Questions about the cost of Electrolysis?

just curious. i have seen some videos of what it looks like and it seems that the practitioner uses an electric needle tweezer and PLUCKS the hairs out one by one. is the cost measured by the number of hair plucked out or the by the surface area of skin. i’ve heard that its not a case of one visit but it comes down to repeated visits. i’ve also heard that some people get frustrated during the treatments and stop midway.

i’ve been thinking about having it done in phases. i’m a guy and basically i’m tired of shaving.

also where would i go to do this. electrolysis seems like a niche thing for women. it would be embarassing to go to a place and i’m the only guy standing in a waiting room full of women.

first i think i want to start with my moustche/beard neck area. than my head scalp.

then my armpits, chest and eventually my gentials & legs.

but i guess how much money will i end up spending on this in the end?

You can see some good before and afters on my web site:

Although I have experience in all the areas you are looking to treat, I can only show you before and afters of faces.
First let me say that we have discussed this MANY times on the board, and you can find one of those conversations via this link:
http://www.hairtell.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2265.html#Post2265

Next, allow me to say that some electrolysis practitioners, like myself have more male clients than female clients (at least most of them were born male anyway :wink: ). Secondly, most electrolysis practices don’t really have clients bumping into each other much. Since most offices don’t have many hair removal specialists working together, one would rarely find more than one other person who did not work there at any given time, and even in that situation, one would not be sitting in the waiting room with that person for any amount of time, unless one of you were filling out the intake form.

The cost question is actually a math question, for which no one has the unknown variables until the work is being performed. It all breaks down to:
How many hairs are in the treatment area
How many hairs can the practitioner remove per hour
What type of treatments can the client tolerate, and at what speed
How quickly does the entire treatment area get to First Clearance
How often does the client get Reclearances
Is the client regular during the 9 to 24 month period it takes to fully eliminate all hairs
And finally, how much does the practitioner charge per hour (and how many hairs per hour does that buy the client)

Since no one can plug in these figures over the phone with you, (or over the internet) no one can answer your question with out seeing you, and even then, it is only a rough estimate. I like to tell people, it is like asking me, “How much to paint my house?” I answer, “There is a difference between YOUR house and OPRAH’S house, and the difference to paint them would be just as wide.” Now when I say this, my point is that without knowing lots of information about what we are talking about, how could I possibly answer this question? So far, most people get it, but one person who identified himself as a faulously wealthy corporate type (working in customer service no less) fumed at me that my answer was rude, and was going to cost me his tens of thousands of dollars because he would no longer consider working with me. I thanked him for sparing me from having to deal with him :grin:

The point remains that our problem as hair removal professionals is that everyone wants to know about costs, but that is the one question we can’t really answer without seeing you, and even then, we only have a better idea of what is possible. When we try to tell people this on the phone, they tend to take it as we just want to trick them into setting an appointment so we can hard sell them into a program (like many LASER places do). The truth is that when it comes to clearing a face, I have done it in 2 hours spread out over 6 months (on a woman with menapausal hairs) and 500 hours spread out over 5 years (on a man with a testosterone problem who did not want to take any drugs for the condition) and most people born male average between 100 and 200 hours to Full Clearance with me. Now what should I tell someone on the phone?

If I tell the person that it takes 2 hours, well, there are very few people for whome that would be true of. If I tell the person 500 hours over 5 years, that is also a number that would not be needed by very many people, and yet, if I say 100 to 200 hours, it may still be discouraging to a person who could be done in 50 hours spread out over 12 months to 24 months. I once had an asian coming from China who wanted to do a clearance with me who insisted on booking only 4 hours before moving on to catch a plane to another city. I could not impress on this person the importance of the first clearance, and the need to have more time availalbe. When we got to working, I actually finished the full face, neck, hands, and eyebrows in 2 and a half hours. Once again, it was proved to ME that without seeing a person, one knows nothing about what it will take.

I am left with saying, "without seeing you, and taking some sample treatments, I can’t give you answers that pertain to YOU. I can only give you hypotheticals that have nothing to do with you.

Lastly, nothing I have to say about treatment with ME, would be true about treatment with anyone else, as the capabilites of electrolysis practitioners is much like typists. Change one thing, the hight of the desk, the type of keyboard used, the position of the trascription copy, and you change the speed at which the typist can type.

Of course, in the end, the reason so many people travel to see me is because in many cases, traveling to see me, is less expensive in the long run than doing a job from start to finish with their local talent (if there is, in fact any local talent).

i guess you get alot of cross dressers! :smiley: :smiley: :D. sometimes we as people think we understand a thing when we really don’t understand anything.

thanks for the reply your post has really helped me understand where i stand with this and has inspired me to keep my head up. Because really for me it comes down to time & money. if i had the $$$ i would set an appointment tomorrow. but i simply can’t during these tough economic times. but i really appreciate the information. sometimes in life we have goals and dreams and things we want to do but because of fear of embarassment we don’t ask questions. But here i have gotten all my questions answered thanks alot. i appreciate it.

infact it makes me wonder what women did back in the 30s,40s,50s, & 60s before all this technology was available? i mean do most women get electrolysis? do they wax? do they just shave? what did they do back in the old days and what do they do now?

when the time FINALLY comes you may hear from me. thanks James!

what about electrolysis on private parts and the pain factor? is that very common? i think i saw a thread about a dude who had it done on the shaft of his penis and whatnot and that he said he had some scarring but then he later got some cream that healed it up and he is okay now.

