How to find an electrologist in your area

If anyone is looking for an electrologist in Atlantic Canada, you can check out this site:

http://www.aape.ca/index.htm

This site also has links to all other Canadian provinces websites: http://www.fcea.org/

Hello,

Can anyone help? I am trying to find a reputable electrologist/electrolysist in the UK. I can travel to any clinic in the Kent area. Thanks.

Check the BIAE directory

Which clinic(s) should I use in the greater Birmingham, Alabama area?

I have already seen this list:

http://www.hairfacts.com/wiki/index.php/Alabama_hair_removal#Birmingham

I also have leaped before looking- thermolysis on my mustache area yesterday, in fact- cut nā€™ pasted from my own blog, which I also cross-posted to a trans forum:

"A dot of blood here and thereā€¦
I was told that the multiple short tugs on some hairs were the forceps coming off of a hair that wasnā€™t fully treated yet (and so had to be re-zapped). That in addition to the length of exposure on a handful of the hairs is what made me the most nervous.
Also a bit wigged out over the hairs that she did leave too. Could this be due to concerns over the effect of so much treatment on the skin?

And yes, I shouldā€™ve done a patch test first.

The lady I went to though (A&A Electrolysis- the street sign says "About Face Electrolysis) has been in practice for 35 years and is listed on hairfacts.comā€¦
58 dollars an hour- cost 78 dollars to do my mustache area today (I have enough in the bank to cover at least that part of my face for the 15 or so treatments that some say is needed.

And yes, per the title of this entry it was thermolysis. Yeah, Iā€™ve seen Susan Lairdā€™s horror stories ( hairzapper.com) and Andrea James and others counterclaims on the hairtell.com forums.

Strange that I didnā€™t find her exact model of Fischer branded machine on hairfacts (the closest listed was R.A. Fischerā€™s SE-4 blend model- I could just about swear herā€™s was a Fischer EZ-4. I definitely should have written it down.

Iā€™m looking at my still somewhat puffy mostly clear mustache area in the mirrorā€¦grumbling over not getting to go anywhere during daylight hours tooā€¦"

What I forgot to mention was that she only said to first put ice on the area, then neosporin. She didnā€™t mention anything about staying out of sunlight(!).

If I need to place any of this info seperately in other parts of the hairtell forums please let me know!

Call clinics in your area and ask what machine and type of electrolysis theyā€™re using. Then go in for sample 15 min treatments and see how your skin reacts and how their skills are ( you shouldnā€™t feel hair being plucked for example - they should slide out without much resistance after being zapped). Judge based on that.

Fischer is a known brand. One of the best newest machines is Apilus.

Disclaimer: It is hard for anyone to judge without actually seeing her work on you, so this is not in any way intended to be a criticism of your electrologist personally. Here is just some personal insight:

You can get a dot of blood a few ways, but it does not always mean a practitioner is not performing competent hair removal. If a hair is deep and has an especially large bulb it can tear the inside of the follicle and cause a dot of blood; you donā€™t know until you zap and pull the hair out if it will happen.
In my experience on both sides of the needle, sometimes the hair slipping out of the tweezers can happen. I have had it happen when the hair is not treated fully, or more commonly when a hair is in telogen and doesnā€™t want to come free. It depends on what kind of tweezers she is using as well.
If she is using traditional (ā€œslowā€) thermolysis, ask her what the timing setting is. It can take a few seconds, depending on various factors (very roughly, 1-10 sec). If she is using a CB-X, 4 it can perform microflash thermolysis and feels like an immediate on and off zap.

Yes.

Although my results are not a scientific study of course, as someone who has had many 100s of hours and 10,000s of hairs treated with thermolysis all over my face and body (flash, microflash and picoflash), I have not had any of the lasting damage that she describes. Again, this is not a scientifically valid study and there any many variables involved in how oneā€™s skin reacts, but in my situation is works very well.

It is probably an SE-4 machine, Fischer never made an EZ-4 that I know of (James?) It could be a Fischer CBX-4 also. It might be a good idea to see what kind of vision equipment she is using as well.

