Hello everyone,
I’m new to the site & this is my first post. I’ve been getting electrolysis for the past 6 months by a very loving and professional woman who uses an older machine I think it’s called a Hinkel with a foot pedal it’s (beige and has 2 dials) and it’s turned up to 3. She has treated my lower back, and I just started getting my arms done also. So far I’m very pleased with her work she gets rid of a lot of hairs during each session she applies witch hazel after treatment and my regrowth is finer and more spreadout. However she went on a long vacation (2 months) and I found a new electrologist for the meantime? The new electrologist is in a more upscale spa type setting, a plush table & pillows. She has 2 machines the older Hinkel it’s (beige and has 2 dials and she has a newer machine I think it’s called an UltraSpectra? or Electro Spectrum? it’s purple and computerized and beeps. When I went in for my first treatment she said that she prefers the computerized machine because she can work faster and treat more hairs. She said that some people say it’s more painful than the old machine. I decided to try the new machine. She treated my lower arms with the new computerized machine that beeps. I must admit the current was much stronger than the older hinkel , & I felt more pain. However, I survived an hour treatment. (no pain no gain) When she was finished the red bumps/raised follices on my arm were slightly bigger than they were using the old machine. When she was finsihed she applied neosporin and an ice pack ahhhhhhh. (something my original electrologist never did) I have 3 questions for everyone out there is: Is a newer computerized electrolysis machine that beeps more effective than an older Hinkel machine? Since I felt a lot more current and pain my first thought is to believe that more current= killing the hair/papilla/destroying the follice faster. The scabs are slightly bigger & darker with the new machine is this normal? (it’s been 2 weeks) Lastly is witch hazel or neosporin better to apply after treatment? I would really appreciate all of your feedback. Thanks!
First off, the quality of each insertion of the probe is the main thing to be concerned with. The average or even above average electrolysis consumer would not be able to judge insertion quality. However, a useful guide is if you feel every insertion of the probe and/or a plucking sensation, then you can assume that insertion quality and levels of intensity and timing are not ideal to kill hair permanently.
Machine quality is important only if the person operating that machine knows what the heck they are doing. With the newer epilator’s especially, pain tolerance is not an indicator of whether the hair is being destroyed. I would encourage you to communicate with the practitioner about the sensation and give her feedback about those scabs. Scabbing on the arms or any body area are almost a given when doing body work, so I wouldn’t lose too much sleep. If the scabs are really big, big enough so some connect, then this is overtreatment and levels of intensity and timing should be adjusted. Probe size should match the diameter of hair or treatments can be more ouchy because a smaller probe is a hotter probe that cannot get all the surface area of the hair growing tissue.
I perfer the newer professional epilator’s. They are great tools that are very effective in removing hair permanently - ONLY if there is a brain with instinct and know how behind that machine.
If you are happy with the Hinkel lady, then stay with her once she returns. She may not be able to speed along as well as someone who uses the computerized epilator, but if her skill is better, then speed takes a back seat.
A lot of people are allergic to the neomycin in Neosporin. I especially don’t like ointment formula’s post electrolysis. I advise my clients against using anything other than witch hazel, aloe vera gel(clear stuff) and tea tree oil (just a dab) at bedtime are my favorites. Keep the area clean and dry. It’s just that simple.
That’s my advise. Any other opinions out there would be appreciated, I’m sure.
Dee
If you are in the United States (and as you are in violation of HairTell Pet Peeve #1, “No Location In Profile” we don’t know) the other machine you are trying to name would be an “Elite Spectrum” by the Instantron company. Although it has an insertion delay and allows one to make settings with digital certainty, it is not much different from the Hinkel machine from a practical standpoint.
If you were juxtaposing two other machines, there might be more that could be said. In this case, practitioner skill would be the only real difference, and the insertion delay can only go as low as 1 second, so although it can speed up the practitioner’s work, it holds the practitioner back from the even faster insertion delays offered on other machines that can go as low as 0.1 seconds. (Yes, some electrologists achieve that speed eventually)
dfahey Thanks for the info! After 2 treatments I think I prefer the new machine over the older Hinkel. the scabs on my arms are looking much better now they’ve gotten smaller and are fading away 
I think I’ll take my own bottle of witch hazel with me for my next treatment since you don’t recommend neosporin.
James W. Walker VII CPE Thanks for the info as well!
I live in Los Angeles and get my electrolysis treatments in Bevery Hills. Since I’m new to this site I didn’t know what the rules/pet peeves are… so be easy on me
thanks for providing the correct name of the new machine “Elite Spectrum” that I was referring to. What I find to be interesting is that it appears that my Hinkel Lady treated more hairs per hour/session than my 'Elite Spectrum" lady… In this case is it more important to focus on quantity or quality?
I’d really appreciate all of your feedback…
thanks peeps!
I always vote for quality over quantity, assuming we are talking about practitioner skill. If a practitioner exhibits both speed and effectiveness, then that’s good - VERY GOOD!
Take your own witch hazel and clear aloe vera gel. If the aloe vera gel is refrigerator cold, then all the better. If you take a little ice pack for use right after a treatment, that’s helpful, too. You only need to ice for five, no longer than 10 minutes. Don’t over do the icing part.
Dee
I second the motion, Dee.
Although one wants to find both quality and quality, if one has to choose, you go with the quality. The person who leaves your skin looking the best after treatment, with the least irritation, and still provides permanent hair removal is the person you want to go with.
I don’t mean to spank you too hard on the Pet Peeve thing, but it is just that everyone who registers is presented with a list of things to fill out, and so many choose to not fill out the form. Well, we are not asking those questions so we can spam you, we are asking so we can actually help you out.
We need your email addy so we can let you know when you have Private Messeges, we need your location info so we can tell you who is good in your area if we know that info, and we might even be able to tell you who to avoid if we have info on that area of the world too. Without your location info (and since we doubt you are the only person wanting hair removal in your area, we can’t find you based on that info alone 
) we can’t help you with questions specific to where you are, and others can’t be expected to search through all your posts to find the one post where you actually stated where you are.
Since you are in the LA area, we actally have a few people in your area who are recommended, and some who have even better equipment than the two you have checked out so far.
I hope you get great work and complete your project soon.
Thanks for the info Dee and James. I had a 1 hour session with the Elite Sprectrum Lady this past saturday and she worked on my lower back. I was pleased with her work. She got rid of a lot of hair. After the treatment she applied witch hazel and aloe vera. So far so good. I think I’ll keep getting electrolysis from her for the next month or so up until my Hinkel Lady comes back from vacation then I’ll make my final decision based on how much hair is gone and how my skin looks…
Thanks Again!
You are very welcome and thanks for coming back for an update.
Dee
Hi TG4E,
Your post cauught my attention because I am looking for a used older unit. A Hinkel would be great. I would appreciate it if you would ask the new spa professional if they still have the older units.
Also, your loving electrologist could raise the current and the RF blend as well. It may reduce your treatment time and increase number of hairs removed per session, thereby lowering your cost. Ask her! Is she is offended - switch full time to the spa
thanks
Love, Jessica
Right now if I were looking for an older unit, I would be zeroed-in on this one, an Instantron Blendtone unit on ebay:
Instantron Blendtone unit on ebay going cheap
Although I now think Apilus’ are the cat’s meow, beginner or experienced, I think this machine is really close to a Hinkel, and the price is very, very low as of yet. I would go as high as $400 or maybe $500 for this machine. I would give it a shot, and it can easily be resold for the same price paid.
As for latching on to a Hinkel new, used, modern, or older, good luck. Of all machine types, and for as many Hinkels that there are out there, you almost never see them for sale. People just keep them forever as backups. They almost never, ever appear on eBay. You’ll grow old waiting. Good Luck!
Mantaray
Has anyone heard of a ‘Rita Roberts’ machine?
Rita Roberts machine is just a blend machine. Can’t say if it is any better than any other professional epilator that does blend. She attaches her name to a blend epilator for marketing reasons, I suppose. There’s no mystery really.
If probes are different sizes will the practitioner switch between different sized probes when treating hairs of varying degrees of thickness? I want to treat hairs that are of all different diameters. Will this be a problem and something to look out for and make sure they are doing?
It wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Technnically, ideally, theoretically, and in a perfect world; the needle diameter should match the hair thickness, so to get an area that has all types of hairs, you’d be sweeping with a #5, then a #4, etc., till you swept the finest hairs with a #1, if you wanted complete total clearing. But that’s not realistically how it works.
Better machines will usually have two probe handles, one maybe for one guage thickness, and one for a step down. Or, one for the longer handle for easy access areas, and one for the shorter handle for more obstructed areas (such as the upper, inside of thigh). The reality is, usually most hairs in an area, at a certain growth time, tend to be do-able with one guage probe, a #3 or a #two. Anything smaller and finer, you’d just leave alone, or leave for next week. And usually you want to get an area cleared on the first pass quickly while the numbing cream is in effect, so you don’t want to go back after a histamine swelling has set in and the area is more tender.
Also, you may develope an affinity for a certain thickness probe and get everything possible with that. Back when I was doing the initial and second pass on certain body areas, I stuck to Ballet #3’s. Anything that I just couldn’t get with those, I just left alone. Now, Ballet #2’s are my favorite. They give a sharper sting, and some would say that they don’t have as much a ‘killing spread’, but I think they are much more accurate as they follow the follicle pore on insertion much more fluidly with less stiffness.
So, I can insert faster, pulse quicker, and clear more in each session usually with 2’s. I can go about 20% to 30% faster with #2’s (thinner)than I can with #3’s (thicker). I favor Ballet F2G’s (F shank type, #2 thickness, Gold), but will wisely use Ballet F4G’s or F3G’s to clear heavy, coarse, previously untreated areas like above and to the side of bikini where hair roots are long, slanted, and a good killing area is needed. A thinner needle just won’t cook a huge, ugly hair bulb the way a #4 can just go in there and destroy.
Hope this helped. Ask if you want.
Mantaray
alli,
Let’s put it this way, if your practitioner is treating an area with coarse or very coarse, she may want to choose a size 5 or 6
probe to handle those big bulbs.
If she is treating medium hairs, a size 4 is great.
If she is treating an area with fine hair, size 3 is good and for very small hairs, like the ones under the nose area, a size 2 may ne helpful.
Now, it is not likely that an electrologist is going to change her probe several times during a treatment. However, if you request to start with your bikini line and she chooses a size 5 probe for those thick hairs, then you request that she move to an area with fine hair, then it would be necessary for her to change to a size 3 probe, maybe a size 2. I don’t use 2’s that often, but there are occassions as I mentioned above where I need to. Two’s are also a necessity for a teenage girl’s upper lip because those hairs can be teeny weeny.
If your practitioner has excellent magnification, she will able to deal with all sizes of probes and will be able to really judge what diameter is needed for what area because she can SEE!!!
Please don’t expect her to be changing the probe frequently in one session. It would be better for her to choose a size 4 in the middle and go with that. Only in extreme cases when one is going from very coarse hair to very fine hair would it be necessary to change the probe.
There have been times when I have had a wide variety of hair sizes in one area and used a larger probe first to get the coarse and very coarse hair, then I needed a switch over to a smaller probe to get the medium and fine hairs. With god magnification an electrologist can usually choose a bigger probe because the follicle can stretch a little.
Dee
So I guess along with modality, practitioner skill, magnification, and type of epilator, probe size is also important for different diameters of hairs. There really are many facets to consider! I hope I don’t irritate the practitioners with all my investigating Q’s when I call! I really do appreciate the above detailed information.
I have about 10 dark thick hairs under my chin right now and maybe 10 on each cheek/ sideburn area but I just started growing it out so I’m not sure how many thick ones are usually there at one time since I have always plucked. The rest of the ones I want to get are thinner, most medium but some fine as well that stick out. What sized probes would be appropriate?
Your questions are fine, alli, and any practitioner that doesn’t come down from their high horse to reassure you and patiently answer your questions, might be a red flag to look onward. I say “might” because some are so busy and know they are good that they don’t have the energy or time to do a lot of hand holding. So, when talented people don’t have fluffy little personalities, sometimes it’s better to overlook that part and get down to business.
Let your practitioner decide the probe choice. There is a certain amount of trust you have to have in addtition to the knowledge part. If James highly recommended, Rita, then I’m sure Rita will know exactly what to do. In the future, if you need to see another practitioner, then you will have a good standard to judge what you are receiving from other practitioners, just by having had the experience with Rita.
Let me also add that frequently people who have read HairTell have enough information to ask certain questions, but not enough understanding to follow the explaination of why a particular practitioner does things the way she does them. This could frustrate both the customer and the practitioner. At some point, one must just trust that the practitioner knows what she is doing, if this is the person you have chosen to do the work.
Thanks so much for the advice. That is exactly why I asked this question b/c I want to make sure to ask the right questions but NOT butt in too much at the same time. The last thing I want to do is offend someone I will be establishing a new relationship with and needing to trust.
I am calling some of the other practitioners as well b/c Rita is an hour away. I hope to be able to go to her but would it still be a good idea to test out others, or in this case is she so good that it is not necessary?
We always advise one to sample as many electrologists as possible. AND…we love it when you share your good news with others here on hairtell. The big question that is always asked on haitell is, “Where can I find a skilled electrologist?”. So help us out, alli, and let us know who you settle with.