What to Expect

When you have found an electrolysist, they will offer you a consultation. This is often free. During the consultation you will discuss the area needing treatment. You will be expected to give some details about your health and history in order to ascertain that the treatment is suitable for you . Contra indications to treatment will be discussed; home care advice following treatment will be given; and proposed frequency and length of treatment will be discussed and decided upon. This is the time for you to find out if you are comfortable with the operator and are happy to start.
Electrolysis treatment has a reputation for being painful. Most clients find that this is not the case when done correctly. You will not feel the probe in the follicle, you should not feel the probe insertion, and you should not feel the hair being removed. What you will feel is the current, which has been likened to a sting. There will be some pinkness of the skin following treatment. These are minor irritations for the reward of eventually permanently removing the unwanted hair. If you feel the need, it is possible to purchase topical anaesthetic creams, however most clients manage without. The consultation will enable you to experience the feeling of treatment and the most commonly heard expression is "That was much better than I expected; I wish I had started years ago"!

Treatment times will vary from 5 minutes to about 2 hours depending on the amount of hair growth and areas to be treated; however 10 to 30 minutes is the average per treatment. Frequency will again be determined by the amount of hair growth, but it is usually necessary to have weekly to fortnightly sessions at the beginning. It is important that the skin has a chance to settle between sessions. As the hair starts responding to treatment, growth will slow and the treatment times will become shorter or more spaced apart, until eventually there is no need for further treatment. The time this takes will depend on your hair, and the response your body makes to treatment, and it is impossible for an electrolysist to tell you how long this will be. It must be realised that electrolysis is slow but sure and works best if you follow the instructions of your electrolysist. Look forward to a hair free future.

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