How does this sound?

Professionals Only! Electrologist to Electrologist (pros only)
#1

Hi all! Ok i practice electrolysis professionally, i specialise in electrolysis and do not do any other treatments,

How does this sound? I tell my clients a good hair growth cycle - where you see all your hair if you let it grow out is around 3 months.

If its possible for the client i tell them to grow out the hair for 3 months so there are no surprises and we just plough through the hair in marathon sessions.

If its not possible for them to do this and they are treating their hair i.e shaving once a week i tell them to come in weekly (or if theyre shaving every 2 weeks i tell them every 2 weeks)

Does this sound about right? I am pretty much alone with support of another electrologist via email who lives in America whereas i am here in England.

I usually advise them to use aloe vera gel (throughout the day) and vaseline at night along with tea tree oil.

Most of my clients are of Asian origin (Indian & Pakistani)with very coarse pigmented hair so their skin tends to react more with darkness and scabbing.

Basically am i doing this right? Is there anything you could add?

Thanking you in advance

#2

Generally sounds good to me.

To be adaptable to how your clients want to proceed is a good thing.

I guess I would say that if some of your clients want to leave the hair alone for a bit so they can work on clearing as much as possible in as short a time in possible, then you should be confident in treating telogen hairs. For a lot of areas, more than 3 months are required to get the maximum amount of hairs present and a lot of those hairs will be in telogen. I’m only saying this because the ‘anagen only’ way of working seems to be prevalent here in the U.K.

Aloe vera is great. I would not recommend vaseline or tea tree oil though. The best thing you can do for your clients is to make sure you observe the highest levels of hygiene. Then, that you clean the area to be treated thoroughly (surgical soap? not alcohol as seems to used often here). And finally, that you instruct your client to just keep the area clean but otherwise leave it alone! Prevention is the best option to avoid whiteheads. If a few appear, it’s not a big deal. As for scabbing… that’s down the the client skin and your work. Obviously, you will want to minimise it but any scabbing that does occur needs to be left alone to fall off in its own time. Finally, since you are dealing with Asian clients, it wouldn’t hurt to ensure they are aware that post inflammatory hyperpigmentation is a common occurrence… and it’s nothing to worry about.

#3

Thanks! The lady i mentioned who has 37 years experience behind her specialising in Electrolysis has kindly picked me out of a few people to practice in her premises! I am highly delighted! She has had similar types of clients as myself mainly of Asian origin and the tea tree oil and vaseline have worked wonders. I was also a client of hers i had my eyebrows upper lip and chin done. Soon (when shes back for a few weeks) Underarms stomach breast! I cannot wait!

Thanks once again your advice is so valuable to me (and im sure many others reading)

#4

I’m not sure how you can quantify it working wonders.

TToil has no benefit other than preventing whiteheads, which can be avoided in the first place. It is incredibly drying which does not help the electrolysis process or healing. I know how much it is loved in the UK. My UK electrologist used it too, as did the others in her salon. I developed dermatitis on my upper lip (which she was treating) over time due to TToil use. Compromised skin + electrolysis = not good. I just wouldn’t want it to happen to anyone else.

I don’t see the benefit of vaseline.

#5

The tea tree oil is great for anti bacterial properties and yes for the prevention of whiteheads. The vaseline is great to keep the skin moisturised and supple and also helps with insertions. It is working for me and my clients and also my ‘mentor’ with 37 years of Elec experience behind her.

Sorry to hear about the dermatitis! Yikes! I do not suggest TTOIL to everyone as everyone is different but the majority of my clients are doing great with it.

#6

You’d be better off with aloe vera for the exact same purpose as vaseline.

Josefa is my reference point for the optimal electrolysis treatment. Having experienced both tea tree oil and no tea tree oil with Josefa, my preference is the latter regardless of the dermatitis. She insists on hygiene and a sterile as possible environment to minimise infection and in my opinion it works far better, having had hours of work on my face in a single session.

Question - will you be able to tell which of your clients are not getting on with TToil? It took my electrologist 6 months to realise and by then the damage was done.

Anyway, minor points I guess!

Personally, every year I learn new things so I try to keep an open mind as long as what I’m hearing makes sense.

#7

timaamit, you don’t need to be alone. We have 2 great support networks here, namely the BIAE and Hairshoot (a closed group on facebook, for professional electrolysists only)
I can give you details of either or both if you wish. Send me a PM if you are interested and we will look forward to welcoming you.

