Are Electrolysis treatments only effective during the hair’s Anagen phase (active growth phase) or will it permanently kill hair growth during any of the 3 phases?
(Anagen, Catagen and Telogen)
thank you
Some hairs did take up to 3 zaps to die from my experience however some died on first zap or 2nd so I don’t think there is a perfect number of times a hair needs to be zapped it should be gone by the 3rd time at the latest though from my personal experience having had electrolysis for a year and some hairs taking up to 12 weeks to grow back in and be rezapped.
They however did always come back thinner due to being weakened from the previous treatment. At the end of the day it all comes down to the skill of the person performing the electrolyisis hair can be kill in any cycle.
As long as there is a hair in the follicle, the follicle can be treated. The technique for treating an anagen hair is different from treating a telogen hair so part of the experience of an electrologist is being able to identify which phase the hair is in and target it correctly.
A follicle should be killed the first time it is treated, however, some electrologists extract hairs from follicles that haven’t been completely destroyed and these follicles later re-grow a hair. This is undesirable and I wouldn’t pay for treatment where these were anything more than a tiny percentage of treated follicles.
I have never had a big hair problem I had the above issues with 2 hairs.
All the area’s I’d plucked previously died first zap some grew in but they were different hairs.
I have 2 on my chin I’d never touch been there a long time were long blonde never fussed about them but hey since I’ve having electrolysis could you zap these too they are not as horrid as the others but would prefer to do without them.
Well 12 weeks later I wished I hadn’t 2 hairs came back in the same spots but this time thinner but black, she told me that they had been weakened and she would get them this time. 1 of the hairs was killed that time around.
However 12 weeks later thinner still and now pale brown but long a hair appeared in the same spot as on of them, I was told it was a stubborn hair and she assured me it would die this time because she’d zapped it in all 3 stages.
Surely enough 4 months since the hair has never reappeared. I believe all the other hairs she treated were killed firs time but I also believe you are going to get a couple of stubborn ones even with a good electrolyisis.
The issue I have now is her not being able to see the new hairs because they are too thin.
Try a few electrolysis in your area and assess which you think has the best kill rate there is some sort of a patch test on here some suggest to follow.
Helen, this is completely untrue. It makes no difference if a hair is thick or thin, an experienced electrologist will destroy the follicle in the first treatment of that follicle. If anything, finer hairs are more difficult to treat.
These are just your personal observations and not necessarily helpful to others who wish to understand how electrolysis works and what it is capable of.
Hello, I am new to this forum. I’m an Electrologist so here’s my 2-cents: The process of Electrolysis infuses energy into the hair follicle & coagulates the cells. The current of energy is different for all people; the intensity of treatment is based on the client’s tolerance for pain. With that said, the Electrologist also needs to keep the surface-skin in mind. I can treat a hair & destroy the life supply in one session, however, it most likely will injure the skin, causing a pitted scar or hyper pigmentation. Everyone’s biology is different, so there is no way of telling how long treatment will last; it may take 3 sessions for a particular hair, it may take 5 sessions…there’s no way of knowing. Electrolysis is a process which requires a committment & should not be rushed in an effort to maintain the integrity of the skin. I’m also an Esthetician, so trust me when I say that the skin’s health needs to be considered. The key is for the Practitioner to find a setting low enough for the client to tolerate, yet high enough to effectively treat the hair whilst not burning the skin.
Thanks everyone, this is really helpful. What’s this patch test about? I’m certainly going to try a few electrolysis in the area to assess their kill rate, excellent idea
I also want to add, that it is difficult to identify an Anogen hair at first glance until it is extracted. Regardless of the hair growth phase, and yes there are three. The process of Electrolysis will coagulate the cells and slowly kill the blood supply to the hair follicle, regardless of what phase the hair is in. Treatment, however, is more effective during the Anogen growth phase.
Stoppit your experience is of Josie there are few and far between electrolyisis with her skill hence people getting on a plane to visit her we don’t all have money to do this.
I never said that thin or thicker was hard to kill i simply said that they came back thinner because they had been weakened.
I would say that you are also only talking from experience unless you are an electrolyisis yourself and even then they all have different skills we are all talking from experience.
Helen, the point is that what Jossie, Michael, Dee, Mairi, Beate, Christine and countless others do is how electrolysis should be performed.
If you are paying for routine plucking, you are just perpetuating substandard treatment. New clients should educate themselves on what is ideal and try to seek out the best treatment they can. I’ve lost count of the number of posters who have approached me for advice after they have become frustrated with the lack of results from their electrologist. So many of Jossie’s clients (an an example) are people who became fed up spending time and money on substandard treatment.
They should not be coming back thinner because they have only ‘been weakened’ unless the electrologist is making routine errors. As Michael has laboriously explained in the past, multiple treatments in the same follicle over time because the follicles are not being destroyed when they are treated (as long as overtreatment is not occurring) is worse for the skin and healing.
