Letters to the Editors
(September 2002)
Past Letters
THE PERILS OF EARLY EXITING
Dear Hair Route Editors:
How sad; your Editor’s Page of June 2002 is slanted. You did not attend the
International Guild of Professional Electrologists (IGPE) Annual Congress in
Chicago, this past April, yet you focused your editorial and article [Issue No.
91, page 16] on slanted information from one source.
I feel you wrote these articles solely on hearsay from someone who did not
attend the entire conference. James Walker left the conference early (I know
this because I personally wanted to talk with him). By his early exit he
“missed-out” on a great learning experience! In addition, so did you!
The next time you consider writing like this, please be there – or gather more
information. For a long time you have been a vital part of our network; I hope
you don’t lose it. I believe in you, please consider the importance of your
quiet readers.
— Katherine Dunbar
Charleston, South Carolina
. . . TURNING A DEAF EAR
Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to your editorial in the June 2002 issue of
International Hair Route.
I became an electrologist in 1983. My goal was, and still is, to educate
individuals with the condition of hirsutism as to why they have it, what options
they have, and help them to make informed decisions.
The profession of electrology is certainly going through a metamorphosis.
Everything changes; if not we would all become stagnant, atrophy and die. As
with any technology there will always be growth and change. We see this in our
everyday life; from the grocery store check-out lanes to more complex surgeries
now done through arthroscopy.
Our patients look to us to keep abreast of the latest technology available, and
our goal is their satisfaction. The results have been outstanding; not perfect,
neither is electrolysis. No one will argue that. Therefore that leads me to my
last comment. I hope that hair removal specialists can stop the arguments among
each other. United we can accomplish much more than divided.
Our profession should embrace any new technology that allows us to do a more
efficient and safe method of hair removal for our patients.Laser and
electrolysis combined could free the world of unwanted hair, and someday there
may be an even better method than either of these. Will you turn a deaf ear to
it as well?
— Francine Melvin
President, The Cosmetic
Therapy Association of Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
. . . NOT SEEING THE LIGHT
Dear Editor:
When is Hair Route going to wake up and see the light? The world is looking
brighter with laser hair removal and electrologists are (let’s face it) finally
able to make a decent living in this tough business. Better yet, our patients
are extremely happy with the results and asking for more!
Your editorial in the latest magazine [June 2002, Issue No. 91] about the demise
of the Guild and the evils of laser is so biased it’s pathetic. Laser hair
removal has been with us for seven years and I think it’s time Hair Route got
with the program and recognized that it’s here to stay.
— Irene Lipscomb
Lubbock, Texas
Editors’ note:
It is no secret that we have steadfastly refused to accept laser hair
reduction as a fourth modality of permanent hair removal. The reasons for this
are also well known: In the beginning, the laser modality cruelly hurt the
practices of hundreds of needle-only electrologists, severely wounded the
businesses of electrolysis manufacturers and service providers (all of Hair
Route’s advertisers included), and (most importantly) nearly brought about the
demise of the profession’s recognized schools of electrology.
Despite all these good reasons for a bias against laser, our “Editorial” in the
June issue was not focused on the “evils of laser” but rather on the sad ending
of the 24-year-old International Guild of Professional Electrologists.
The Editors of Hair Route do recognize that laser hair removal is “here to
stay,” but no longer see it as the threat it once was. Consumers have “been
there, done that,” and those who seek permanent hair removal are now returning
to the more dependable, less-costly electrolysis method.
Talking about “wake up and see the light,” we have seen the light, and it is the
non-laser, Flashlamp, or Intense Pulsed Light (see Linda Edsell’s article
“Light and Lasers in Hair Removal” in this issue of Hair Route), which we
predict will soon be in the hands of cosmetologists worldwide: An eventuality
that could spell death to the use of medical lasers for hair removal.
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