For Your Understanding: Laser vs. Electrolysis for Unwanted Hair Removal

The sensation a person getting treatment may feel is that of heat within the follicle or perhaps a ‘goose-bumpy’ reaction, and some relate it to a tiny snap of a rubber band. Some hardly feel it. After the treatment, the skin (and the one living in it) forgets any sensation of the treatment, other than a brief period of possible puffiness which subsides within a few minutes to a couple of hours, depending on the sensitivity of the skin. The skin is left intact, the hair slides out painlessly, and over a period of time, the area can be completely cleared and those treated hairs never grow back. (I have seen persons 30 years post-treatment who have had the entire beard or all the hairs on their legs removed by electrolysis, and the skin is beautifully smooth and unscarred.)

The treatment plan is determined by goals of the client concerning the desired area as discussed with the practitioner during the initial consultation and thereafter. The hairs are treated one at a time, and the sessions are generally scheduled weekly for a minimum of 15 minutes up to several hours dependent on client tolerance and amount of hair to be treated. The time between treatment sessions then can lengthen out as hair growth slows and gradually ceases. Finally, a “maintenance phase” is reached and is dependent upon whether additional hair growth over the years continues to be influenced by hormonal fluctuations on the body or other systemic reason as a person ages.

To prep for electrolysis, the client’s hair must be long enough for the tweezer to grasp it, at least 1-2 days after shaving or trimming. There should be no cosmetics applied to the area to be treated, and sometimes a guest may request from the pharmacist an OTC (over the counter) 5% Lidocaine Rectal/Anal Gel to apply 30 minutes before treatment to a small area as advised by physician and technician to desensitize the area and ‘take the edge off.”

*****

In 1995, the FDA cleared the first laser for hair removal in the US , the SoftLightTM Nd:YAG by ThermoLase. This device was rushed to market without adequate testing of effectiveness. (1) Now, after less than 15 years, we are beginning to see some of its long-term efficacy, results and side effects to treated skin and hair.

Laser hair reduction treatments are usually done in several sessions, spaced 6-8 weeks apart. A session is shorter compared with electrolysis, as a larger area can be covered more quickly by the technician gliding a small handpiece over the area to be treated. The laser is adjusted for skin and hair type, and depending on the tip of the handpiece, an area about 1/4″ square can be swiped in ‘stripes’ over the treatment area.

Laser works with light theory; an example is two cats lying out in the sun, one black and one white. When you touch the cats, which one feels hotter? The black one, right? Concentrated light is absorbed into the melanin pigment of the skin and hair, and is also attracted to hemoglobin, the color of the blood in vessels and capillaries underneath the skin. The light must travel through the skin to reach its target. In a successful treatment under ideal conditions, the growing hair, which is connected to the blood supply, absorbs the light to the point that it heats within the follicle and destroys the basal cells and blood supply, just as electrolysis does.

To prepare for a laser treatment, a close shave is recommended before each session, and it can take several weeks to months for the body to shed the treated hairs. Laser treatment can also be painful. Some who have experienced both have determined that laser causes more surface pain to the skin than does electrolysis and is harder to bear. Lidocaine is also available to help desensitize the area treated, but it is dangerous and can be toxic to apply it to a large area of the body; this has caused at least one death related to applying it to the entirety of both legs before a laser hair removal treatment a few years ago. Be sure to follow the directions of the physician on the premises of a laser treatment center.

There are some drawbacks to each treatment method. Since laser light is attracted to pigment, its efficacy to treat light/white hairs diminishes. It also is not advisable to treat ethnic skin with laser (yes, even if you are only 1/8 Native American), as the resident melanin in the skin cells absorbs the light and heats, resulting in burns, scarring and stubborn or permanent pigmentation issues after treatment…. and to date, there aren’t many who have had laser treatment 25 or 30 years ago that we can examine for long-term effects of the treatment on large, sun-exposed areas of the body.

Laser has also been known to actually encourage new or accelerated hair growth, stimulating the blood supply close to the surface of the skin. Many electrologists are treating people who have previously had ineffective laser hair reduction treatments and who have already spent upwards of thousands of dollars in pre-paid packages, some never able to finish their treatments due to problematic issues arising from it. Now, happy to say, they are getting the results they desired in electrology treatment clinics.

*****

With electrolysis, the main problem most people have with it is time. But it does take time as each hair is treated separately with many not visible at the time of treatment. However, if the electrologist has been trained in the skill and theory of the profession, is using the latest equipment and if the guest is committed and consistent (and yes, in charge of the process), in the long run, electrolysis is the most effective of the two treatments for the largest percentage of people with unwanted hair with the least amount of post-treatment problems. (2)

One also needs to take into consideration the stages of hair growth: Anagen, or actively growing rooted hair attached to a blood supply, Catagen, separated from the blood supply and slowly dehydrating and moving toward the skin’s surface, and Telogen, the final dehydrated phase of the hair before it is shed. You will see below an illustration of the different stages of hair growth in theory.

Below is a slide of actual hair follicles with the hairs in the different stages of growth.