Hairtell Forum James Walker VII, CPE Non-Licensed Uneducated Electrologist

Introduction: Is this a Joke?

I found a rather amusing website surfing the “Net” regarding electrolysis and laser hair removal. When you are in a business, naturally you take a look at what your colleagues are doing. There are plenty of earnest websites out there that feature qualified practitioners developing their practices with professional and personal integrity. And then there are the websites that would make any reader want to pull her or his wanted hair. Some sites leave even the trusting wary of the services offered, the qualifications of the providers and, in the worst circumstances, uneasy at something that is difficult to put one’s finger on. Of all the spurious sites, that ascribed to Andrea James and scribed by James Walker The VII, takes the cake; and with their unabashed encouragement and promotion of uneducated non-licensed electrologists, one has the feeling that both Miss James and Mr. Walker are busy eating their cake too at the cost of their clients.

When I first logged on to Hairtell.com, I truly had to do a double take. At first I thought I had stumbled on to a joke website, after all, for people who don’t deal with unwanted hair problems, the whole topic of hair removal seems to be good fodder for jokes and with endorsements like “Hairtell Pro Top Ten Contributor”, one has flashbacks to the Tonight Show and the Daily Ten. Though a dubious claim to excellence, the first place in this countdown to classless incompetence is deserved. James W. Walker VII, CPE (Certified Professional Electrologist) ranks as the Hairtell.com number one “HairTell Pro Top Ten Contributor” a.k.a. “So Easy A Neanderthal Electrologist Could Do It.” To read through his featured articles or, worse, to view his educational video, one can only conclude that the Mr. Walker either doesn’t take himself seriously or doesn’t take his topic seriously; he certainly doesn’t take his clients seriously. Given the effusion of technical errors, lack of professional language, questionable training background, deplorable belittling comments about women both as clients and professionals, one hardly knows whether to laugh or cry. If we were in junior high school and not adults debating where to bring our money for professional services, we might be tempted to join James W. Walker VII, CPE (Certified Professional Electrologist) in his incessant puerile giggling as he sits behind the objectified woman who models as his client and takes the brunt of his bad demonstration and jokes. However, as adults we have choices to better serve ourselves and to demand more from representatives of the hair removal profession. So together, let’s look more closely at “Hairtell Pro Top Ten Contributor’s Profile” and understand that uneasy feeling that overrides our will to confidence.

Chapter One: How is it that lack of proper education is an asset? Or James W. Walker VII, CPE Moderator Top Ten Contributor, So Easy A Neanderthal Electrologist Could Do It©

James W. Walker VII, CPE (Certified Professional Electrologist) of Hairltell.com lists his occupation as a “Board Certified Professional Electrologist.” Nonetheless James Walker VII, CPE “Board Certified Professional Electrologist” forgot to mention a few minor details such as where he is actually certified and where he attended a formal nationally accredited electrolysis school? Additionally James Walker the VII, CPE, “Board Certified Professional Electrologist” claims that the American Electrology Association has endowed him as a “Board Certified Professional Electrologist” after completing his 120-hour Certified Professional Electrologist course, which he said he deliberately flunked the test first time to make a political statement. Understandably our political system is riddled with incompetents but we are pursuing a service that demands medical knowledge and proficiency; his gesture seems a bit off track. Furthermore in being so politically bold, James Walker VII, CPE is unaware that only a state board of electrologists can certify you!

For the General Public’s information, the 120-hour Certified Professional Electrologists Examination is Fourth grade level multiple-choice and it does not require a high school diploma or GED, no criminal check and I almost forget to mention there is no examination for the “Practical Application” of electrolysis. Additionally there are no requirements for applicants to provide a health certificate attesting that they have no communicable diseases. And this is a person that you want to put needles into your hair follicles? Nonetheless what scares me the most is that there are no personal criminal background checks. I have more to say on that topic in Chapter Two. First, how did this top ten contributor make his start?

