Maximizing Electrolysis Success

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

I am ready to begin electrolysis and was searching through the forum in order to find do’s and dont’s in order to maximize successful electrolysis. There is lots of good information, but sometimes it is conflicting.

I thought I would post as many quick questions as I could think of and see how many answers we get and how they compare to each other. If a similar post already exists, can somebody provide the link?

  1. I read on an electrologist’s website that Thermolysis is ineffective for dark coarse hair, such as the male beard and that galvanic is the most effective for this area. Is there any truth to this? Are certain methods of electrolysis more effective on certain body parts than others?

  2. Is there any variation in electrolysis treatment with respect to Laser Induced hair growth as opposed to normal growth?

  3. What are the absolute “do’s” as far as preparing for electrolysis treatments? I have read about being very hydrated, not smoking, staying out of the sun right before treatment, and no caffeine. Any others? If one is on a weekly schedule does this mean that caffeine cannot ever be consumed, if it is suggested to refrain for a few days prior to treatment?

  4. Can hair be killed in the dormant stage? I have read in numerous posts that it absolutely cannot. I have talked to a few electrologists who tell me not to shave or wax (see question 5)because it won’t make a difference since hair can be killed in the dormant stage? Who’s right?

  5. Referring to question #4, I have read both pro’s and con’s with respect to shaving or waxing a week or so prior to treatment. I have heard from some electrologists that waxing is good since all incoming hairs will be in the active growth stage, but I have also heard from other electrologists that waxing is the worst thing you can do. What’s going on here? Seems like it would be very beneficial to treat only actively growing hairs.

If indeed this is the case, is waxing or shaving preferred or does it really matter? I read a post that suggested shaving was better because waxing will remove the very fine hair that is not problematic and would probably not have been removed anyway, but that the waxing might stimulate further growth of this fine hair. (Of course shaving would remove this hair also but, according to theory, will not alter its growth.

I hate to even ask this but will anyway. Do you think electrologists ever tell clients that shaving/waxing is counterproductive in order to prolong treatments i.e.,treating hair during initial clearance that is not actually growing knowing that it will have to be treated again? I know all electrologists on this site are good and only offer the best info, but it’s like any profession, there are the good and the bad.

Thank you very much.

#2

  1. Technically blend and galvanic are better for deeper rooted, curlier hairs. But it really varies depending on practitioner skill and how your particular hair reacts. thermolysis IS about 3 times faster.

  2. No

  3. don’t consume 24 hrs before. don’t tan 3 days before and after. others are good.

  4. hair can be killed only in anagen. sometimes you’re told to wax about 6 weeks before, so that they know that whatever shows up is in anagen. after you start treatments though, no more waxing. this is only before 1st treatment.

  5. you can wax, but not 1 week before and ONLY before first treatment. you need to let it grow out before going for treatment if u do wax. in general, this is not necessary. it’s up to u.

btw, shaving is fine and doesn’t in any way affect treatments since you’re only cutting hair at above the skin’s surface and not touching the root in any way.

#3

Thanks LAgirl

Just to add:

Shaving makes it obvious what hairs are growing and which ones are not, because they will be at different lengths a day or two after shaving. This allows an electrologist to simply pluck the shedders, and treat only the anagens, if they choose that route.

Although there is a method that seems to kill hairs in all phases, most practitioners don’t practice it, and since it is the most painful technique known to electrologists, most consumers really would not finish if that was what everyone did, and lastly, it is unnecessary if one gets good fast treatment on schedule.

Getting to first clearance is the big goal, and then keeping the clearance maintained after that will allow one to be looking finished, while still working on the problem.

This thing with the plucking of shedding hairs, instead of treating them gets some electrologists in trouble with clients who are afraid they are getting bad service, because if they don’t communicate that this is the strategy they are employing, the client will not feel the treated hairs being removed, BUT THEY WILL FEEL ALL THE PLUCKING OF THE SHEDDING HAIRS, and think they are being cheated.

Communication is key.

