Question for professionals: Let’s say tomorrow the AEA rewrites all literature and starts promoting “Telogen hair ALSO.” What will change in the way eletrologists treat hair? It’s not like electrologists see the bulge and papila and where stem cells are when they do 20,000 insertions daily. How will their technique improve to achieve high kill rate with each clearance if electrology instructors no longer taught “Anagen Only”? In what ways can training change besides promoting the scientific side of hair follicle anatomy and teaching that Telogen hair can be killed?
I suppose it’s like this (to me at least). Certainly ancient mariners did very well sailing here-and-there in the “known world” … and they were certain the world was flat. It’s just that it’s NOT flat … facts should be facts as an end in themselves.
(BTW recognizing different growth stages DOES indicate where the target area is located.)
Those that follow a strict “anagen only protocol,” instruct clients to shave between treatments (so telogen hairs are not visible). Overall, this could slow the process … although a few use this practice as their “secret method.” (I always thought it was a lame excuse for bad treatments.)
Still, I don’t think that this is much of an issue.
The real issue is the intransigence of “official information.” Facts should be without emotion or vested interests. All information and techniques should be subject to scientific review and evaluation. (That will never happen.) “Anagen only” is only a symptom of a much wider problem. You have NO IDEA of the shit I have heard over the years … and most of it continues unabated.
For example, some genius in Holland just made a new RULE. See, she believes that if the needle produces some “DC froth” and it gets on the skin you will get a BURN and a SCAR. Never mind the 150 years of using DC this way … oh no, this Noble Prize winner knows better. So now, students are taught to turn down the DC until they see no DC reaction.
And it’s THIS sort of odd silliness that still sends me off in “blather-land.” Wanna hear more official TRUTHS?
More to your point, Fenix. When I’m treating all the stages of hairs, I am making constant adjustments as to depth of insertion (where the target is located), and time in the follicle (compensating for HF “current rise”.) My “timing” is only within, say, 1.5 seconds (or less), but these minute fractions of time variation are critical and make a very big difference.
How do I recognize stages of hair growth? I’m judging multiple factors, but at this point I’m on “auto-pilot.” I don’t perform the procedure at a “conscious level.”
Ask an experienced pianist if they think about “where their fingers are going.” It’s at another level of perception.
Don’t worry, Fenix, nothing will change.
There are more chances that you find an electrologist who does 20.000 insertions daily than the AEA admits their mistakes and rewrites the texts.
Each one of the following “rules” was either part of a curriculum, in a book, or expressed by a teacher (at one of my seminars). Each idea caused me endless discussions/disagreements with the perpetrator; and not one of them changed their minds. I was wrong and they were right! ENJOY and lament:
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HF (thermolysis) is a form of EMF (electro-magnetic field) and is therefore a cancer risk. Don’t use thermolysis on the eyebrows because it will denature the eye lens and cause cataracts. Don’t use HF on the face because it can cause brain cancer.
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Electrologists using HF die early because of exposure to their own machines.
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DC puts ACID in your skin and body. (This from a prominent AEA/EAC member: a “certified educator.”)
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DC puts lye (a BASE by the way) in your blood, and the lye goes to your liver, brain and kidneys and destroys them.
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DC froth coming out of the follicle burns the skin and causes scars.
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You don’t need to sterilize needles. Just attach the needle, hold it in the air and put the HF on: that sterilizes the needle.
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Only use a rough needle not a polished one. (A polished needle eliminates the benefits of DC.) (In a book.)
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Always insert (blend) with the DC on first. If you don’t, the HF will dry out the follicle and your DC will be rendered ineffective. (In a book.)
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You have to drink lots of water or your skin gets dehydrated and the currents won’t work properly.
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DC (or HF) causes birth defects.
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You cannot kill a hair in telogen (or catagen) stage.
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If you epilate a hair and you see no root, that’s because you broke off the hair and did a bad treatment.
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Treating a hair in a mole causes cancer.
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Thermolysis causes overtreatment and scars. Electrolysis causes overtreatment and scars. Blend causes overtreatment and scars. Take your pick?
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(Voiced at several seminars): AIDS/HIV is God’s punishment against gays.
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Years of performing electrolysis causes lower I.Q. THIS ONE IT TRUE!
HAHAHAHA
Yeah, maybe inhale too much froth from DC current adversely affects neurons.
…The AEA is STILL pushing this one. It appears as a flashing “Electrolysis Tip” on their homepage.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
Drinking plenty of water helps unwanted hair slide right out.
…The AEA is STILL pushing this one. It appears as a flashing “Electrolysis Tip” on their homepage.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
Drinking plenty of water helps unwanted hair slide right out.
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I haven’t heard any electrologist say that it helps the hair slide out, but I have heard a vast majority say it helps with the pain.
That number 9 had me thinking, as well. I always ask my clients to come to me hydrated for both reasons mentioned. We can lower the energy level if the skin is hydrated and that’s can make the treatment more comfortable. So there is no truth to that?
Dee, in your experience do you think that using topical moisturizers ahead of a treatment (say overnight) is more beneficial than drinking water? I have usually opted for this, instead of drinking a lot of water, just for the pragmatic concern of bathroom breaks during a long session.
Thanks!
Dr. Chapple (plastic surgery), Charles Hamilton (dermatology) and James Tolin (physiologist) said that the requirement of drinking LOTS of water being necessary for HF to work properly … is an overstatement … a fairy tale.
In actual (real) dehydration, many events take place; but skin drying out or even applying oil doesn’t do much (except to the epidermis … which is of little importance to the electrolysis treatment. The zapper-reaction takes place in the dermis and “hypodermis,” (AKA “subdermis,” AKA “subcutaneous layer” … lots of other AKAs).
