Electrolysis Myths Are Plentiful
Potential clients often ask questions based on incorrect information cobbled together from online sources.
Electrolysis myth #1: Electrolysis breaks down the hair until it eventually disappears.
This electrolysis myth is common. Even the schools of electrolysis teach this. The truth is that electrolysis, when done properly, kills a hair follicle in one treatment. Thermolysis, the predominant method in use today, is to blame for the myth of gradual hair breakdown. Since thermolysis is not permanent you must re-treat the same hair many times until it’s gone. Hence, the belief you weaken the hair each time you treat it. At Follikill, I treat the hair once and it does not return. Results are predictable.
Electrolysis myth #2. There is no right way to do electrolysis.
There IS one right technique because electrolysis theory is based on scientific principles. These principles are the result of experiments with uniform results. Electrolysis itself is a chemical reaction with predictable results across all clients. Thus electrolysis methods cannot be unique to each person because scientific principles are uniform, not unique.
Electrolysis Myths Found In Medical Journals
I researched laser hair removal in academic journals because I wanted to know what I didn’t know about laser. Although I had an unsatisfactory experience with laser I wondered whether my experience was an anomaly. Perhaps laser really was a revolution in permanent hair removal.
Prior to my research I believed laser to be a useful technology for permanent hair removal. I expected the academic literature to teach me something, but to my surprise the literature biased towards laser. Surprisingly, there are many electrolysis myths in medical journals and dermatology magazines
It shocked me the studies used to compare laser with electrolysis concluded that laser was faster, less painful and more effective than electrolysis. If you read this study with no knowledge of modern electrolysis you might take the results at face value. I immediately saw the dubious conclusion. The study compared laser to galvanic electrolysis, a tediously slow and outdated method. Thus, the unreliable results are heavily weighted towards laser. Yet many other studies cite this study.
The American Medical Association publishes an encyclopaedia advertised as “written and reviewed by top medical doctors and specialists… a new standard for consumer medical reference.”
The 2003 edition reinforced electrolysis myths:”[electrolysis is]extremely time-consuming and can be painful. Because hair goes through dormant phases, many rounds of electrolysis must be performed to ever make a small area of the body completely hair free.”
This is incorrect. Electrolysis is well suited to both the face and body. It can be time consuming, but so can laser. My point is that the medical profession is partly responsible for the misinformation on electrolysis.
There are no mainstream textbooks dedicated to the theory of laser hair removal. There are 2 somewhat-decent textbooks on electrolysis at the moment. Thus, anyone looking for accurate information on permanent hair removal needs to assess the source of knowledge.