We’re board certified in electrology because we love our clients!
Finding a great electrologist isn’t as easy as you might think. In about one-third of US states (including Texas), there are no regulations or certification requirements for electrologists. This means just about anyone can purchase an electrolysis machine and set-up shop. You can ask friends for recommendations, but fair warning, this approach can sometimes be difficult as not everyone will openly discuss their hair issues!
What should you look for? Three things actually, including accredited training, board certification, and a professional, clean salon environment.
Accredited Training
At a minimum, you should seek out an electrologist that has completed a certification program from an accredited electrology school (not just a two-day course but multiple weeks of real learning). This will ensure the person you are working with has a significant knowledge of anatomy and the skin, hygiene and safety, and all things relating to electrolysis.
At Prickly Pear, we can easily check this box, as both Kelley and Roroc have together completed over 640 hours of accredited training through the prestigious Académie Dectro in Quebec, Canada and Dectro’s partner school, the Academy of Advanced Electrolysis Studies in Houston, Texas. Dectro International is a recognized global leader in hair removal and aesthetics care; their academic programs set the gold standard for electrolysis training, and there are some other very good schools out there too!
Board Certification
In addition, you should seek out electrologists that have board certification. Board certifications are important because they require ongoing maintenance in the form of continuing education units (CEUs). This demonstrates that your electrologist is committed to staying on top of the latest developments in the field and continuously expanding their professional knowledge and skillset.
Kelley is both a CPE (Certified Professional Electrologist) through the American Electrology Association and a CCE (Certified Clinical Electrologist) through the Society for Clinical & Medical Hair Removal. She also has a bachelor’s degree from University of North Texas.
Roroc is a CCE (Certified Clinical Electrologist) through the Society for Clinical & Medical Hair Removal and is currently pursuing his CPE. He also has a bachelor’s degree from University of Phoenix.
In addition to periodic examination (and let us say these tests require intensive study and are tough to pass), we regularly attend in-person courses, online training, lectures, seminars, etc. to maintain our professional designations. It’s important to us to provide that extra reassurance to our clients because we want you to know we care and are striving to be the very best at what we do.
Professional & Clean Salon
Don’t ever be afraid to set-up a consultation and see for yourself what a salon looks like before agreeing to receive services. Signs of a well-run electrology business include:
A salon that has a waiting room in addition to private treatment rooms.
Professional and courteous staff - this is a non-negotiable!
Electrologists that take the time to wash their hands before putting on disposable gloves at the start of every appointment.
Treatment tables that are appropriately sanitized and draped (with either linen or paper) for each client.
The use of medical-grade, single-use, sterile probes (that are disposed of properly at the end your session).
Discussion with all new clients as to how electrolysis works, pricing of sessions, and how you’ll work together to achieve your goals.
General salon cleanliness; if the surfaces you can see are clean and tidy, it’s a good sign everything you can’t see is clean and tidy.
At a minimum, the salon should appear clean and organized, and don’t hesitate to ask how the electrologist actually sterilizes their tools and equipment too. Things like tweezers should be put through an ultrasonic machine before being packaged in paper sterilization pouches and autoclaved, and the treatment cart and table should be wiped after every client with a hospital-grade sanitizer. Your electrologist should not hesitate to show you their sterilization equipment when asked (let us know if you want to see everything.
We have taken care of all the above and more to ensure a very safe salon setting. Let us know if you ever want to see anything; we’d be happy to take you on a tour of our back room where we sterilize our tools nightly.
We’re committed to bringing you the very best in electrolysis because you deserve nothing less. See you in the salon very soon!