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You have not had treatment for most of the above they are on a forum so you feel they are offering 100% kill on every hair.
As Michael has said himself when others have praised him and not actually used him, you can not without trying their treatment yourself.
If indeed they did 100% each time they are the exception which is why people are willing to travel if every electrolyisis was as good as Josie people would not be paying to travel thus far.
I was rid of all dark thick hairs by 8-9 months at 1 year my nipple hair is gone complete I just have thin hairs that are new and unless someone was to tilt my head and look very close they are not going to notice.
So I had a couple of hairs grow back in I would still recommend my electrolyisis to others which is why although the fine ones are now harder to see and frustrate me I have not left for someone else.
There are substandard electrolysis and I want want to lose one that I know does offer good kill rate for someone that just plucked.
I think the answer above is correct hair in all cycles can be killed be easier in growth stage
If not killed it should be weakened no one should except plucking ever.
You are completely and repeatedly missing the point.
A follicle that is only weakened (to use your language) is akin to plucking because the electrologist is extracting hair from an undertreated follicle. For this to be routine rather an the odd exception is undesirable.
I’m not making any comment about your electrologist or treatment.
I am commenting on your points in general and what is desirable in properly performed electrolysis in order to aid the original poster.
I’m not going to engage with you on this topic any more.
We now agree that for this to be routine it is undesirable but it will happen at some point to most of us, we do not all have the skill most people proclaim Josie to have.
This is exactly my point to, you came across to be saying that unless every single hair every single time was kill that it was substandard.
I do not believe that to be true if it was routine it would be true, but during a whole years treatment to have 2 pesky hairs to me is not nice but acceptable for the high kill rate in all other areas. I think my treatment is probably more the norm than someone that had 100% kill rate every single time that to me is more the exception either way now getting of the point of the original post
Both agree hair any cycle can be kill lol
When you mention “blood supply” I suppose you mean the dermal papilla. Well, decades ago scientists discovered that the papilla does not have a decisive role in the regeneration of a hair follicle. By contrast, destruction of the stem cells in the bulge, an area close to the insertion of the arrector pili muscle (upper portion, permanent part of the follicle), causes irreversible destruction of the hair follicle.
As for this categorical statement, I am so sorry to be in full and unequivocal disagreement. Treatment is not more effective in anagen, but it is quite the opposite. In anagen, our goal includes 1) all the transient portion of the new germ, including the papilla (unavoidable collateral damage), and 2) the permanent portion to include a part of the isthmus. In telogen, our goal is reduced to less than half, ie, the second point, thus, the chances of destroying the target in a first and only time increase considerably.
Just out of curiosity, how did you come to the conclusion that “anagen is more effective”?
This only proves one thing: your electrologist has very little knowledge of the hair cycle. In the hypothetical event that, really, this is the same hair (regrowth), I have no reason to doubt, the follicle is being treated at the same stage over and over again. Whenever a hair is being removed (from the roots), the natural cycle is being interrupted, and a new cycle begins (if the follicle has not been adequately treated).
In conclusion: First: A woman’s hair never touched on her chin (estimated phase by order of likelihood: telogen, very late anagen, or catagen). Second time: The new hair at week 12 (estimated phase: late anagen, catagen, or telogen). Third time: the damn hair again at week 12: Estimated phase: late anagen, catagen, or telogen.
Note: The fact that a professional does not have a deep understanding of aspects of the hair cycle, does not mean that he or she is not doing a fantastic job.
Its strange, I went to see two electrologists today and they both said that treatment is most effective at Anagen?!?!?!? One (who has been practicing for 30 years and is a reputable member of the beauty community) stated that because telogen hairs are ‘dead’ hairs, it is less effective to treat or something along those lines.
Not sure how I feel about booking an appointment with her now.
Read Josefas post.
Read Josefas post. [/quote]
I did, but the division still leads me to wonder what else the electrologists might not have full understanding of. I guess I just dislike confusion - it just adds to my irrational suspicion of every therapist I visit 
(It’s a half money/half trust issue)
Hi shreya,
It’s a misconception that seems to be quite common here in the UK too. It seems to be taught in the training colleges.
As Josefa has said, an electrologist may still be doing a good job because they are killing follicles in telogen without realising.
The best way to evaluate an electrologist is through their work, so get a test patches done. I’ll dig out my previous posts where I explain how to go about this.
From my old posts:
[b][i]Select an area where the hair has not been tampered with for past 3-6 months. Ask the electrologist to completely clear a small patch of all hairs (say, 2" x 2"). A body area is usually best.
3 months after the session (again, don’t tamper with the hairs during this period), you will be able to see how effective the electrrologist’s work is. The hair present in the area after waiting 3 months will be a combination of regrowth from any follicles that were not completely destroyed and hairs that were not present at the time of clearance to treat them in the first instance. In the perfect treatment you will only observe the latter hairs which would be minimal in quantity.
You can then judge whether you believe the reduction to be worth your time and money.[/i][/b]
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