I have a question for you electrologists on the board. Who here has done full body electrolysis on someone? If you have, how did you schedule it? Did you do like 2-3 days work on someone to get one clearance or did you spread it out? Like this week we’ll do this part of the body then next week this part etc. Once my crappy laser treatment is over I’m going to get laser done with a proper machine and pay per session. I know I’ll still be left with a lot of hair so I’m trying to figure out if it will actually be reasonable to do full body electrology or not.
I can’t answer your question, but it is my dream to have full body electrolysis! Right now, though… I have to concentrate on my face so I can look like I was born with the right parts! Haha, so sad. Either way, I would try to get as much reduction as you can on areas of your body that laser would be appropriate for and then finish up with electrolysis. I find that would probably save you a lot more money. I can imagine you are going to pay a ton just keeping up with electrolysis treatments for your whole body. At best, you could try to achieve a considerable reduction so that you wouldn’t have to shave as frequently.
I am one of the electrologists who do all the body, ie, all areas that my client wants. The program depends on several factors:
Economic opportunities, the time available to my client and myself, and the distance that separates us.
The first group of photos belongs to the same person. She started in the lower leg to the knee, and bikini line. 95% of the hairs disappeared in the course of a season, ie autumn, winter and spring. The sessions were one hour a week (except for a few weeks vacation.) The following year, she began with her thighs. First photo. The following year (autumn 2010), she began her arms, again a one-hour weekly session, but this time she needed just 4 hours in each arm to remove the hair more visible. A new clearance and advance to perfect the rest (another 3 hours in each arm). For this season, she finished (she loves the sun). Before leaving, she made sure to book your upcoming appointments for the coming season, ie autumn 2011. This young woman is 21 years old now, if nothing prevents it, she will be hair-free on her body at age 22.
This lovely woman has paid the treatments, with the work she does while on vacation in University. For 3 years she asks her family money for Christmas and birthday gifts. She is admirable as most of my “kids”.
Autumn 2009
Autumn 2010
before Electrolysis
A hour later
January 2011
After 3 hours treatment (one a week).
Spring 2011
Maintain and advance.
Total cost treatment on both arm (until now): 840€
When the distance is a serious handicap, your best bet is to take advantage of travel and do as many hours as possible. This is one of those cases. I worked 6 hours in this arm. The second photo was made after 2 hours of Electrolysis. The third picture is 2 or 3 weeks (I do not remember) after a 6-hour marathon session. The last picture is false regrowth(Read Bono’s book "Treatment Strategy for Electrology) after several months of the first and only clearance.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation disappear before the month of June. My client intends to start in other areas in the near future.
Body work
For most of my career it was body work, and “heavy cases” that intimidated the other local electrologists. Indeed, most of my clients came from the other — excellent — fellow electrologists. My patients were at least half men: chest and back. Laser, however, captivated the male psyche (mine too actually). And so, I had a good long period of very few guys. Males, by nature, want instant results with high-tech whiz-whams. Women are more concerned with trust issues. If they trust you and like you, they believe you and have treatments. Funnily enough, the guys are slowly coming back (very slowly). But the good old “salad days” (John Fantz’ words) are gone, probably for good.
My treatment times are identical to yours, Jossie. We have noted this many times in private emails. I always like to talk about underarms, because this is an area similar on most women. I charge a flat rate of $475 for the underarms (women) because it almost always comes in less than 6 hours. Three clearings (4 if they had been recently shaving prior to the first clearing) and a couple pick-up treatments. This is as predictable as the sun rising in the East. But I’m competing in a small town with no less than a dozen laser clinics. It’s daunting. I feel like an old uesless “dragon rider.”
Still, surprisingly, it’s not laser that I find discouraging at all. It’s …
Last photo: False regrowth
…Does the pain, maybe?
How does shaving change anything?
It changes nothing at all (for the final tally). However, with (recent) shaving I am unable to treat the slower growing telogen hairs; they stay at skin level. I have to wait until they show up (in anagen) at the next session. Overall it might slow the process, but by no more than, say, an hour total.
Ah so it looks like I’d have to start one area at a time. I want to be able to get to the point where I only need maintenance laser treatments maybe twice a year. Then I would start electrolysis to start getting rid of the hairs permanently. If I could get to that point with the proper laser I’d be sooooo happy. I’m researching who has what laser in my area. I need an alexandrite laser.
