How to Build Your Own Iontophoresis Device
  |
Here is the Step By Step Transcript of the Video above…
Hey there and welcome to this step by presentation on how to build your own iontophoresis device, effectively stopping your sweating hands and feet from their endless perspiration.
The picture show here is going to be what your basic setup will look like. I’m just going to quickly go over the materials required to build your iontophoresis device and then we’ll get right into the step by step video demonstration on how to use it. Let’s get right into it.
Warning
Just a quick word of caution here. You should not use this device if you’re pregnant or have a pre-existing heart condition as it does use low level electrical currents that may or may not be prohibited by your doctor. Now, I’m not trying to scare you – this is a safe treatment procedure but you should consult with your physician or dermatologist before you begin the treatment.
The Materials
The materials required to build your own iontophoresis machine are cheap. It’s going to cost you less than $35 to put this together if you have to buy everything I’m listing here and chances are, you have a lot of this stuff sitting around in your kitchen cabinets or in your garage.
Either way – even if you had to buy all the stuff I’m going to list out, it’s going to be over 20 times cheaper than buying an iontophoresis device from an industrial supplier. The market price for these things can range up to $700.
If you’re using a flash enabled browser, I have a amazon links to the right here where you can have these supplies shipped directly to your doorstep no matter
First up, your 12 Volt Lantern battery. This is the power source for your iontophoresis device. It’s going to supply the low level electrical current – which is going to be a direct current – to your hands or feet. I use the RAYOVAC Lantern battery shown here. It’s a good name brand that’s durable and has a low price. You can get one of these for $10 or less. You can pick one of these up from Walmart, Amazon or most hardware stores.
You’ll need a pair of alligator clips, also called test leads to transfer the current to your hands. These arecheap and are also available from the same kind of stores I mentioned. I have a red and a black one to help identify them during the treatment.
Aluminum Pie Pans. The pans will conduct the current from the battery to your hands using the alligator clips.
The pans I have featured in this video are a little more expensive than let’s say buying disposable Hefty aluminum pie pans. Really you can use any kind of pan that conducts electricity. I do recommend getting pans that are durable verses disposable ones. It’ll save you a lot more money in the long run. If you’re going to be doing this procedure regularly, the pie pans shown in the video are the way to go because they won’t oxidize. You can pick them up for $15 or less.
For the purposes of this video demonstration, I’ll be showing you how to perform iontophoresis on your hands but the same exact procedure can be performed for your sweaty feet using larger aluminum pans.
Water
You’re going to pour water in the pans and submerge your palms/or feet in the pans, allowing the current from the battery to conduct evenly through your skin.
Salt
Salt will increase the conductivity of the water and improve your results.
Aquaphor is the bees knees. The deal is, as you perform this treatment more and more, you may experience irritation where your skin meets the waterline. You might also experience discomfort if you have any cuts on your hand or fingers.
I, myself love Aquaphor because occasionally I bite my nails and if I ever get myself really bad, I can just put Aquaphor over my cuticles or nails to prevent any unnecessary stinging.
Now, I’m not trying to freak you out, this treatment doesn’t hurt – but if you do have sensitive skin, Aquaphor can make you comfortable immediately.
Here’s what you do, just take a small amount of it out of the tube before your treatment and apply it directly to any cuts or irritated skin. It creates a protective barrier between your skin and the water during the session.
Just make sure not to get any on your palms or else the treatment will be less effective.
The Treatment
Now that you know exactly what you’ll need for this treatment, let’s take you through the step by step procedure…
Okay then. So, once you have all your materials laid out, this should pretty much be your setup.
First and foremost, you’ll have your 12 Volt Lantern battery.
Next, a pair of your aluminum pie pans (or larger pans if you’re treating your feet).
You’ll also have your pair of alligator clips here to conduct the current.
You’re going to unscrew the screws on the top of your battery just a bit so the metal from the alligator clips can come into direct contact with the battery conductors.
Next is very important. You NEED to remove any hand or wrist jewelry that you have on. I’m going to remove my wedding ring right now and you should too if you have one.