It is not abnormal with dense, tough hair. My lips swell up like a duck when I have mine done (microflash and picoflash.)

I would try the aftercare that James and Dee recommend here (please chime in if I am not correct here.) Pure tea tree oil on the treated area before bed, and pure aloe vera gel twice a day.

I live in an area that has a dearth in electrologistā€™s. The only one I can find within reasonable distance, I know nothing about. They are listed in American Electrology Association; what exactly can that tell me about their credentials? They are CPE and Modality says SBG. Can someone please explain that to me?
I know that isnā€™t much info, but do they seen worth my time in checking out?

Membership in the AEA means they pay good money to show you that they are in the business, and have available to them some ongoing information about whatā€™s new in the industry. CPE means they spent at least $1000 to $1500 to go to a convention and take a test to prove that they really now about electrolysis. SBG means they claim to know how to do all methods, ShortWave(thermolysis) Blend, and Galvanic.

Yes, I would think this would be a good person to start oneā€™s search. I would not, however, end my search without visiting some others first. For some reason, many people donā€™t take the time to get many consultations and sample treatments before settling in with someone for the long haul.

Yes. SBG means that they can perform all three modalities of electrolysis.
ā€œSā€ = shortwave thermolysis (destruction by heat)
ā€œGā€ = galvanic (destruction per chemical means)
ā€œBā€ = blend (a combination of the above -
destruction with heat + chemical)

Oversimplified, but useful.

CPE means a test was taken and the electrologist has obtained extra credentials from The American Electrology Association. CPE does not necessarily mean that a CPE electrologist is more skilled than an electrologist that has not decided to take the test. Many of us have been trained and tested through our own state licensing board and we are required to take continuing education courses to keep our license active.

In some states, there are no regulations, but in that case, a person who has not taken the time and expense to get an outside certification may still be a good practitioner.

Give it a go with this practitioner. She sounds promising, but you will just have to see. Read all you can here so you go in educated about the process.

I am new to electrolysis and live in a state that is not regulated. I found a lady who has been doing this for 40+ years and received certification. I have seen her twice and it has gone ok so far. My concern is that she does not wear gloves and though she said she sterilizes everything, I saw her wiping alcohol on the tweezers. It made we wonder about the probe too. The first time, I saw her take it out of a new package but I didnā€™t see what she did the second time. Is this acceptable? I want the hair removed but I donā€™t want to risk infection.

The standards set forth by the American Electrolysis Association call for hand washing, gloves, sterile disposable probes, sterile forceps (tweezers). If these things are not being done, ask her to do this. Infection is a possibility with the way she is doing this.

Thanks Dee. What about her cleaning the tweezers with alcohol? Is that an acceptable sterilization method? Other than that, she did a good job from what I can tell. No obvious signs that anything was done (except less hair).

Alcohol does not sterilize.
The tweezers should be sterilized in an autoclave or dry heat sterilizing unit as these units can be tested.
Are you sure the tweezers did not come out of one of these units initially?

That is a good question. Itā€™s possible they could have. There is a unit that I think is an autoclave that is a big metal box with a door in it-does that sound like what that is? Iā€™m not sure if that could have been used or not. Should I be concerned about the lack of gloves?

any good referal in Wilmington,DE (or surrounding area)??
Thanks in advance.

any please?

On the one hand, washing the hands is good enough, if done correctly. On the other hand, gloves are designed to lessen the risk of sanitation problems between client and practitioner.

Lack of gloves is not a deal breaker, but using them is not just a way to make the practitionerā€™s expenses higher (although there are many things in this industry that really ARE just to increase the practitionerā€™s expenses, and put on a show for you).

Here is an article to help consumers in selecting an electrologist.

http://electrology.com/consumer/selecting_electrologist.html

Thank you, Barbara! Now this a FAQ! It is much more complete than the original FAQ. Great improvemnet. Everyone should peruse the new American Electrology Association website. I need to take my own advice and will do that in a fortnight.

Dee

Thank you, Barbara! Now this a FAQ! It is much more complete than the original FAQ. Great improvement. Everyone should peruse the new American Electrology Association website. I need to take my own advice and will do that in a fortnight.

Dee