I’d say: laser OR electrolysis. With electrolysis you need three event/clearings that are usually done (my way) in two treatments in two days (one per day). Wait 2 months and repeat this and again in 2 months (now the whole thing in one treatment). All done in 9 months. For me, prior laser screws up my whole game plan.
Actually, laser seems to work well on underarms. I just don’t like to “clean up” somebody else’s, er well, work.
Michael, you do make me laugh!
I had 6 laser treatments and went straight on to electrolysis. Obviously, most electrologists cannot be compared to Michael, so they were happy laser had done most of the work already and left them with a small job.
Well there are lots of strategies and “ways to skin a cat,” and that’s for sure! I suppose I just prefer digging in and not tiddying up! what was your total actual cost?
For laser it was about £360. I don’t know exactly how much I have spent on electrolysis as it would always be 15mins here and there during longer sessions where I also worked on my face. But let’s say about £500 in total for both.
I’m sure it would have been less if I had done it all with electrolysis providing that electrologist was of the same calibre as yourself, James, Dee, Josefa etc.
But if I had gone with my electrologist from the start, I think it would have been more than £500.
I also found underarm electrolysis extremely painful. Not sure if I could have managed more than 10-15mins per underarm! Again, I’m sure that’s dependent on the electrologist and the epilator.
Pain? Pain? Well for me electrolysis is a form of medieval torture. And, that includes every method at any setting “low,” what’s low?). I know, laser is said to feel like a rubber-band snap. But they didn’t tell me the rubber band would be pulled all the way down to Los Angeles and then let fly.
(I have worked with the physician for 30 years and all areas are done with local anesthetic. It does make a difference in lots of ways.)
And yet, we PAY YOU for the privilege of being tortured. 
And yet, we PAY YOU for the privilege of being tortured. [/quote]
Caith, you’ve heard of the Spanish Inquisition? All “heretics” ended up confessing.
No, seriously, Michael makes a Electrolysis with absolutely NO pain. With the outpouring of good humor that he does here, I dare say, without risk of being wrong, to be treated by Michael is a true privilege.
We all do the best we can. But I had years of electrolysis and hated every second of it. Indeed, I do find the pico-flashy units less painful, but it still hurts. I don’t think patients should have to suffer at all with any procedure.
My own prejudice: I don’t think you can really be a dedicated electrologist unless you have “suffered” with a horrible hair problem and had treatment. I did, and I “get it.” Maybe that’s why I still love what I do. I get so much pleasure out of assassinating those damned hairs! When some kid says he won’t go to the beach because he’s covered with hair, I have to smile because I was that kid.
I joked about the privilege of being tortured, but the Apilus Senior II Margaret is using is only a 16 MHz machine and does not have PicoFlash capability. Digitally microprocessor-controlled, it is still WORLDS ahead of the analog Instantron machine used eight years ago to treat my neck. There is far less discomfort (I won’t call it pain) and far less swelling (almost none) immediately after treatment. Both of these conditions resolve in one or two hours.
I personally had a cleanup treatment with a local electrologist last week. She did PicoFlash on me. It was very quick and comfortable.
Worked on a client Friday for 5.3 hours. We talked some, she watched some judge shows on tv, she was texting and reading information from her smart phone, etc. She did take a mild analgesic prior to her session.
I worked on a bearded lady last week. No talking or texting, but she certainly was not sweating and doing Lamaze breathing through her session, which lasted a little over an hour. I used Synchro for her. She is coming up on the home stretch. She’s almost finished. Having started last July, I would estimate she is 90% finished. We have done 10 full clearances. Simply amazing, but what I want to stress is, she has not been tortured. She has not needed topical or injectable anesthetics through the process. No scabbing, very little reaction. I am proud of her.
Some people, will never be comfortable even if you put them under with general anesthesia and hit them in the head with a baseball bat 10 times, but most can handle lots of electrolysis with these better office setups (equipment choices) very well.
Electrolysis is not a massage, but it does’t have to be torture either. Cross my heart.
Certainly Dee, many clients say it is much more painful to live with excess hair. Some of my clients asked me to go up the intensity to ensure that treatment is working. This coincided many times when I changed my old machine with the new.
It’s as if you feel more physical pain is a release for these women who have psychic pain due to excess hair.
The problem is when the areas are extremely sensitive, such as in the genital area.