Q. I’ve heard electrolysis has been around for a couple of decades. Is it more effective now than it used to be?

A. Electrolysis was devised by St. Louis ophthalmologist, Dr. Charles Michel, more than 132 years ago in 1875. The Father of Electrolysis used a No. 8 sewing needle attached to a six cell Groves battery, which produced a galvanic or direct current. He passed this gilt needle into the hair follicle and allowed the current that was generated to electrochemically decompose the hair follicle papillae. He continued to improve his invention and ultimately used it to permanently remove hair on all parts of the body by effectively destroying the hair growth cells, preventing future growth.

Electrolysis is still in use today, although its protocols have been improved. It is the only process that is universally and medically approved, documented and accepted by the U.S.A. Food and Drug Administration (FDA.), as permanent hair removal. And the best part is that it’s effective on light and dark hair as well as all skin tones, in situations that other techniques like lasers do not.

Electrolysis is found to be useful for white-skinned gray haired individuals also, who form poor candidates for the laser technique. This is the most widely acclaimed form of permanent hair removal.

Q. You mean the same technique is still used today?

A. Electrolysis is much improved over the first treatments devised 132 years ago. The method then proved to be slow, tedious and painful. In the early 1900’s, research proved that the use of high frequency was effective for the removal of hair and in the 1940’s high frequency superseded galvanic electrolysis. In 1949 Arthur Hinkle of California and Henrie St Pierre developed the technique of Blend to combine the benefits and advantages of Galvanic and High frequency, applying the 2 methods to the hair follicle simultaneously.

Q. How do I know if I’m a candidate for electrolysis vs. laser hair removal.

A. Electrolysis is the only permanent hair removal treatment on the market. Other treatments cannot claim to be permanent.

One of the considerations the medical estheticians at Rocky Mountain Laser Clinic agree, is the color of your hair and skin. Hair grows on the body for these reasons:

• Congenital, or due to your genetic code
• Because of androgens or male hormones in the body
• Normal hormonal changes take place during puberty, pregnancy and menopause and can be the cause of excessive hair growth.
• Also abnormal systemic changes to the endocrine system that regulates hormone production in the body when adversely effected by illness or disease, which may result in the production of superfluous hair. And finally some surgical procedures (i.e. the removal of one’s ovaries) affect the normal hormonal balance and generate unwanted hair.