Good morning everyone,
I had my first two electrology consultations yesterday (in the Boston area) and have a few questions based on my experience. This would help me determine how best to proceed. I am of South East Asian origin with darker skin that is sensitive and prone to hyperpigmentation and scarring.
First of all, the following is a synopsis of my experience:
Experience I:
a) Experience in electrology: 1 year
b) Machine type: Apilus Platinum Pure (uses pedal)
c) Prior training: Nurse
d) Lighting type: Ring light with magnification
e) Test Treatment provided: Half hour treatment ($30 cost) using Multiplex (Chin-3 and Lip-3) settings. Tried on some coarse black hairs on chin and upper lip areas. Was particular about only doing 2 insertions per hair—if it did not come out, she did not want to insert again incase the skin got irritated.
f) Pain management suggestion: Changing machine settings if needed (not needed in my case)
g) Post procedure management suggestion: Aloe gel, staying out of sun, hydrocortizone for hyperpigmentation
h) Pros: Less pain (very tolerable like pin pricking) and minor zapping feel. High clearance rate.
i) Cons: Did not keep record of settings used, treatment duration etc. (I asked her to write them down for me). Not sure if magnification was sufficient. Does not have CPE or CCE certifications.
j) Treated skin appearance on:
–Day 0: red in areas
–Day 1: (24 hours post procedure): skin appears fine, though slight hyperpigmentation in one corner of upper lip detected.
Experience II:
a) Experience in electrology: do not know though yelp reviews start from 2009
b) Machine type: Fischer (no pedal, just metal rod held by patient, says that Fischer is better machine for coarse hair)
c) Prior training: N/A
d) Lighting type: Ring light, total magnification used (including her glasses) is 15X
e) Test Treatment provided: Galvanic, blend and short-wave were tried ($0 cost) on coarse black hairs on chin (2 hairs/treatment type) with settings at Level 3. The Blend had to be increased to Level 4 as hair was not coming out. Total number of insertions were 58 as she inserted as many times as needed until hair came out. She does not believe in applying any force in plucking the hair. When I asked her whether the number of insertions could inflame my sensitive skin that is prone to hyperpigmentation she said that it would not as she uses a high magnification which helps her target the hair only through the pore and does not affect the skin.
f) Pain management suggestion: EMLA (if needed)
g) Post procedure management suggestion: Icing for 15 mins,3X with 15 mins rest in between, Neosporin for 48 hours for scabbing (if needed)
h) Pros: Records settings used in patient chart and uses a high magnification.
i) Cons: Short-wave was not too painful. However, the galvanic and blend were, with the blend being the most painful. (There was an unpleasant metallic taste in the mouth too with the latter two, though that is manageable.)
j) Treated skin appearance on:
–Day 0: some redness, swelling in blend treated area with tingling sensation
–Day 1 (24 hours post procedure): blend treated area is sore and swollen, with slight hyperpigmentation.
I have not commented on the personality types of the two electrologists as I want to focus my questions only on the techniques used right now.
Questions from Experience I:
a) Since the Multiplex setting has a higher clearance rate with less pain, what is the kill rate? (I want to make sure that this is not expensive plucking going on.)
b) Since she does a maximum of 2 insertions per hair follicle, is this an effective approach? (I want to make sure that I am not in for a longer treatment period than needed.)
c) Can the Apilus Platinum Pure do galvanic?
Questions from Experience II:
a) Since the galvanic and blend have better kill rates, is it better than Multiplex (from Experience I)? That is, would it take less number of treatments using galvanic or blend to get complete permanent clearance versus Multiplex?
b) Is the number of insertions important for skin prone to hyperpigmentation and scarring? Or, does it not matter?
c) Is the Fischer a better machine against coarse hair?
d) Why was blend more painful than galvanic (when it is a combination of galvanic and short-wave)?
e) Is blend or galvanic better against short-wave (thus, Multiplex)?
Another question is regarding kill-rate in general…what does “kill rate” mean? Does it really refer to a hair being permanently killed? This question is because from Experience II, I gathered that: a) after the first treatment, the coarse hair would come in longer and finer, b) after the next few treatments, the hair would become shorter and finer, till c) it eventually stops growing altogether. Whereas, for fine hair, the number of treatments is less as the hair does not have to change its “phenotype” as much. Is this the case? If so, I am quite confused by the use of kill-rate as it implies that the hair is killed in the first treatment itself!
Your responses would be very helpful in my determining which electrology approach would be best for me. Ideally, (as everyone else :-)) I want to have complete permanent hair removal long-term with as less treatments as possible with minimal damage to my skin.
Thank you all for your help.
Anamika.
