I thought it would be best to pass the various comments about the BIAE on this thread to the BIAE themselves.
They are formulating a response and it will appear soon, I hope.
This is serious and I hope that their reply will be open and not defensive. Difficult, I suspect.
Regarding the stance on only Anagen hairs being treatable - I have been asked a specific question by a member of the board:
Given that we are cauterising/coagulating the blood supply to follicles, thereby disabling them; how is it possible that telogen hairs can also be disabled?
I do not know the answer to this and yet I see the evidence of colleagues here and don’t doubt that results are permanent even where some hairs must be in telogen.
I think that if we can be updated by our friends on this forum we will all be a force to be reckoned with?
Look forward to some educational replies,
June x
Several decades ago scientists located the brain of the follicle and it is not exactly in the transitional area, but in the bulge, an area that remains present in all phases of the hair cycle.
Hi June, I’m sure the BIAE did an article in the Probe about treatment of the bulge. As I remember starting to target this area, I have a feeling I was in Sydney so maybe around 1999.
Electrolysis is the” only” medically approved form of permanent hair removal, period
The British Institute Association of Electrolysis (BIAE) is a non- profit organisation and has one constant mission, to raise standards in the industry. Which is why they have recently hosted a Skin seminar for their members where the speakers where Consultant Dermatologists from London Hospitals. Annually the BIAE holds an AGM with guest speakers from the medical field and beyond to promote continuous professional development (CPD) of its members, along with annual refresher and advanced cosmetic procedure courses.
The BIAE have followed in the footsteps of other professional bodies including the medical profession by introducing continuous professional development (CPD), which means all members have to undertake professional development annually.
The BIAE organisation does not make any specific recommendations for manufacturers of machines or suppliers. Members are encouraged to voice information that may be useful to others and this will include from time to time specific advertising, if approached by companies. Hence we know that BIAE members use a wide range of different manufacturer’s electrolysis machines, which include; Carlton, Sterex, Apilus and many others.
All BIAE Members premises are registered with the local council under the miscellaneous provisions act regardless of whether they are high street or home-based salons, all are subjected to a rigorous inspection by the local environmental health officer.
It is worth remembering that anyone who applies to take the BIAE entrance exams already holds a level 3 Electrolysis qualification, however not all applicants pass this exam due to the high standards set by the BIAE and many have to undertake additional training to pass the entrance practical and theory examinations.
The BIAE is the only organisation to personally check the standard of its members in order to safeguard members of the public from bad electrolysis treatment. These rigorous standards are for the general public’s protection and should therefore make the public feel confident of receiving professional and caring treatments whenever a registered BIAE member is consulted for electrolysis treatment.
The BIAE continue to put pressure on Colleges to raise their standards of teaching, including offering lecturer training and free industry updates via our newsletter. We also liaise with electrolysis equipment manufacturers in order to keep our members up to date with the latest developments in the field of hair removal and electrolysis.
As a non-profit making the BIAE do not have finances to be on a level with Laser but we are the only truly epilation dedicated organisation in the UK offering support to both consumers and electrolysists whilst working hard to raise standards for all.
The BIAE believes in evidence-based claims rather than marketing hype, and expect members to behave ethically at all times. We very rarely receive complaints about our members, but be assured any complaint is investigated thoroughly and professionally as we take standards “very seriously”.
I think it is worth linking to Michael’s thread in this thread:
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/102941/Papilla_anagen_telogen.html#Post102941
Good idea Stoppit!
Most people are aware that electrolysis is the only recognized method of permanent hair removal, nobody here is disputing that?
What is the nature of the CPD you talk about and how has it influenced electrolysis here in the UK? If this development is effective why does treatment here in the UK lag behind countries like the US and Canada. Why does everybody here seem so afraid of change and why? Who is doing the scaremongering?
My experience with training in the UK is that it is poor in the extreme. I had done considerable reading and some hands on supervised practicing before I started my “official” UK training. As a result I was disappointed and upset that some of the information I was being told was completely wrong. I witnessed hairs being removed where they had obviously not been treated adequately. Students were finishing the course thinking they knew what they were doing when clearly this was not the case. Admittedly this particular course was a short 4 day affair but it destroyed any confidence I had in taking my training further by pursuing a more advanced and intensive coarse here in the UK. It was all I could do to complete the coarse and not leave and insist upon a refund, unfortunately I needed the qualification to gain insurance. I did want to pursue my NVQ but I was informed that I would need to do this using a Sterex machine, Why? If the trainers and assessors are supposedly kept abreast of the latest technologies why couldn’t I be assessed with my own machine?
Most of the training here in the UK is with Sterex machines, why is this? You claim to keep abreast of the latest techniques and technology but it’s close to impossible to get training on a more advanced machine. The thinking in the UK is such that most practitioners or educators are either not aware of the technology or techniques that are available or they are simply not prepared to part with the money to ensure that their clients are getting the most comfortable or effective treatments. They seem almost afraid of change, I cannot understand why this seems to be the case?
I wonder what the annual refresher courses include. Is any attempt made to introduce the newer technologies or techniques? Are guest speakers from companies like Dectro invited to speak to highlight these new techniques and machines and allay the fears that persist around the almost unmentionable flash modes of thermolysis that a Sterex machine cannot perform. Who carries out the training and who assesses the trainers? There are a few experienced practitioners using moderm machines in the UK, are any of these people ever consulted to further improve treatments in this country? Has opportunity been given to demonstrate the benefits of a modern machine? It’s all very well bringing in medical professionals, experts in their fields but what do they know about hair removal? Doctors/physicians don’t remove hair… Their knowledge will obviously be useful for skin blemish, skin tag, wart, mole etc treatments and correct identification but they won’t help increase the effectiveness of actual hair removal…
What exactly would constitute a bad treatment? This should be clearly identified on your website but I couldn’t find it? How exactly do the BIAE make sure that its members are carrying out effective treatments? Is any effort made to check that hairs are actually being removed permanently or within a time period that isn’t protracted unnecessarily.
When was the last time someone was disciplined by the BIAE and why? It may well be that the BIAE takes complaints seriously but a lot of people don’t complain, they simply take their business elsewhere. There have been a few posts on this forum where people have expressed their disappointment with a BIAE member, is the BIAE aware of this. Why is this the first post from the BIAE, It surprises me that no representative has been actively posting to promote the organization as it stands and give UK consumers something to measure it by.
We should commend the BIAE representative for taking time to reply on HairTell. Hopefully the discourse between professionals here will continue and as a result, the profession can only grow and expand in knowledge and efficacy.
I had to refrain from replying to the BIAE post when I first read it. It is not the post of a person/persons willing to participate in a discourse but I hope I am wrong.
Follizap - Your post contains everything that should be highlighted. Thank you.
I do try 
“[size:14pt]To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.[/size]”
Who said that? Oh yeah… right… Sir Winston :whistle: