You will find your energy much more focused at the tip. Try a .003" short to get our “feel” then I think the .002" is what you will prefer in the long run.
Michael, I make no foolish claim that gas or gamma sterilization is inneffective, quite the contrary. However, states that regulate the industry, I’ll use your California for an example, state very clearly that a needle/probe must be heat sterilized before use. It further defines heat sterilization as dry heat or autoclave. It makes NO provision for gas or gamma.
A small piece of fine print delightful to a malpractice lawyer.
I just looked up the California law. On page 133 of the book (found at http://www.barbercosmo.ca.gov/laws_regs/act_regs.pdf) it does state that needles and tweezers “shall be first cleaned with detergent and water (which may include the usc of ulirasonic equipment) and Ihen be sterilized by one of the fol lowing methods: (I) Steam sterilizer, registered and listed with the federal Food and Drug Adminislration, used according to manufacturer’s instructions. (2) Dry heat sterilizer, registered and listed with the federal Food and Drug Administration, used according to manufacturer’s instructions.” (I copied and pasted - I think my own spelling is better.)
I am not a lawyer, but I would argue that this meant that these two methods are the only appropriate sterilization method for the electrologist to use IN THE ELECTROLOGISTS OFFICE. I will also argue that electrologists should not be sterilizing needles in their office, at all, as they should be purchased pre-sterilized and disposable. California is not the only state that ignored the AEA’s recommendation of stating “pre-sterilized and disposable needles only” which provides the electrologist with a lowered risk of puncture injury and provides the client with a lowered risk of cross contamination from a used needle that was improperly sterilized.
A manufacturer is trusted to provide sterile items if they are so packaged. It is assumed that the manufacturer has protocols in place that will prove they provided the sterile items. The methods of sterilization will not need to be defended if it does indeed sterilize as there will be no risks of infection from using that pre-sterilized disposable needle.
You are so cute! I love the term autopilot. I feel very comfortable and in control when I use the autopilot sensor. I look at it as one less step that I have to think about and it is less fatiguing for those long appointments not to be pressing a footswitch for every hair, which today would have been almost 4,000 insertions worth. I just set the delay to where I want it and off I go into the wild, blue yonder! I’m glad we have the opportunity to hear about each others preferences. Thanks much Jossie.[/quote] [/quote]
James, Dee, I have gone a step further. I have activated the autopilot. I have programmed the insertion time of 0.3 s. But I had to increase the intensity by nearly 300 e.l in order to work as effectively in a single attempt. This only happens to me?
(In Yoda Voice) Shorted your delay you have, young Jedi.
While most start with a 1.0 delay and work down to a 0.3, you tried to start there. What is happening is that your treatment energy is firing too high, as you are either having the treatment energy fire off on your retraction, and thus too high, because you are too fast for 0.3 (unlikely) or you are still in the act of the insertion and the energy is firing too fast on the down stroke, because you need to start with something more like 0.5 or higher until you get the hang of it (much more likely).
When I am training someone on the autosensor, I just put it on 1.0 seconds (once I had to go to 2 seconds) and tell the practitioner, "You are faster than this, but just concentrate on your insertion being perfect, and then wait at the bottom of the follicle until the machine catches up. Later, we can speed up the delay and gain a faster insertion and energy delivery chain reaction. As you get the rhythm of this process, you will know when you need to change the autosesor insertion delay down the next tenth of a second.
On some people, I can work at 0.1 and 0.2, but I generally stay at 0.3 because if you have a problem follicle that pops up unexpectedly, then I have the same problem you are observing.
This process is just like typing. Change anything, and you have a loss of speed, until the operator is acclimated to the change. In the long run, this change will make it possible for you to remove even more hairs than you do now.
Thanks James. It’s a real pleasure to receive training from great Yoda.
I will increase my delay to 0.5. My problem is that there is too synergy between my foot and my hand. This should be like learning to walk with a prosthetic leg, at first you stumble many times until one day you win the gold medal in the Paralympics games. Thank you, thanks a million, my friend.
My insertion delay is set between .7 -.9 for the face. For body work, I start off at .7 and work my way down to .3 or .4. I have even gone as low as .01 . The lower you go, the more focused you have got to be. E.L.'s certainly don’t have to be raised with shorter insertion delay’s. Just make sure that the energy is released at the bottom of the follicle and you will be fine. Once you get the hang of it, it so easy, like anything else in life.
