Unique situation and need advice!

Hair Removal Methods Do-It-Yourself Electrolysis
#1

I’m looking into wanting to buy a blend electrolysis machine to teach myself how to do it at home. I’ve done a little research, but before I ask for advice, I have a bit of a unique situation that makes things more difficult for me. I’ve been struggling with chronic illness for the last couple of years. I had brain surgery the end of 2017 and have a few other life long chronic illnesses. Long story short, not only am I struggling with my physical health, I’m watching my hair growth get worse as well and it’s caused my self esteem to plummet. I hate looking at myself, I hate showering because I have to see the full extent of it. It eats at me everyday. I’m married to a good man who says he doesn’t care, but I have trouble believing him. So I’m deciding to channel that self-hatred to do what it takes to get rid of it.

With all that being said, I’m seeing a professional Electrologist (if that’s the correct term?) to take care of a few facial hairs (which aren’t bad) and 6 months in, I’m already noticing a huge difference. My legs, stomach, and bikini line are another story. The hair growth there is bad. Making it to my appointments to get my face done is hard enough when I don’t feel well, I can’t imagine having to stay for longer and coming more often. What I have going on is enough commitment for me already, physically and financially. (Though, I’m glad I’m going to a professional for my face, since I’ve read horror stories about others scarring their faces by doing electrolysis on themselves).

I guess what I’m asking is for advice for my unique situation. If I were feeling better, I would absolutely go get certified by doing a training program. But with not feeling well, that’s not an option for me. I would love advice on the best literature, best online courses or training videos, the best and most efficient machines, resources etc. I’ve done a little research myself and found that blend is probably my best and most effective bet. I do not want to rush this. I understand that this is a craft, and with all crafts, this will take time, education, and dedication to learn and perfect it. I’m ready learn and am ready for anything you guys have to share. Thank you for your time!

#2

Hello Sarahhsh,
I’m sorry to hear of your continuing poor health and your unhappiness about your general hair growth. Without seeing it I cannot offer my opinion on its severity: is there any medical reason for excessive growth, either your condition or the medication you are taking to manage your health?
Training to be an electrolysist (UK term) takes time and the practical aspects would have to be completed at a college or private school, you could not gain a qualification without documented time to prove your competence. Even then you would struggle to use a machine on your own hairs, as you would discover when training. The costs of both training and equipment (not to mention your time and attendance difficulties) would simply not be worth it for what you want to achieve.
Have you considered laser hair removal? It is a reduction treatment rather than fully permanent like electrolysis but you may find it more suitable as it can deal with larger areas of hair much faster so takes less sessions to get results.
I hope this information helps you and I wish you every success xx

#3

i guess I’m unique, because I did teach myself how to do electrolysis and DID do my own face. With Zero nightmare stories and zero scarring. Must be just dumb luck, or maybe just maybe, it IS in fact an attainable goal.

#4

I was diagnosed with PCOS recently by my endo. Though, I don’t have cysts, nor have I ever had a hormone test come back abnormal. They diagnosed me based on the hair growth and abnormal periods. But because of my health issues, the typical treatments for PCOS aren’t an option for me. I have a blood clotting disorder so I can’t take birth control and some other medications mess with your blood pressure and I already have issues with mine. Since I’ve never had an abnormal hormone test, those methods wouldn’t help me even if I could take them. I have done laser for my face a few years ago, but I couldn’t afford to finish it, and with the chance of it encouraging new growth hindered me from wanting to go back. Not to mention, with something like PCOS, the hair growth is expected to get worse and you can easily spend so much of your money on something that 1. Isn’t permanent. 2. Would require so much extra money to keep up on it. And 3. Only works on light skin with dark hairs. I’m really fair skinned and my hair can be dark, but a lot of it is blonde and I could easily waste thousands of dollars and the lasers won’t even target 40% of the hairs. I’d rather have something at home where I can rid of it when I see it than fudge around with lasers that aren’t guaranteed to work. Especially since no method of hair removal is “cheap”. It’s all an investment and I wish I was able to go to a school at get certified, but I just can’t right now.

I don’t know what the law is here in California about buying electrolysis machines if you’re not certified. Obviously i don’t plan to ever use it on anyone else, it would solely be for me to use.
But I’m definitely open for new ideas/ advice you have any for me.

#5

Thank you. That’s so encouraging to hear. What kind of electrolysis did you use to learn?

#6

blend.

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#7

The do-it-yourself approach might be a good option for you. lluv2zap and others on the forum have plenty of experience with this and can guide you accordingly. I’m not sure about the laws in California regarding this.

