• Tweezing, waxing, and threading on the face all produce the same results--thicker, coarser hair and more of it.  The pulling action is like a trauma to the hair follicle and the body's resonse to any trauma is to heal itself.  The follicle then reconstructs itself a little sturdier with a better developed capillary system each time.  Eventually, what may have been a few annoying fine hairs will have become strong, coarse, hairs bristling in defiance of the person's attempts to evict them.  Interestingly, there are a few exceptions to this general truth and eyebrows are one example.  Brow hairs are more fragile follicles and unlike other hair on the face, these hairs can sometimes be permanently removed by simply tweezing  This is why as many women get older, they learn to regret over-zealous tweezing from their youth because they're left with thin, sparse brows that need to be enhanced with make-up to compensate for the missing brow hairs.  The bottom line here is that if you're considering tweezing, waxing, or threading, stick with the brows, (choose your brow shape carefully) and don't wander off to other areas of the face.  If you're interested in permanently shaped brows for life or permanent removal of unwanted facial hair, electrolysis is your best option.

• Contrary to popular belief, shaving and clipping individual hair close to the skin will not strengthen the hair.  However, it will appear and feel coarser.  That's because the hair is always thicker at the bottom and tapers off (gets thinner in diameter) as it grows to the pointed tip.  When the hair is shaved or clipped, you create a blunt edge that feels coarse to the touch because it's been clipped or shaved at the thickest part.  If you've got some annoying stray hairs on the face, your best temporary fix is clipping each individual hair.  Shaving will make all the hair feel coarse rather than just targeting the few culprits that drive you crazy.  If you want a permanent solution, electrolysis will provide it.

• Laser hair removal is not permanent.  Let me repeat that--laser hair removal is long-term reduction, not permanent hair removal.  The FDA only allows electrolysis to be associated with the term, "permanent hair removal".  It only works on dark hair because the laser targets the melanin (pigment) in the hair.  No pigment, no benefit with laser.  That means it does not work at all on blonde, gray, white, red, or light hair that matches the pigment in the skin.  The laser works best on someone with fair skin and dark hair and the results will be long term, not permanent.  Laser can be a good option for large body areas with dark hair--man's back, chest, woman's legs and the results will last for several weeks or months before another treatment is needed.  The benefit of laser over electrolysis is that it's a fast solution and a large area can be done in minimal time.  Electrolysis works on one hair at a time so large areas can be time consuming.  The disadvantage of laser is that the hair comes back over time.  Sometimes, a combination of laser and electrolysis is the best option.  For small areas like the face, electrolysis is always the best and only permanent solution.

If you want to kill weeds, get some weed killer.  If you want to kill unwanted hair, get electrolysis. 



Liz Stapleton
      Permanent Hair Removal Chicago
      Be Forever Free of Unwanted Hair