Hi, first i’d like to say i’m new to the forum and i know practically nothing about hair removal-thus why i registered.
I’d like to do some permanent hair removal, but would much rather do it by myself then go to some clinic. What product should i buy? The only one i saw everywhere was the vector? Is this machine legit? Can i find a legit machine for a couple hundred dollars? Am i at risk to hurt myself (not concerned about pain, but rather permanent damgae)
Thank you
NEVER buy anything from Vector!
read all 16 pages of :
and then, find the original thread this one continued (we had to start if over as the other one got too long) and you will know what machines to trust, and their usual selling prices.
I was going through the thread and i can’t help but be cofused.
It’s obvious everyeone on this board knows what they are talking about and i on the other hand am not familiar with any of the lingo
Now correct me if i’m wrong, but from what i gathered epilators are not permanent. But then i see the thermolysis epilator and it almost seems as it is a permanent device.
It is almost impossible to research this stuff, because whatever key words i try to search with spam me with tons of vector or similiar products, without an actual explanation of what the material is.
hate to be such a newb, but do these electrolysis pens work? Why the huge variation in price. i undersrtand if you are looking to run a business, but what if you just want it for personal use? Thanks again.
There is an unfortunate thing in science and marketing.
The marketing department comes up with a name that will sell, and later, the scientists who actually build a thing that delivers what the marketing department oversold are left to ask the question, “Now what do we call the thing that really does what that other thing overpromised, but did not deliver, now that the name for what this does, is taken by that impostor?” (for example, Speed Control and Cruise Control, When one car company gave the name Speed control to a throttle set device, which kept the engine at a certain level, it did not stabilize your speed, unless you were driving on a flat track. Cruise control was true speed control that adjusted the engine throttle to keep the speed constant even if you went up a hill, or down a hill, but could not use the name that best described it.)
As confusing as it is, the word Epilate means to remove, an Epilation is a removal, and an Epilator is anything that removes. As used in the USA, this is always referring to hair removal though strictly speaking it could be removal of ANYTHING.
Now, a REAL professional electrolysis machine, as it is named by scientists, is given the name “Electrolysis Epilator” or “Electrolysis Epilation Machine” The cheap things that rip hair out by the roots, are marketed as “Epilators” and since they DO remove hairs, they are justified in using the term, as they do remove something. The problem is that the name doesn’t make the distinction between permanent removal, and temporary ripping. Making it even more confusing, some companies call their professional electrolysis machines “Depilators” or “Depilatories”, which serves to confuse them with the chemical potions what seek to chem-burn your skin and hair to effect some level of removal of surface hair.
It is because of this confusion, that this string that you were directed to was suggested.
The problem with the cheap battery operated things you have seen is that they are made to make money off people who buy them and then toss them away in frustration. Those devices are not made with any thought towards what one needs from the machine if actual use for long term requires. You need something that will be easy to handle, and maneuver, while having a stable power source, delivering a steady and duplicatable current output.
You can only get these from a well made machine, and things like the Vector are not well made.
Over and above this, the better the machine, the more fogiving it is of the limitations of the skill level of the user. A professional could make do with a primitive rudimentary device but a novice would just make many costly mistakes.
Most people who buy those cheapoes, burn themselves once, and toss them into a drawer, never to be seen again.
Again i thank you for your contribution to my knowledge.
some things if you could clarify.
What exactly is cheap? can i get a managable machine that will actually work for 300 US dollars? i have unwanted hair near the shaft and am embarassed to go to a professional to be honest.
I’m not easily discouraged and am willing to take the time to learn with a machine, even if it hurts in the process. Certainly with instruction or trials(maybe elsewhere on the body) i can be proficient with the machine.
anyways with what you talk about above, i just feel clueless with where to start. thanks again.
Hi Creek i have no authority on electrolysis machines as i am asking a similar question myself. However there is one machine that is 399.99 It is a thermolysis only machine. Its called a
Uniprobe Lite. Its about as basic as a machine you can come by: two knobs and and on and off switch. Evidently this machine is what many students in the electrolysis schools use to learn the trade.
We would not advise the Uniprobe Lite as for $400 plus shipping, one could buy a used, full service machine with stereo knobs, and maybe have change left over.
There is an Instantron Elite (we were just discussing in another thread) on eBay right now that will probably go for less than $400, and it does galvanic, thermolysis and blend and has auto-insert as well.
