Building my own unit: battery question

Hair Removal Methods Do-It-Yourself Electrolysis
#1

I’ve read about the selfmade unit here:

http://www.geocities.com/hairfreethere/

Now I want to give it a try and build a similar one. I’ve got a problem though, since I don’t know what parts I need to get an external 20V battery to work with it. The project box includes the block battery connector for the internal battery but since 9V will be used up soon I want something around 20V. Could anyone tell me what parts from RadioShack I need to order ? I could just go with the simple wiring diagram but I’d prefere to do the high end version :slight_smile:

#2

hairborn;
Be careful with what you are planning on doing. Amperage is what is needed for long service time. Voltage is the electrical pressure of that amperage. Resistance is the opposition to the flow of amperage in a circuit. Ohms Law is Voltage divided by Amps times Resistance.
So if you increase the voltage, and the resistance stays the same, then the amperage is going to increase in proportion to the voltage increase. It is the current that is used to create the lye in the galvanic unit. The current needs to be very very low to keep the levels safe. One milliamp is a lot in this case, which is 0.001 amps. For Cataphoresis the current generally can rise to 2 milliamps, but I would not go any higher.
My suggestion is as follows:
Use a 9 volt battery for Galvanic hair Removal, and switch to two 9 volt batteries in series for doing Cataphoresis.

#3

hairborn, do you know enough about electrolysis to get your own machine? do you have any experience in making proper insertions? this is not an easy task and takes lots of practice and possibly some lessons before you can do it yourself. plus, even good electrologists won’t treat their own faces for example. what areas are you planning to work on? why do you think this method is your best bet?

#4

@Martha: thanks for the suggestion. I think I’ll go with a 9V then.

@lagirl: I don’t know anything about it, just what I’ve read on NoHair’s site, together with the instruction on how to build the machine. Actually I just want to build it for fun I won’t use it for my face or anything critical. Maybe on my toes just to see if the machine works :slight_smile:

I don’t have any experience concerning insertions but I think, worst case, some scars on my toe aren’t that bad. It’s really just for the fun of building the machine and try it out.

#5

Hey all

I got another question. How does the circuit look like if you do DIY to another person. Like if my girlfriend is using the home built machine (http://www.geocities.com/hairfreethere/) on me, do I have to be in contact with the sponge or what ?

I plan to build the foot switch version of the machine. So basically my question is whether I (as the patient) need to be in contact with anything other than the needle which my girlfriend operates.

thanx

#6

You, as the client would need to be contact with both sponge and the needle/probe. Your girlfriend, as the operator, should not be touching the sponge or any conductive part of the handpiece.

#7

But she could still operate the foot switch right ? It’s plastic, so it wouldn’t be a problem I hope ?

thanks

#8

Hairborn,
For Galvanic, one needs to have a complete electrical circuit. That circuit starts at the epilator, travels to the ground connection, which should have a wet sponge or something to assure good electrical connection. From there the electrons travel to where the probe is inserted, and then finally out the probe cable and back to the unit.
It should be pointed out that there are contra indicators to having glavanic electrolysis. Pregnant women should not use galvanic currents. Also, no metal should be between the ground and the probe. Example, I have steel pins in my right hip from a fracture that would not heal on its own. If I had a ground fastened to my right leg and was working anywhere on my upper body, then the electrons, seeking the path of least resistance would likely be attracted to the metal in the leg. So it is best to keep paths of electron flow clear of such possibilities.
Needless to say, things like pacemakers and diabetes should have a doctors approval.
As far as the foot switch is concerned, that does not make electrical connection to the body. It is only used to mechanically close the circuit and reopen it. I hope this helps to explain things a bit.

#9

Yea, that helps…at least for the moment, thanks :slight_smile: I’m sure I’ll come back with more questions hehe

#10

Wow, you know what’s gonna be funny. If I step on the sponge with my left foot and I want to treat my right toe, how am I gonna operate the switch ? I need another leg lol

#11

And that’s one more reason we recommend DEO (Do Each Other) over DIY (Do It Yourself) :smiley: