One piece, Two piece, insulated, insulated TH, insulated BL, stainless steel, gold, Ballet, Sterex, Pro-Tec…
I know, I know… there’s a lot of preference that goes into choosing. BUT I would like to know what you guys have used and liked… and why?
I saw on one post that someone (I think it was Dee… I have terrible short term memory) only uses gold probes. Even with thermolysis? Even with Pico Flash?
I actually use both gold and insulated. I like them both. If you use Synchro mode on the thermolysis side of the Platinum, you have to use an insulated probe. As I look at my 2008 expenditures, the number of gold to insulated used was pretty even. I purchased an equal amount of boxes. Insulated probes are recommended for the Platinum, so it is wise to follow their recommendations, but gold works fine on the Platinum, too. You have to watch the skin and adjust levels accordingly no matter what probe is used and never let the energy release until the probe is at the bottom of the follicle. James uses gold mainly and insulated for those shallow hairs close to the surface. Right, James??? How far off am I on that one?
My dearest Dee, if you continue to show how well you know me, the rumors will shift from me bing married/linked to Andrea, and start talking about how you and I are an item.
I guess that would make us the Regis and Kelly of HairTell 
(That means she was right)
Now those are two goofy people, James! Who else can we be?
Well, for the analogy to work, it has to be two people who work together, that some people insist are married to each other, when they have never even dated. I have to reach back to Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore to come up with someone else that fits. Of course, they were at least pretending to be married on the show, so I don’t think that is an exact analogy.
Geez, you two really are like an old married couple. Very funny.
So, do you have a preference for brand. Ballet? Pro-Tec?
BF,
Speaking for myself, I cannot answer your question with fairness because I have not used Pro-Tec probes. The only other probes I tried in the past were IBIS that I tried out with my Silhouet Tone VMC . I have always used Ballet brand probes. They glide in the follicle nicely and just have a sturdy feel. I was introduced to them in school and just stayed with them.
What do you use in school? I would certainly like to try every brand of probe, but would not invest money to purchase several different box brands to compare.
Different epilator manufacturers push certain probes for their epilators.
Dee
The school I attend uses Ballet probes, so I lean towards them. Johanne likes the Pro-Tec probes. They are two piece probes. They have two types of insulated probes. The BL probes are designed for blend and deep thermolysis insertions. They have a longer noninsulated tip. The TH probes are designed for thermolysis (and/or shallow insertions). The noninsulated tip is shorter.
I know that two piece probes are good to learn on because they are flexible and it’s a lot easier to “feel” the follicle. But I really prefer the sturdy feel of the one piece probe.
Most places will send you free trial probes, so there is no need to pay for testers.
I have used Pro-Tec and even with my Platinum, I like my Ballet Gold the best. Now, I will give Protec a nod here, if your insertions are not good, the protec will save your bacon in a few situations. A bad insertion with a Gold Probe used in an Apilus Platinum will vaporize the surrounding tissue, leaving a bloody hole in its wake (it heals, after all, usually, you have just burned up some fatty tissue)
In fact, just recently, a HairTell poster who saw me made mention that we did work on two separate days, and that it hurt more on the second day than on the first. One of the differences was that on the first day, I used a Gold Probe, and on the second day, I used a Pro-Tec.