The History of Instantronics International
143 years before Dr. Sara Paisner purchased the assets of The Instantron Company and Instantronics International LLC was born, a young hairdresser in Providence, RI, took a chance on a five-year-old technology that allowed permanent hair removal, and the longest continually running epilator manufacturer was born. What follows is an abbreviated version of this quintessentially American story.
Arthur "Dan" Mahler began his career as a hairdresser before becoming the first professional electrologist in Providence, RI in 1885. By 1895, he was teaching electrolysis courses and selling equipment, first as a reseller of products made by McIntosh Co (Chicago) and Chloride of Silver Dry Cell Batter Co (Baltimore) and soon after under the moniker of The Mahler Company which specialized in electrolysis machines. Mahler's innovations propelled electrolysis equipment into the mainstream, laying the foundation for modern electrolysis practices. Notable innovations include the following:
- 1980s - 1920s: Dan Mahler sells and manufactures Galvanic epilators.
- 1880: The Mahler School of Dermatology opens in Providence, RI.
- 1934: Dan Mahler dies and sons Arthur and Harold assume leadership of the business.
- 1946: The first thermolysis epilator to be manufactured in North America was introduced and named Instantron to reflect the "instantaneous" epilation possible with this short-wave machine.
- 1969: The Mahler Co changes its name to The Instantron Company to reflect its popular name brand epilator, and additional notable epilators follow, including the T-69, SS69, Blendtone, the VP500, the Elite, the SS99, and the Elite Spectrum, among others.
- 1992: Skip Mahler becomes the President of The Instantron Company where he continues the history of innovation begun by his grandfather. (Source: Principles of Electrology and Shortwave Epilation; 1986; Ed. Harold Mahler..) Skip shared the following when discussing his family's legacy in a Hairtell forum post in July 2012: "My grandfather produced straight Galvanic machines starting in 1880 and gave the first Electrolysis Course in 1890, teaching in many states and inviting students to his Mahler School of Dermatology in the Providence area. Thermolysis machines were produced by him in 1946, with the first automatically timed “Instantron”-named epilator, for “instantaneous” epilation. Various machines were produced over consequent years, the T-69, SS69, Blendtone,VP500, Elite, and now the most refined machine we have made to date, the Elite Spectrum which is fully computerized, extremely fast, gentle, and effective, as well as quite affordable in comparison to some other equipment on the market... Choose your manufacturer wisely, and call for the facts before you buy. Compare service and longevity in the industry...." Source: https://hairtell.com/forum/t/instantron-company-epilators/38611 [Ed. for typos]
- 2023: The Instantron Company's assets are purchased by Dr. Sara Paisner who founds Instantronics International LLC. Bringing her deep roots in the electrolysis industry to bear, Dr. Paisner begins plans to build on The Instantron Company's legacy of excellence in epilator manufacturing while bringing innovation and new ideas to the Spectrum Elite line of electrolysis machines. In her words, "We are honored to continue the tradition of excellence seen most recently in the Elite Spectrum epilator, and we will both continue our support of past products as well as innovate for the future, bringing new ideas to the Elite Spectrum line of electrolysis epilators."
