Has anyone heard of this women? Susan Laird, If you actually read what she states on her website, she is totally against flash thermolysis in general. It’s kind of interesting and makes you think who’s for real and who’s just full of crap in this whole permanent hair removal industry.
Does anybody know if what she state’s on this website is really true or not?
www.hairzapper.com
You know what? I went followed this link very sceptical and thinking that this woman must only be talking about the kind of/definition of flash thermolysis that is more or less outlawed now.
But, having had blend performed on my face, with more of bias towards the thermolysis current, I sort of agree with some of the observations. For the most part, work on my face has been spread out, with the exception of my upper lip. And when I was having good 20min long session on my upper lip with about 6-8 hairs/min, the corners of my mouth became very dry. Even my electrologist noticed it and put it down to a reaction to the tea tree oil. The lines between the corners of my nose and mouth began becoming more pronounced since I started… sometimes I really thought it was the electrolysis but in the end I had put this down to ageing (I’m almost 28). But otherwise I have been “blessed” with oily skin and have no other lines or wrinkles on my face.
It’s interesting to read why and how electrolysis may have contributed. But I do want to stress that it’s a very minor thing hence never mentioning it before. I believe I had good treatment. Perhaps if I knew this before, I may have asked my electrologist to have the galvanic component play most of the role.
From what I read here I’m fairly sure that experienced electrologists with the new tech do not have these issues.
After opening the link you posted and looking into what she has to say about Thermolysis, seems like she is against it. According to the information on her site, it says that
Thermolysis:
-Primarily meant for the removal of sparse or light hair
-Widely used by many operators because of simplicity of operation
-Difficult to obtain permanent hair kill
Generally, the original intent of thermolysis was to remove a few sparse hairs or an upper lip of peach fuzz. Both St Pierre and Arthur Hinkle warned against the use of Flash Thermolysis for the purpose of removing coarse deep terminal hair such as beards. sigh Not many people have read their work prior to wrecking the complexion of some poor client. And yet the transgender community continually insists on this kind of work be done on them.
-Difficult to use without causing deep-tissue scarring and premature
-Can require up to 30 or 40 passes before hair growth is substantially reduced
-Can cause imbedded debris, ingrown hairs, circular scars (pits)
-Can damage surrounding tissue and most notably, sebaceous glands surrounding the hair follicle
-Difficult to obtain permanent hair kill
I don’t want to be accused of saying that thermolysis is not permanent, but don’t worry, someone will do that for me. Focusing the power at the exact correct location in the root of a hair is terribly difficult to do. Remember that operators are working blind, relying on the “feel” or the proximity of the needle to the vulnerable parts of the hair to do the work. To further understand the nature of why thermolysis seems at the outset to NOT kill hair, we must go under the skin, to see how a pilosebaceous unit works. It is prudent to point out here that the instant power stops, so does any means of further damage to the hair follicle. Not so, with sodium hydroxide (galvanic lye). With thermolysis, we find that with each pass, we remove the main hair, but stimulate follicle sites surrounding the original offender. The skin, does what it does best, and that is to protect itself against stimulation and one of those mechanisms for protection is…(good grief)…HAIR. Often the harder you work, the more there is to do!!!
This is what she has to say about the Galvanic Method:
Galvanic Electrolysis continues to be the top-quality method of safe and permanent removal of unwanted hair. When it comes to permanent hair removal, beard and moustache removal, genital hair removal, cleanup from laser electrolysis or dealing with the impact of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or Transgender Electrolysis, my methods are the most effective that can be utilized without skin damage.
She also says:
“Besides, I have since learned that the proper use of galvanic power can be 5 times more effective, even here…
More blurb on fast. While re-writing this, I came across several instances stating the Galvanic was slow, requiring 2-3 minutes to achieve the desired result. Thermolysis was highly recommended as a faster alternative. However, I must say here that done properly, galvanic electrolysis of the vintage used in 1875 is no where as slow as claimed. I can kill hairs in 3-5 seconds or sometimes less with results 10 times better than thermolysis and without the dangers of overtreatment that you are witnessing here.”
Seems like shes more into galvanic than any thing else. From her sits, it clearly shows that shes totally against thermolysis.
Her website information is outdated, even though there is a 2010 date listed at the bottom of one of her pages. I can only assume she hasn’t experienced the various thermolysis modalities that are being done by many electrologists today on the newer brands of epilators. So as to save me from repeating why this is so, please go to the search feature and type in Ms. Laird’s website, www.hairzapper.com Please read to your hearts content and all your concerns should be answered. If they are not, I will do my best to respond to your concerns.
Well first off she says that thermolysis especially flash thermolysis is more prone to scarring and pitting cause it meant for only shallow light hairs? She says that using it to blast out deep terminal hair is bad cause it’s too much heat for the skin which causes damage to the surrounding tissue? When she says says flash thermolysis is she referring to like microflash and etc…?
