is worse than you stated. To me it is like taking and reusing IV needles. At least with something entering the mouth it is immediately hit with different forms of acid. Ingesting something can cause sickness, but not near as fast as blood can become infected. While the aim is for the probe to remain outside skin, mishaps do occassionally happen. Imagine a hospital saying to someone, here is the IV we used this time. Bring it back with you and we will use it again next time. Not on my life you won’t.
State regulations are far from perfect, but there are some good things that come from it. When my state became regulated, about 1/3 of the electrologists immediately closed shop because, “nobody’s gonna tell me what to do!” Meaning…I’ll have standards to meet and don’t want to take the time to learn the new fangled ways of the world.
Before licensing, anyone could be an electrologist…no training required. Even those who had not gone to school at all were eligible to be grandfathered in without training, but…they would still be required to obtain yearly CEU’s which few seemed to have felt was worth the “trouble” or expense, and they have faded out of the picture over the years.
Eventually our state will consist of only electrologists who’ve had the required # of hours training, and passed both the written and practical state exams. It’s a start. Being trained and passing the boards doesn’t guarantee sterilized needles and forceps, but it insures the knowledge is there, so there’s no excuse when the Boards notifies the electrologist that a complaint has been filed.
Office inspections help to keep the licensees on their toes. Requiring proof of monthly biological monitors shows that there’s at least some type of sterilizer in the office.
As much as I groan when I write that yearly license renewal check, it’s worth every dime to me when the time comes for me to refer one of my precious clients to another electrologist in my state. And I don’t hesitate to tell the client to call the state board and see if there are complaints or other issues.
And yet, those in licensed states still have to see as many practitioners as possible, compare results and hope that someone near them is doing something between good and great work.
All licensing limits access to something, and additionally charges those who choose to comply with “opportunity costs” that are both finacial and chonological. This is true of everyting from fishing, through automobile driving, and on up to the practice of medicine. Some of the effects of this system are good, but the motives behind the program usually have more to do with making those who are licensed pay both their time and money again and again and again.
But again, I say, it is not all bad 
James,
That may be true, but electrology is not alone in that regards. One must search out the same way for Doctors, Lawyers and just about any other professional they may be in need of.
You get no argument from me on that. I would say the same thing about all of those fields.