Reliability of the Platinum

Professionals Only! Electrologist to Electrologist (pros only)
#1

I am afraid having again problems with my platinum - after a really long session last saturday (9 hours through the loupes) it seems that i need again larger settings than before to achieve the necessary effect (i had to set it to 800 EL on an upper lip… almost did not dare to).

My device is a pure internally upgraded to the platinum during a repair last summer.

Did any of the other Platinum users experience problems. Specifically, because it is often pretty warm in my studio, are there any known thermal issues, conditions where cooling is required?

THX

Beate

#2

Have not had that problem with mine. However, I do have some upper lips that need large diameter chin settings…but haven’t gone as high as 800 EL on anyone…

#3

A hot room would tend to make the client sweat, which would dehydrate, and make them need higher treatment energies, as less moisture and electrolytes would be in the follicle as the person gets more dehydrated.

People who pluck their upper lip hairs can also cause the treatment energy needed to treat to increase.

I had a guy who plucked for 6 years between our first consultation and our first appointment. In that time, the treatment energy needed to work on him went from 300 to 1000 ON THE UPPER LIP! Talk about someone who is sorry for plucking instead of seeing me all those years ago. :frowning:

#4

Mhmm, the client in question has not had the first treatment on the upper lip, and the settings on her have always been “large diameter chin settings” (which corresponds to the hair to be epilated). Despite of that the reaction of the skin was pretty surprisingly moderate - and that’s what makes me worry. It reminds me to the defect the device already has had.

Which means that i have to start moving my Junior between Home and Office again, just in order to have a backup device at hand.

Beate

#5

What size and type probe are you using? Are you using one pulse only or are you using the displacement technique? Are you using PicoFlash, MultiPlex or Synchro?

#6

Beate, have you checked the needle holder? sometimes it is partially broken and the current flows only partially. If the heat of the room was the cause of a malfunction of the machine, mine would always be in the repair shop, here we can reach 40 degrees any day between the months of July and August.

#7

The probe was a Laurier size 6, like always necessary with this client.

Although i usually prefer Multiplex on the lips (with one to three pico pulses depending on the hair) synchro proved to be more efficient.

I must admit that i have never tried pico flash, and i would tend to use pico blend in a manner similar to what i am doing with the Junior instead. I actually considered to give that a try - but the client stayed relatively calm. So i decided not to interrupt and try something else because the hair released cleanly and the reaction of the skin seemed surprisingly moderate.

The key point was that in a previous treatment of the same area i needed “just” some 600 EL under otherwise identical conditions.

Again, just a few months ago i made the experience that my pure gradually lost its power and finally died completly (and in between the service people did not find anything). This makes me nervous.

@Josefa: thanks for the hint with the needle holder. No i did not check it. BTW it worked well during 9 hours pure epilation time deep into the night - 4 o’clock, long pauses, and the machine was on for 16 hours.

I think i’ll have to further observe this.

Beate

#8

I would call or e-mail the folks at Decto Canada and share your observations with a technician there. They are great problem solvers. Or, have you already done this?

I have not had similar problems with my Platinum. I did wear out my printer. They sent me a new one and I was able to install it myself.

My epilator is on most of the day and I have not has this kind of problem.

Do you use a surge protector?

#9

What you describe sounds like a possible broken wire in the probe holder to me. Try one of your alternates to test this theory. One should always have one to two back up probe holders. The Platinum probe holder cords are twice as fragile as the SX-500 cords were. (Oh, and they are twice as expensive as well)

#10

James, you are a genius. This is most likely the problem.

Your epilator, Beate, allows you to check the condition of the cords. Just go to the test key and press the ACCESSORIES tab. You have to take off the white plastic cap on your probeholder, press the footswitch, and then a message will appear as “functional” or “defective”.

#11

Something similar happened to me like you beate. Check the pin vise of the probe holder. Sometimes if it is worn out the probe is not securely held and you will find sometimes it is recieving the current and other times not so well. Maybe change your probeholder and see if this problem continues to happen.

#12

Thank You for the tips. Yes, indeed, today it worked fine again (and in the meantime i hade some session where i would have used the Junior anyway).

#13

I’ve had this problem, too, and it was the needle chord.

#14

Definitely change out the needle cord. They are thinner on the Platinum because of the higher MHz. They can work intermittently and seem to work enough that it doesn’t seem like the culprit. I’ve read somewhere that the needle cord is the most frequent problem when it comes to “equipment malfunction”.

#15

I tried to test it, and unfortunately i had to notice i cannot reach the menu - Platinum electronics mounted into a Pure which is lacking 2 buttons… (yes, the machine had a total defect last summer, it even did not boot up and smelled “electrical”).

I wonder if a cable from the older machines could be adapted to the Platinums. Electrically, the diameter is not necessarily an issue - the critical parameter is the wave resistance of the cable (You might consider them being thin antenna cables). As long as the wave resistance is identical, a thicker cable can be used. Actually, a thinner cable can be expected having more internal losses than a thicker one which rises with frequency. Therefore a thicker cable should even be preferrable just because of the higher frequency.

Anyway - thanks for the hint. I’ll try out the 2nd needle chord i own.

Beate

#16

If I may translate a bit: The “wave resistance” Beate refers to, over here, we call it Impedance. For example the 75 ohm cable used for cable TV, 75 ohm is it’s “impedance”.

#17

Speak of the devil…I had to change my needle cord within hours of writing it…

#18

On another subject regarding the reliability of the Platinum, I actually had to install a new printer last month. I use my printer to death, so this is not surprising. Rather than shipping the unit to California, Jean-Louis offered to send me a new printer for me to I install. I have to admit I felt intimidated by the prospect of doing this, but I actually had it all together in about 15 minutes - old printer out and new printer in, bing, bang, boom.

For anyone interested, you just have to unscrew the top panel, then unscrew the two screws from the printer, follow the wires and unplug that part, slide out a flat, plastic ribbon-like part thingy. Lift out the old printer and slide in the new printer. Attach the wires plug and ribbon and screw to secure. I took a before picture In case I forgot where everything goes, but didn’t need it, it’s that easy. Screw on the front panel and walla, bing, bang, boom, it works.

The people at Dectro make everything so user friendly. Thanks Jean-Louis!

#19

Oh my lord. Which modality did you use on upper lip at 1000el’s? I would have been terrified to go that high, but it proves that sometimes it is necessary.

#20

Luckily, I was able to work that in PicoFlash. Some people go so far with the plucking that we end up needing Synchro, because the Pico levels would be much higher.