What are questions I should ask at my electrolysis consults? What should the first treatment feel like? Also, what machine should she be using?
Thanks so much!!
When I do a consult, I typically start by asking what my prospective client’s goals are and go over their medical history to rule out anything that might be of concern, then I proceed to tell them how electrolysis works, explain the different methods and why I might find a particular method more suitable for them specifically to start with, what to expect during the session including what approach we should take (thinning vs clearing for example), instructions on aftercare and what to do before the next session, etc.
Basically, I give them as much knowledge as they possibly want, then ask them if they have any questions and/or concerns. If they don’t object, I do some clinical photos before we start so we have something to reference in the future.
During my 10 minutes of free sample time, I’ll show them some hairs as I remove them, explain what we are seeing, adjust my settings if I need to, etc. This time is of benefit to both the client to experience what it is like, as well as for the electrologist to get to know exactly what they are going to be dealing with in regard to your hair, skin, pain, etc. After, I’ll likely take some more photos and then go through my immediate aftercare treatment.
As for what questions you should ask, you’ve pretty much already asked most of them. Ask them anything you feel concerned about and make sure they are knowledgeable about what they are doing. You should feel confident that they know what they are talking about. Feel free to ask how long they’ve been doing it, how often they work on cases similar to yours, if they have clinical photos of work they’ve done to show you, office policies (scheduling and cancellations, payments accepted, whether their fees are for just treatment time or also include time spent before/after treatment, etc), equipment and probes available, what to do if you have an unexpected reaction after you leave the office, etc. If the electrologist gets offended just by asking these questions, I’d recommend moving on to someone else (keep in mind that not everyone does photos). The office should also be satisfactorily clean, tools and probes should be sterilized, etc.
In terms of what you should feel, it’s going to vary wildly from person to person depending on exactly what the electrologist is doing and your own sensation of it. The main thing to look for, is you shouldn’t feel like the hairs are being plucked. Pay close attention to how your skin heals afterward.
With regard to what machine they should be using… it really doesn’t matter as long as they are comfortable and familiar with the machine, the machine is in good working order, and the hair releases are nice. Newer machines have lots of nifty features on them, but it doesn’t mean that older machines don’t work. Every electrologist has their preference, most likely tied to what it was they learned on.
I probably missed mentioning a few things but it’s getting late and I’m rather tired.
Thanks so much for all your help, I greatly appreciate it and wish I could go to you 
How should my skin react? I am allergic to nickel, but when I spoke to the electrolysis on the phone she said she uses sterling silver probes.
She could get gold if I needed them.
What kind of unexpected reaction happen after the session?
I probably have PCOS/hirsutism, do you treat clients who have that and have they had good results?
How do I really know the hair is permanently gone, I’m worried they will come back years from now
Thanks again for your help.
Your skin is going to be red and inflamed afterward. For most of my clients, this lasts for an hour or two and then there is very little visible sign of anything having been done. But the skin was still wounded and is vulnerable to damage that just takes time to heal. Fortunately, for most people, the skin heals pretty quickly - days instead of weeks/months (one of the reasons why we go through a medical history is to see if you have things that may delay this process, like diabetes).
PCOS and hirsutism are different things, though hirsutism can be caused by PCOS, but it could also be caused by genetics and dozens of other things. If it is caused by high levels of androgens, without correcting the problem causing the androgen levels to be high, it’s possible for new hair to grow in an area that has been successfully treated by electrolysis, since you will have follicles that weren’t activated at the time your electrologist cleared you. I see this frequently with women that had electrolysis 30 years ago when they were 20ish (it worked), now have gone into menopause (which doesn’t increase testosterone, but does reduce estrogen, which allows the testosterone to start binding to cells where estrogen used to dominate), and started growing new hair. Again, if you think you have a medical condition, see a doctor.
FWIW, I don’t personally know of any sterling silver probes being produced. The most common metal used is stainless steel.
Stainless steel does contain nickel in it. She should go with gold plated probes.Ballet make some as do sterex now too according to TES but they are two piece so I havent tried them yet. Ballet gold plated probes are world class in my opinion.
I just want to say GH…that a hair properly treated with electrolysis is gone forever. That follicle never grows another hair at a later date, assuming it’s been treated properly.You may see some new haiirs develop from different follicles if you have PCOS and it remains untreated, but that should be minimal especially if you are having drug therapy for the PCOS . Your doctor is your best friend, and source for advice on alleviating the PCOS symptoms.
Seana
Thanks so much for your advice. I could swear she said she was using sterling silver probes, maybe she meant stainless steel, I will ask her.
Ballet gold probes sound good.
I understand there is always a risk of new hair, but I want the existing hair gone. I could always go back a few times a year for new hair. I don’t want to go on birth control yet to correct my imbalance.
check with your doctor on it. Usually the drug used to bring testosterone down is spironolactone which is an antiandrogen /blood pressure medication but I dont know enough of the medical route to know if birth control is also used.
Yea, I’ve heard of spironolactone, there is some nasty side effects with that too. My goal is to get electrolysis on the existing hair and then take natural supplements to hinder further growth.