Schedule an appointment
Book your session
Home
/
Permanent hair removal

Electrolysis hair removal

Table of contents:

Facial hair can be very stigmatizing and embarrassing for any woman, transgender or not. Electrolysis is the most reliable option offered today to permanently remove facial hair and hair from the genital area. Laser can be a good or even a better alternative in some cases, but is usually not sufficient to permanently remove all facial hair. Having body and facial hair removed is crucial for trans women who want to live full-time as women. After all, it is anything but easy to hide a beard.

Intensive program for face and genital area

It is crucial that you find an electrologist who can remove your facial hair with a minimum of sessions, and without causing unsightly scarring, pitting or discoloration of the skin. Because the hairs from a male beard are difficult to remove, it is important that trans women seek out an electrologist who has experience in removing them. Preferably someone who has already helped many trans women. However, this is not always possible because there are not that many of them, and perhaps even not in your area.

At 2pass Clinic we have therefore developed an intensive program for removing hair from facial and genital areas. This can greatly speed up the process and solve the problem for people who live far from a suitable electrologist. You only need to travel to Belgium a few times (4 to 10 times, depending on your response to the treatment and willingness to come back rather than closer to completing the treatment). The reason we can offer this intensive treatment is that we use local anesthesia to control the pain.

Attention: the anal area is not treated.

What is electrolysis?

Permanent hair removal

What is electrolysis?
  • It is a proven method invented over 100 years ago to remove annoying, ingrown eyelash hairs.
  • It is a method of removing individual hairs from the face or body.
  • It destroys the growth center of the hair with chemical energy or heat.
  • During the treatment, a thin probe is inserted into the hair follicle. The follicle is the natural opening of the skin. The skin is not punctured, so this insertion is painless.

Benefits

  • The only method for permanent hair removal approved by the 'FDA'.
  • Works on all hair colors, skin types and body parts.
  • More than 125 years of clinically proven safety and effectiveness. The results have proven for a long time that this is the best method.

Cons

  • Time-consuming process because each hair must be treated individually.
  • Painful process, which is why you need local anesthesia for longer sessions.
  • Expensive, because it takes many hours.
  • If the face is being treated, you must stop shaving 5 days in advance and 10 days in advance for the genital area.
  • If done incorrectly it can lead to partial to complete regrowth, permanent skin damage and/or infection.
  • Regrowth rates have not been accurately determined and cannot yet be predicted due to a large number of variables.
During electrolysis, the hair removal probe is inserted into the natural skin opening. The skin is not punctured, so this insertion is painless.
  • A small electric current is sent through the probe, which destroys the hair follicle. This part is painful for many people.
  • Finally, the hair and hair follicle are removed with tweezers. This is painless.
  • Electrolysis is effective as long as one condition is met: destroying the stem cells responsible for hair growth. These are located in an area called the 'bulge', in the upper part of the follicle. Even after a hair follicle at the base is surgically removed, an entire hair follicle can grow back. 
For electrolysis to be effective, there is only one condition: destroy the stem cells responsible for hair growth. These are located in an area called the 'bulge' in the upper part of the follicle.

Two types of electrolysis

There are 2 basic types of electrolysis that are still practiced today and we use both at 2pass Clinic. We always start with thermolysis, but switch to the 'blend' technique if necessary. Below you will find more information about the difference between thermolysis and blend electrolysis, and a video about the effect of both on a follicle.

Electrolysis

Close-up look

Gender of the hair

  • At birth, there are approximately 5 million hair follicles spread throughout the body.
  • After birth, no additional follicles are formed. The size of some follicles and hairs will change over time, mainly under the influence of androgens.
  • The precise spacing and distribution of the follicles is determined by the genes. These determine before birth how the follicles will form and what the distribution of the hair will be.
  • The formation of a beard is genetically determined and this capacity is already present at birth. Therefore, men's and women's hair is genetically different.
  • During puberty, male vellus hair (short, thin, light-colored) will change under the influence of androgens into what we call 'terminal hair'.

