Fall/Winter, 1979: Wilma George, of Topeka, KS, opened a "new" kind of facility. She called it Electrolysis and Skin Care Clinic of Topeka. This clinic was in a new and beautiful building at 1115 SW 10th Street, in Topeka. It consisted of three treatment rooms, a small kitchen, small restroom, and a spacious waiting room. The walls and woodwork were white, the carpet was sky blue and the white wicker furniture had cushions covered in a lovely floral blue and orange print. Wilma had practiced electrolysis since the 1960s and was expanding her practice by hiring a second electrologist and an esthetician.
February, 1980: While in cosmetology school in Emporia, KS, I applied for the esthetician job in Topeka. (I'd never heard of electrolysis.) My initial plan was to complete school and move to Pittsburg and teach cosmetology, however, it made sense to get a little experience under my belt before getting into teaching. As circumstances unfolded, an opening to practice electrolysis occurred a few months after I began, and I was hooked!
July, 1980: I moved to Topeka, KS to practice esthetics. Wilma purchased equipment from Edith Serei, which included 40 hours of specific product and equipment training. Back then, there were no esthetic schools, so my training consisted of the basics learned in cosmetology school, the training provided from the company and the study of the only esthetics book available at the time. I was an "independent contractor" but Wilma guaranteed me $100.00 per week until my income exceeded $200.00 per week. (My rent was $225.00 per month!) If memory serves me correctly, my commission was to be 50% of my gross income. At that time, the charge for a European Facial was $25.00.
September 1980: The opening occurred when the second electrologist, Darlene Jones, decided that the quiet atmosphere of the facility wasn't for her. She may have been there only a few months before moving back to southeast Kansas. By this time, I was fascinated by this electrolysis thing!
I never knew how many other women had this unwanted hair. I learned that women of all ages and men, too, wanted to get rid of hair and were willing to spend the time and money it required. It also allowed me to become re-acquainted with a classmate from high school. She still tells the story of the time in student council that we debated whether or not the boys should be able to wear facial hair. Her stance was that we should not allow it, since boys that age can't really grow much facial hair. One "joker" took the opposite stance and made the statement, "We should be able to since you do." This girl was humiliated, but took it in stride. As it turns out, she had undiagnosed PCOS. After becoming my electrolysis client, I noticed that her health history indicated that she might have polycystic ovaries. She did not have a weight problem, but she did have a lot of facial hair and she could not get pregnant. I told her that "I'm just an electrologist, but you might ask your physician if he knows anything about Stein-Leventhal syndrome." She returned to tell me that after she asked her doctor, he did a test that confirmed that she had this problem.