Mr. Walker claims that his education is part of a tradition of electrologists passing on knowledge one to the other. Given his aptitude, he was apprenticed by a non-licensed electrology, who in turn had been apprenticed by another non-licensed practitioner going back through the ages to the beginnings of galvanic current. Apprenticeship. That has a nice medieval ring to it. So does blood-letting with leeches. I was too skeptical; actually this educational tradition has its noble originations in the enlightened age of the Renaissance as attestable by Mr. James connection to the now defunct (out of business) International Guild of Professional Electrologists. This Guild was a typical "Diploma Mill" established to include in the profession of electrology those who believe in the importance of making a political statement without their Board examinations. Effectually, association with the IGPE makes the non-licensed electrologist look and sound credible. Advantageously, membership to The International Guild of Professional Electrologists required no examination, no state regulated electrolysis education and no required state license and registration as an electrologist to belong. The Guild recognized the good faith and valid bank checks of its aspiring members. As a testament to one’s admission into this noble quasi-organization, members were awarded the most ornate and beautifully embossed diplomas I have ever seen. With a font like that who could question a practitioner’s qualifications? I will always be baffled by the amount of energy that individuals and groups put into skirting the state regulations of their desired professions. Admittedly they have creativity and skills in their favor given their ability to generate long names and to maintain fake websites which mislead the uneducated and unsuspecting consumer; but why expend so much energy to avoid legitimate education, training and certification? Having never been admitted into the Guild in its glorious heyday, I may never know its secrets. If, however, I continue to question the practices of Mr. Walker and his ilk, I may reveal its character and warn the public. Though not the skin of their noses, it is their skin to worry about. My on line publications The Five Star Electrologist© and The Boston Electrolysis Journal© will soon publish a phony list of quacks credentials so the consumer can check it out.

1.  The do not possess a High School Diploma or GED

2.  They have Criminal Record

3   There to lazy and allergic to work

4.  They do not want to pay taxes

5.  They think they are entitled

6.  They know they can purchase their CPE a.k.a. Certified Professional Electrologists credentials for $225.00

7.  They can purchase a Certified Clinical Electrologist certificate for $200.00 with no required education

8.  They can purchase a Certified Medical Electrologist certificate for $300.00 with no required education

9.  They can print their own diploma on their computer

10. All the above and below

Chapter Two: R.E.S.P.E.C.T.: A Good Song and a Good Standard.

Even I will concede that a worthless piece of paper generated from a diploma mill and a hand-me-down education approach is forgivable if the holder of that piece of paper has the ultimate credential, Respect for others. It is a far-fetched notion, however, to hope that someone who goes out of his or her way to avoid a qualifying level of professional training, an undertaking done – and perhaps this is my naïve belief- on behalf of one’s future clientele, would hold professional and interpersonal respect as standards to work and live by. The unsuspecting client may learn to late that the individual that he or she trusts for assistance not only delivers a high likelihood of a painful treatment, an increased chance of skin damage, and poor results but also an unprofessional attitude. Do those fancy Diplomas have any fine print? Alas no. On the good side, however, Mr. James Walker, VII CPE Moderator Top Ten Contributor, puts everything a potential client needs to know up front; it just takes trusting that gut feeling that something is not right about the way he presents himself and certainly in the way he treats others. Once clearing up all questions as to his educational and training qualifications, Mr. Walker addresses key issues that take precedence over professional credibility. On his Hairtell.com personal profile under “Sexual Designation” - Excuse Me! Is this a Personals add?-, he amusedly quantifies and qualifies himself as a “100% Man Baby”! Perhaps this is relevant information but not because hairtell.com serves a high percentage of the TG and Gay community; he sure advertises that he is Extremely TG-Friendly and he brags to everyone on the Internet that all the Transvestite-Girls in Buffalo, New York just absolutely love him.

