I’m about to see an operator that uses the 27 mhz Pico Flash for facial electrolysis. She has an Apilus machine. My number one concern is skin damage. My number two concern is having the hair effectively removed. I really dont know much about these new digital machines. I hope they reduce the chance of skin damage. Any thoughts on Pico Flash for facial electrolysis?
Angela
Dear Angela, I don’t use these machines but I can attest that they are excellent for the work you are about to have.
Everybody worries about “skin damage” … but this is so rare I would simply put it out of your mind. These Apilus units are “safe and effective” and … “go with it.”
I don’t like to talk about specific "modalities, machines, needle types, etc., with clients … because the professional you are seeing should have that all worked out.
Engaging clients in such discussions causes LESS confidence for the public. With these issues, the more you talk about “details” the more questions the client has.
Here’s the deal: when you go to a dentist, have you ever asked him what type of dental DRILL he’s using … or what composite-type he uses? However, if the dentist started “pushing” his specific brand of “drill” you would then start thinking, “Oh, I wonder which one REALLY is the ‘best one’?”
If you spend any time on the internet you will get confused. One electrologist “pushes” only Galvanic and says all other modalities will SCAR the skin. And, another one “pushes” thermolysis and says that “Galvanic puts ACID in your skin and ‘hurts like hell’.” And … they’re both idiots!
You don’t need this information … you only need a great electrologist. Stop worrying and get the hairs off …
Angela,
There are two machines that use picoflash, the Apilus Platinum Pure and the Apilus X-cell.
Pico is very fast( thousandths of a second) pulses of thermolysis. Because of this very low timing the amount of energy emitted is very small.The energy pattern is also extremely narrow and directly surrounds the probe.
It’s extremely useful for treating fine and vellus hair. Its sometimes useful with courser telogen hairs, if and only if the probe is being inserted to anogen depth. It’s however pretty much impossible to cause scarring or skin damage with thermolysis, and with picoflash doubly so as there usually is not enough energy to do so. So, as Michael says relax, there’s not much to worry about.
As to effectiveness, it is extremely effective on the hairs it’s designed for , thin fine or vellus hairs. It wouldnt normally be my first choice for courser hairs . If the electrologist is removing a lot of peach fuzz, upper lip hair, or fine hair, then chances are pretty good that picoflash is a very good choice.
Hopefully if I’m good little electrologist the Apilus fairies will bring me back the precious Platinum Pure to work with this week.
Seana
Pretty much impossible to get skin damage from Thermolysis? The lumpy buildup of scar tissue that looks like acne white heads is direct result or repeated thermolysis all from Apilus brand machines.
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I can’t be that one in a million case of electrolysis because I wasn’t getting out of the ordinary treatments. All treatments were on presets as you all are trained when instructed to use Apilus. (I’m not complaining about this side effect because it’s on my body and only noticeable in direct light; I’m more pissed off that all hair is not gone still after 2+ years of these treatments.)
But on a woman’s face or any face this could be a permanent disaster! Imagine you treating a high profile celebrity or a model and such scar tissue develops down the line but you believed this was impossible to cause by thermolysis.
I would add that if you’re getting Flash/Thermolysis treatments on the face, you must demand that your electrologist is using the best INSULATED probes out there. Do not allow face treatments without INSULATED probes. You can’t take any risk on a visible location like the face.
Hi Fenix,
What your skin is showing is what Michael refers to as “pebbling” in a recent video. It’s important to note what it is, and what caused it.You’re correct that it is from repeated, too low a power epilations causing repeated scar tissue which builds up over time. However if you paid attention to what I wrote above I emphasized THIN VELLOUS HAIR. Peach fuzz. The kind that glows on a woman’s upper lip and glows in the sunlight like a fluffy cloud surrounding their lip.
None of the hair in your photos is a particularly good use for picoflash. It’s all too course. Multiplex or synchro should have been used But you are correct that when used on too thick a hair, on the body and not the face, repeatedly over dozens of epilations of the same hair, that scar tissue can develop.This would be an error in judgement on the part of the operator in my opinion, or plainly, the wrong tool for the job.
We as a rule do not use uninsulated probes for thermolysis in our shop. We keep some golds for doing bits of blend and for clients who are sensative to stainless steel .
Seana
Yes, “pebbling!” And it’s ironic that this results from too “mild” a treatment … “under-treatment,” if you will.
Electrologists state that repeated tweezing causes a build-up of scar tissue in the follicle … so, why not repeated treatments: over-and-over-and-over? Why is tweezing bad (because of scar build-up), and “zapping the hair forever” NOT bad?
The nonsense about “we want to save the skin” can lead to treating the follicle too many times and the consequent pebbling effect. For years this “under-treatment” was actually memorialized and called “the breaking down process,” i.e., treating the follicle multiple times … (when only ONE TIME should do it!) Bad deal.
The shoulders are very much prone to pebbling.
Another goofy idea is “we don’t want to scar the epidermis!” And, I hear this all the time … by the experts yet, even … gewesen sein!
Indeed. And that can already occur if You do not hit a hair the first or 2nd time (on the shoulders…)
