Seeing blonde hairs?

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

So my eyesight is my arch nemesis, in particular working with blonde hair ( reds can be a challenge too but blonde is by far the worst) . It blends in so well with the skin itself it makes following the pathfinder into the follicle a very challenging task indeed. I have a few ideas on this, but I’d like to get some feedback from some of the professionals on how they handle this.
Yes, I’m pretty sure James will mention a microscope, but that’s beyond my means.

One suggestion that has been made to me is using some cheap mascara to highlight the hairs. Now most mascara these days is hypoallergenic, so that gives me some hope, however I have serious concerns about this. I dont see how it would be possible to get into the follicle without contaminating the probe with mascara, probably staining the follicle in the process. This gives me reason to pause, but if anyone has done this safely and can comment I’d love to hear about it.
Another comment made to me at one point ( by Dee I think) had to do with the direction of lighting. This might give me more to work with but but would probably still make it tough.Suggestions on this are welcome.
The other thought I had was using the tweezers to slightly tent the hair.This seems like it could work though likely awkward.

I’m open to all comments and suggestions. It hasnt been a huge issue yet, but I’ve someone coming soon ( if she doesnt cancel at the last minute again) who’s almost completely blond.

Seana

#2

A stereo microscope opens up a whole new world to seeing these fine blond hairs, but there are other ways to these hair structures quickly and perfectly.

What works for me is a triangle plan of attack.

My surgical loupes 4.8 X magnification

My halogen light

Client positioning.

The light can shine two ways, but the way I like it to shine is at an angle. The client needs to move her head until the hairs are highlighted nicely. Just practice this, Seana. Once you see what I’m talking about, you will get really excited.

Sometimes, I shine the light at a direct angle, straight down on the hair. I can see the pore opening with the very small, light hair right in the middle of the faint circle that encircles the hair. Keep practicing. Don’t give up. If you get frustrated, go take a nap and try again another day. It will come to you.

#3

This has got to be where I am going wrong.I use two lights, the one on my loop ( florescent) and a econd clamp lamp I attach to the arm of the loop when I need to have extra light. I’ll try keeping the loop lamp off and using side lighting and see if that works better. Unfortunately it’s not me I’m working on for this as my hair is dark, so it’s a little more difficult to just “try when the time is right”.

Seana

#4

For white or blonde hairs, I create shadow and illuminate the hairs and follicle openings from below, e.g. for chins I pull the mag lamp down to the neck line so I work above the lamp (sometimes I rest my chin on the lamp). This highlights the hairs on the client’s chin or upper lip very well from below. I prefer the light source to be directed below or to the side, not directly onto the hairs.

If your treatment room has natural light you may find it easier at certain times of the day - I prefer working at “dusk” for blonde hairs, I use a single light source and the fading background light to cast those all important shadows.

#5

Caroline’s great comments on this subject sparked some other thoughts I had.

Creating a shadow with your index finger, with the light shining above at an angle can indeed highlight those hairs.

Shining the light at an angle makes ALL the hair look like blond hair, as the light passes through the hair shaft, so that is when it becomes helpful to shine the light directly above the hair to pick up those dark hairs the client was complaining about. It’s the only way to see the brown or black hairs.

If the client isn’t positioned correctly, one will miss a whole group of long, blond hairs that the woman will see as soon as she gets in her car. So, don’t be shy about taking your hand and directing the head left,right, up down. Take the pillow away if you have to. Don’t expect the client to lay in one position so you can see all hairs. Those hair structures are very stealthy and you have to go on the hunt with the light, at the right distance and angle and you have to move the head in different positions.

Lastly, give the client a mirror - not a 20x mag mirror so she can obsess about all the hairs on her face, but give her a regular mirror. Ask her to go stand by the window and point to areas that may have been missed or not thinned enough. Have her bring an eyebrow pencil so she can mark the areas if concern.

This sounds like more than the average Electrologist would put up with, but it does goes a step beyond to show the woman you care that she gets the service she is paying for.

These kinds of hairs take patience and time as we fight through the hair growth cycles. Encourage her to not go over board. There is a time to stop, even if she still has blond hair on her face. We should be only going after the accelerated vellus hair and leaving the smaller, unnoticeable hairs alone. There are hundreds of thousands of hair follicles on the face, so we need to pick and choose wisely.

I only have one case where the client won’t stop and that is between me and her as to why I continue to treat her, which I won’t explain here.

#6

Oh Dee, you made me laugh: I’m remembering one of my favorite clients. She was a tiny woman named “Luby Goldman.” Her little chin was no bigger than my thumb. I never seemed to “get all the chin hairs” and, frankly, I couldn’t see them.

She said, “I see them in my mirror at home.”

I said, “Luby, bring in that mirror I want to see it!”

Well the mirror looked like the Mount Palomar reflecting telescope! I’m surprised she could even lift it! She said (and this is the hysterical part), “Well, I get up early in the morning and go out on my deck with my mirror. As the sun comes up over the horizon, THEN I can see all the hairs!”

Now I ask you, is this “barking mad” or what?

#7

I actually got a chance to try on some optical loops today. The very kind electrologist who let me view through
hers and explained their usage let me try them out for a few minutes.Now to be fair I gouldnt see in stereo because her eyes are much closer together than mine, but I was duly impressed by the focal length as compared to my lighted loop.IT gave me a whole new appreciation for how such things can make the ergonomics work for you, and your back.

Seana

#8

Loops are well worth the money and save on eye strain. with seeing the tiny white hairs ya have to back light them its easy to blast them out of your vision with too much light… Dee has well written suggestions in her eairler post… and Michael Bono… dont you wish you could just blow up any mirror over 3x.

#9

The loupes I tried were $3000 so I dont think that shall be in my budget for some time.

Seana

#10

If you had $3,000 you could get much higher magnification selections for vision from a stereo scope and have the bonus light source thrown in for free.

#11

I think that was part of the cost, it had a built in led light with rechargeable pack.

Seana