There are many misconceptions about laser and electrolysis hair removal in general and they can cause quite a bit of confusion when you’re trying to decide which technique is right for you. To help make your decision making process easier and more effective, here is a list of myths and truths about both procedures.
LASER
Myth: Laser is a form of permanent hair removal.
Truth: Unfortunately, this is not true. Laser is actually permanent hair reduction, not removal. Most laser companies guarantee 30 to 70% reduction but very few people see 100%.
Myth: The more laser treatments you get the better the results.
Truth: Beware of people who want to take advantage of you because there are a lot of them out there. I can’t tell you how many clients I have who went to a doctor or hair removal specialist and were told to keep going to in until the hairs were gone. The fact is that you will need seven treatments to get results. If you have sensitive skin or a darker skin tone then you may need nine, but anything more is a waste of time and money. In addition to this, if you keep going to treatments, you may cause new hairs to sprout or make the existing hairs thicker and darker.
Myth: Laser can cause cancer or prevent someone from getting pregnant later on in life.
Truth: There’s no evidence proving that either of these statements are true.
Myth: If I do laser on an area where the hairs are thin the hairs may still disappear.
Truth: Actually the reverse is true. Doing laser on an area where there aren’t any hairs or the hairs are thin may make the existing and new hairs grow out thick and dark.
Myth: Laser is a great way to shape my eyebrows.
Truth: You should NEVER attempt laser on your eye area because if you open your eyes for even a tenth of a second by accident you can go blind. Even if you keep your eyes closed it can be a problem because the red light from the laser will keep flashing near your eye lid and cause irritation.
ELECTROLYSIS
Myth: Electrolysis removes the hairs in one or two sessions.
Truth: As great as it would be if this were true, it’s not. Unfortunately there’s no way to tell how many treatments you will need in order to get rid of the hairs permanently because everyone is different. For some people it may take a few months to clear up an area while for others it may take a few areas.
Myth: Electrolysis is not permanent. Years down the road the hairs can come back.
Truth: This is totally false. Keep in mind that you have 1,000 hair follicles in a square inch of skin so it’s very well possible that new hairs became active years after you’ve finished treatments in a certain area.
Myth: My electrologist told me that it doesn’t matter if he/ she use the same probe (needle-like tool) on me as her last client or repeatedly.
Truth: You wouldn’t want your doctor to use a dirty needle on you, would you? Then you should definitely stay away from someone who thinks that it’s ok to use the same probe on you as someone else. This is very unhealthy and unsanitary and can lead to you getting scarred or even sick.
Myth: The new electrolysis machines are not as good as the original one.
Truth: The only difference is that the new machines shoot out the electricity faster so that the sessions are less painful. Otherwise, they’re exactly the same.
Myth: Electrolysis can leave marks that scar.
Truth: Some people may see marks that look like scabs appear after a treatments however these marks do go away in a few days or weeks. If you do see them it’s completely normal and you shouldn’t worry about it. In order to speed up the healing process you can apply Neosporin a couple of times a day and try using a gold probe in the future.
What is your preferred method of hair removal?
Guest Post by Aleya Babdad. Aleya has been performing electrolysis and laser hair removal in Long Island for seven years. She specializes in Diode laser hair removal because the machine is effective, can be used on a wide range of skin tones and is safe making it the gold standard of lasers. These myths and truths were inspired by conversations that Aleya has had with her clients over the years.
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