Is the Fischer SE-5 a good machine for the manual blend? I have the opportunity to buy one for around $900 and was wondering how comfortable it is in comparison to Apilus 3G. Also, how much is it worth, it is about 2 years old, couldn’t find any information on the Fischer site since they aren’t selling any? I bought a clareblend ultrablend a few years ago but it was just too uncomfortable, sold it on Ebay.How hard would it be to learn how to use it compared to the Senior 3G? Comfort is important to me! Thank you in advance!
I think I may have put this in professional to professional by accident… I am not on here often…
MAybe Dee will be a dear and move it to the DIY section for you.
I’ve held off on answering your question, because I’m not familiar with the particular models you are talking about.
The Apilus 3G uses a different frequency for the thermolysis component , and operates at 27 mhz instead of 13.56 as most older epilators do. What that means in practical terms, is different intensities are required to deliver the necessary treatment energy and also, different sensation from treatment ( some say less painful) .
Fisher scientific was an excellent brand of epilator in it’s time but I dont think they have been making new units in a while. It like your clareblend is a 13.56 mhz epilator I should think.
FOR DIY and ease of learning, I consider Apilus’s presets a really good starting point. I dont think the Fischer or the clareblend would have that. At the same time, for certain kinds of blend ( especially fast blend ) I think a more manual approach to energy delivery has an advantage over any Apilus multiplex or picoblend. You probably wont be working in that modality, but there it is.
As for pricing, you probably already know that a 3G will run you 2-3000 dollars on the used market and I think about $3500 or so new if they still make that model. The Fisher I think is overpriced at $900, I see them frequently for under $450 used on kijiji.
Seana
Just a couple minor corrections, the Senior 3G uses 13.56 mhz. It’s the platinums and xcells that operate at 27 mhz.
Also, the Senior 3G’s MSRP is $3995 (though you may be able to find a discount supplier - I know of places that will knock 10% off, bringing it down to that $3500 price point)
Thank you for the info. I actually already have a Senior 3G… I just wanted to buy the Fischer SE-5 for fun but if it is going to hurt more than it wouldn’t be worth it. I just feel the 3G sometimes doesn’t allow me much room to experiment… Or maybe I should have just went to California when I bought it to get the free training…I did it online… I just didn’t have the money/time then to travel that far…
Should I wait for an Instantron elite spectrum deal? Is it more comparable to the 3G but allows more flexibility? The other day I went for a consult and the electrologist used the Elite. I really liked how fast she did the blend it provided way less sensation than the Senior 3G blend modes… Is there a way to speed up the blend on the senior 3G and still be effective…pulse with foot pedal etc.?
Thanks all!!
I stand corrected 
Pain and comfort levels are very relative to the modulations being used. Almost all of Apilus’s computerized implementations they play with the intensity or presence of the RF energy which makes it very difficult to measure out just the right amount to remove the hair with a smooth extraction. I think the non-pulsed method of a manual RF adjustment, may make for more comfortable treatment in some respects, but I’m still looking for an older machine to test this theory.
Seana
Okay, yeah using the presets or close to it is nice in a way but when I start to try to do my own thing it seems to not allow many choices on the Senior 3G. Maybe if the electrologist selling the Fischer will go down in price I will try it otherwise I think I will just pass. I don’t want to waste money if I can’t sell it for that price if I end up not wanting it.
What type of machine do you have lluv2zap?
Apilus SM-500 I bought on the cheap.Though as mentioned I have my eye out for something manual for certain kinds of work.
I’ve never run into the machine not doing what I set no matter how far I stray frm what it considers a normal and safe amount, but , I hae had some unexpected results. Many of the programming and routines are common across the Apilus line.
Seana
I have been using the Sterex SX-B for the past 3 years and found it very easy to use when experimenting with settings, This is a manual 13.56Mhz Machine. I have just acquired an Apilus SX-500 as I wanted to try out the Omni Blend/Multi Blend as well at the Flash Thermolysis settings. Seana - I’m Intrested to hear about any unexpercted results on the Apilus if we should be aware of them?
Hilary
My SM-500 is just about the sme machine as your SX-500, in fact they take the sme card for programming and my card is from a SX.