Gender of the hair

  • Electrolysis is the only permanent hair removal method recognized and approved by the FDA (The US Food and Drug Administration). The FDA is a US government agency that regulates a wide range of goods, services, and medications to ensure not only product effectiveness but also consumer safety. The FDA carefully examined the electrolysis technique and concluded that it is safe and can remove hair permanently.
  • Laser hair removal, on the other hand, cannot be offered as permanent hair removal because the effects are often temporary. And while laser hair removal can permanently reduce hair growth, it cannot permanently stop future hair growth, as electrolysis can. With laser the number of hairs can be reduced by 40 to 80%, according to the latest scientific studies. 
  • Laser is less effective than electrolysis because it targets the pigment of the hair which is only in the 'bulb', not in the 'bulge' where the growth cells are located. The damage to the hair is only significant enough to slow the growth cycle for a few months before the hair reappears. The other advantage of electrolysis is that it is suitable for almost all skin and hair colors, unlike laser hair removal.
  • Laser first? The rule is: Go for laser first if you have dark hair and fair skin. If you have dark skin or light hair, skip laser and opt for electrolysis from the start. We have explained the difference between the 2 types of hair removal in the video below.
Video explaining the difference between laser and electrolysis:

Electrolysis

Laser hair removal vs Electrolysis

Treatment time

Why do I need more than one session to permanently remove hair from an area?
  • Electrolysis is considered a permanent hair removal method because it destroys the stem cells of the hair follicle. But it requires a series of sessions over a period of time. To completely remove a beard, a minimum period of one year should be taken as a reference. Why is this the case?
    • The hair follicle is one of the few organs that cyclically degenerates and regenerates from stem cells. Each hair follicle continuously goes through 3 stages: growth (anagen), involution (catagen) and rest (telogen).
  • Knowledge of the hair cycle - and in particular the length of the rest period - is essential for understanding and interpreting the results of electrolysis.
  • We ask you to stop shaving 5 days in advance if you are having your face treated. If it concerns the genital area, you must stop shaving 10 days in advance.
  • Only the hairs in the growth phase will be visible above the surface of the skin at the time of treatment. The resting hairs are not visible at the time of treatment because they do not grow after shaving. On the face, growing hairs account for only 60% of all facial hair. This means that at least 40 percent of the hair is not visible at the time of the first treatment.

The growth cycle helps explain:

  • That permanent results from electrolysis hair removal can only be achieved over a significant period of time.
  • That only hair in the growth phase can be removed during the electrolysis session.
  • The beautician cannot change the growth cycle, so the treatments must be repeated for the hairs that were not in the correct growth phase. As the sessions progress, the treatments will take less and less time.
  • You must distinguish between apparent “false” regrowth and actual “real” regrowth. False regrowth is the appearance of hairs that have never been treated with electrolysis, but grow in the same area where hairs have already been permanently removed. True regrowth happens when the hair is not completely destroyed during treatment, which can happen.
The video further explains this concept, which is quite complex:

Electrolysis

Electrolysis hair removal regrowth

Your stay at 2pass Clinic

How much time is needed to have hair removed from a specific area? How much regrowth after hair removal is normal?

This is probably the most frequently asked question from our patients. Our honest answer is: we don't know in advance. We know the averages, but we see a large variation between patients. We don't know why one hair responds better to treatment than another.

  • The endless controversy over electrolysis regrowth is largely due to the fact that you can't tell if it is true regrowth, or if it is a growing hair that was previously dormant. You can't look at a hair and be sure, because "new growth" hairs and true "regrowth" hairs look the same.
  • All or nothing—There are electrologists who believe that a hair must be treated several times before it is permanently destroyed. While there may be some truth to the “demolition” concept, we don't believe in it. We believe that you either destroy the follicle or you don't. If the follicle is not destroyed, regrowth will eventually reach its original size.
  • There will always be some degree of regrowth after the initial electrolysis treatments, even when performed by a skilled electrologist. If the electrolysis is done perfectly, then theoretically there should be no real regrowth. Due to various factors this is never the case. Even in the best hands we estimate there will be a 25-50% regrowth factor. Although opinions vary as to what an acceptable percentage is, most experienced electrologists estimate that for a treatment to be considered effective, at least 40-50 percent of the treated hairs must be permanently removed with each treatment. Experts cannot give a definitive figure because so many variables influence the results. The electrologist's skill in working with these variables determines the percentage of permanently removed hair per individual treatment. Don't get discouraged, just keep coming to your appointments regularly. This ensures that you get the best results.
  • Completion of facial electrolysis is likely to take between less than 100 hours to more than 200. This is unfortunately a long time period as some patients respond better than others due to factors still unknown to us.
How many treatments do I need?
  • The total number of sessions required to permanently remove hair from a given area varies from person to person. But the unwanted hair that has been removed will be gone forever.
  • In general, you will probably need treatments for at least 12 months.
  • It can take 8 months to 2 years in some cases.
  • We realize that this seems like a very broad time frame, but it is simply impossible to be more specific due to wide variation in response to treatment.
  • We still do not know all the factors that influence the difference in the total treatment time.
  • If after your first session we notice that we have a poor ratio of hairs destroyed, we will switch to another method or adjust our settings.
How long should I wait between sessions?
  • You can choose between a fast track of 4 weeks between sessions (but there will be fewer treated hairs per session).
  • We recommend a course with 6 weeks between each treatment for the best balance between total time and cost efficiency.
  • The maximum time between sessions is 16 weeks.
What does it cost and how do I book?
Price and booking of electrolysis