And what about butt/ass hair and hair on a mans testicles and so on? i mean because its an intimate area what not do you charge more to go down there?

and what about laser treatment?

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=laser%20hair%20removal&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=laser%20hair%20removal&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#hl=en&q=laser+hair+removal&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv&start=10

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/34899_laser-hair-preparation.htm

some say that laser is less painful and less expensive. is this true?

Since there are many factors involved and everybody is different, laser is not necessarily more or less painful than electrolysis. Regardless of which you choose, if you are concerned about pain ask your practitioner about pain management options.

For me personally, given my treatment settings and skin/hair (I am an ideal candidate with very thick densely populated black hair on type 2/3 skin), laser really really hurts but the procedure didn’t last long. Electrolysis is less painful but takes much much longer due to the density. However, if my work is done using picoflash (with an Apilus Platinum) the pain is greatly reduced and is completely bearable. Unfortunately, no electrologist local to me has a Platinum, and I have a better machine (and now vision equipment) than many of them. (I wish I had their experience and skill, however.)

From what I understand, women started exposing their legs in public in the early 20th century, around the same time the safety razor was invented which made shaving them practical.

Women have been able to get electrolysis since somewhere around 1875, if someone in their area had read the medical papers published on it between 1860 and 1865.

Although many practitioners charge exra to do private areas, I have yet to wise up and join them.

As for men clearing beards, cross dressers are actually the least of my clients. Most are average men who don’t want to shave anymore, either because they have problems ingrown hairs, or razor bumps, or just want to save time. Then you have the people who are transitioning from male to female. Either way, the facial work is the same to me.

I don’t know a client who doesn’t agree that the upper lip hurts worse than the penis or scrotal skin. Many say they feel nothing on the rear end. In any event, sensation during treatment is dependant upon so many variables (both client and practitioner based variables) that it is just not possible for me to talk about that every time someone asks a question that leads in that direction. It would be a chapter in the book that I am trying NOT to write.

i pretty much fall into this category.

i also want to have it done on my scalp and all over really.

like i said. face-neck-beard first. then my head then my chest/back then my privates then my legs.

have you ever done a dudes head before? is that common?

well reason being i’m almost 30 now and i’m loosing my hair. I have decided to go with a bald look and honestly IMO most bald dudes have issues with hair shadows and a scaley skin look from shaving their heads.

i felt that getting electrolysis would be a better way to get my head bald and keep it bald so that i could focus on using the right cosmetics to get it looking smooth.

Just peeking in… I can honestly say that I have never done head hair as a practicing electrologist, but did have one request in the past. He decided against it because he actually didn’t like that it would take a lot of effort and money. I’m wondering,too if James has done a full scalp job and what is that like.

Some areas you are wanting to treat could be reduced with laser first, like your chest and legs.

Hi:

Many years ago I asked an electrologist how much it would
cost to get my facial hair removed and was told $35,000.

Since then I’ve actually had it done and am working on
my chest and stomach. I also had some laser done.
My costs so far have been about $12,000 not including
Emla etc…

For an average male beard it takes about 200 hours.
If the cost per hour was $60-$100/hr then the cost would
be about $12,000-$20,000 just for that area alone.

I am guessing that for all the areas you have mentioned the
costs would be upwards sharply from that.
It probably all depends on just how badly you want it done.

I have done scalp hair on many different men and in many different ways. Although I have not done a full scalp clearance, I don’t see why it would be any more difficult than a full back or chest clearance.

As for final costs, there are so many variables. For one, if one doesn’t get to first clearance and work from there without letting hairs fall into shedding phase, you increase the amount of treatment needed to finish, as you are needlessly increasing the number of treatments needed .

sorry everyone i have been away for alittle bit.

hello guys/gals i just again want to thank you all for the information.

like i said. i view this electrolysis thing as a long term investment and its just gonna take time. i can accept that now! i really can. its kinda like climbing a mountain.

Aliciadarling & James Thanks for the info. that gives me a good idea of what i would be spending on myself.

it must be tougher on women. because women have the pressure of needing to look beautiful. whereas we men can get away with looking alittle run-down. and i now see that beauty really does cost alot of money.

Aliciadarling why was it that you were told $35,000? was the practitioner trying to get his/her hustle on? And i guess you were able to find a better rate or something somewhere else?

what about Self-Electrolysis? i saw an infomercial yesterday

You don’t want to waste your time and money do you? The informercials for hair removal are cruel and lead people in the wrong direction. Get professional treatments. Save for them in an individual fund if need be and then zoom forward with someone who is skilled and fast.

