Electrolysis treatment in London

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of feedback but I was away for some time. After having seen three different practicioners, I can say the following based upon my OWN experience:

*** Mrs Nicole Fenton***

POSITIVE ASPECTS

  • Friendly
  • Uses magnifying glass
  • Seems to be professional: did not hesitate to explain everything in details, took her time to do quite a few hair, answered all my questions
  • The job seems to be done well

NEGATIVE ASPECTS

  • Was late for appointment
  • Does not use gloves
  • Tweezers were kept in a sort of tupperware container she said would keep them sterile because of there not being any air… but the lid left the box half-open… (not sure that I got that right though).

*** Sharon at Parkside Beauty Centre***

POSITIVE ASPECTS

  • Extremely friendly
  • On-time for appointment
  • Explained everything in details
  • Uses magnifying glass
  • Uses gloves
  • Sterilises tweezers thouroughly (autoclave)
  • Session was free

NEGATIVE ASPECTS

  • She rushed the appointment as only a 15 min one had been booked (I knew it beforehand). So, after she had explained everything to me and answered all my questions, only a couple of minutes was left and she only did TWO hairs (precisely two), which was a bit frustrating.

*** Mrs Sara Thomas***

POSITIVE ASPECTS

  • Very thorough person, explains it all in details and asks a few times if you have questions
  • Extremely friendly
  • Booked one hour for the appointment and did not rush it
  • Removed a lot of hairs
  • Uses magnifying glass
  • Uses gloves
  • Uses Apilus for electrolysis + for after treatment to cool the skin down with some kind of cooling pen (can’t remember the name of the technique)
  • The job was done well (I can’t see any scarring or anything on my face)
  • Specialises in electrolysis

NEGATIVE ASPECTS

  • She is very far from central London
  • The trial session was a bit expensive (£60)

CONCLUSION:

I decided to go for Mrs Sara Thomas for the following reasons (despite the fact she is far from central London): I can feel she is very experienced; she put me at ease; she made sure I understood everything; she uses the Apilus machine (which for me means she has an interest in her field of expertise and wants to invest in it, despite the cost); she did an after-treatment with the Apilus; she specialises in electrolysis (and then does not “lose” time in other beauty treatments); she works with various hospitals and with surgeons (for me, it means she is well acknowledged by the medical staff); she is very friendly and did a good job.

I was actually happy with all three. But I chose to go for Mrs Thomas for the reasons I explained and also for the “feeling” I have that I can trust her. My second choice was Sharon at the Parkside centre.

I hope this will help.

Regards :slight_smile:

There is another aspect that you have not taken into account, the rate of elimination of each practicioner.

Maybe Nicole Fenton delay is due to a tight schedule.

(Sometimes I feel like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show)

I used Ms Fenton in the past. She was usually 10mins late for an appointment, but that was because she was always fully booked as she works alone and does other treatments such as facials and massages. I don’t mind waiting 10 mins to be honest if someone is good.

However the one thing that made me stop going was that she would just talk too much whilst working on me, which definitely effected the speed at which she would work. I like a bit of conversation, but it was non stop chatting, and when I’m being worked on I personally just like to close my eyes and sort of meditate, which helps me focus away from the discomfort. I think most electrologists can normally tell if a client wants to chat during treatment or not, however Nicole does not have this ‘radar’ and will just talk non stop. I’m also too shy to ask someone something like ‘please can we not talk while I’m having treatment’

Having said that, technically she was very good as I didn’t get any bad skin reactions, and she’s a very nice and caring lady.

Now I’m looking for someone who can work alot faster, and I think I will be looking into Sara - even though she is very far from me I do think that it will be worth the journey if she is as fast as I hope.

Hey Dionysus, how was Parkside? Any reason you are changing?

Just thought I’d contribute a bit more info to the reviews on Parkside.

I have had Livia now a couple of times. I only ever hear about Sharon/Elaine and when Sharon was late recently by about 30mins… and they didn’t call me to let me know in advance… Livia was free and offered to take me so I tried it out. I’ve had 2 sessions with her now. I found her to be less painful than the others but possibly a bit slower? I’ve only had 2 15 minute sessions and lately I’ve had some tricky hairs to remove. She’s very nice and doesn’t chat too much, just a little bit here and there. I’ll definitely be using her now and then!

Hello,

Just coming back after I had one treatment session with Sara Thomas.

