NC has a laser license. One must be a licensed electrologist for a period of time, then after attending a board approved laser school the electrologist may apply for a laser license. They are 2 separate licenses. Each license requires x hours training. Each license reequires x CEUs per year. The electrolysis license must be renewed each year in order to renew the laser license. Anyone else who would like to do laser without direct physician supervision can do so, after they become a licensed electrologist.
New York had an Electrolysis/L.A.S.E.R. License program passed and ready for the governor’s signature once, and it never got signed. I won’t believe licensing in NY until they are sticking me up for the fees.
Thanks for the current North Carolina status “Choice”. I guess the NC situation technically qualifies for what I was saying, although my thought was a stand alone LASER License. North Carolina’s system is similar to the Driver’s License, where one doesn’t have separate licenses for motorcycle, CDL, and heavey equipment, but one license, and they add what New York State calls “Endorsements” for the other things on to the original license. You have a New York State Driver’s license, with Motorcycle, CDL and Limosine Endorsements. I look at NC’s system as an Electrolysis License with a LASER Endorsement. You can’t let the Electrolysis License lapse and keep the LASER License, just because you never actually perform anything other than LASER. Also, I had heard that the state board’s hope was to make it one License where one had to qualify for being both Electrolysis and LASER practitioners just to get licensed in the state, no matter what one ended up performing in one’s duties. For now, one can pay for two Licenses if one wants to perform LASER. I would expect the single license to come to pass in the future. People complaining about paying double for CEU’s in addition to twice the Licensure fees will be one way to garner popular support for this change I expect. (As if the costs will go down when the change takes effect 
)
Mr. Will Shuman,
First let me say, that you are an absolute liar, sneaky and unethical business man who denies his identity when a customer calls to complain about your center’s services.
Secondly, if these postings are correct and you are an attorney, it is no wonder that you show no fear when a customer complains about injury and malpractice. Instead, you suggest that their lawyer contact you, because first, you know that resorting to a lawyer involves effort, and secondly, you want to assure yourself of the case at hands by having a talk out with the lawyer who has actually decided to take the case. Unethical and disgusting.
As an attorney you should also know that registered trademarks and business incorporations are public files, and with a little research your identity is easily revealed.
And third, since the subject matter of this forum refers to laser center recommendations in Manhattan, I want to offer my personal opinion as a consumer and former client of Asara’s, that I DO NOT recommend Asara Laser in manhattan, at all!
Here is why:
I started with the Asara about a year and a half ago, blown away by the unlimited plan. Had always wanted laser but thought it was too expensive and alas Asara seemed like my solution- or not? I originally started with a technician that did a good job because she had to LIE to Asara about the amount of time she treated me (3 hours) when the owner (also the mysterious receptionist who is never onsite) only allows 1.5 hours to full body sessions and over books the technician. My technician went MIA for sometime- shady situation because the ‘receptionist’ refused to admit she had left the company- for weeks he told me she was off, away, family emergency etc. Eventually after missing a month’s treatment I made an apointment with the other technician (No Refund given for missed month due their staff’s shady disappearance- not surprising considering his conduct abut his identity). New technician was fine at first, I noticed she finished much quicker than previous technician, which at first was good until I realized how uneffective 1.5 hr sessions are on a full body- I think my waxing took about the same time. Touch up is scheduled in 2 weeks and ext month’s treatment 2 weeks later- due to the preassure to get that monthly treatment in, since your creditcard is automatically charged every month- treatment or no treatment.
BUT lasered hair doesn’t grow that quickly! So in essence, you pay for months where nothing is being done- if anything, the hairs being treated are the ones missed due to the 1.5 hr full body treament. And this is why you need so many treatments (over processing your skin?!, possiblye longer term effects of over treating skin?) Technician sold me an additional package after I had decided to cancel the monthly package, saying I only needed a 4 more and I would be done- not the way Asara works. On top of this, when I went to my dermatologists, who also performs laser, she saw my scars and asked me if they had used the laser gel. They do not use laser gel, whic I believe contributed to the really bad burns I got, of which I still have scars. MY SKIN WAS ENFLAMED, RAW, AND I HAD TO SEEK TREATMENT. Did Asara ofer any help? No- not even a call, not even lotion to take home. I had the sesion during my lunch (1.5 hours are easy to schedule as a lunch apt) and I had to stop by Duane Reade to pick up ointment for burns, which did not start to heal till a month later, and I had two weddings that months- so pictures are plenty! Seriously, his is horrible. When I had to go for touch-ups, the technician was so scared at the conidtion of my skin she cancelled the appointment.
