Today we’d like to introduce you to Eileen Collins.
Hi Eileen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began my journey in electrology in 1992, when I enrolled in electrology school in Maryland. My mother, who had become an electrologist when I was 12, and by the early 1990s, her practice was thriving and very busy. She needed help, and at the same time, our family was in the process of selling another retail business that I had been working in with my parents. Electrology felt like a natural transition; I had grown up around the profession and had seen firsthand the meaningful impact it had on clients’ confidence and well-being.
After earning my license, I officially joined my mother’s practice in 1993. Working alongside her gave me a strong foundation not only in technical precision but also in professionalism, ethics, and compassionate client care.
In 1996, I earned my Certified Professional Electrologist (CPE) credential, elevating my qualifications beyond state licensure to become board certified. From early in my career, I believed that maintaining the highest standards through continuing education and certification was essential to protecting both clients and the integrity of our profession.
As my experience grew, so did my commitment to professional leadership. I became actively involved in our state association, serving as Recording Secretary, then Vice President and Program Chair, and ultimately as President. I now serve as the Immediate Past President of our state association and as a Delegate from Maryland to the American Electrology Association.
Through my leadership work, I became increasingly aware of a critical gap: Maryland had been without an electrology school for nearly 20 years. Without in-state education, aspiring electrologists had limited access to proper training, and the long-term strength of our profession locally was at risk.
Determined to change that, I began the rigorous process of establishing a new school, working through approvals with the Maryland Board of Nursing Electrology Practice Committee (MBON-EPC) and the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). During that same time, I decided to return to college to complete my bachelor’s degree. I wanted to ensure that I was fully prepared, academically, professionally, and administratively, to build a strong and sustainable educational foundation for future students.
The result was the founding of the Maryland Electrolysis Education Center Inc., restoring formal electrology education to the state after two decades. Opening the school was both a professional milestone and a personal mission. It allowed me to combine decades of clinical experience, leadership, and renewed academic focus into a structured training program designed to uphold high standards, strengthen the profession, and prepare the next generation of electrologists.
What began as helping my mother in a busy family practice has evolved into a lifelong commitment, not only to serving clients, but to advancing education, elevating standards, and ensuring a strong future for electrology in Maryland and beyond.
While my professional path may look steady and progressive on paper, the reality behind the scenes was far more complex. Building a career, stepping into leadership roles, and eventually founding a school all unfolded alongside profound personal challenges that tested my resilience in ways I never anticipated.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it has not been a smooth road.
For many years, I was balancing a full life, running a busy electrology practice, being a wife and a baseball mom, traveling to tournaments and games, and volunteering at church and in my community. Life was full and active.
Then, just as my son was beginning his senior year of high school, my husband passed away after a short illness. That period was incredibly challenging. Managing my husband’s health decline, supporting my son through a pivotal year in his life, and maintaining a busy practice required more strength than I knew I had. It was a stressful and emotionally overwhelming time.
Thankfully, I was surrounded by a core group of close friends who truly became my lifeline. Their support carried me through one of the most difficult seasons of my life.
When my son left for college, the house grew quiet, and for the first time in many years, I had space to reflect. I began thinking about the goals I had postponed and the unfinished chapters in my own life. I asked myself what truly mattered and what I still felt called to accomplish.
That reflection led me back to the University of Maryland Global Campus, where I completed my bachelor’s degree. At the same time, during the height of COVID, I pursued the credentials necessary to become a licensed electrology instructor. It was not an easy season to take on new academic and professional challenges, but I was determined to move forward.
Once I achieved that milestone, I began the process of establishing an approved private career school in Maryland. That meant securing a lease, fully outfitting the school with equipment, developing a comprehensive curriculum, and meeting every requirement for approval through the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). The approval process alone took nearly 2.5 years.
Looking back, the road has certainly included loss, stress, and uncertainty. But it has also been marked by resilience, faith, community, and a deep commitment to building something meaningful, not only for myself, but for the future of the profession.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Today, I serve as a licensed, practicing board-certified electrologist, educator, and founder of the Maryland Electrolysis Education Center Inc. I practice alongside my mother at Executive Electrolysis Inc. in Columbia, Maryland, continuing the family legacy that first introduced me to this profession. Clinically, I specialize in permanent hair removal using evidence-based techniques with a strong emphasis on safety, precision, and infection control. I am often sought out for complex cases, including hormonally influenced hair growth and clients who have had unsuccessful previous treatments.
Education is central to my work. After Maryland went nearly 20 years without an electrology school, I founded MEEC to restore in-state training and ensure the next generation of electrologists receives comprehensive, structured education. I focus on building strong clinical skills while emphasizing professionalism, ethics, and critical thinking, preparing students not just to enter the field, but to elevate it.
I am also proud of my leadership within the profession, having served in multiple roles in our state association, including President, and now as Immediate Past President, as well as a Delegate to the American Electrology Association. Advocacy and raising standards have always been important to me.
Equally important is my commitment to the community where I live and work. I am a co-founder of my church’s food pantry, serve on the Citizens Advisory Committee for Laurel’s Parks and Recreation Department, have been appointed to the City’s Youth Commission, and was named Volunteer of the Year for the Laurel Historical Society in 2016. During my son’s elementary school years, I was honored as the 2010 Prince George’s County Parent Involvement Award winner after securing a $50,000 Kaboom! grant and leading nearly 200 volunteers to rebuild our school playgrounds in a single day.
At the heart of everything I do is a firm belief that everyone deserves to feel confident in their own skin, no matter who they are. Whether I am working with a client, mentoring a student, leading within my profession, or serving in my community, my focus remains the same: building environments where people feel respected, supported, and empowered.
What sets me apart is not simply experience, but resilience and purpose. Each chapter of my life has reinforced the same belief: meaningful work is built through perseverance, service, and a commitment to something greater than yourself.
That belief continues to guide everything I do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t tend to think of my life in terms of luck. I think more in terms of faith and grit.
There have certainly been blessings along the way, being raised in a family that introduced me to this profession, mentors and colleagues who encouraged me, and friends who became my lifeline during the most difficult season of my life. Those moments felt less like luck and more like grace.
At the same time, some of the most defining chapters of my life were shaped by hardship, not fortune. Losing my husband, raising my son through that loss, returning to college during COVID, and working through a long and demanding process to establish a state-approved career school required resilience, discipline, and a deep trust that the work I was doing had purpose.
Faith gave me the courage to move forward when outcomes were uncertain. Grit kept me steady when progress felt slow. I’ve learned that resilience is built in the challenging seasons, not the easy ones.
What may look like luck from the outside is often perseverance behind the scenes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mdelectrolysiseducation.com and www.executiveelectrolysis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/md_electrolysis_education/ and https://www.instagram.com/executiveelectrolysis/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553082707547
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-collins-548b149/