It’s been almost 2 weeks now and my skin looks ok. I sometimes felt she was over treating some hairs because she always zaps (not sure about that verb, I mean she releases the current) until the hair slides out of the skin easily (even if it means zapping 2 or 3 times on the same hair… which is painful). I wonder if this is the appropriate method? (she uses the Apilus, just to remind you). However, my skin looks ok to me (I have had very bad acne when I was younger though so my skin is not perfect anyway).

Also, I have a concern relating to pigmentation. When I had my trial session, Sara pointed to pigmentation on my neck (tiny white dots), which must be due to laser as I have had no other treatment done apart from laser. She knows about my skin tending to have this so I guess she is being careful but… is there anything that can be done (by me and the practicioneer) to avoid this?

Thanks a lot,

S.

Update on Livia- she made me bleed in a few places on my face last time I went to Parkside :confused: not good. I didn’t have any noticeable marks thankfully…

I haven’t been for any treatments for a while due to the holidays but I am actually thinking of shopping around for other places to get electrolysis done…

You said that you have “had some tricky hairs to remove”, but then you complain that you had a little bleeding in a few places, and for that you are looking elsewhere, even though you have no noticeable marks from the treatment.

Could the bleeding have anything to do with the tricky hairs? Wasn’t the bleeding stopped very quickly, as in long before your treatment was over?

I am just trying to understand here. While I am not saying that bleeding is a great result, it is not unheard of, and due to the fact that we are often operating by feel and guesswork, it is a possibility that is more normal than not in certain situations.

I have always felt curiosity for the view that the client has of how an electrologist should act. I think I learned more in these forums than in any book specialized on the subject.

This research work is really commendable and I am sure that it has been done with the best intentions, however in my opinion, in the best of cases, some concepts are being confused, and at worst, other important matters are being completely overlooked.
To be more specific: the positive aspects mentioned the fact of being friendly. I don’t see how this can influence the success of the treatment. The character is something that will hardly be able to be changed because it is part of the personality and the social and cultural environment in which the professional is born.
Of course it will be easier if the practitioner is empathic and pampers its customers. Just as we celebrate the arrival of a customer who can be guided and advised by us, which shows a blind confidence in our work, which expresses satisfaction when he or she feels it, and who comes every day with a smile.
Unfortunately, this is not always so. Should we veto these customers for it? some of us might do it because our numbers have dropped while the increase in demand for Electrolysis allow us to choose between friendly customers. However, from my point of view, this would be unethical. So I would change the first requirement FRIENDLY, for this one, POLITE.

Was late for appointment. This made me smile. All customers who have visited me, must be smiling too. Eh, Stoppit? Sometimes I am to blame for the delay, and sometimes are customers, traffic, alarm clock has not struck, the flight is delayed, the child who has fallen ill suddenly. Ms. Merkel said that the Spanish work more hours than most Europeans, but our hours are less productive. Probably, she’s right, my workday is usually 10 hours a day, but my machine never shows more than 8 hours of actual work. Mrs. Merkel, please give me the key.

Working with a Apilus is not a guarantee of good work. And receive jobs from physicians and surgeons either, have you thought that doctors may be getting some compensation from the electrologist?.

As for talking more than necessary during the time of treatment, it has a simple solution. I have two autistic children who act as often. This temporary autism coincides with the implementation of a couple of wires coming out of their ears. I could shout to them to hear what I have to say, but probably you, from the UK, heard before them. Believe me, Nicole will get the message.

To be continued …

James has said everything that needs to be said on the bleeding issue.

No one is perfect. If apart from this, she is doing good work, if it were me, I would not change.

Now I understand why the electrologists on hairtell are so sceptical when clients post saying that they have tried X electrologists and not made progress or found a good one.

Anyway, if you are not comfortable with Livia, there are 3 other electrologist’s at Parkside. They may have the same machines but the way they work is not the same. So is it not a good idea to try at least one other?

Indeed Josefa. I wonder why it is only the client’s prerogative to be late? It’s not ideal but these things happen. Unless the person in question was late all the time, I don’t think it’s something to talk about.

I go to my electrologist at a busy time, she may be running 10 mins late. I go to my hairdresser at a busy time, he may be running 10 mins late. I go to my dentist at a busy time, he may be running late. It’s pretty normal!

I’ve experienced very minor bleeding during my treatment, but it’s NEVER been a concern to me. Margaret has simply never caused any issues with my ridiculously sensitive skin. Any temporary issues from electrolysis treatment resolve within minutes or hours at the most. I’ve caused more bleeding and irritation when shaving, honestly.