Does you center charge technicians for gel and lotion for burns? I do not see why these are not used.
Here is where I am now: 1.5 yr of monthly sessions and more to go, scars from burns that need treatment from dermatologist (cosmetic proceses or creams=$$. And any free consultation that I receive in any laser center (all offer free consultations) say I have so and so sessions to go- they would never beleive I had had 13-14 sessions.
Not only this, but you try to apprach the owner and settle this in a reasonable manner, and he first denies his identity… and secondly says ‘management’ is not willing to do anything. No compensation of any sort, not for the burns, or the excessive treatments, or the months charged with no treatment performed.
Disgusting… but the world is round and things will come back to you.
Maribel Garcia
OOOOOOOHH… I like that last sentence. Moral of the story…If you want to be a respected business, you need to treat the customer with respect, be fair and care… and above all, BE HONEST. Maribel, did you just happen to find this thread on hairtell?
After doing some research to find out who the owner of Asara was(since Mr. Shuman had told me it was Sam Tayer) I googled his name and his center and along came this forum.
I signed up simply to be able to reply to him, and let you all know the type of business man he is and warn you about his center.
Hope it helps others… seeing as other review sites such as ‘citysearch’ have amazing reviews on his center… and the few negative ones that pop up keep disappearing… Hmmm?
I guess this also brings into question the ethics of citysearch…
Well, I can assure that negative posts will not disappear from hairtell. We let it all unfold naturally. Sometimes it hurts, but there is no cover up or protection. On the positive side, we will defend a business or an individual if things don’t add up. It’s pretty easy to spot a fraud or someone who is out for revenge against an individual or business. You had the courage to list your full name. Thanks for your story and alerting other consumers, MG.
She makes a good point about the peculiarities of site ownerships. I was slandered on two different post style sites that could only hope to be what HairTell has become, and the owners had a strange policy of deleting the posts of those who spoke up for me, but the only stuff they deleted from the slanderous posts were posts that included foul language of the level to rocket a Disney movie to an R-rating in the USA.
The defense against slander is the truth. It may sometimes be hard to present the truth, but there is usually enough truth to gain a reasonable doubt where someone is making something up.
Thanks for speaking up.
After reading this, I felt compelled to write. I am a LHR consumer and have been reading the posts on this forum for several months. The information posted here by the pros and other professional contributors is extremely valuable to consumers of LHR and electrolysis and potential consumers of these services. Since discovering this forum, I have encouraged anyone I know who is interested in electrolysis or LHR to visit this forum and read the information posted. If I had known about this forum earlier during my long search for information on LHR, I would have saved myself alot of time and effort. My search, prior to discovering this forum, for a reputable company to perform LHR was tedious and very disappointing. I could not believe the number of unscrupulous and deceitful people I came across in my almost three year search. This experience led me to join the forum and post my story as an fyi to other consumers. Through this forum, and my post, Chris, from R&J and others responded. I don’t claim to know Chris but my initial and subsequent interactions with him and his staff has been positive. Chris is very accessible, knowledgeable and above all professional. Since I came across so many really “bad” people associated with the LHR industry, I wanted to defend Chris. Without him, and this forum,I would have given up on the LHR industry! For whatever this post is worth, I am glad that this forum exists for us to express our views and to learn from others. It can not be said enough, thank you to all the pros and contributors for taking your time to educate the public about LHR and electrolysis.
Maribel:
I am sorry that you had such a bad experience at a " facility " in New York. You are not alone. Many others have had the same issues and have brought their plight to our attention. We have documented everything and are working with the local authorities to put an end to such practices.