Am I a good candidate for hair removal?

Anyone with unwanted facial or body hair is a good candidate for electrolysis. Electrolysis is truly for everyone.

Electrolysis (as opposed to laser hair removal) works for:

  • any skin type;
  • any hair color;
  • every part of the body.

The only people who are advised not to have electrolysis are people with active skin inflammation.

Is hair removal painful?

  • The short answer for most people is "Yes."
  • Unfortunately, the hair follicle is the part of the skin that contains the most nerves.
  • Although many clients can tolerate electrolysis without pain relief, we cannot promise that this treatment will be completely or largely painless.
  • For most electrologists, the biggest limiting factor on the duration of a session is the patient's pain tolerance. Therefore, at 2pass Clinic, given the availability of medical staff, we have created a solution so that the patient can tolerate longer sessions (up to 8 hours per day), for several consecutive days. We use local anesthesia to make you more comfortable during the treatment, as it makes the pain bearable. If you still feel that the pain is too much to bear, a local anesthetic (similar to the anesthetic used by dentists) may also be administered to numb the area being treated. Then you won't feel anything at all anymore.
More information about painless electrolysis
The hair follicle is the part of the skin where most nerves reside. Hence the pain during the treatment.

Specialists in permanent hair removal

At 2pass Clinic, electrolysis is performed by 5 different talented beauticians who are passionate about their job.

How to prepare

Before the first session of the hair removal treatment, you should be aware of the following:

  • No epilation or waxing may have been carried out in the past three months.
  • Stop shaving in time for your treatment:
    • For the face: stop 5 days in advance
    • For the genital area: stop 10 days in advance

This ensures that your facial or body hair is long enough to achieve optimal results. Also make sure you wear comfortable clothes.

Here you will find more information to be able to prepare well.

What happens during my session?

  • During your first session we will look at your skin and hair growth. We will then explain everything you need to know and draw up a treatment plan.
  • The beautician uses two instruments: a computer-controlled epilator and tweezers.
  • During the treatment, the patient lies down while the probe is repeatedly inserted into the hair follicle and the hair is removed. 
  • The epilator probe is inserted through the hair shaft. The skin is not damaged because the probe slides through a natural opening. Inserting the probe is virtually painless.
  • The probe then emits an electrical current for several seconds. This can be painful.
  • Finally, the hair is removed from the skin with tweezers. This is painless.
  • We usually take a short 5 minute break every hour, and of course there are toilet breaks as and when they are needed.

Aftercare

After your hair removal session, be sure to remember the following:

  • Apply the aftercare lotion for a quick and effective recovery.
  • Do not use make-up, sunscreen, alcohol-containing products or scrubs for the first three days after the treatment.
  • Avoid intense sun exposure for three to five days.
  • Take an ice pack or wet compress from the refrigerator and apply it to the swelling: 15 minutes at a time, with 10-minute breaks in between.

More information about the aftercare after electrolysis.

What skin reaction can I expect after my treatment?

On the day of your treatment, the skin may become red and you may experience a burning sensation. This varies from person to person and is temporary. Scabs may also temporarily appear on the skin. It is important to leave these alone to prevent infection and scarring. There may also be a temporary slight swelling of the skin. 

The risks

  • There are generally no permanent side effects.
  • The risk of hair removal via electrolysis is epidermal damage and damage to the epidermal melanin. Epidermal injury can lead to scarring. Damage to the epidermal melanin can result in hypopigmentation. If the damage to the subcutaneous tissue is too extensive, pits can also form.
  • Finding an electrologist with extensive experience is key to lowering the risk of side effects.