Electrolysis

The three methods used in the Electrolysis are Galvanic, Thermolysis, and Blend. All three methods involve inserting a small needle into the hair follicle. A very fine flexible sterile probe or needle (about the same thickness of your hair) is inserted into the follicle, which is the tiny, natural opening out of which the hair grows. The skin is not punctured or harmed, as the probe is very thin. Once the probe is inserted properly down into the follicle, a burst of the specifically timed and measured current is discharged to destroy hair cells. The probe is then withdrawn and the hair is lifted out of the follicle with sterile forceps (tweezer).

Electrolysis does require a series of treatments over a period of time. The goal of Electrolysis is to damage the follicle to the point that it will no longer be able to produce hair. This requires each hair to be treated multiple times using either heat, chemical reaction, or both. We use only sterile disposable probes and tweezers for your protection. We use a dry heat sterilizer which provides the highest level of medical sterilization. Depending on the size of the hair, different probe sizes are used. In most instances, you should not feel the hair being pulled out during the procedure. The hair slides out easily if properly treated. We adhere to the recommended national standards for sterilization procedures established by American Electrology Association in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

We use the Apilus technology which is advanced electrolysis equipment offering hair removal treatments that are more efficient, more comfortable, and more rapid than any other epilation technology. Thanks to its powerful, computer-controlled system, Apilus gives the highest degree of precision and control. Apilus is also equipped with a unique “tolerance test”, which allows the unit to be adjusted and adapted to your level of sensitivity to the current. Apilus high-precision mechanism uses pulses as little as one-thousands of a second, which assures incomparable comfort.

Galvanic

The galvanic method was the first method developed for removing superfluous hair. This method removes hair through chemical decomposition, whereby direct current emitted into the follicle produces a substance referred to as lye. The lye, or sodium hydroxide, is the source of follicle destruction in the galvanic method. The galvanic method is a chemical process. This method can take up to a minute or more per hair and is rarely used today.

Thermolysis

The thermolysis method destroys the hair by coagulating the papilla through heat produced by a high-frequency current. The high-frequency energy agitates the molecules making up the hair-growing cells. This agitation causes the cells to heat, ideally to the point of permanent tissue destruction. Takes only seconds per hair, and is ideally suited for thin, shallowly rooted hairs.

Blend

The blend method is the combination and simultaneous use of galvanic and thermolysis techniques. It alleviates the shortcomings of each of the individual techniques while bolstering their advantages. By doing so, blend electrolysis incorporates the high kill rate associated with the galvanic method along with the swiftness found in thermolysis. It reduces the normal two-minute duration of galvanic to about 10 seconds. This combination is especially useful in treating deep, coarse hair follicles. Additionally, the blend method is able to successfully treat curved and distorted follicles along with near-miss insertions due to its spreading action.

Our office uses all of the above methods!

Electrolysis does not cure the cause of superfluous hair. It permanently stops hair growth only in the pore or hair follicle treated. This sounds like a paradox, but it is not actually. Hair growth, either natural or unnatural, is due to a hormone. This hormone becomes more active with age, or it could be very active at an early age due to heredity. Other causes that activate this hormone to grow superfluous hair are side effects of certain medications, pregnancy, or glandular disturbances.

Electrolysis cannot inactivate this hormone, or cure the cause of hair growth. It does permanently stop the growth of any existing hair, by destroying the papilla or root. When hairs seemingly reappear in an area already treated, they are not the same hairs. They are new hairs growing from any of the thousands of dormant hair follicles that are activated by the hormone. Electrolysis absolutely does not stimulate hair growth. Eventually, all the hair follicles in a particular area are destroyed. This may take just a few treatments or many. It is not usual to be completed in one, two, or three treatments. A chin or neck problem may take many hours. Once an area is completed, it is normal that a person may have to receive one or two treatments per year as a general cleanup or check.

Many patients become discouraged in the beginning. This is due mostly to the lack of the knowledge just noted; or the person may have tampered with the hair beforehand, that is, by tweezing or waxing. These latter methods can distort hair follicles, making electrolysis more difficult but ultimately still successful. Cutting or shaving produces no harmful after-effects.