Electrolysis or laser hair removal? There are reasons why people choose laser, and reasons why they choose electrolysis. Laser treatment tends to take a shorter time, with 15 minutes for small areas like the chin being the standard. On a medium-term scale, results come quicker too. Notable improvement can be seen after four sessions, spaced apart by a month. Electrolysis is a slower process because each individual hair follicle has to be treated. One pass over the eyebrows may take 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the experience of the technician performing the procedure. The number of sessions can be as many as 15 before long-term progress is seen. However, this is offset by the much lower cost of the session. Laser hair removal treatment typically costs at least four times as much as electrolysis, and often more. What’s more, electrolysis is actually recognized as a permanent method of hair removal by the FDA. Laser hair removal isn’t. It is classified as ‘permanent hair reduction’. The follicles targeted by laser treatment can re-enter the growth cycle after repairing from their damage. This can take as little as two years. Electrolysis does not allow this to occur.
Laser therapy can be more painful than electrolysis, especially for people with coarser, darker hair, or higher levels of testosterone. The sensation of laser treatment is often compared to a burning rubber band snapping against the skin. The discomfort of electrolysis, by contrast, is more of a prickling sensation. Laser therapy is strongly discouraged for home use in treating the eyebrows and other areas around the eyes. There are home usage kits that can be used to treat the lower half of the face. However, these are not considered as effective as clinic machines. When treating eyebrows or areas around the eyes, special goggles must be worn to protect them from damage. Electrolysis can also be performed at home, but it is generally considered best to have it done by a professional. It actually came about because of an experiment to help a woman with ingrowing eyelashes. Danger to the eye is negligible.
There is a chance of laser therapy causing either scarring or stimulation of facial hair growth. Keloids can be a risk. Women’s facial hair tends to be lighter and finer than body hair. Therefore, laser therapy for facial hair removal is sometimes less effective. Electrolysis treatments, on the other hand, are consistently effective at removing fine facial hair.
It’s also worth pointing out that because of the issues with pigment contrast, laser therapy is of limited effectiveness dealing with tattooed skin, or moles. Electrolysis is a suitable treatment for removing unwanted hair on tattooed skin as well as hair on moles. That said, Electrolysis by Alison strongly advises that you seek the advice of a dermatologist concerning your mole before starting electrolysis treatment.