Professionally speaking Mr. Walker claims to be TS Friendly This assertion, however, isn’t consistent with his less than friendly verbal abuse and bashing of licensed and registered electrologists who I know face discrimination on a daily basis. He is certainly inconsistent and self-serving in his claims and thusly he proves that vociferous claims about one’s sexual identity usually have relevance only to the one making them. Rarely do they have importance in one’s professional profile. Aren’t we trying to move away from such biases? I at least had hoped so.

Then again, Mr. James was an official member of the Guild back in the day, so we have to allow him his old fashioned ways of thinking. I can assume he does not want people to think that he could be gay or transgendered. In his perceptions, perhaps being anything less than “100% Man Baby” may make him susceptible to the poor business choices that female electrologists make; Mr. Walker can definitively state that the majority of electrologists a.k.a. women spend more money on their decorating than any other item in their professional practice. Mr. Walker elaborates stating that in his opinion women budget more towards the waiting room installing water effects and marble floors offset by excessive decoration while they spend a total of $1200.00 dollars for their machine and a couple pair of forceps. He does not bother to say where he got this information and or this figure of $1200.00. In his humble mind he is just exposing the truth of these matters…and successfully blinding us from the valid fact of his complete lack of accredited electrolysis education. How convenient to have a weaker sex to use as a foil for ones foibles. This is starting to have that historical ring again. Given his own lack of dedication to education, it is easy to pave over with marble the real accomplishments of the many women who have made the legitimate field of electrolysis what it is and should be. It is a verifiable statistic that electrolysis is a traditional woman's professional occupation with 99 and 3/4 percent of electrologists being women. Of those women, those who are professional educated have worked hard to attain their professional licenses and registrations. Thirty six states are regulated for the practice of electrology. In Massachusetts, one only becomes a Licensed and registered electrologist after successfully completing a combined curriculum of 1100 hours of Theoretical Sciences in Endocrinology, Histology, Bacteriology, Biology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Anatomy, Physiology, Dermatology, Electricity, Sterilization, Ethics and Hygiene & Sanitation. In addition, practical training consists of 600 post theoretical work hours and ten one still has to successfully pass the Massachusetts Dual State Board 2-hour written examination and one practical examination. Many women accomplish this while working another job and raising families. That seems like a stronger statement than failing one’s Board exam on principle.

As in every profession dedicated women, and men, earn the right to place the qualifiers “licensed and registered electrologist” after their names.  It seems a feeble self-defense for Mr. James Walker the VII to scoff at educated licensed and registered electrologists and denounce their interior decorating choices. Whereas I am intellectually aghast at the presumption of his assertions and conclusions, I become truly nervous when time and again he voices being clueless as to why an individual should take the time to become an educated licensed and registered electrologist. Mr. James Walker the VII  does not seem to understand that the reason we have State Boards Of Electrologists is to assure the consumer that their chosen electrologist is a professionally trained, tested, licensed and registered electrologist, which assures the consumer of a safe competent treatment. In addition mandatory state licensing and registration of all electrologists with requisite educational training requirements including a real dual state board examination mandate a complete background check. Most health and helping professions do. Not only are these requirements meant to keep the quacks and incompetents out of a profession but it also means the Certified Professional, electrologist or otherwise, does not have a history that puts the potential client at risk. I am not trying to be reactionary but State Boards frequently have to revoke professional licenses in response to inappropriate behaviors towards clients’ persons and pockets. We are talking about maintaining healthy and respectful professional boundaries. Clients are people after all. And based on viewing the promotional video, Mr. Walker’s capacity for healthy boundaries and respectful treatment is truly questionable. I am making no insinuations about his history or his behind the scenes practice but am pointing directly to his treatment of the woman who is his volunteer model in the video. The woman is stretched out on a table in front of Mr. Walker and his interviewer. She remains there throughout the twenty minute video. She is never introduced as a person. Mr. Walker and his interviewer talk at her and about her. Mr. Walker never asks permission to demonstrate on her face. He never asks permission to touch her. He obliviously blinds her with the light which is there as an unnecessary and inaccurate office prop. All this is very uncomfortable to watch but then to hear his blithe comment about all the body areas that he has worked on for his clients – subjects?, a comment made with giggling insensitivity while his volunteer continues to lie stretched out in front of him with that light blinding her eyes, my compassionate reaction was to give the woman a referral to a counseling psychologist to help her get over her feelings of depersonalization and neglect. Mr. Walker may be clueless about why certification is a good idea but he is also deplorably clueless about healthy and respectful boundaries. The sad part is that because he has side-stepped certification and is a resident of New York State where he is not required to have any electrolysis education or license, James Walker, VII, CPE is free to fabricate whatever credentials he can conjure and his self-designated license to practice will never come up for renewal.