Drinking good amounts of liquids, however, is a splendid idea (most of us do not drink enough), but largely to maintain a plethora of (mostly internal) advantages. Being well hydrated also makes you feel better and thus probably makes the treatment more tolerable? I think so … based on my own fairy tales.
I don’t think the dermis dries out if you don’t drink 8-glasses of water before the treatment. I think drinking a lot of water before a treatment will mostly cause you to pee a lot and require many toilet breaks. You would (perhaps) have to cause an actual lowering of blood volume to have skin dehydration? My guess anyway.
I think that the idea of “being well hydrated” is good advice (for the skin, internal organs and blood chemistry): but take liquid throughout the day. I think the idea has been greatly overblown … to the point of “the current will not work properly unless you drink copious amounts of water beforehand.” Who started that?
Tiny excellent suggestions are, in our “People Magazine culture,” often exaggerated and blown out of all reasonable proportion.
Vitamins are excellent. Does a normal healthy person need to take HANDFULS of vitamins? Do you have to take tons of vitamins “or your skin will not heal from electrolysis?” Exercise is wonderful. Do you need to spend hours in the gym every day or run 17-miles every day? (Actually, I have a female client that DOES run 17-miles every day!) Well-formed BOOBS are nice. Do women need to look like Dolly Parton? When you enter a room, do your boobs have to get there first?
We overdo EVERYTHING and exaggerate everything in “these United States of America!” And, you can stick that right up your Benghazi (or up your “no weapons of mass destruction” … if you’re a Democrat!)
True story:
A male client “Robby,” read the AEA website about needing liquids/water for a proper treatment.
His answer was to drink SIX BEERS before treatment … you know “beer/water?” … Beer seemed like a nicer idea! And, beer is mostly WATER.
He felt less pain! Hey, a new AEA suggestion?
Dana Carvey did a character on SNL who would use the expression “like June Allyson after a friggin’ six-pack!”
Fear of bad nutrition.
Americans are obsessed with vitamins, exercise, good looks, and all-things-healthy … not bad, mind you. BUT, being fearful that we don’t have enough vitamins so our skin won’t heal, or thinking we have to put every product even made on post-treatment skin … or drink a gallon of water …
Look, it’s like this: ONE fat American has enough nutrients in his/her body to feed a small country in Africa … for a YEAR!
From an online source:
“Think of it like this: Because leather is dry, a leather chair needs to be conditioned with oil to prevent it from drying out. If you apply water to a leather chair, it only gets drier. Bottom line: Dehydrated skin still produces oil, but feels tight, whereas dry skin produces little to no oil and can be flakey. And, while drinking water is great for your overall health, no amount of gulping will truly hydrate your skin.”
Full article:
All the articles I’ve read so far talk about dehydration/dryness as affecting the epidermis (upper layers/cornium). I will continue searching, but so far have found the issue not significant for the dermis (where electrolysis takes place).
As an aside, there was that thread a couple of years ago – “carbon dye for gray hair” – I can’t paste the link – that offered insights on how the follicle differs from other parts of the skin in terms of absorption. Thanks Mike!
The woman who trained me believed in this one with one addition. Pinch the needle with a cotton wetted with antiseptic while stepping on the footswitch will sterilize the needle. Explains the fact she only bought a dozen needles every month or so.
I’ve been thinking about this: “Less current in moist skin … more current in dry skin. Is higher current more painful than lower current?” Probably NOT.
The point is that it’s not the HF CURRENT that kills follicles; it’s the thermal REACTION to the current that kills the follicle. Consider this:
In order to destroy a follicle, you must achieve a specific temperature in the follicle; this would be your “minimum absolute.”
I don’t know the actual number, but let’s say 100-degrees. If you only produce 80-degrees, you generate no “cooking.” You must achieve, whatever the technique, the 100-degree absolute. Because you must!
If you have dry skin, you use more HF current to achieve the minimum 100-degrees. With moist skin, indeed you use less current, but you are still making the same 100-degrees (if properly executed).
Once you get to the minimum absolute temperature, the follicle is being “cooked.” The reaction is the same in all cases, whatever the current strength … and would feel the same too. A burn is a burn.
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According the Hinkle/Lind book coagulation starts at 127 degrees, while dessication starts at 212 degrees (F.)
Here’s a thought experiment: Let’s say I take a hot dog and stick it in the microwave oven, and let’s say it is a bit dried out because I left it on the countertop all day. The microwave is set at 90% intensity. After 10 seconds, I pull out the hot dog, and it’s still a bit under cooked… what do I do?
I could increase the intensity on the microwave to 100%, and I probably should even though it is already pretty dry… and/or I could give it a few more seconds, which is what I would probably do.
Then again, what I’d probably really do is say “screw it” and go to Pink’s for a real hot dog.
Oh, and because the hot dog is more moist at the center, and therefore more conductive there, it would cook more in the center before it cooks the outer dryer parts
Emendia, I don’t understand your post … but remember most DEARLY the 127 degrees!
I sort of avoid this actual number and remember “fondly” a 3-hour, no ALL DAY, discussion about this in Karlsruhe (Germany). The drive down from Bonn with Herr Herfs, in his lime-green Mercedes … at 500 MPH, was “exciting” too! (It took me an hour to stop shaking.)
I was visiting Deutsche-Nemectron and talking with Frank Nippel und Herr Meier on a bunch of related issues. I mentioned the 127 degrees, and that launched the entire group into “sooooo, what is the precise temperature (gewesen sein)?”
In brilliant German fashion, we even went down to the “lab” and started conducting experiments.
I never got around to the main reason I was there! We never came up with the correct answer either. Herr Nippel sagt, “Coagulation in living tissue is different than in non-living tissue and different in specific tissues (?)” … the basis of our all-day experimentation.