Occasionally an Instantron SS-69 Tronco 4, which does thermolysis only just like the UniProbe Lite machine, will appear on eBay. They go for significantly less than $400, and although they are a bit old today they are built like a tank. Frequently the ss-69 sells for $100 or less.
thank you vickie. are all these machines reliable for permanent hair removal?
also is it likely to resell them?
Can you please outline your reasons for not wanting professional treatments?
The problem is that self-treatment IS likely to produce some permanent damage, especially if you don’t do enough research and practice to get things just right. There is a reason it takes hours of practice (and education) to become a professional electrolysis and then hours of practice to actually be a good one that produces permanent removal with no side effects.
This isn’t something you should commit to unless you are really ready to read large books and practice, practice, practice for a good while to master it well.
I would really not recommend it unless you are really committed. Just read the DYI section of this forum carefully and see how much effort people who are actually doing it themselves put into it. If you’re not willing to do it, you’ll likely to get no permanent results and some scarring. And I’m not sure if it’s worth risking that in addition to spending all this money on equipment and training.
I will echo LAgirl by saying that a person that I trained was a Registered Nurse. In fact, she was the head nurse at a very large hospital, and it took her a year to get it down to the point of doing good insertions that reliably yielded permanent hair removal. She is still working on her speed and other finer points.
This is not something you just march into and do a good job, even as much as one could understand the basics in a short period of time. In the end, skill is the thing for which we are paid.
thank you. i will continue to contemplate my options and appreciate the help
Hi,
I am here to share my experience with at home electrolysis. The machine I used was fairy cheap, so I figured I’d take a shot at it. The one I used I bought from Amazon, it is called the Clean & Easy One Touch Deluxe Electrolysis.
I’ve had the machine for a year, and WOW. This really does work. I have used to on my breasts, chest, and belly button. I was a hairy girl and it was so embarrassing and I was unable to wear lowcut shirts because of my chest hairs. I usually use it once a month, and over all my hair reduction has been about 85%. You can use it as much as you’d like though. After treatment, the area would be red and raised bumps would appear. These would go away by the next day though.
I still need to treat some areas a little more, but this thing really does work. It is tedious because you are only able to treat one hair at a time (vs. laser)…So if you need to remove hair from a large area, definitely look into getting laser treatments. But if you are like me and have stray hairs, this could be for you.
I don’t find this treatment to be as painful as some reviewers have mentioned on other sites, but possibly I have a good tolerance to pain? Also, I was at the point to do ANYTHING to get rid of my hair, but did not have $1000s to spend on a professional to do it.
The only con I have is that the stylus tips tend to bend easy. Other than that, I’d highly recommend this machine as a possibility for you.
Another product promotion from someone with one post. Don’t believe a word of what eleven11 has written, CreekJohnson. It’s pathetic product promotion.
It’s simple: if home electrolysis were really so simple, everyone would be doing it.
I bought something called a one touch last year. I had only tried it for about 2 hours and gave up. I actually got the hang of it easily but it was just to hard watching myself sticking what looks like a needle tip into my skin (although that is not quite what you are doing).
I dont think i would ever go back and try it again, but it did however work. the area I did was the line under my belly button. And after just about a year of not using any hair removal on that area about 1/3 of the hairs were grown back but the rest were gone for good (or i presume as they didnt grow back even after almost a year)
And for all those that are going to say that “she only has one post and is promoting a product”. I can say i dont have any reason to promote the product (in fact i didnt even go and look up the model)
Anyway I just saw this and had to post my opinion. (I actually found the site when looking up laser treatment)
Unbiased info is hard to find.
We never say that the One Touch doesn’t work. For the record, it does. It is just not the best thing one could be using for many reasons.
I’d like to say that I’ve used a One Touch. I’m currently using it on one arm (because I’m right handed and can’t do my other arm). I figure I can see how well it works on the one arm compared to whatever method I pursue for my other arm.
It’s very slow for me, because I’d rather use a low setting for a minute than a high setting for 10 seconds and burn myself. But that being said, I cleared a patch on my arm about 1.5-2 months ago, and there is almost no regrowth. I tweezed the same patch of hair on the other arm and there’s about 50-80% regrowth. I don’t know how regrowth works, so that might not be relevant at all.
It might be too soon to tell, but I’ll keep you all posted now that I see some people are curious. 
Maybe I’ll start my own thread.
(Oh, and the needles DO bend easily! It’s really frustrating!)
Body hair takes about 12 weeks to regrow, so you have a month to wait for your true results. It is best to scatter treat, rather than clear. Just treat the dakest, thickest hairs. This will lead to a nice natural look, and you can stop at anytime. You won’t risk becoming patchy.