Chapter Three: This Would-be professional gets under my skin but you shouldn’t let him get under yours.

If ethical considerations of human respect are insufficient reasons to turn away from James Walker the VII’, CPE and Hairtell.com’s three-ring circus of would-be electrologists, if his humor and attitudes are not offensive and you are willing to laugh along even at the cost of $80.00-$100.00 an hour, consider that perhaps the show should not go on if the end results are left on your face for life. No cavalier attitude can make up for an education and the corresponding credentials. For the client credentials are the best assurance that the delicate work of hair removal will yield smooth hair free skin and not the pitting and scarring of incompetent procedure. To all consumers that visit Hairtell.com try checking the credentials of each Hairtell.com Top-Ten Contributors, members and other non-licensed electrologists that have made Hairtell.com their wayward home. For the record Andrea James and James Walker the VII CPE have been salting Hairtell.com for years with phony electrologists and consumers with made up dramatic "Queen For A Day Sob Stories." Read between the lines on Hairtell.com and watch how they slip up with other consumers with and unwanted hair problem using the same writing styles. Again, it is baffling at how much time and energy has been put towards the disservice of the client. There seems to be a real ego issue at stake if the end goal of their work is to prevent exposure for fraud. For any practitioner who takes pride in bringing a client a new self-image through smooth healthy skin, it seems the height of unethical behavior to lead a client down the road of pitfalls, figurative and literal. Since Mr. Walker chooses not to avail himself of proper training, he must build his practice off of false testimonials through the employment of individuals who pose as consumers with an unwanted hair problem looking for electrologists on Hairtell.com. God help those consumers who register on the forum asking, “Does anyone know a good electrologist in my area? After that James and his fellow vultures swoop in and post lies that say, "I know one…” and then they themselves pose as consumers who have nothing but good to say about well… their own work. It is a funny sort of self-referral. To be balanced, this author will allow that perhaps a self-diagnosis is in order and that this seems like a paranoid assumption to make. Would that it were so but the technology that makes such abuses possible also leaves a lot of traces. So much for self-diagnosis. Back to self-referrals. Unfortunately the scam is perpetrated by forum members and everyone gets a kickback.

How low can one go to fraudulently target a woman with unwanted hair problems in such a devious harmful manner? Consumers would do well to steer clear of hairtell.com because the quacks run it. Information and questions are critical and necessary when looking into the option of permanent hair removal. If a practitioner claims to be a licensed and registered electrologist, ask her or him in what state she or he is licensed and ask for the State Board telephone phone number so you can confirm the validity of her or his license. A practitioner who is concerned about you as a client will be forthright in sharing this information and will allow you to process the information on your own time. Consumers have the right to make an educated decision about the practitioner whom she or he will trust with their face. A misguided choice could and often does mean a marred complexion for life.

Scabbing is the trade mark signature of the quack electrologist and is sub-standard practically applied electrolysis treatments by uneducated non-licensed electrologist and over a period it will cause pitting because the orifice of the follicle is burnt with each treatment. A proper treatment has no eschars also known as scabbing period. Scabbing is caused by improper electrology procedure and Decrepitation and Eschars are the most horrible thing that can happen to a patient who has an unwanted hair problem requiring electrolysis. An inexperienced uneducated or poorly trained electrologist may tell the patient (after he or she has mishandled the treatment) that, “Decrepitation and Eschars are a just a normal result of the treatment.” Wrong. In addition, this type of scarring, according to dermatologists, is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove or correct by a plastic surgery.

