I’m a transgirl, and due to this fact and the fact I’m a single parent to an autistic little boy, it makes it nearly impossible to work.As a result I’m extremely low income, and have to carefully budget every dollar. the simple fact is there are alot of months I cant afford ANY electrolysis, and some months I can maybe do one or two.
I’ve been having laser and electrolysis done at a school here in Ottawa.I’ve had about 9 laser sessions , and maybe a dozen hours of electrolysis at this point.I’ve had extremely mixed results. For example the second time I went in, they handed me the Anode to hold onto. They hadnt done this the first time, and at the time I wasnt knowledgeable enough to know the difference, meaning I got an hour of electrolysid of strait thermolysis, in very short bursts. Thermolysis according to some of the reading I’ve done isnt all that effective on TG clients, galvanic or preferrably blend is preferred because Thermolysis tends to only get a 8-10% permanent removal rate.
I’ve also had to deal with the stream of different students working on me, with varying skill levels.This has seriously put a damper on progress and they havent managed to clear my chin of greys at this point, nevermind any of the darker hairs or anything else.The laser too has come out patchy, some areas like the right cheek at least doubly as successful as the left but still requiring some work.
I’ve been doing alot of reading here, and heeding the advice posted by the pro’s . I do have a partner who’s more than willing to let me practise on him, and learn the skill himself. I’ve been looking to purchase a machine so I can start practising galvanic, on legs/abdomen for myself, and a few on my partner who’s a transguy. HE actually only has a few stray hairs he’s willing to part with, but I’ve several other TG who are more than willing to let me practise on them so this is good news.I’ve also read Michaels quick pdf guide to blend which was exremely informative and I’m looking to buy his book. Most of this is by way of introduction as although I’ve done alot of reading here I’ve not posted before.I’m essentially looking to pick up a new skill, one that could be very useful in my own transition. Yes, I know not to try and DIY on my face but I’ve some other areas that will be more accessible to learn on
So on to my questions.The first is concerning Michaels book on the blend method. When I looked at Michaels site he recommends purchasing from one of his distributors primarily Texas Electrolysis supply. This I plan to do. However at the time I had seen his book posted on ebay, and I was also curious to find out whether amazon had it since I was looking at possibly starting with a one touch from there ( an idea I’ve long since abandoned due to comments here) . So I looked up the posting I had seen on ebay and searched amazon.To say I got sticker shock would be an understatement.the ebay listing was for $2000 ( since reduced ,but only to $300) and amazon wanted 1700 used and 2600 for a new copy! In my financial world, for that kind of money, the book better be gold plated and have robotic arms that pop out and guide you through the first couple thousand insertions. Now I note that Texas Electrolysis Supply has the book for $42, which is likely where I will order from but I’m wondering, what is with the extreme scalping on your book michael? Are these rare editions ? Thats usually the kind of markup one would see on something like a first edition Tom Sawyer, not an electrolysis guide.
The second question I had relates to machines. I’m in the market to pick up a used professional machine to practise with. I’ve actually had much better luck money wise looking on places like Kijiji than I have on ebay. I’m regularly finding Silouette tone or apilus machines anywhere from $150 to $900 and havent had many problems finding many in the 600-700 range. That’s a little out of what I wanted to spend, but the 6-700 dollar ones tend to be ones like the apilus junior or other slightly more modern machines. I’ve a couple times come accross Silouette Tone machines for 150-400, in varying models. I saw one for $400 ( a Silouette Tone st-100 the vendor unfortunately didnt respond to inquiries) but digital ones seem to be in short supply, many I am finding are older analogue ( read stereo dials and no display) , machines like Silouette Tone sb-2’s that are likely manufactued in the 60’s and 70’s. My question is is there any value with learning on such old analogue equippment, or should I wait a few months and kick in 3-400 more ( on top of the 3-500 I was looking to spend) and look at getting an apilus Junior or Sillouette Tone 328? I turned down one machine because despite being $150, i was thermolysis only.
Seana