The first time you do this, you shouldn’t add salt but for this demonstration, I’m going to. This helps conduct the current a little better through your skin.
And just like I mentioned earlier, Aquaphor.
I’m just going to grab a big ole’ scoop of water in my 2 cup / pyrex measuring cup. Don’t bring your pans to the water, bring the water to the pans, I learned this the hard way. I’m a little clumsy with the water and I’m sure I’ll be spilling it throughout the video.
You don’t want to fill the pans all the way to the top – just enough to submerge your palms. Two cups should do it.
I’m going to shake some salt into the pans now. You don’t want to start adding salt into the mix until you’ve done this 4 or 5 times and you’re confident of your results.
There’s really no exact way to do this, just give it a quick shake, trying to spread the salt evenly.
You’re going to attach one of the alligator clips to the battery and the other side of the clip to one of your pans.
It doesn’t matter which charge you start with on the battery or the color, it’s up to you. I’m going to start off with the positive side. I like to use the red cable for the positive charge but it doesn’t matter what color goes to what.
And now you’re going to do the same thing with the other cable to the other plate. You never want to connect both alligator clips to the same plate while connected to the battery. That’s a very fast way to destroy your battery.
Next, you’ll want to apply Aquaphor to any sensitive skin. Just use a dab. I’m going to put some on my nail cuticles here because they can sting a bit if I don’t use this stuff.
So, that’s it. Now you’re going to submerge your palms. And if this is your first time, I recommend doing them one at a time. When you add your second palm to the second pan, you’ll complete the charge and the treatment will begin.
Although this doesn’t hurt, it may initially feel a little strange. That’s totally normal and it will subside in a few seconds.
You don’t want to touch your palms to the bottom of the pans. You just want to kind of keep them submerged in the water.
If you’re not used to it, you might have trouble figuring out the level that works. One thing your can try putting a small sponge in between you and the bottom of the pans. However, you’ll find your results to be much better if you just kind of hover them in the water.
From this angle of the video, it’s difficult to totally submerge my hands here. Normally, when I do this, I’m facing the battery just as you’re looking at in now.
Bear with me if my palms aren’t completely submerged during the demo.
Thanks to fancy video editing, it’s now magically 10 minutes later. After 10 minutes have passed, you’ll want to. Give your hands a quick shake.
The first time you do this, you should do this for the full 10 minutes per charge cycle but as you start feeling results and seeing improvement, you can cut down to 8 or even 6 minutes per charge cycle.
So here, we’re going to reverse the polarity of the charge.
Remember, very important – never touch the alligator clips together while their still attached to the battery. They can spark and once again it’s not good for the battery.
The charge is reversed and you’re going to submerge your palms for another 10 minutes.
Perform this procedure for 5 consecutive days and I KNOW you’re going to get fantastic results.
After the first two days, your hands will start to feel smoother in the morning after you wake up. The dryness will start lasting longer into the afternoon with each consecutive iontophoresis session you have.
Generally speaking though, in the next 10 – 14 days you’ll experience the full effect of dryer hands and/or feet.
After you get to that point, the rest is just maintenance. Now, I perform an iontophoresis treatment only once every two weeks or so. It’s really become a very unobtrusive regmin at the end of my day every two weeks or so.
Now, if you experience irritation or can go longer than two weeks between treatments – well, then rock on. I’ve heard back from many people who do this maybe once a month and their sweating used to be very chronic.
So, there you have it. Your very own iontophoresis device, put together and in use in less than five minutes.
Your materials are very easy to access and should cost you less than $40 vs. the $600 price tag of commercial products.
If you’re watching this on a flash enabled browser, I have an amazon ferris wheel looking thing to the right of this video where you can order any of these materials right to your door no matter where you live in the world.
So, really, there’s no excuse not to start these treatments and see results in just a couple of days. Order your materials today and let me know about your fantastic results, I can’t wait to hear from you. Take Care!
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks very much Jason! Because you sent this video, I think I will go ahead and do it! I used to have a bigger problem with social hand sweating, but I guess I have learned how to “put it out of mind” in social situations so that I don’t sweat as much when I know I will be shaking hands. I think that may be one tip you can pass on to the others- try not to worry about it if possible.
My bigger problem has been with me since I started playing tennis 30 years ago. My hand sweats in hot, humid weather. It really sweats! The grips that you put on the racket help most people keep a dry grip, but don’t work with people like us! So I think I will try the iontophoresis device to see if it can help with my sweaty tennis grip! Thanks!
I’m on my second day of iontophoresis, and I think its getting better already! Jason-you suggest going 5 days in a row. What do you suggest between days 5-14 (when the initial phase is completed)? Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Mark. It really depends on how sensitive your hands are to the treatment and how severe your hand/foot sweating is. I know that’s not a very exact answer but the truth is, you’ve got to tailor the frequency of the treatment based on your results
I definitely recommend taking a minimum of 3-4 days off after 5 consistent days. It might be a bit of trial and error at first but after a while you’ll gauge how often you need to reinforce the dryness. The idea however, is to ultimately ramp down once you become acclimated to the procedure.
thanks Jason: I finished the 5 days today (today was the first day using salt). I’ll wait 3-4 days as you suggest. My hands are fine (no sensitivity issues) but probably aren’t as dry as I would like (especially if I go play tennis). After the 3-4 days I would like to do it a few more times to get my hands as dry as possible
Is there a kind of pan that you can put your armpits in without touching the bottom? I suffer from sweaty armpits…
how many amperes should the battery have?
did you have the pans touching each other or not?
No. I do not. The pans should NOT be touching each other when you do this at home.
There are other iontophoresis solutions you can buy for your armpits that utilize sponges.
I bought 2 aluminum foilware cake pans. I can probably not touch the pan with my hands during the process but I’m not sure about my feet. What happens if they do touch?
Also I think I have soft water but what would indicate that the water is okay? Like if I’m feel the tingling during the whole process. Thanks
Hi Andy, if they touch, it may ruin the battery. The water is just the conductor so don’t worry if you have soft water. It shouldn’t matter. Tingling is a normal sensation during this treatment. Thanks for chiming in!
what kind of batteries can we use? I couldn’t find the rayovac battery at home depot, and they asked for the A/H and stuff, so today I only came home with alligator clips. they recommended the alarm system 12 volt battery, but I didn’t buy it.
So, what should the A/H be? and is it really 12 volts?
I have been doing this for years for my feet and it really works. My question is, I don’t feel the tingling like I use to. I do maintenance about once every 10 days, so I guess it’s still working, but I’m just curious why I don’t feel the tingling any more? I have tried switching out batteries and even hooking up 4-5 batteries at once. Is this normal? Is it still working as well as it should? Is there anything I can do to increase the “tingling”? I just don’t feel it’s working as well since I don’t feel anything – feels just like my feet are sitting in a tub of water.
Would i be feeling a little pain when doing the treatment with 18volts battery? I actually can’t feel anything and i’m not sure if the batteries or the alligator clip is working. Or maybe it’s plain normal to not feel anything? Please Reply
WOW, Day 1 and I already feel an incredible improvement! About 90% reduced sweat.
I used to make my hands sweat just thinking about it and now they wont even sweat at all!
Thanks for the write-up Jason! Can’t wait for day 2!
question… you know how this device requires you to use a 12 volt lantern battery, right. soo i was just wondering if maybe i could use two 6 volt lantern batteries (as thats the only kind available in the store). please lemme know asap. thanks Jason!