Too many uneducated non-licensed electrologists use the heaviest probe possible for a treatment. This is incorrect procedure. During Thermolysis treatments the temperature of the probe can become too hot from using excessive current and with each incorrect insertion the over-heated probe touches or bumps the sides of the orifice, every hair follicle thus treated will develop orifice pitting over a period of time. This is especially true and painful for the patient who has an endocrine or genetic disorder and will need extensive treatment for a prolonged period of time. Moisture in the skin is not the reason for tissue Decrepitation; it is poor treatment with excessive current. Decrepitation known as blanching and eschars known as scabbing are caused by shallow incorrect insertions coupled with the use of excessive current and is exactly what it appears: burning of the tissue and then the formation of scabs known as eschars. If the patient hears a snapping, popping or hissing sound just after the insertion, it is the patient's skin burning. Additionally shallow insertions result in the patient’s hair being plucked thus violating proper electrolysis procedure. With the proper current and correct insertion, there is no scabbing and only a slight erythema known as pinkness. After a short period of time, usually within 3-24 hours, one should not be able to detect that the patient has had a Thermolysis a.k.a. short-wave treatment. Even in the most commonly treated areas such as the chin, neck, or sides of the face, the patient should feel no pain with correct programming and perfect insertions. Eschars also known as scabs that are caused are by poorly trained uneducated non-licensed electrologists who use an improper insertion and too much current with the misuse of timing and intensity of the current.

For all insertions, it is critical to use the appropriate pre-sterilized disposable two-piece, straight probe. It is a myth that all hairs grow at a 45 degree angle. The probe is inserted at the base of the hair to the depth of the follicle just beyond the papilla. At this depth, the probe is in the lower corium layer of tissue which has more fat and more ability to absorb and disperse electrical current which makes the treatment comfortable. In this layer of corium given that there are no nerve fibers inside the follicle from the top to the bottom correct insertions results in a virtually painless treatment. The obvious result is that there are no painful Decrepitation or eschars... However, the electrologist should be very careful when inserting the probe to the bottom of the corium and upper connective tissue in order to avoid puncturing the sebaceous glands or the follicle wall. The result of a puncture is very painful from the client and can result in weeping of a yellow fluid and possible infection. This kind of puncture can also lead to scarring of the corium and connective tissues, and can cause an irreversible subdural contouring effect of facial features. People with facial scars resulting from poorly applied electrolysis may be left with an irreversible skin problem that even plastic surgery cannot help, and in most cases, the skin will look poor cosmetically. “Decrepitation” and “Eschars” are words that should be removed from an electrologist's vocabularies. There should be no need to describe these conditions what so ever if you have been treated by properly trained, educated and state licensed and registered electrologist.

As an author, I must confess that I take my profession seriously and I work hard to maintain the highest standards for myself within my practice. Perhaps I have taken on more of a Board members role by speaking out so adamantly about the exploits of James W. Walker VII, CPE, and the caliber of practitioners that he represents. I cannot concede however that to do so is to be out of place. The integrity of the field of electrology is inevitably the outcome of collective effort and voice. If any one of us lets anything besides the well-being of our clients become our primary concern – yes I am saying that monetary compensation is secondary - then we all fail. And if we tolerate glib attitudes about standards, disrespect for individuals based on gender and identity, and essential physical mal-practice in the field, then we have all lost the respectability of the field that we each worked so hard to build. Yes. James W. Walker VII, CPE gets under my skin, but I am remiss in my ethical dedication if I let him get under anyone else’s.

Kimberly Williams, R.E., Dean

Copyright Boston School of Electrolysis and Boston Electrolysis 2008.