WHAT IS ELECTROLYSIS?

The Process

Electrolysis is a method of permanent hair removal that involves inserting a small-sterilized needle, also known as a filament, into the hair follicle. The skin is not punctured in any way, as the hair follicle is a natural opening in the skin, like a pore. A mild electrical pulse is then applied briefly, which destroys the papilla at the base of the hair. Once the hair has been treated, it is then lifted out from the follicle with a pair of tweezers or forceps. The client should hardly feel the hair being pulled out of the follicle, if they do then the hair has not been treated successfully and the Electrologist is merely plucking the hairs out. If this happens frequently, the client should discuss this with their Electrologist or seek other advice.

Electrolysis is not a one-time treatment; it takes many treatments and could take up to several years. Many factors determine the total amount of time it takes to successful get rid of the hair, such as how the hair has been treated before and for how long. Hairs that had been tweezed or waxed consistently for a long period of time will take longer to get rid of. Also, each individual responds differently to electrolysis depending on their own bio-chemistry. I like to remind women that are dealing with facial hair that it’s an ongoing battle as its hormonally stimulated hair.

Frequency of the treatments is very important. For optimal results, it’s important to catch the hairs in its active growth cycle so not waiting too long between treatments is essential.

It is also important to remember that the hairs that are visible above the surface of the skin are not your only hairs; there are other hair’s that are underneath the surface of the skin. An example of this is if someone has waxed before, they have probably noticed hair appearing as soon as 1 week later, sometimes even a few days, but they are not the same hairs; those are the hairs that were waiting underneath the skin. So the Electrologist has to treat each hair as it appears. The frequency of the treatments varies per person, they could be as frequent as once a week or as far apart as every 8 weeks, it all depends. To receive a more accurate treatment plan, a consultation is needed.

common treatment areas

Types

There are three different types of electrolysis, using two different kinds of electrical current:

SHORT-WAVE

Also called "thermolysis," this method utilizes high frequency current (A.C.) to produce heat, which is used to destroy the follicle. This is a very fast and therefore popular method.

GALVANIC

Also called "electrolysis," this was the first form of permanent hair removal invented and is the namesake of the industry. This method uses galvanic current (D.C.) to cause a chemical breakdown of the salt water in skin to form lye which then destroys the follicular tissue. It takes a considerable amount of time for the necessary reaction to occur, resulting in a very controlled, effective method.

BLEND

Using a combination of both currents, this process uses the heat produced by short-wave to speed up the chemical reaction produced by galvanic. The resulting method is slightly slower than thermolysis but much quicker than straight electrolysis and is very effective on problematic hairs.

Your electrologist will figure out which method is best for you based on your hair and skin type.

*Please note that we do not offer the blend method at this time.