Laser Hair Removal vs. Electrolysis
For those of us who are conscious of ourselves, our looks and our appearance to others, the development of dark coarse unwanted hair, whether it be on the face or another part of the body is somewhat of an embarrassment to us.
So, now to the task of whittling down our choices for permanent hair removal.
There are a plethora of temporary hair removal options that we can find on our local pharmacy shelves including shaving creams, waxing strips, hot wax, and depilatory creams but our choices for permanent hair removal are a little more limited, in fact there is no permanent method. There are however a couple of long-term options for hair removal and hair growth reduction, these are: electrolysis, and laser hair removal.
Electrolysis is a process whereby an electronic probe is inserted into each hair follicle in the same direction the hair shaft is growing. An electrical charge will then be administered to the probe, beginning with a lower power setting and increasing as required until the hair is easily removed. The process can be painful (stinging/pricking sensation to each hair follicle – ouch!) and takes some time to get to the stage of minimal hair growth (between 15 – 30 visits). Also note one would require an annual maintenance treatment once the hair growth has been minimized.
Laser Hair Removal a Growing Trend
Laser Hair Removal has become extremely popular in the past few years due to it's speed and effectiveness. In this process a localized laser beam targets melanin (a dark matter that gives our skin and hair it's colour), in the hair follicle, so does not heat the rest of the skin. Hair begins to fall out painlessly over the next 10 – 14 days. A bonus to using Laser hair removal treatments is that large areas can be treated all at one time as opposed to the time consuming process of Electrolysis (for example a full back can take only 1 hour). One will usually require 4 to 6 treatments about every 5 weeks to achieve the best results in hair reduction.
From where I'm sitting Laser hair removal seems to be the more appealing option for long-term hair removal/hair reduction. Fewer treatments are required which means it's far less time consuming, and less painful than the other option.
Finding a specialist clilnic in your area that provides hair removal should not be so hard with the growing popularity of non-surgical procedures.
When having laser treatments always remember to ask what kind of equipment is used and ask artound for referrals from friends and other patients. All laser procedures should only ever be handled by a professional consultant.
