Home Hair Removal DIY Electrolysis Thread

[Ice Maiden]

Just thought it was a good idea to start it up again you can play catch up here
http://tzone.freeforums.org/fashion-bea ... ps-f5.html

Basically electrolysis is out of the reach of many they maybe able to afford a few sessions but then they cannot go any further.

Is it better to invest those sessions in a used machine on ebay practice say on your upper thigh or forearm and watch videos and lessons buy a good book on the subject from amazon and do it yourself?

only you can decide that but sometimes machines do come up for sale on ebay and if you are planning to buy one then maybe run it by us here forst and we will tell you if its anygood or not

if you have tried home hair removal what do you use? any advice for others?

this is the thread

[Ice Maiden]

Before we begin you could do a lot worse than visit this site http://www.hairtell.com/ and its forums

I learned a lot there a long time ago and even helped others there since

TSroadmap also has some advice but it is a little scaremongering i feel but good advice non the less
http://www.tsroadmap.com/physical/hair/zapdiy.html

once you have satisfied yourself at both these places feel free to start here

more links
http://www.transgenderzone.com/library/ ... ext/33.htm
http://www.transgenderzone.com/library/ ... 30.htm#2.7
http://www.hairfacts.com/tips/diyelectr ... sing-info/
TOP TEN TIPS FRO TZONE ABOUT ELECTROLYSIS
http://www.transgenderzone.com/library/ ... ext/44.htm

[chris_in_devon]

As a professional beauty therapist I strongly recommend againt DIY Electrolysis. I'm not selling my services here so I have no drum to beat.
Yes there are machines that you can buy on auction websites that claim you can use yourself, hardly used, still in original box, only used two or three times etc. A decent machine will set you back around £500 + plus and you need to buy the sterilised needles etc on a regular basis.

http://www.salonserve.com

Click the beauty tab and then rummage the catalogue, it will give you an idea of what is available. you really need to know what settings to use, skin sensitivity, skin cleanliness (just having a shower then having a go is not sufficient).

To give folks an idea of typical questions on electrolysis and treatments, go to this website, http://www.salongeeks.com you don't have to be a member to view the forum questions and answers. you'll get an idea of some of the questions posed on settings and treatment times, if they baffle you, then I think you will have an idea on why you shouldn't do home electrolysis. It is also a good website used by professionals so there is lots of other advice there too.

I was "guinea pigged" many times whilst doing my course, as the only man on it so I do know what it feels like. Yes, I do feel for many of you trying to get rid of hair and yes it is damn expensive for a course of treatments but like the crazy TV programmes I would strongly say "don't try this at home".

I had a conversation with my ex-course tutor this morning before replying about the subject regarding TG and treatments. She had no qualms about it, everyone gets treated equally, client treatment and confidentiality is paramount. Yes it is a Beauty Training College, but I do know clients who go there on a regular basis, treatment is available at very reasonable prices. I personally, would try a Beauty College near you before you go down the DIY route. If in doubt, try ringing and asking for the Beauty Course Tutor and explain your situation first, your sensitivities and dilema's about confidentiality etc, I think you would find them a lot more responsive than you think.

Those doing the treatments at Level 3 NVQ are not giggly 16 year olds, it takes two years to do NVQ level 2 first and a further year full time to do the NVQ level 3 and quite a few are actually mature students updating their skills - like me (I'm 60 BTW)!

That's my 2p's worth anyway!

Chris

[Ice Maiden]

Yeah all good advice the machine i use is a flash thermolysis (or laser via needle same sort of energy burst but cuts out the hair variable and thus is ideal for blonder or gray hairs) machine and i think its the best there is retailing on the sx500 is about 4 grand i think now

mine is the sm500 the one before that the same apart from the till roll

that said there are flash machines and yes you need to buy probes but they come in at 50 for 15 quid - i recommend ballet needles avoid sterex but their machines are ok and cheap too

a book i recommend is http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Practi ... 033&sr=1-3 its the first one i read on the subject but other classic include http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electrolysis-Th ... 0960028412

[Ice Maiden]

this is why i use flash cos the shorter the pain the better flash is like a laser burst same pain but the hair is the variable and with laser has to carry the heat obviously with blond hair this is a dead loss, so a flash capable machine uses the needle as the carrier resulting in a very high success rate treat once done - beep done beep done and i mean a millisecond beep too you can set it to what you want but a beep is enough 300s of a second

ballet are great yeah i tried a pack of sterex two pieces on my stomach ended up with hundreds of litte red dots took about 3 weeks to go nitemare so never buying them again ballet size 003 is all youll ever need and they are ace

plus i have a top lip scar from a when i was a child and that really hurts there :\ i have a bottle of novacaine which can be spread on the surface of the skin to numb it but this is not available over the counter and in anycase it can be better to 'feel' whats going on incase you over treat

tbh its better to do little and often on the top lip say start every session with one top lip hair cry scream and then move to the lower face and chest etc as then thats it for 24 hrs if you keep it up that 7 hairs a week soon adds up and not bad

if you can tolerate it i use insulated needles cos its electrical microwaves desiccating the follicle rather than cooking it on a slow heat or dissolving it in lye

obviously flash capable machines are expensive and despite having a machine with all the bells and whistles i only ever use flash even though it can do any type of electrolysis including cataphoresis

"Cataphoresis
Some galvanic practitioners claim the reversing the machine's polarity (called cataphoresis) helps reduce temporary side effects. There is no clinical data supporting this, but if you are having severe reactions, you might consider trying it." (TS roadmap)

But again never needed it if you can afford one buy this as its all it does but thats all you need and you dont need a ground or sit waiting ping and it gone BANG! AND THE HAIR IS GONE!
http://www.hofbeauty.co.uk/Products/Sal ... leo_Flash/
this is the smaller version but if mine ever went wrong id save up for it as a replacement thats for sure

it is possible to speak to a dentist and pay for a novacaine injection into the top of you lip on the inside as they are qualified to give this then go to the salon nearby