#8

Cherrytree, I’m curious… do you get that feedback from BIAE members? Because I’ve met a number of them during the past 5 years and none of them were particularly positive about the BIAE in regards to being a supportive network or purveyor of new information/techniques. One member even said the only reason they kept up with registration was to be on the directory.

#9

I think thats the main reason i want to be on BIAE, to be on their directory. People look for bodies such as these that can actually refer or recommend people in particular areas. I have had a few clients ask if i was a BIAE member but this didnt deter them from coming for treatment.

#10

Being a member of the BIAE really matters to me and, yes the members are supportive-very, very much so. I have found all the members I have met so far to be electrolysis geeks. (that’s a compliment, of course)

A major problem with membership for my money, has been lack of member-to-member communication and I have tried to address that with Hairshoot. This is a professionals-only, closed group and has a growing membership, all discussing best practice, helping, advising etc, etc. It’s my baby and i love it !!

Another problem for me with electrolysis in the uk is that one company in particular has a vast hold on the market, providing training, epilators and disposables and having a strong affiliation with the pro. organisation to boot.

This company is good and strong and all above board but other electrolysis brands exist and need to be shared around just as much,if not more!

Getting back to BIAE- the membership is young and keen as mustard (not me-I’m old). We have the best chance of promoting electrolysis, protecting clients, sharing best practice, learning and staying fresh by belonging to a professional organisation -it really matters and needs to be supported by us all.

There does seem to have been a mood of fed-up-ness regarding the BIAE that I’ve detected but I maintain that if it didn’t exist it would have to be invented and it does exist so it has to be championed, helped and enhanced -by its members!
I saw more young members at this last agm than ever-it’s very encouraging - exciting actually!

The entrance exams are real, proper tests of competence and are to be respected - passing is not a foregone conclusion. CPD is now a requirement -to be applauded. Many more ‘herd’ advantages also.
A good electrolysist is a good electrolysist - the client who comes to the latter won’t care if they belong to BIAE or not -but they might, if they go to a poor electrolysist, and wish they hadn’t.

The BIAE is moving in the right direction or maybe I am just getting to know it better? Anyhow it’s mine and i love it.

Long, long post. :tired:

#11

My dear Cherrytree, if you think that was a long post, you have to read more HairTell :slight_smile:
Besides, we love long posts here.

While I totally understand your point of view as expressed here, I also understand the view of those who are fed up. In my own experience of professional membership organizations, people just get tired of raging against the machine. The incentives for the members are not the same as the organization, the board members, or the equipment manufacturers.

A good example of what I am talking about is, the manufacturers best interest is to exclude their competitors (at least they think it is), but that is counter to the best interests of the practitioners, who are best served by side by side comparisons and availability of all. The membership organization is best served by not having to chase advertising dollars, so, if one company writes a big enough check, they get to silence their competitors, and the board relaxes, as they don’t have to worry about financing their various projects.

This brings me to something that I have been putting off talking about… Last year, some friends and I were talking about doing some meet-ups to trade shop talk and play with the various equipment out there, and it got put off until this year, because it was believed that certain factors would be more favorable. Now this year is almost half done and I am back here saying, this needs to be done, even if it is only me and 5 other people at my office and we later hit Niagara Falls for evening fun.

The funny thing is, the first time I arranged something like this in the 90’s, I got various communications from the Electrolysis Mafia telling me that it would be best for my health if cancelled any such arrangements.

#12

James, are you saying that you were threatened? Do you think that your friends were also intimidated in some way on trying to arrange your get-together this year/last year?

I can hardly take that in. If that is what happens, it’s shocking and I would not want to be a part of a group acting like this.

Back to membership of the professional organisations- If people get tired of raging, then maybe, if they believe the machine to have integrity, they could join it and help it to improve?

Am I being hopelessly naive?

#13

Not quite sure I am understanding these two statements. Are you telling the client that ALL they hair they can grow will be there in three months from stopping any other removal?

So, do you request that clients with dense hair growth NOT shave the hair for 3 months before starting treatments???

Is this all dependent upon the amount of hair have - whether it is sparse or dense?

I just want to clarify before commenting…

#14

I think what timaamit is saying is that, to allow for maximum ratio of clearance:treatment-time, she/he tries to get clients to come as often as corresponds to their rate of hair growth.
She/he points out that where clients cannot leave the hair for the electrolysist, they should come for treatment more frequently.

I don’t know if I have understood correctly or explained anything at all but I’m interested in what you had to say Barbara.

What were your comments going to be?

June

#15

YES! Thats exactly what i meant June :slight_smile: Sorry im not great at explaining things sometimes! x