+ Is age a factor?
Unwanted hair can develop at any age, and anyone can be treated. Parental approval is required for anyone under 16 years old.
+ Do you sterilize your needles?
Our clinic always uses disposable sterilized gold-plated needles, also known as filaments, on each clients for each treatment. We never re-use any needles; they are discarded after each use.
+ Will shaving make my facial hair grow in thicker?
That is a myth!! Shaving is completely safe for facial hair, as it does not tamper with the root of the hair. Actually, it’s plucking, waxing and threading methods that encourage unwanted facial hair. There is a saying amongst Electrologists, pluck one hair and ten will come to its funeral. Most women know how tempting and satisfying it is to take a pair of tweezers to those hairs on your chin, but what they don’t know is that they are actually encouraging the growth of those hairs, as well as the surrounding hairs.
When a hair gets pulled on the face, a slight tear is being made in the hair follicle, as the hair is getting ripped from the follicle. Blood then rushes to the area to repair the site, bringing with it nutrients and the hair-growing hormone, testosterone, fertilizing that one hair making it bigger and stronger then before but also fertilizing all the little surrounding hairs. So, in actual fact, shaving is the better choice. Cutting and bleaching are also ok.
+ Does it hurt?
Electrolysis does hurt but to what extent depends on the individual, everyone’s tolerance is different. The main sensation you'll experience is the heat passing down from the probe to the base of the follicle. Treatments will usually be adapted to suit your skin, hair, and pain threshold. Taking an extra strength Tylenol before your treatment helps, as well as avoiding the week before one’s menstrual cycle, for the female clients. I'm also a huge fan of using a numbing cream for extra sensitive areas such as the upper lip.
+ How much will it cost?
Electrolysis is not a one-time treatment, it requires a series of treatments. In the beginning, treatments may be more frequent and then start to taper off in frequency as the hairs get weaker. The length of the treatments depends on how much hair has to be treated and how much the client can tolerate. The frequency of the treatments depend on how aggressive the hairs are. A more accurate estimate of costs is available through a consultation once I am able to see the hair and get a better understanding of how aggressive they are, how are the hairs being dealt with and how often, etc.
+ When should I start noticing a difference?
By 2-3 months of consistent treatments, you will start seeing a huge improvement already. If you have been going for electrolysis for a lengthy amount of time and have been going frequently and are not seeing any improvement, you should talk with your Electrologist or seek other advice.
+ What about Laser?
The most common question I get is what about laser? Laser clinics have become like coffee shops, there is at least one on each corner, so it’s understandable that people would ask which hair removal treatment is right for them, laser or electrolysis? I worked for many years as a laser hair technician at the Arbutus Laser Centre so I have a lot of knowledge on both laser hair removal and electrolysis. If you are looking to have a larger area treated such as the bikini, underarms, or legs and your hair is somewhat thick and/or dark, then laser would be the better solution for you. Laser may also be very effective for facial hair as well but is not effective on blond, white, and red hairs. The laser is targeted to the pigment in the hair so the thicker, the darker the hair, the better results one is going to get. When the hairs are fine, there is less pigment in the hair for the laser to target, so one is not going to get the same results as thicker, darker hairs. Yet, I’m a firm believer that if you can get rid of even 30% of the hair with laser and then switch over to electrolysis, you’re better off then just doing electrolysis right from the start.
And the two methods work so well in conjunction with each other as well. When one comes to electrolysis after having laser, the hairs follicles are quite weakened from the laser that it doesn’t take much to get rid of them with electrolysis. I’m personally a fan of laser hair removal, I have had many areas of my body treated by laser and am very pleased with the results. I’ve sent many people to get laser hair removal instead of electrolysis. I feel that my job is to find the best solution for each person, even if it means turning away business.
To schedule a consultation for laser hair removal information, contact the Arbutus Laser Centre, winner of the Georgia Straight 2007-2017 Readers Choice Award, at (604) 731-5512. Or you can visit their website www.arbutuslaser.com. You may also contact our clinic regarding laser hair removal and we can help you decide which might be the right solution for you.