Obviously, customer service is very important. As you know, there are many outlets for you to complain. From your postings, it is obvious that you are taking correct action.
Regarding reviews on various sites, they do not mean much, as they could be written by business owners or competitors to enhance or disrupt one’s business. It is for this reason that one should not only rely on reviews but check out the business, call various State organizations to find our about its business practices, reputation, years in business and qualifications.
In many cases, the official channels are useless for consumer information. I know of situations where a practitioner practicing outside the state where one’s license was procured, where the state licensing agent told complaining customers that since the offending action took place outside their state boarders, it is not an issue for them to make note of, nor is it grounds for mounting any actioni against the practitioner, or the practitioner’s license in that state.
The net effect, if you call and ask about any of these people through the official channel, they tell you how long the person has held the license, and report that they have no complaints on file. This is deceptive at the very least.
Mr. Walker, hopefully, at some point, laser hair removal personnel will be required to receive a professional license in order to operate laser equipment. The official channels that are available to consumers can be very helpful. NYS has a website available for public viewing of everyone who holds a NYS issued professional license( engineers, nurses, etc.). It may not be perfect but having mandated industry specific and established standards met and requiring continuing education credits upon renewal is a good start. Also, if the individual holding the license has had official disciplinary action taken against them, it is noted for the record. The way things are now, the only resource the LHR consumer has is to check with the Better Business Bureau to see if consumer complaints have been logged against the business in question and not an individual. During my LHR research, I checked on several individuals who claimed they were RN’s in NYS and there was no record of their registration. Also, many people claimed to have affiliations in professional electrolysis and other hair removal related organizations and upon further investigation these folks were not members in good standing. I feel that professionalizing the LHR industry will ensure quality service and weed out all the bad apples that exist.
Gosh, stormy, that was a very nice post you wrote. Thanks so much for letting us know that we were of some help to you.
Dee
Does anyone know anything about Skintology in Manhattan? I’m considering buying a package on life booker and have tried to read reviews and research as much as possible, but I feel like I can’t trust yelp and city search reviews any more. The lasers appear to be good ones (from the research I’ve been trying to do), but I’m curious if anyone has had personal experience there they’d be willing to share.
Thanks!
This isn’t a simple question. You need to post the name of the machine and the settings they’re planning to use on you, plus your skin type. You can’t tell anything without that.
No one has mentioned this particular clinic on the forum (likely because there are hundreds around in NYC).
Their site says that they use the Lightsheer Diode so you should be OK.
Thanks Chris. They have three lasars: Lumenis Lightsheer Diode like you mentioned. And also the Candela YAG Laser, and the SLP 1000 Diode Laser.
I’m a redhead, with fair skin and dark hair in the regions i want to laser(but I do tan golden). I just wanted to check if people had experience with skintology because from reading this forum, it seems a company could have good lasers, but if the technician isn’t thorough, it can be less effective.
thanks again.
Out of those machines, LightSheer is best for you. However, you need a test spot. Red hair may not be affected by laser. It needs to be at least brown. Lasers don’t “see” red or blond. You’d need a test spot to see if the hair sheds. Then you’ll know it’s being affected.
Can you find out whether their Lightsheer has a 9mm or 12mm spot size? You can also ask what settings they’re planning to use once you go for a consultation. We generally don’t recommend anything lower than 25J on this machine. Also, this machine is difficult to use. You need to make sure they’re pressing down while treating.
Thanks LAgirl. The area is definitely dark and course hair. I’ll ask those questions when I go in for the consultation.
Is there a machine that you would more highly recommend?
Did you read our FAQs at the link below? What is your skin type on the Fitzpatrick skin chart? If you’re lighter than a type IV, an alexandrite laser like GentleLASE or Apogee at good aggressive settings would be best.
I’m most likely a type 2. I’d read what you wrote about the alexandrite or a diode being best for those skin types. I was just wondering your preference or if you thought the lightsheer isn’t very affective. so thanks!