Hair Removal and Electrolysis

What follows is an excerpt from an information sheet on hair removal by Dora Rigano, a well known electrologist and owner of "The Electrolysis Clinic" in Adelaide South Australia .

Methods of Hair Removal

Cutting :- Cutting the individual hairs with scissors has no effect on the hair growth at all. it allows you to keep them short and out of sight for a while until you look into something permanent.

Shaving :- Shaving is found to have no effect whatsoever on hair growth, but it does leave an oblique tip which feels stubbly and course until the hair grows longer and the sharpness wears away. By that time you are ready to shave again.
I feel that if you have only a few stronger facial hairs in between lots of finer hairs, you are better off cutting those individual hairs at skin level, instead of shaving the whole area which will give you the impression of the problem being worse than it really is.

Depilatory Creams :- These creams chemically shave the hair at skin level. these creams are applied to the skin, left on for several minutes then rinsed or wiped off. They are a nuisance, messy and may cause allergic reactions of the skin. Always make sure you do a patch test prior to using them on the required areas.

Tweezing :- Almost everybody starts off using this method of hair removal, it is quick, slightly painful and not messy. This may be alright for a while when there are only a few hairs present, but what we don't realise is that repeated epilations eventually cause most hair to regrow more quickly and become darker, more coarse and more firmly rooted. So instead of solving the problem we are making it worse.

Bleaching :- This is a good idea if you wish to make fine hair less conspicuous, but is not so successful on dark to very dark hairs as they tend to turn an unattractive yellow-orange colour. Some skin types are hyper-sensitive to bleaching agents, so always do a patch test first and use fresh bleach.

Waxing :- This method could be referred to as a specialised tweezing method. The wax is applied to the surface of the skin and pulled off against the hair growth removing the hair and their roots. If the wax is not pulled off correctly damage can occur in the hair follicles causing ingrown hairs and infected follicles.
The difference between waxing and tweezing is that with tweezing, you are constantly at the hair growth either daily or weekly stimulating the blood flow to that area and as we already know that causes the hairs to become darker and more coarse.
With waxing however you only need to wax every four to six weeks depending on your growth cycle. If you keep to this guide-line waxing will be better than tweezing because the constant stimulation will not be present. But what do you do in between waxing's when the hair growth becomes noticeable and unsightly?
you could try the next method.

Hair Retarding Lotions and Creams :- Some do actually work! They retard the hair growth making it finer, lighter and more sparse. They work only when used immediately after waxing or tweezing and for about three days following, while the hair follicles are still open

Electrolysis (The Removal of hair with Electricity)
The only permanent answer to unwanted hair available to us to date.
Only when it is performed correctly by highly skilled Electrologists, using the right equipment, the correct amounts of current and treating the hairs in their growing stage (the Anagen stage), will a high success rate be achieved, otherwise only retardation occurs and subsequent visits are required to permanently remove those hairs. Choose your operator carefully, otherwise you may risk infections and lots of scarring, which could be worse than the unwanted hair itself. Visit several salons to have the procedure explained to you according to the treatment you personally require. If you are not sure do not proceed.
Go to a salon that has been recommended to you by friend or family or one that has been operating for a long time and has a good reputation.

Four available methods of Electrolysis:

Galvanic:
The treatment is basically a chemical decomposition process. When a needle is introduced into a hair follicle and the current is applied, the body salts and the moisture in the tissue is converted into a lye solution (sodium hydroxide). This lye solution has a caustic effect on the tissue and hair follicle. It is highly successful in destroying the hair within the tiny hair follicle. The galvanic current is responsible for the good reputation electrolysis holds as a permanent hair removal method.

High Frequency:
The high frequency current used is called Thermolysis. It destroys the hair follicle by heat. The needle itself does not produce the heat but when the high frequency current comes in contact with living cells within its high frequency field, the cells themselves vibrate at such a high frequency they produce friction which results in heat and in turn destroys the cells themselves.
The high frequency method works fast compared to the Galvanic current method but has a high regrowth rate. The Galvanic current method is much slower to work but it has a much more permanent effect in eliminating hair growth.

The Blend Technique:
This method has a dual action, it combines the thoroughness of the Galvanic current with the swift action of the High Frequency current. These combined qualities make this technique the best there is available to date, especially when treating very deep and coarse hairs that have proved difficult with only one current type alone. This technique has made it possible to treat every problem with success. Now more and more salons are using this technique.

The 'TE' system: (Tweezer Electrolysis)
This is a new American system which destroys the unwanted hair permanently using the old Galvanic current causing a chemical decomposition in the follicle but without the use of a needle or the need to penetrate the skin.
The hairs are grasped with insulated tweezers and a small amount of conducting gel is put on the treatment area. The small galvanic current is conducted along the outside surface of the hair into the follicle where it begins to decompose the hair painlessly.