#4

Although there is a method that seems to kill hairs in all phases, most practitioners don’t practice it, and since it is the most painful technique known to electrologists, most consumers really would not finish if that was what everyone did, and lastly, it is unnecessary if one gets good fast treatment on schedule.

I don’t think that’s a method I want to try, but I’m interested in which method you’re referring to. Are you talking about galvanic?

Thanks,

htky

#5

No, it is not galvanic, and as I said, since hardly any electrologists practice it, it is not worth talking about.

#6

I guess I can add some information from some reading I did. This method is high intensity thermolysis, using an expensive special machine and expensive special insulated probes that were reported/developed by two Japanese doctors in 1985. Dr.'s Kobayashi and Yamada, for whom the method is named, has a protocol where hair is removed and cleared agressively in the first session and then 3-5 appointments are scheduled over the next year, generally. They employ ice for pain or injectable anesthesia for longer sessions. Insertion of the probe must be very precise each time. Skin healing can take several days.

I have never experienced this method, but it sounds similar to what Lucy Peters or Electrology 2000 in Texas does???

Dee

#7

The more serious part that I did not want to get into is that it involves breaking the skin and thereby treating much more tissue both around, and below the floor of the hair follicle being treated. It allows for killing follicles that are not in phase because it breaks the follicle floor and walls and cauterizes tissue that a normal electrolysis treatment would leave alone. It requires injections because it is always painful (whereas regular electrolysis can sometimes even be painless) and Kobayashi-Yamada always draws blood on EVERY insertion. But that is ok, the treatment should also stop the blood flow with the high intensity of the treatment energy it uses.

Needless to say, much more healing is required, and a greater possibility of scarring is at risk.

So if you can find someone outside of Japan skilled in The Kobayashi-Yamada Method, or even knows what it is, and you think it is worth doing, go for it. Of course, if you tell the average electrologist that you would like to know if they would give you Kobayashi-Yamada, they would most likely say, “The final exam on Star Trek?”

#8

Hey james walker,
I noticed you mentioned mike bono in a few threads?
How much would you guess he charges? and do electrologists with his reputation have long wait lists? He works 5mins away from me thats why I ask.

#9

Your problem with getting an appointment with Mr. Bono is that he is in semi-retirement, and only taking a few cases here and there. I wish I could tell you what makes him take on one person and not another, but you should contact him, and hopefully get some good work done.

#10

James

As I have read before, a major milestone is first clearance. What is the difference in first clearance using electrolysis (no shaving/waxing) -vs- complete shaving or waxing before treatment. Wouldn’t complete shaving or waxing technically be considered a “first clearance”? (Of course no hair would be permanently be removed as is in “first clearance” via electrolysis). If this is true, I don’t understand why people would choose “first clearance” with electrolysis as opposed to “first clearance” with shaving/waxing, since it takes much longer and only a small % of hair are actually in the growing stage and are capable of being permanently removed. Please set me straight.

Thanks

#11

This is really simple to clear up. The first clearance we speak of is the first time the treatment area has been totally cleared with the treatment, and therefore has had that many hairs cleared out, and will show the effects of that treatment a year from that date. In the coming weeks, one only has to treat the hairs that come out, as they come out to do the same thing, thus keeping the hairs at bay, by killing them as they present themselves, and therefore leaving you in a state where at the end of nine months, there are only the hairs that were treated out of phase, undertreated and never treated because you did not come in while they were present.

First clearance is not about the visual, it is about the number of hairs treated, that also, as a side effect gives you visual clearance as well.

Got a better understanding of that now?

#12

Re: James & Dee - The Kobayashi-Yamada Method

All I can say is, OUCH! Thanks for the info, though. I am always trying to learn new things, even if they’re things that are of limited practical value.

#13

Your problem with getting an appointment with Mr. Bono is that he is in semi-retirement, and only taking a few cases here and there. I wish I could tell you what makes him take on one person and not another, but you should contact him, and hopefully get some good work done.

Wooohoooo, called mr. bono up and left a message, he said he’ll set up an appointment with me because my answering machine was funny.

#14

You never know what will help you get lucky.