What I’m saying is FIRST go to the empty little search box at the top right hand corner, or thereabouts, and type in Susan Laird’s website www.hairzapper.com and read the threads and posts on this subject. We discussed this person’s website in detail before. I will say that she probably said much of this before microflash, picoflash, synchro and multiplex came on the scene and probably has not experienced these modalities to know much about what they can deliver.
She does multi-probe galvanic and that is a great modality that will give one permanent hair removal. Many prefer to do thermolysis and that works,too, when performed well, same as blend - it works great as long as it is performed well. ALL MODALITIES under the banner of electrolysis work well! When I say this, I am also referring to end outcome of skin condition as well.
If she still feels this way about thermolysis today, then unfortunately and alas, she has not been in contact with a great epilator like the Apilus Platinum, for example. Other electrologists are invited to speak about their epilator choices and tell their great success stories as well. I am familiar with what I use and I love my set up. I use all three of my thermolysis modalities with great results.
Fear not, thermolysis is a great choice for all hair structures when it is performed well. I am sure that Susan performs galvanic electrolysis well, but that doesn’t mean we all should be like her and only perform multi-probe electrolysis. There are other paths we can take to fulfill the great plan to remove hair permanently for our clients, so it is baseless to point fingers at what path is best when we have several ways to accomplish our goals.
I have been receiving thermolysis performed with a Clareblend Elegance for over a year now, and have had exceptional results. I know that if any other modality would have been used that I would not have seen near the progress that I have. I have had a very large area cleared and am now nearly hair free.
I can tell you without a doubt that thermolysis can be permanent and not cause any scarring whatsoever if it is performed correctly.
My two cents:
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All kinds of electrolysis can damage your skin when the practitioner isn’t skilled. However, as I think James once said, thermolysis is the modality that allows the least lee-way for the practitioner to screw up. So if you can’t find someone amazing in your area, you might be a little safer sticking with galvanic or blend than let someone inexperienced or unskilled loose on your skin with thermolysis.
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The newer types of flash thermolysis clearly can work wonders! But don’t blindly put your faith in them - they are probably also the hardest to master (Dee, what do you think? I feel like they must require an insane amount of skill).
A few years back, I had several flash thermolysis treatments with 2 practitioners using the latest technology (Apilus) who were highly recommended on the web. I believed that because it was flash, it was the best. Unfortunately the first practitioner was way off with her insertions (whilst boasting about how fast she was) and the second used settings that were too high. Both of them left me with burns - still visible on my skin as tiny white patches of scar tissue and as depressed dots (where collagen has been lost). These practitioners burned me worse than anyone had ever done with manual thermolysis or blend.
Luckily I’ve now found someone who leaves my skin in much better shape.
sigh Not this “thermolysis-is-the-devil” discussion again!
All I can say is this: I have been having thermolysis for about a year now and just finished a session about a week ago. My chin, which would typically be rugged as a man’s beard by now, is baby smooth. 
Sometimes I feel like walking down the street and asking every random stranger to touch my chin. 
Anyway, back to the topic. Thermolysis works. If you find the right person with the right training and the right tools and the patience, you’ve struck gold.
Hey TommyW, just drove past Wilmington on my way back from Cincinnati!
Yes, Bea, some of these newer high tech thermolysis modes do require concentration and accurate insertions, not to mention the use of special techniques. When using the these different thermolysis modes,I am not very chatty when I am working so I can focus squarely on each individual hair follicle. Glad you found a more skilled electrologist. It’s important to have the freedom of choice to shop around.
Orangecode, striking gold is good. 
So Jhair, do you feel more reassured?
One thing I can’t wrap my mind around is the idea that a tough beard hair can be killed completely with galvanic in 3-4 seconds. Unless she is feeding an unbearable 2.0mA+ through someone, I can’t see how it is possible. I have been able to remove some of my toughest body hair (nice easy release) in 25sec at 0.85mA but that was fairly painful.
100% agreement from me. Thermolysis with an Apilus Senior machine has been a godsend for me, precisely because the electrologist is highly skilled and experienced. My skin is fair, tender, and ridiculously sensitive. In the last six weeks, all the whiskers (and I mean COARSE, THICK, STIFF hairs) have been cleared from my lip lines, the corners of my mouth, and beneath my lower lip. On my upper lip, 2/3 of the hair has been removed, and tomorrow will be a marathon session to complete the remaining 1/3.
If thermolysis is so terrible, why am I so incredibly happy with the thermolysis work being performed for me? Following each weekly 60-to-90 minute session I have almost no swelling whatsoever, and very little redness. Both of these resolve within another 60-to-90 minutes. With my skin, that is a miracle in itself.