I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine

Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by langfo on Wednesday April 29, 2026 @03:42AM (#47945263)

Well done. Next project DIY IPL for those hair bears amongst us?

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by cyberax on Sunday May 03, 2026 @04:16PM (#48000956)

In general, experimenting at home with these kinds of light intensities is NOT a good idea. Way too much risk of accidental eye damage.

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by jaggederest on Sunday May 03, 2026 @05:13PM (#48001556)

https://www.funraniumlabs.com/2024/07/how-i-got-my-laser-eye...

A fun related story about how even nominally professionals need adult oversight when working with high powered lasers.

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by NetOpWibby on Sunday May 03, 2026 @05:43PM (#48001856)

Holy shit what a story. JFC

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by hsuduebc2 on Sunday May 03, 2026 @06:07PM (#48002075)

lol, nice to know that I can go blind just randomly while working on the street.

I'm kinda curious what was sum of the damage in the end.

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by cyberax on Monday May 04, 2026 @02:41AM (#48005396)

With high-powered lasers, you can go blind instantly. I also worked with lasers (in a lab, with all the safety precautions), yet I have slight eye damage in one eye.

There's a small burnt patch on my fovea, so if I look at something like a regular grid (e.g. a page with text) with the damaged eye, the grid becomes warped at the point of focus. And I found out about that only when I was doing a regular planned eye exam (I was wearing corrective glasses).

This type of damage is extremely common with lasers, and it can stay invisible and compound until the brain runs out of its ability to do fixes in post-processing.

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by hsuduebc2 on Monday May 04, 2026 @08:36AM (#48007919)

Wow. As my only experience with lasers is playing with laser pointer I suppose the laser damage of this type is mostly by multiple reflections that are not really even seen by visible eye or scattered beam reflected from some surface you are not expecting it from?

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by cyberax on Monday May 04, 2026 @02:19PM (#48012690)

This type of damage is common if you look at the spot that the laser makes on an object. Your eye automatically focuses it into the foveal area.

I don't remember ever doing that without protective glasses, but evidently I did at some point.

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by IAmBroom on Monday May 04, 2026 @09:16AM (#48008362)

Yeah, late one day in the lab, tired, aligning lasers, I used a mirror to check alignment because I knew I shouldn't put my eye in the path - so, like a complete, overtired idiot, I put the path in my eye instead.

And thought, Hey, that wasn't very smart! And Wow! I am (temporarily) blind.

It wasn't an eye-threat-level laser. Thankfully. Which is why one wears bandgap glasses when working with those: it's SO easy to mess up!

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Re:I Built My Own Hair Electrolysis Machine by mghackerlady on Monday May 04, 2026 @12:35PM (#48011016)

unless you're styropyro

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