Common Questions about Electrolysis Hair Removal
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
Many factors influence hair growth: you will need a course of treatment. The total number of sessions needed to remove hair permanently from a particular area will vary from person to person. Every client has different needs: electrolysis is specifically tailored to you for best results.
Electrolysis Myths
- Myth: Electrolysis is painful: In most cases, electrolysis causes very little discomfort. Modern electrolysis methods have reduced the sensation to a minimum for many clients. A topical anaesthetic cream may be used in some cases with great success.
- Myth: Temporary methods of hair removal are better: Chemical creams are often used to remove body hair. These products can be time-consuming, messy and cause skin irritation.
- Bleaches contain harsh chemicals and do little to disguise dark hair. They may also discolour skin.
- Salon waxing is another temporary method of hair removal, but hairs need to be grown first for successful results, which last between 3-8 weeks. Home waxing kits are available, but they can be messy, expensive, and difficult to use.
- There are electrolysis devices available for home use, but they can be unsafe for use in untrained hands and/or usually ineffective.
- Laser/IPL generally only works on dark hair against a paler skin, as the energy targets the pigment in the hair to travel down to the root. In darker skins there is a possibility of pigment disruption: only certain types of lasers are recommended in these cases and are possibly not suitable at all. There have been documented cases of laser stimulating hair growth, called Paradoxical Hypertrichosis, in some clients. Also, laser is hair reduction, so not fully permanent.
- Myth: Electrolysis is expensive: Electrolysis is the only permanent treatment: costs are very little compared to a lifetime of temporary methods. Some areas respond more quickly than others, such as hair around the nipples, on the back, eyebrows, and stomach around the navel.
Electrolysis Facts
- Electrolysis is the only method of hair removal approved as permanent by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration in the USA).
- The British Advertising Standards Authority has given permission to state that electrolysis is permanent hair removal in advertising.
- Other hair removal methods do not currently remove hair permanently – they can only reduce.
- Electrolysis is ‘non-discriminatory’ as any hair colour on any skin, on any part of the body can receive an effective treatment.
- Hair removal using electrolysis for ‘cosmetic’ reasons has been around since the early 1900’s, and was inititally invented within the opthalmology field in 1875, for the permanent removal of ingrown eyelashes!
