It's your money, but...

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

…There are several things that I have noticed, among the clients that come to see me, that make their experience a lot less than it should be. I am not here to rant, or even to vent, but from the genuine concern to see that people get their money’s worth from what ever electrologist they are using. This is primarily directed at the newbies, so for those of you who know better, this might be a good time to check out another thread.

One of the things that frustrates an electrologist is to have a client come in for a treatment with two basic conditions. These are:

  1. Improper hydration
    and;
  2. A lot of makeup applied to the area that needs to be treated.

Of the two conditions, improper hydration is the most exasperating as it requires much higher settings on the epilator to gain proper release of the hairs being treated. This not only makes electrology a much more uncomfortable process, but virtually insures a greater degree of post-treatment reactions and slower healing.

The frustrating thing about this? The client, being unaware that the reason for the greater discomfort is due to their lack of preparation, will frequently attribute the pain to the skill of the practitioner which, in this case, simply isn’t true!

Coming in without removing the makeup is not nearly as frustrating as the lack of hydration, however it does mean that at least 30 to 40 less hairs will not be treated during the purchased time as this is the amount of time that will be spent to prepare the area for treatment. (Note that I do use primarily micro-flash!) That is significant when one considers that over the course of 10 treatments, that will add up to about 300 to 400 hairs.

While it is the client’s money, I feel much better when I can spend that amount of time removing hair than makeup!

Paying attention to these two details will make a significant difference over the course of treatments in terms of both dollars and discomfort.

All the best!
Joanie

#2

This is why we get the reputation of being nagging nannies. Of course, even after we tell people “Electrolysis will hurt more as you become more and more dehydrated, and caffeine will make it hurt even more in addition to your already dehydrated state”, people are saying talk to the hand as they continue to suck down the StarBuck’s and whine about how much they hate water.

I had something refreshing this past week. I had a new client come down from Canada. He apoligized for having been out drinking the night before (another dehydration no-no) and said that he hoped we could still do some good work. Well, I put him on the dehydration scale and his “Canadian dehydrated state” was still ten points ahead of my best American’s, and still perfectly hydrated. I would guess that on a normal day he scores a 65 out of a possible 70 on that test.

Listen up American! You are getting sleepy, sleepy, you will obey the commands of my voice. Put down the soda pop, break your addiction to caffeine and sugar. Drink your water! If you drink an ounce for every pound you weigh, you won’t want more than 16 ounces of any other liquid all day, and that would be a good thing. Become hydrated, and your headaches will dissappear, you will lose some of that weight you have been unable to drop, and your mood will elevate. Now, you will remember nothing of what I have said, but you will do everything I said when you awake.

<Clap! Clap!> Hey, you must have dozed off… here, have a glass of water. I put some lemon/lime juice in it for flavor and to boost your electrolytes.

#3

Dehydration scale?
That sounds really useful.

Can you please explain about that in the DIY forum? (Unless it’s already in there somewhere. I wasn’t able to find it in the search)

Jason

#4

Yes, the scale is VERY useful. No one believes they are dehydrated, no matter how many indications I can name from their life, and body signals, but put them on a machine that tells them their weight, bodyfat count and hydration figures, and suddeny, they finally believe they really are dehydrated.

If any one is interested, I use the Taylor Model# 5563 1005 V1584 for more info www.taylorusa.com (the scale is available at Wal-Mart)

#5

Check out:Wal Mart Scales

You may find them cheaper, but here’s a good start.

Jason

#6

It is possible that the exact model that I use is no longer available, however, the one on the wal-mart page has all the functions one would need.

#7

I think that it is the professional’s job to tell the people about these things before they do the treatment. Hopefully this will work. If it doesn’t work then the patient is to blame and should be told so, not you.

~ Megan @ Hair Removal [hair-removal-options dot com] A Guide to find the best hair removal option for you

#8

Why don’t you tell your clients to use creatine. This might help, I don’t know. All it does is hydrate your body so it holds more water, thus helping you lift more weight, and therefore creating more stress on ones muscle to help the person gain muscle. Usually people that take it have 5 pounds more body weight when they are taking the natural supplement that is found in steak and other beef products. Just throwing it out there, as it may be a benefit? Who knows

#9

Hi Megan,

One of the things that I give all of my clients at their initial consultation is a sheet of do’s and don’ts. Proper hydration is one of the things that I list very prominently in the sheet. Good hydration is absolutely essential to having good electrology with minimum power and minimum discomfort and quicker healing between treatments.

