i do not wish to be a victim of haggling or shoddy-craftsmanship
I don’t know how much of this would be possible without TES. Some electrolysis supplies are consumable, and without a seller, DIY gets harder.
If you want to hold out for eBay, here is a search you can set up to send you results. I have certain sellers excluded.
electrolysis machine -"clean + easy" -"water machine" -"pack of 2"
Keep in mind, if the machine breaks, getting it repaired is going to be an ordeal. I would plan in the cost (repair or replace) of any machine breaking. My One Touch broke in hour two. I used it unknowingly for another three hours. I was pre-Hinkel, pre-Bono, pre-forum, pre-procedure-video. I was the perfect demographic for the One Touch.
Keep in mind, whatever machine you buy, may be planned for 200+ hours of use. TES has a one year warranty. How many hours can you do in a year? How do you feel about practicing electronics repair on a device with no public schematic?
The used machine I bought? It rattled. I was confident opening it to do the repair I had already guessed was necessary. I understood at minimum I had to replace all the cables, clean all the connectors, and hope the dials were accurate.
My machine (via the manual I bought at TES) says I should start thermolysis with the indicator set to 40. I don’t have an oscilloscope to verify it’s actually 40 volts. This bothers me.
i may glean trusted distributors and manufacturers (or models).
There are two lists, a known manufacturer list, and an avoid list.
I’ve looked through the used list at TES. There are a few blend machines for sale. From what I understand they are all above $1000.
i am lookin to keep all of my startup expenses <1000usd
I’m currently at about $1100. Here is what I have left to buy:
- Procedure table
- Magnification solution
- Equipment stand
- Needles the same size as our hairs
- Pain management method (tape, occlusive, lidocaine, EMLA, etc.)
- Better microorganism management (disinfectants, sterilization, etc.)
Of course, I can cut corners. Of course, I can buy less expensive stuff. Then I can ask myself the following philosophical questions:
“What is an hour of my time worth?”
"What are my odds of introducing or causing an infection?
“How willing am I to treat the same follicle again and again?”
“How willing am I to give up other hobbies and interests to develop this skill?”
“How willing am I to balance pain management and overtreatment (i.e. burns, scars)?”
My girlfriend and I (both transbians) plan on taking turns, weekly, doing both upstairs and downstairs areas as prep for GCS. We understand electrology is becoming part of our identities.
For others reading along, I did not appreciate the gravity of this undertaking. I understand how the urge to save money leads to DIY, as I thought, “I saw an electrologist, how hard could this be?”
I really underestimated the difficulty of this. I find the pain excruciating and my current skill level demoralizing. My killrate is between 5 to 30%. I only recently understood, the goal is carefully planned body trauma, just enough to disable the follicles, but not enough to leave scars.
I find it very difficult to keep the pedals held down, through the pain. I also thought, “Well, if I own the machine I can do a little everyday.”
I’m finding out that causing body trauma requires healing time since people look at me funny with active wounding on my face. Also, downstairs work can interfere with intimacy.
For every $100 I spend, that’s an hour I could of had a professional do this. I estimate my 12 hours of needle time to be about equivalent to 45 minutes of a professional.
I am not counting reading textbooks, watching YouTube procedure videos, scouring forums or doing buying research. I am not counting ordering supplies phone calls. I am not counting where to store all the gear that takes up space.
the second is fur u to reply as u please: does manual blend serve its present users well?
I bought a dual pedal manual machine, and I would recommend the same to anyone DIYing and applying the currents, to themselves. Being able to actively mix the currents and being able to sense in real-time what they feel like, I find invaluable. I find the analog nature of the procedure romantic. I’m not used to this level (or intensity) of me-time. I frequently think of the Bono (RIP) post where he says the trans electrologists have an advantage, and how reading the textbooks, doing the procedure sort of like how he would have done it, has a romance to it.
I find the self-efficacy rewarding.
I am wishing you the best in your hair removal journey!