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#8

If I were you I’d start out with a galvanic only setup. I’ve come up with a brand new type of epilator. I’m giving the first 10 units away for free. I know this sounds like a total scam but it is for real. I’m a chemist, biochemist, and electrical engineer. I’m an inventor and I’ve come up with a very unique piece of equipment. It is a fully functional galvanic epilator which will put out 4ma of DC current into an actual .006" diameter probe. Now for the fun part. It requires no batteries or external power supply. The unit is powered by the audio output of a standard headphone jack. The units are designed with components which will practically never wear out. I can’t imagine a unit failing within 100 years. If anyone out there is in need of an epilator but has no financial resources, here’s your chance to get a real epilator for nothing. The unit has an LED indicator to signal probe insertion. The output level is set by the volume control on your computer, phone, tablet, or mp3 player. I will send you as many sterile probes as you need…within reason of course. No cheaper way to learn or get started than free.

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#9

Can you share some photos of your device and how it works? Is the DC current adjustable or set at 4ma constant? And can people change probe sizes or it’s only for .006 probe?

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#10

I would love to hear more about this and try this out!!

#11

Glad to hear people are interested. The output is completely adjustable from zero to 4ma, depending on the volume setting on your device. I only have .006 diameter probes in stock but the unit will work with any size probe from Ballet. The unit uses a collet style which adjusts to any shank diameter. I’ll see if I can upload a picture.

#12

I see no mention of any kind of switch. I should point out that its a bad idea to perform an insertion with a “hot” DC probe.
Pictures would be nice, .

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#13

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Samsung Epilator 3.jpg2713×2361 1.08 MB

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#14

I agree on the “hot” insertion. The current ramps up over about 1/2 a second. If this is too short a time you could always use a switched needle holder.

This is a picture of the entire epilator hooked to my cell phone. To be brief what happens is a headphone output is 1.7V peak to peak AC current. The current is roughly at 85ma. Although the current is high there is not near enough voltage to overcome the inherent resistance of the human body. A transformer does the main work here.The transformer “transforms” the low voltage/high current into higher voltage/low current. The voltage is increased to about 16VAC@8ma. Of course galvanic epilation needs DC so the AC signal is put through a voltage doubler which raises the voltage to 32V and rectifies it. The output is rectified direct current at pretty much optimal levels for electrolysis.

You can see in the picture a signal of 500hz is being output to the headphone jack. The transformer and rectification takes place in the little black rectangle. The output is DC with the ground electrode being positive. Whenever you are positively grounded and you touch the negative end of the probe (shown without needle or collet cover), a small amount of current flows which lights the LED and supplies current to the follicle.

#15

Re: Sarahhshhh

Please send me your mailing address and I’ll send you one ASAP.

#16

I’m a little weary about giving my address to strangers online, but I’m definitely wanting to hear more about this. Have other people tried your machine yet as well? Or would we be the first group of people to try it out?

#17

You’d be the first, besides me of course. As far as danger is concerned, you would be hard-pressed to damage your skin using straight galvanic, even if you tried. The body is very good at repairing the follicular damage caused by the lye. The body can’t recover nearly as well from any kind of thermolysis, including blend. When it comes right down to it, how dangerous can the power from a headphone be?

I understand about giving out addresses online to strangers. Don’t really know how to handle that one. I don’t ever think about it since I’ve been an eBay seller since 1999. Literally thousands of strangers know my address. You could always order one and I’ll say it was returned. eBay Seller Name: hewad

#18

If memory serves me right, Mike Bono discussed hot probing with DC. Some electrologists did that as part of their strategy and it wasn’t dangerous to the skin. He describes it as live probing.

#19

Okay! As far as the lye, is any post-electrolysis treatment required to address the lye under the skin? My electrolysist said it’s crucial to kill the lye after doing a session. Message me and I’ll give you my address!

#20

I’ve done hundreds of hours of galvanic electrolysis and never used cataphoresis. My thinking is that after a session, let’s say it lasts an hour, only the treated follicles in the last few minutes are going to have some remaining lye in them. For me, it’s hardly worth the effort. The red inflammation goes away all by itself and the little marks where the hair follicle used to be will still have to heal. In my opinion it’s more of a cosmetic thing than a biological concern. It may help with the histamine release but I just never cared about a few bumps. You could always reverse the polarity and do it if you wanted to. It’s as simple as removing the collet and holding the negative tip while using something metallic connected to the positive.