James, did anyone tell you that you kind of look like Yoda??
When I was younger, and in much better shape, I was told that I looked like Billy Dee Williams. More recently, I have been notoriously compared to Fat Albert in a case of copyright infringement. While I could see the comparison between Williams and myself, but it seems to me that Mr. Cosby’s intellectual property and myself share very few similarities.
James, some people get more attractive over time.
For example Frank Sinatra. His voice was more beautiful with age.
I did not see you at 20 years, but I hear the melody of your needle now.
I do not agree on one thing, you’re better looking than Billy Dee Williams.
Thank you for your input Barbara, I and others had hoped you would speak. I found it informative. Due to your position I must assume your words must be similar to the opinion of the association.
Your quote verifies that in the state of California (among others) the use of a needle, probe, or for that matter forceps, that have not been heat sterilized is indeed against the law. Please note, it does not specify where, when, or who has to sterilize it, just that it has to be heat sterilized to comply with the law.
Am I to assume the association considers it more important that their members use an individual paper package than it is for them to comply with the laws of the state they operate in?
As to an electrologist sterilizing a needle. All are required to maintain approved equipment and operate it in an approved manner. In fact, the AEA goes to great lengths to detail exactly how they expect it done. There is no such thing as “semi-sterile”, either it is sterile, or it is not. I might add that it is the same standard used by operating rooms across the country. Cross contamination from a used needle cannot be possible if the needle is disposed of after a single use. I cannot advocate re-use of a Probe, I merely point out our design retains the durability that comes from when re-use was expected of it, including repeated heat sterilization cycles.
Accidental puncture, I contend removing one from a Patterson pouch presents very little chance of that happening.
To “assume” a needle sterile is purely the customer’s choice. I can promise you without reservation our probes are sterile…until I hand them over to the UPS guy. If you place it in a sterile pouch and run it through your autoclave, now I can guarantee the Probe in your hand is absolutely sterile. And you can give me that same promise, also without reservation.
My words are my own opinion and should be taken as such.
Due to public concerns about risks and reasonable requests from the practitioners, the manufacturers have provided us with pre-packaged, pre-sterilized, single-use and disposable needles.
Obviously I disagree with you about the interpretation of the California regulation. Many states do have “pre-sterilized and disposable” in their regulations and the standards for infection prevention must be “best practices.” Electrologists who work in states that have lower standards (or no regulations) can only benefit from the higher standard that my association promotes.
It will probably not be a problem if communicated thoroughly and sold to the “right” customers. But it is not a needle for everyone, unfortunately.
Anyway, back to the test:
if i do want to refresh the sterilisation - which ist the maxiumum temperature the probe can be exposed to?
and let me take up another question that arose a while ago: testing scenarios. Are there any plans to define some?
Beate
BTW: my probes came this morning. Impressive what transport and customs duty added to the price - it is more than doubled. Which makes it inevitable for me to rethink my calculation if i use them regularly.
Odd that they would charge a duty, that is why I sent them at no cost, so they wouldn’t, and you wouldn’t have to deal with that.
These are not prototypes, they are made for your normal requirements. Give them no special treatment at all. Your most stubborn and sensitive cases we welcome.
My probes arrived this afternoon, Beate. I have not paid anything. Even I’ve forgotten reward the UPS guy a tip, even though the package arrived in good condition, and this was not contaminated by their hands.
I made my first test in one of my clients to check the ease of insertion and see the skin reaction 24 hours later. Tomorrow I will have the answer to this latter aspect.
If the group does not unify previous criteria on which to base, I’m going to do for myself. I will use a fenestrated cloth to determine the perimeter of two areas in one arm, one of the areas I will use a needle Ballet, and the other a needle Laurier. I will take pictures every day to monitor developments and will check the regrowth.
So far I can only say that I had to lower the intensity on the parameters that I use always on my client.
I called them and the shipping charges are billed to me. It seems Germany charged you on the value even though the invoice said the charges were nothing. How we handle this in the future will require some study. Use them, and if you wish I will compensate you gladly.
