Electrolysis With Impact at Dana Elise Solutions

Photo by Jim Jordan

Longtime advocate and ally of the LGBTQ community

—by Jim Jordan | Interview by Arielle Harris

Since her early 20s, Dana Elise has felt a kinship with the LGBTQ community. “In the beginning, I was there for the friendships, the parties, and the joyful defiance of the Pride Parade. But when AIDS began ravaging the gay community and claiming the lives of far too many, I began volunteering with AIDS Project LA and became an advocate,” shares Elise.

This advocacy extended to her work as an electrologist, and at a time when there was no internet, no cell phones, no blogs, no easy ways for transgender people to connect — and certainly no insurance coverage for anything trans-related — Elise developed a word-of-mouth reputation as a woman who was ready, willing, and able to help transgender people transform their lives to live fully as they saw themselves. As a longtime advocate and ally of the LGBTQ community, Elise opened her own company, Dana Elise Solutions, a transgender-friendly environment specializing in Accelerated Electrolysis — a process where two electrologists simultaneously work on a client to clear a large area of unwanted hair in half the time. 

This spirit lives on at Dana Elise Solutions, where Elise has created a safe harbor for her beloved transgender clients, and helped over 3,000  people transition, to date.

 Prior to gender-affirming surgery, transgender clients need to prepare themselves, body, mind, and spirit. This is not an easy journey to undertake, and everyone who seeks to make this transition is extremely brave and truly committed. For 1.5 to 2 years prior to surgery, there are monthly mandatory electrolysis sessions to clear or sculpt hair on the face and genital area, in addition to sessions needed to remove unwanted body hair. Electrolysis — even Accelerated Electrolysis — is time-intensive, intimate work, and Elise has been there to listen with open ears and an open heart as clients tell their stories. Stories of abandonment by family, loss of employment, danger for daring to move through the world exactly as one is. Stories of beauty, connection, wild hope, and fierce determination to claim the right to love as one’s truest self. (And of course, hours of electrolysis means plenty of time to just spill the latest tea!)

 These past two years in the pandemic have brought challenges to us all — isolation, anxiety, fear, grief, to name but a few. These challenges were compounded for many transitioning clients as they waited to hear if their surgery would be canceled after so many years of preparation. Elise faced this last challenge head on. “We secured letters of support from plastic surgeons, clients, and community advocates, as well as working with members of the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology to have a new law enacted that deemed Physician-Ordered Electrolysis an essential service. Three months later, the new law was in place ensuring clients were able to resume services with minimal interruption” says Elise.

Elise is a longtime contributor to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and annually donates hours of electrolysis and medical spa treatments to support fundraising events.  Each year, Dana Elise Solutions also donates a full year of electrolysis services to one transgender veteran to prepare them for their surgery and thank them for their service, as well as provides pro bono services to abuse survivors and underserved members of an already-marginalized community whose dreams would be out of reach because they lack the resources needed for extensive treatment. 

“The transitional process can be very lonely so to have a place to come have these treatments is wonderful” says Elise. “We’re the first company Los Angeles county signed on for Electrolysis and have helped around 3,000+ transition.”

Elise is proud to work in partnership with the LGBTQ community, UCLA, Cedars Sinai, St. John’s Children’s Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, LA Care Medi-Cal and other insurance providers, along with renowned surgeons, dermatologists, endocrinologists, and psychologists, to ensure a safe, loving, and smooth transition for her transgender clients.

 With a stellar reputation for excellence, artistry, attention to detail, honesty, and attentive client care Elise also boasts a client list of top Hollywood talent, corporate, and entertainment industry executives, and Los Angelenos.

Elise shared that "it truly takes a village” and she couldn't do it without the support of her incredible business partner Karen Wolfe and a dedicated team of Electrologists, Registered Nurses and Doctors.