I dont like the implementation of Omniblend i find it ramps up the thermolysis part too slowly and themn all at the end, the mutiplex has been okay on everything but comfort scale the pulsed nature of the thermolysis results in more sensation I think. On the thermolysis side , again the multiplex on the preset settings has worked fine, but I have a client i cant seem to get good resistance free hair extractions when using the flash, and another client who it’s been just fine on . The issue with flash may be related to my technique, I’m not as practised with thermolysis as I am with blend and so I may not be getting close enough to the root.
I have experimented a bit with fast blend using multiplex. I have seen some electrologists here critical of Apilus’s implementation of multiplex for doing fast blend, and I have to say they are right at least from a comfort standpoint. My settings on multiplex fast blend tend to range at 0.99 galvanic ( for 1 second) and 4 pulses of multiplex of 0.21 seconds at between 30-50% depending on hair thickness . I get great extractins at 40 % or so, but comfort is not good and I have to limit these sessions to 30 minutes or so because of pain tolerance. I can remove a lot more hair, in a shorter period of time , but I do get some minor hyperpigmention some times and I think even at 8-10 seconds per hair my slow blend is able to remove more just because my clients are able to go for longer sessions.
I do want to get my hands on a strait manual adjustment machine, and see if I can improve on the multiplex comfort and pain tolerance for doing fast blend, I’m quickly becoming very happy with sub 2 second blend if Ican work around a few hurdles it may become the primary way I work.
Seana
I was experimenting with the SX-B, as you probably know there in no pulsing, the control is totally manual. I was working off the start point of the blend settings, being 7 on (on a scale of 1-100)ac and as high as your can go on the dc (scale 0.01 - 1.00at 7 seconds, usually start 0.25-0.30, but this could creep to 0.45-0.50+ over a 2-3 hour session. I was finding that on longer sessions I was having to increase the dc to keep the same release time. I started to experiment with adjusting the ac on coarser hairs, typically white deep routed hair on the neck area and found that by decreasing the time to 4 or 5 seconds and increasing the ac to between 15 & 20 depending on the hair type I could increase the effectiveness on the process. I know that we are talking about getting into the Therm range but I was still running on the blend. Skin reaction was good but I was still having to increase DC settings as time progressed. this is why I was interested in the Apilus machine to see how the computerised switching would work. I have been using the multi blend for the last week to see how my clients feel in comparison tho the SX-B, and to access its speed. I have found that my clients in the main think the sensations are less but some don’t like the Pulse at the end . I have been using the pre programed setting while I adjust to the Apilus but I’m thinking that some minor adjustments to the pulse intensity may be preferred by some of my more sensitive clients.
With regards to fast blend settings I thought a lot depended on hydration and that 4 seconds was typically the shortest time for the blend process to produce the Lye required. If you i’m wrong please do advise as I am basing my thoughts on my training and current experience using blend as my main technique.
When doing fast blend I am typically in the 1 -1 1/2 second range. It’s likely that thermolysis is doing the heavy lifting, but there will still be some lye produced at .99 ma for 1 1/2 seconds. I had to take my protocol from a very kind electrologist from here, who shared some setting she had tried and adapt them, actually I found what she had used almost spot on. I definitely step outside of the normal recommended settings by a fair margin when I do this, by at least factor of 4 on the thermolysis alone.Whether the amount of lye is sufficient to disable the follicle in this short of time, is academic since it’s already likely dead from just the thermal component.
Experimentation is just that! BE careful with skin that isnt yours.
Thank you for the feedback. I agree that you need to be very very careful when experimenting with new settings and not to try them out 1st on other peoples skin. If I am going to try something outside of my own experience I try it on myself first.
Lluv2zap when you say multiplex blend do you mean the manual setting of blend adapted? I have been playing around with it and have found the .99mA quite uncomfortable, on leg hair (the only place I now have to test since my arm hair is so thin and have had electrolysis in problem areas. I usually just stick to the presets but reduce to 4 seconds and add mA to make up for the lye. What I found to be the most comfortable for “manual” is .01s 70% 3pulses and 1s .65mA with the % adjusted depending on hair thickness. This is also mostly Thermolysis but I got very good releases on medium leg hair with very little discomfort (less than micro flash and omni blend. The skin was quite red right after but it has been 3 days and no scabbing or adverse affects yet. When I get electrolysis on my body I scab easily but working on myself I found in the same area I can prevent pin point scabs by just adding that little bit of galvanic current. Same releases and everything… Does anyone know why?