How I Became Interested in Electrology
I was teased a lot as a child and thus, as a young-adult, became overly conscious about the slightest details of my body, including that happy trail of hair just beneath my belly button. I had a very light dusting of blonde hair and if I knew then what I know now I would have just left it alone. My standards today would not only deem it acceptable, but also attractive. However, we aren’t talking about now, and the more ignorant version of myself grabbed that razor one day and shaved it off. In my best Julia Roberts voice, “Big mistake. Huge!” Just like that, I turned my happy trail into an unhappy one, and over the next fifteen years, it grew back darker, and thicker regardless of whether I waxed or shaved it and with the regrowth came the ingrowns. I had to find a smarter solution.
I was introduced to electrolysis around 2008 after I researched the best ways to permanently remove hair. While there are many ways to reduce the amount of hair I had, electrolysis was, and still is, the only FDA approved method for permanent hair removal; so I checked with my lady doctor first to make sure it was safe, especially considering the area of my body was close to my reproductive organs, she gave a thumbs up and I made my first 15-min appointment. I completed about 5 sessions before I stopped going, and though it wasn’t enough to destroy all the follicles, it was enough that I never needed to wax or shave again. I was able to manage the stragglers with a tweezer and did so for the next 10 years. Make note that tweezing wasn’t smart either by the way, which you can read more about in our Before + During + After » and Facts 4 FAQs » sections, but at the time I didn’t know any better.
Fast forward to April of 2018, when this time it wasn’t about body consciousness but rather regular grooming maintenance. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m drawn to the beach like a moth to a flame and I consider my bathing suits a part of my core wardrobe. Therefore, it’s only normal that waxing was a part of my ‘she-scaping’ regimen, but ingrowns haunted me and my bikini line as a result.
They were uncomfortable and sometimes they became irritated depending where they were. I was fed up with all the maintenance and the money I was spending to get waxed as frequently as I was only for it to come back again, so I decided to start getting electrolysis treatments for my bikini. I found an electrologist near me, started 60-minute sessions and went faithfully every two weeks.
During one of my June or July sessions, my perspective shifted. I had been looking for the perfect trade for years so I could supplement my income in my retirement years for which corporate America doesn’t provide. While I was interested in several trades where creativity, meticulousness, and hand-eye coordination are important, I knew the perfect one for me had to be environmentally, socially and financially sustainable, could be done in a comfortable, self-managed environment, done at any age, and scalable.
I started paying close attention to my electrologist’s technique and asking business related questions. I asked about training, state board requirements, and the business model around an electrolysis practice. What came next hit me so hard it was dizzying. You know that feeling people say they get when they begin a journey that later reveals itself as the path to answering unanswered questions about the future? Something that aligns with what you’re good at and makes a difference in people’s lives? Yeah that one, and it was staring me right in the face for more than two decades. That was the moment when I decided I wanted to become an electrologist.
To read about my journey when I chose to live in California for nearly two months to go to electrolysis school while still working my east-coast corporate job, check out my blog post ».
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To learn more about Danielle Penn’s education and first career, visit www.daniellepenn.com » or visit her LinkedIn page »
