So, I have this crazy ambition to open an electrolysis and laser mega centre in the UK to steal your customers and rule the world, muhahaha! Ahem. That got your attention, didn’t it?
Actually, I have no such need for such a place myself, but I’m incredibly frustrated by the lack of decent places for laser and electrolysis hair removal for others in my own city.
I’m posting this in the electrolysis side (mods - feel free to move this to somewhere you consider more suitable) because electrolysis would be my priority (laser is at least a possibility) and I’ve heard there are a few British electrologists here (hello!). I don’t know who you are to send a PM, but I would be grateful for your experiences and response.
So, my question is, how does one become an electrologist and/or a laser tech in Britain? Which courses did you go on/how did you train and what recommendations do you have? Basically, how do I start out?
I love my current job too much to pack it in and heck, if there were good laser centres and electrologists here that fulfilled the needs I and others have for our treatments, I would absolutely let them get on with it. My attention span is short and I’m probably going to get RSI, so that makes me rubbish from the get go. Instead, I want to take up the gauntlet and learn about these two methods so that there’s someone there to help others.
I can’t personally comment on the standard of training here in the UK but I heard that it wasn’t up to much. Like everything you’re going to get good and bad wherever you go and there’s an element of luck in finding the good.
Qualifications don’t necessarily guarantee good treatment.
I think to be a good electrologist you really have to want to do it. It’s no good just finding yourself doing it off the back of some other beauty treatments. It is a specialist area and it requires time to learn and some considerable hours to get right.
There’s shed loads of info and advice to wade through and it’s hard sorting the good from the bad. This is from both points of view, both as a consumer and a practising electrologist.
The only way to truly gauge progress is to get stuck in and pretty quickly you’ll find out if you’ve got the gumption or not. I think having a thick skin is necessary because it seems there are plenty of mis informed peeps out there waiting to cast aspersions about what they perceive to be poor treatment. Whether it be post treatment reaction or hairs per minute, check out the posts here on hair tell and you’ll get the picture.
I was shown the ropes by someone who got a slating here on hair tell but I had good treatment from her and I have no hair and no scars to prove it so that struck me as an excellent reference. She has a wealth of experience and a host of finished clients who attest to her ability and knowledge
As with any training once it’s completed you will adopt elements of it and use variations of others that fit better with who you are and what works for you. Different factors come into play such as equipment. I believe I’m right in saying almost all training is completed using magnifying lamps. It’s what I used in the early days not so long ago. I would say better magnification certainly goes some way to making treatments easier and more effective.
In taking up the gauntlet to help others please be careful to get it right. There are others who have gone before you on this personal quest and maybe their motivation was from the heart as well but this isn’t a guarantee of getting it right and actually making a positive difference…
Hi smurf, good electrolysis is alive and kicking in the uk. however it is about finding these individuals who have the skill and experience. As for training there is few fast track courses which should be avoided at all costs unless you can spend the next 6 months working along side an experienced electrologist. other wise its attending a beauty course.
I did a two year beauty therapy course in 1993 studying electrolysis and advanced electrolysis. However it was the job I got when i left college that improved my skill working in a beauty salon specialising in electrolysis. I also became a member of the British Institute. I must say though it was in 1996 when i went to Sydney to work for christine O’connel(hairtell) that electrolysis became more that job, and my skill improved tenfold, getting incrediable results with very happy clients. Christine was and is an inspiration, i feel very privledged to have work with her. even after all these years i still seek her support and advice If you do decide to train, as well as getting a qualification look for a mentor to work with, you will have a very long happy career.
Hi Mairi,
Thanks for your response. I’ve seen fast track ones and various acronyms for qualifications. I can’t really afford to take two whole years out to study, especially for a beauty course (would rather take up a degree in this economic climate!). That sounds like an amazing opportunity and privilege! Training sounds ideal for me, as I don’t want to learn about facials but want to get hands on experience and education that’s relevant to electrolysis only.