I received the follwing letter from Harvey Grove, CPE, and wanted to open a newer topic about a type of electrolysis he promotes, in which treated hairs are left in, which purportedly allows for faster treatment.
The notion of leaving hairs in has been questioned by several other electrologists, who feel that this may cause a high incidence of side effects.
As requested by Harvey, I am sharing a letter he sent and a previous post he made regarding the procedure.
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Hi Andrea.....
I have not seen any reference to ULTRA-lysis on your site (perhaps I missed it). Needless to say I am disappointed because you, moreso than electrologists, are aware of the process being a SLIGHT modification of “short wave” but only in some hand motions not the settings of the epilator or the insertions of the probe into the follicle. I do NOT make anything on this process, therefore, there is no personal gain. I turned it over to anyone who wants to use it (as a matter of ethics) at a meeting of the Massachusetts Assoc. of Electrologists (there were over 100 members there and everthing was recorded) as I believe it to be UNETHICAL TO WITHHOLD ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP A PATIENT. The name is registered so that there will be some uniformity as to what this process entails and the name will mean the same wherever you go as opposed to the assorted names for electrolysis, short wave, high frequency, surgical diathermy, electrocoagulation, thermolysis, flash method, manual method, etc. Patients are so confused that it makes it difficult to communicate what we are doing to them. Standardization is a good idea for all these processes.
I believe you are as concerned about the cost of treatments too and this is a sure way to reduce costs and time of treatments. If you are not concerned I am disappointed. I thought you, of all people, would be eager to help.
Regards
Harvey Grove, LE, CPE
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>The following is from a 2002 post by Harvey Grove, CPE.
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Hi....
I figured out a modification of the thermolysis method that cuts time in half or less. I had the name registered as ULTRA-lysis. The process is patentable and this is underway. It is particularly useful for large surfaces like the back, arms, chest, legs, etc. At present I am not recommending it for the upper or lower lip as the large number of folicles treated in so small an area in only a half hour might cause too much trauma in a localized area, thereby. resulting in unacceptable swelling that is visible to the naked eye. If it was covered by clothing, perhaps, it would be OK. I use ONLY short wave.
This technique was figured out by me as a result of my long experience as a US Navy Medical Corpsman with training at the US Navy Hospital Corpsman School and hospital O.R. experience ( I graduated in the upper 10% of the class and received an automatic promotion). In addition, I worked for one of the major drug companies (the makers of Claritin and other products for skin and also hormones) for 25 years. My job was to call on docs at the 3 Boston medical schools and sell them the idea of using my products. I won many prizes for this during the 25 years I did this but more importantly I made friends with some of the foremost docs in the country at Harvard, Tufts, and Boston U. Med schools. I also learned much about the human body in health and disease as well as the drugs used to treat many illnesses. I do not diagnose or treat them but I have a different perception of them than the average person and particularly the electrologists who THINK they know it all (a little knowledge is very dangerous)…
I checked my idea out with the chiefs of Dermatology at Mass. Genl. Hosp. (Harvard), New England Med Ctr. (Tufts), and Boston U. Hosp. All agreed it was very good and one even said,“I thought that was what you guys were doing.”
At present the probe is inserted and a setting is determined by the EXPERIENCED electrologist. The switch is closed and the patients feel the heat. THIS IS THE ONLY PRODUCTIVE PART OF THE TREATMENT. IT IS HERE THE ROOT IS COOKED. ANYTHING ELSE IS REALLY NON-PRODUCTIVE. THE ACT OF GRASPING THE HAIR AND RELEASING IT IS A WASTE OF TIME. JUST GO ON TO THE NEXT HAIR AND THE TREATED HAIR WILL FALL OUT BY ITSELF OR BY CHAFING OF CLOTHING OR A TOWEl AS ALL OTHER TELOGEN HAIR FALL OUT. It makes no difference if it is velus or terminal hair because they all go through the same stages.
The mere act of changing hands from probe to forceps is eliminated. There is no worry about dropping a forceps and stabbing the patient (I am sure it happens) or stopping to resterilize a forceps. Many patients start a large area, like the back, or legs but quit because of time and economic issues. For transgendered patients I would do the face and move all around so that there is no line showing where the hair was removed. It looks like the hair is just fading away. They want to see results fast but it would look weird if you start at the nape of the neck and work down. There is always an ARTIFICIAL LINE ACROSS THE BACK WHERE WORK WAS DONE. IF THE PATIENT CHANGES HIS/HER MIND…THEY ARE STUCK WITH THIS LINE OF DEMARKATION BETWEEN AREAS WORKED ON AND THOSE THAT WERE NOT TOUCHED AS YET.
There are no articles in medical texts that explore the percentage of anagens, catagens, or telogens in any single area. Any numbers quoted are GUESSTIMATES and then these numbers are repeated in future articles. The reason for this is there is NO MONEY TO STUDY THIS AND DOCTORS DO NOT CARE ABOUT THIS AS ALL HAIRS GO THROUGH THIS AND IT IS NOT A DISEASE. THE PRESENCE OF HAIR MAY BE IMPORTANT BUT THAT IS ALL.
Since there is no change from the actual use of the epilator, needle, or settings there is no intervention by FDA when using ULTRA-lysis. There are a few modifications out there that involve shaving a few days before visiting the electrologist. All hairs are shaved FLUSH with the surface, however, when the patient visits the office all catagens are STILL flush with the surface while the ANAGENS ARE ABOVE THE SURFACE. The laser people learned this and now sell their treatments a few weeks apart so they are treating ONLY ANAGENS (hopefuly) and it still leaves a lot to be desired.
In large areas there are many catagens and if I use a forceps to test each one, they are not as susceptible to treatment as anagens. Therefore, I have to do them over and they still will not release easily (another waste of time). The best thing to do is go on to the next hair after only one insertion. If it is a catagen it will soon fall out by itself. For new patients and new areas they feel more tugging because catagens may abound and do not respond as readily as anagens.
There are many more benefits but I do not have time now. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size=“2” face=“Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif”>
[ April 14, 2003, 08:59 PM: Message edited by: Andrea ]