I even stopped treating one client, went out into my reception area and brought her back a bottle of water and asked her to drink it. When she finished it up, I refilled it from my bottled water dispenser and had her drink it as well. After she finished it up, we talked for about 10 minutes or so and then I restarted her treatment time.

I obviously can’t do this for everyone or I’d go broke, but she was always prompt for her appointments, tipped me well, and was really stoic about taking the discomfort. The problem here was that I liked her and wanted to show her how important being properly hydrated was. I had a free period after her treatment and wanted her to see for herself what a difference this made.

When I resumed her treatment, I was able to get better epilations using only about 60% of the power level that I typically had to use with her. She was amazed at how much better things went after that - and how much less discomfort she experienced.

I know this from my own experience as well. I have been having electrolysis done on various parts of my anatomy for about 3 years now (If I had the money I went for it). I have quite a bit of experience from both ends of the probe and, like most people, I had to learn these things the hard way.

BTW…I have also been able to shed about 40 pounds over the last two years once I started drinking a minimum of three quarts of water daily. My skin is clearing up a lot and I feel a lot better as well…

Maybe there’s actually something to this drinking water thing…

Joanie <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

#10

Looks like James may not have internet access, but for what it’s worth, I bought one of these scales yesterday (and bought a 9-volt battery for it today–didn’t read the package closely enough to realize it wasn’t included).

Yesterday, I had a mocha drink with breakfast, and iced tea with lunch (caffeine). I drank about 24 oz. of water. I had a Bacardi Raz with supper, and made margaritas afterwards. My roommates and I decided the premixed margaritas weren’t quite strong enough, so I fortified the mixture with some extra vodka… I felt like crap this morning, ran to the drugstore to get some medicine, and also got a battery for the scale. I had a Starbucks drink with breakfast (more caffeine) and about 20 oz. of water before I got on the scale, and I got the following results:

118.4 lbs.
67.6% H20
14.8% fat

Water percentage seems a bit high for someone who drank some caffeine and partied a little too hard the night before… I am not an athlete according to the instructions provided with the scale (or according to anyone’s definition, for that matter), so I assume the readings are accurate and I don’t need to switch it to “athlete” mode.

#11

If your scale is anything like mine, lots of things must be entered correctly before a good reading can be had.

I would find it more likely that your hydration and body fat numbers were reversed or that you did not enter your hieght, age, and sex properly.

I have never, ever, EVER seen anyone score that high a hydration count.

#12

I put in my age, sex, and height, and told it I’m not an athlete, but I’ll recheck the instructions to make sure I was doing it correctly once I get back home…

And at 118 lbs., I really don’t think my body fat could be 67%!

If it keeps acting wonky, I may return it.

#13

Definately recheck that.

Of course, I am not suggesting that you would fit that description, but it really is possible to be 118 and 67% bodyfat. In fact, if you put Nicole Ritchie on such a scale, you might see just that.

#14

Thanks for the assistance. I rechecked and played with some of the settings.

Changed my height to 5’5" (from 5’6"). I’m not sure of my exact height, but it’s somewhere between 5’4" and 5’6".

Now I get:
118.4 lbs.
16.9% body fat
66.1% H20

I tried changing my gender from male to female on the scale, and it provided a higher % of body fat and a lower % of water (about 55%–I didn’t write it down). Only problem is, I’m male, not female!

Maybe, for me at least, the numbers aren’t comparable to other people, and I need to compare them to what they read when I’m actually avoiding caffeine and alcohol and drinking a lot of water…?

#15

It would appear that you have gotten your instructions on the scale down well. The question I would have now is what is the base of your scale’s hydration numbers. Since you are working with a scale that I am not working with, I can’t say that your scale works the same way as mine. Do find out from your instruction book if the water reading is based on 100 being perfect, or if, like mine, 70 is a perfect reading.

Now if your scale is a base 100, then your scores are equal to my scale reading a 40 something, which is about average american dehydration. You would technically need to raise your levels 20%-30% or more to be in the best zone.

Now, if your scale is on a base 70 like mine, then your rating means you normally are perfectly hydrated, and you can drink booze and coffee all you want, and lose little in the effort.

My money is on your scale being built on a base 100. (It would mean that they made the scale eaiser for the average person to read and understand since introduction of the units, even though it cost money to redo the readout base.)