I have been fascinated over the years to watch Mary Evangelista's Electrology Institute of New England. Mary's open-minded and innovative attitude to electrolysis has meant that she is often the first place

manufacturers go to try out equipment and she has a real talent for using equipment in new ways. Below we describe an original way that the Electrology Institute has developed for doing multi-needle treatments. What a simple solution to a problem that we have been hearing about for years! Additionally, the Institute has been something of a bellwether for the health of our profession. For years classes were chock full. The arrival of laser hair removal and the attending hype seemed to scare people away from electrology; enrollments were down for several years, and at one point Mary only had 12 students for one of her courses.

Well, I am happy to report that those days are over. One of the recent courses had 38 students with seven students on a waiting list. Of course, Mary keeps her enrollments limited to ensure that each student who receives a diploma from her has gotten first class training. When I add the news of the Institute's class size to the confident purchases of needles made at the recent AEA Convention, I see our profession on the road to growth once again. Thanks for reading, Jim and Sara Multi-needle electrolysis has always had a loyal following in the electrolysis world. For African Americans, especially those with folliculitis, men, and transgender clients, Mary finds that multi-needle works wonders: it is very safe for the skin and it gives the permanent results all electrologists desire. However, one persistent difficulty with multi-needle has been the tendency of the needle to slip out of the follicle during the prolonged treatment. The two-piece needles would not stay properly inserted. So Mary went against the conventional wisdom and experimented by using one-piece needles, bending the shaft at about a 30 degree angle. This solves the problem: the needles stay in the follicle very reliably! so the students have begun to do this with all the clients at the Institute's clinic.

Bending is simple: before placing the probe in the needle holder, take a lip roll, and holding it vertically, insert the blade of the needle into it end-wise. Then bend the needle to the angle of insertion of the follicle to be treated. The angle can always be adjusted later on in the same way - by using a dental lip roll. Mary recommends avoiding metal-to-metal contact = never use tweezers to adjust a needle. And always take care not to allow the probe chuck to rest on the skin. In 95% of her clinic's treatments, including multi-needle work with bent needles, Mary uses Ballet Gold probes. She calls them her "gliders" because the needle's low-friction gold surface allows for such smooth insertions.

"I asked Jim if I might take this opportunity to thank Ballet and Synoptic Products for the wonderful help they have been in featuring many electrologists throughout the years. This is an uplifting form of advertising. I am sure that I am not the only one who has noticed this wonderful and positive manner of advertising. There comes a time when things have to be said aloud. Thank you,Joe Asch, Jim Paisner, and Shirlee Plourde for you help and support!" - Mary Evangelista