Dee

For the coarse hair on genitals, legs, etc, you should start with laser if the hair is dark and coarse and dense. It will be a lot cheaper and will require less treatments. You can get up to 95% removed with laser on THAT type of hair if you get good treatments with the right machine and settings. Then you can finish with electrolysis.

For the beard, complete 100% removal on a healthy man who’s not taking any hormonal medication to prevent future growth is really not possible. I would urge you to really think hard about this decision. If it was that easy, many men would be doing it. Electrolysis would take 200 hours or so as mentioned above. Though realize that Alicia is on medication as a TG. If you’re looking for a reduction to avoid negative side effects of shaving a very coarse beard, it’s possible to achieve with a Yag laser if someone really knows what they’re doing and doesn’t create patchy results (but you have to be ready for this potential side effect too). However, if there is really nothing wrong with your beard when you shave, I would not touch it at all. Removal of all hair on this area is not possible, and removal of a large amount of it takes a lot of time, money and dedication. So you need to think hard about how much you really want it.

Electrolysis removes hair on by one by inserting a needly and sending heat to destroy the blood supply to the follicle. And many hairs are not killed the first time around because they’re in the wrong phase or the insertion wasn’t perfect, etc. That’s why it takes many hours and dedication.

Someone on the forum has done their scalp successfully with laser. I don’t know if electrolysis would work given how deep the hair is. You’d need a Yag laser if you go that route. And this is also something you really need a very experienced technician for.

Stay away from self-products. They’re gimmicks. This is a very difficult thing to do that requires lots of practice. And none of those gimmick machines would do it anyway. You’d need a professional machine and professional education first if you don’t want scars and/or lack of results.

ok lagirl. that helps me understand how tough this is really gonna be. it helps alot.

So a 100% beard clearance on a regular guy is really really difficult, possibly impossible time consuming, and expensive electrolysis. 200 hours. more than 6 months. maybe even years.

and laser is best for the scalp but i need a YAG laser? and laser is better for the rest of the body?

what about a combo of laser and electrolysis on facial hair?

i pretty much fall into the category that the guys in these photos fall into. so 100% clearance is really not possible. or rather it is but it would cost a small fortune.

i found a site. i pretty much fall into this category that these men fall into.

http://abcofskincare.com/page/17aql/Electrolysis_For_Men.html

It’s impossible without constant touchups even after you’re done because your body will develop NEW hair with time. Also, 6 months is nowhere near the time frame. It’s 18 months at minimum, but likely more like 24 months with weekly or bi-weekly treatments.

If you have the type of ingrowns that pitures show on that site, laser would be good to start. Yag laser would be best for this area and this type of situation. You may only need a few, 3-4 tretments, to get it to a poinit where it’s easy to shave with minimal shadow.

It’s not that laser is better for the rest of the body, laser works great on dark coarse dense hair. So it’s better on any area that has that type of hair. Yag laser goes deep, so that’s why it’s good for the scalp. The hair is very deep there. It’s also better for the face because you get less irritation. But if your skin is light, an alex laser would be better for other areas where it is because it’s more powerful and doesn’t go as deep.

Please read the FAQs on the laser forum in detail if you’re considering laser. I would also urge you to run a search for male beards on the forum and read others’ experience first.

And yes, many people start with laser first and finish with electrolysis. It can be faster overall, i.e. less treatments, since you kill a good amount with laser first and then finish with electrolysis on the remaining finer hair. But once again, this is a commitment of at lest 2-3 years given large areas and hair growth cycles( read in the FAQs about how hair grows

How much do you think it would cost to get the hair on the outside of my nose and the hair on my cheek bones removed (above beard line).

We need the number of hairs and/or a picture. Everyone has different amounts of hair.

How fast and accurate is the electrologist? What modality of electrolysis does she/he use? How many hairs are showing today? How many hairs are in the growing phase? How many are in the transition phase? How many hairs are in the shedding phase? Are you on medications that can stimulate hair? How much does the electrologist charge per hour? Are you willing and able to stay on an ambitious schedule for about a 9-18 months to get the hair cleared and then maintain that clearance until there is nothing left to treat?

These are just a few things that have to be considered. Do you see why we can’t answer cost questions very well? Will it cost you $10,000? Most likely not. Will it cost you $500? most likely not? Get a consultation and let someone look at your problem. Get the hair cleared off asap and then keep going back to the cleared area when the next group of hairs come to the surface and clear those hairs. Within a year to a year and a half, if this is being done correctly, you will have permanent hair removal. You’ll be very happy in this short span of time if you put concentrated effort into this.

Dee

i would estimate the hair count at about 200.

Two hundred hairs would take me less than an hour to remove. In my experience, if the client thinks there are 3 hairs, there are really 15 to 30, so you think you have about 200, you probably have 1,000 to 2,000 that will need to be removed over the next 9 to 24 months.

The good news is that you should be able to get first clearance in the course of a few appointments over a month or less, and then you could keep them under control in such a way that no one ever notices them again while you work towards the day that your hair removal practitioner is just one of your good friends who you send cards at holiday time and invite to parties so you can introduce that person to your other friends.