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What is Electrolysis?

First developed in 1875, electrolysis is the only FDA approved option for permanent hair removal. Using a rounded probe no thicker than a hair, an electrologist can gently enter a hair follicle without piercing the skin and treat it directly. The hair follicle is then destroyed, ensuring the hair doesn't return.

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It's important to understand that electrolysis is a process that takes multiple appointments to complete. Hair grows in a cycle so it takes a series of scheduled treatments to insure that every hair no matter where it is in the cycle is removed.

  • Galvanic: the original type of electrolysis, galvanic uses a direct current to facilitate a chemical reaction, turning moisture into lye, a strong base that destroys the follicle. Although requiring longer treatments, galvanic has a very high chance to completely destroy the hair follicle as the lye fills the length of the follicle.

  • Thermolysis: developed after galvanic, thermolysis uses a high frequency current that produces radio waves that heats up surrounding moisture that burns and destroys the follicle. Flash thermolysis is the fastest and most popular form of treatment, but the narrower treatment pattern it produces results in only a small fraction of the treated follicles to be completely destroyed, allowing the hair to come back. Thermolysis also has a greater chance of scarring the skin if the heat reaches the skin's surface and the repeat treatments that are required can damage the skin's collagen, leading to wrinkled skin in the long term.

  • Blend: a combination of galvanic and thermolysis, blend produces lye with galvanic and uses low levels of thermolysis to make the lye more effective. This allows blend to be faster than galvanic alone and just as effective.

Laser hair removal can be a fine option for many people, but laser can only reduce hair growth and hair often returns after a short time. Laser also only works well on people with lighter skin and darker hair.

Electrolysis on the other hand, offers permanent hair removal for all people, regardless of skin or hair type. Although electrolysis can take longer than laser, you won't need to worry about the hair returning and needing additional treatments.

Many surgeons offer to cauterize and burn the hair follicles away or to perform a follicle "scrape" during surgery and these methods can remove some hairs; however, they will not remove them all and many hairs will come back. These risky procedures can also pose a risk of serious complication such as causing permanent numbness to the area.

Electrolysis does not pose these risks and produces permanent hair removal when properly performed by a licensed electrologist. 

Yes, all hairs properly treated to the point of destruction will not return.

  • That being said, only about 30% of all hairs are visible at a given time on average which can give the impression that treated hairs are coming back when in reality, untreated hairs are emerging from their dormant phase.

  • A small number of hairs can also survive and come back after a few months, but subsequent treatments will take care of any stragglers. 

Hair grows in cycles that varies in time depending on the area being treated. There is an active phase which is when we can see and treat a hair; and a dormant phase where there is no active growth. The amount of treatable hairs in the active phase ranges from only 10% on the eyebrows and 85% on the scalp. This hair cycle makes it important for clients to come in on a regular schedule so the electrologist can catch every hair in the cycle.

This cyclical nature of hair means that results aren't immediate and treatment will likely take many months or years to finish depending on the area and amount of hair. Over the course of treatment, there will likely be a noticeable decrease of hair early on followed by a plateau as dormant hairs slowly become active; but given time, every hair can eventually be cleared.

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