question… you know how the device requires you to use a 12 volt lantern battery, soo i was just wondering if maybe i could use two 6 volt lantern batteries (as thats the only kind available in the store). please lemme know asap. thanks alot Jason
Thank you for your advice Jason. I have just done my first treatment and am looking forward to the results that I will have a week from now. Why can’t you put your hands at the bottom of the pans? I placed them on the bottom of the pans and still felt a tingling sensation; Andy was saying that he could submerge his hands in the pans but not his feet. He wasn’t asking what would happen if the two pans touch; it’s a given that it would zap the battery in a heartbeat. Wouldn’t the current still travel through your palms even if they were placed at the bottom of the hands? Why would a sponge conduct more electricity than if you placed your hands at the bottom of the pans? Also, wouldn’t there be compensatory HH in the wrists as well since those are not being treated; only the hands? Since you are now on this maintenance schedule, what do your hands feel like? I know that they are dry, but are they warm, radiate heat and simply feel comfortable enough to hold your girlfriend’s hand at any time of the day? How do you keep a grip on stuff (like turning a page in a book) since there is no sweat to help with that? Do your hands ever get rough and cracked from this dryness? If they do, I recommend using a loofah sponge to scrape off dead skin cells.
Thanks again Jason!
Hey all,
I studied electronics in my undergrad. So a couple of suggestions.
You can buy an inexpensive multimeter and make sure you don’t drain the battery. Also by checking the current, you can make sure it’s withing 15mA-20mA. That’s the range the clinical devices use.
When you add salt, it increases the conductivity. So you get more current. If you have a multimeter in circuit, you can monitor the current to see how much salt you need to add.
There is no explanation on why it works. But depending on the explanation, different voltages with the same current can have different results. For example, if the effectiveness of the treatment is dependent on the rate water is ionized, a higher voltage, with the same current can be more effective. That is, try softer water (no salt, or boiled water etc) with a larger voltage. I’ve seen 24 volts being used.
On the other hand, if the mechanism of treatment only depends on the current level, it doesn’t matter how much voltage you use, as long as you can get 15mA pass though your body.
I’m going to try this pretty soon. And thanks!
Aidin
I’ve seen videos where people use 18V or even 24V is it a big difference ?
Wow, I now know how to make an iontophoresis. I have tried everything it seems to stop my excessive sweating and nothing has helped me. I’ll try a new deodarant and that will work for a few days, then my armpits sweat like running water. However, this I believe is going to be the next best thing. If this device doesn’t work, then I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. Maybe surgery or botox, I don’t know. I’ll post my results. Thanks again for this great share.
Hello! I’m experiencing palmar hyperhidrosis also..and i listed down your materials so i could try it, because i’ve been wanting to cure my sweaty palms permanently since it affected my course in college. I did bought a 12 V lantern battery a panasonic but as i look straight to it it’s just 6V is it ok? the seller might have thought it was 12V but it was 6V is it still ok?
please reply ! Thank you!
Jos
Generally, it takes more than 6Vs for a moderate palmer hyperhidrosis suffer. But start at 6V and work your way up. At the very least, it will familiarize you with that tingly sensation from Iontophoresis.
That’s cool so long as you daisy chain them correctly. Good Luck!
Thanks mr. jason for your reply , i greatly appreciate it! Is it normal that i still feel that sweat in my hands since it’s only my 4th day. But tonight will be my fifth and i’ll add salt. After my fifth, will I still need to be consistent going to my sixth or making 3 to 4 days off? Thanks again! Btw my hands were improving!
Thanks so much for this my hands really were improving ! I now enjoy a fulfilling and socialite life! This is also an answered prayer for me! May God bless you for sharing this to us out there who are suffering palmar hyperhidrosis
Thanks again God bless you!
jos
Hi! I did everything as followed. But I don’t seem to feel a tingling sensation. The only time that it tingles us when I submerge my cuts into the water. Is that normal? If not, does it mean it isn’t working? I’ve even put salt and nothing..
I’ve seen some contradictory statements on whether or not soft/purified water will work for iontophoresis. I just started treatments myself(using the blueprints of your home built model) and I definitely feel the tingling when using soft water. But here is what I have read regarding soft/purified water and electricity:
Purified water, with no contaminants at all, does not conduct electricity to an appreciable degree because water does not ionize into H+ and OH- to a sufficient degree to transport charges well.
I’m only on day 3 and I’ve seen improvement, but I don’t feel like I’m there yet. I’ll report back in a few weeks on my results.
Also, thank you so much for making a video and posting your blueprint of a homemade iontophoresis machine for others to see. I wouldn’t have had the courage to try this myself without the video, thanks again!