For both women and men, having to remove unwanted hair is often a daily task that we find extremely time-consuming and irritating. The good news is that having to do this day after day at home is unnecessary. At the Refinery Medspa & Wellness in West Melbourne and Skin & Body by the Refinery in Indian Harbour Beach, we offer laser hair removal as an effective way to get rid of those unwanted hairs for good. If you’re wondering about the difference between electrolysis and laser hair removal, keep reading.
What’s the Difference Between Laser Hair Removal and Electrolysis?
If you’ve never been into our office for hair removal, it’s easy to get the various methods confused. Electrolysis and laser treatments are both usually done in a medspa setting, but they do have pretty big differences. Electrolysis uses chemical or heat energy, or both, to destroy the hair follicle by inserting a very fine needle into each follicle. Laser treatments use the energy of the lasers to damage and disable hair follicles so they can no longer grow hair. Here are the specific differences in detail:
Difference in Process
Both processes use a handheld device, and if you just see pictures of the process, it might not be apparent how different they are. Both pass the handheld device over the skin of the person undergoing treatment, but what’s happening with that device is different in each instance.
With the laser treatments, obviously, lasers are being used. A beam of light is calibrated to affect the melanin in your hair while ignoring the melanin in your skin. As the device passes over your skin, the laser hits the hair. The laser’s energy is converted to heat, which travels down the hair into the follicle, damaging it. This damage is what first slows and ultimately prevents hair growth. The laser can cover quite a large area of hair at a single time. As it passes over the skin, it damages all the hair follicles that are in the active growing stage at the time. Each repeat treatment targets new hairs that are cycling into that stage.
With electrolysis, a very fine probe or needle is being inserted into each individual hair follicle in the area that is under treatment. Once that probe is inserted, it sends out an electric current, and that current damages the hair follicle, also slowing and eventually ending hair growth. Unlike the laser treatments, however, the process has to be repeated on each hair follicle in the area treated, individually, one by one.
Difference in Method
With laser treatments, there’s just one method of removing hair: the laser itself. When it comes to electrolysis, there are two different options, and some options work better for some people, while others can be more irritating to the skin. The most common type of electrolysis is thermolysis, where an alternating current applies heat to destroy the hair follicle. The second possible process is a blend of both heat and electrical current.
Differences in Timing
Both electrolysis and laser treatments require multiple sessions to reach your goals. With electrolysis, it will typically take about 18 months to target all the area effectively, with multiple sessions. With laser treatments, you typically need between three and six treatments, depending on the color of your skin and the color of your hair, but because the lasers can cover larger areas of skin at once, it takes fewer sessions to achieve your desired results than with electrolysis.
This makes sense: electrolysis requires you to individually target each follicle, one by one. Naturally, that is going to take longer than laser treatments that can cover a large area and multiple follicles at once. With either treatment, however, once you’ve treated everything, you’ll be rid of your unwanted hair permanently.
Differences in Session Length
With both treatments, appointments are fairly quick. However, because the laser can cover a larger area, and the laser itself can target multiple hair follicles simultaneously, laser treatments are typically quicker than electrolysis appointments. The laser can reach farther and damage more follicles at once. Electrolysis is often only really a viable option for small areas of the body. If you want to target large areas, like the legs, it just takes quite an investment of your time.
Differences in Aftercare
It’s important to take care of your skin after any hair removal treatment, so if your goal is to remove the hair in time for an event, such as a wedding or a vacation, not only is it important to understand the timing of the treatments but also to consider what type of aftercare you’ll need to engage in to keep your skin safe and looking good after a treatment. And aftercare is another area where these two treatments have some significant differences.
After electrolysis, it’s not uncommon to need to use an antibacterial cream after treatment. It’s very important that, if you choose this treatment, you pay very close attention to the aftercare protocols to get the best possible results and avoid any possibility of infection. You must be very careful not to touch or scratch the areas that have been treated, even though it’s common for them to itch and for you to experience some redness. You must also avoid any activity that might cause excessive sweating for several days after the treatment, which means your exercise routine may need to be paused.
Immediately after a laser appointment, there are some things you must do, yes, but the directives are quite minimal. You need to apply sunscreen to the area that’s been treated for two weeks after treatment, and this should be at least SPF 30 and higher if possible. This is about all you need to do, and if you’re not sure which sunscreen is best, we can give you a recommendation during your appointment so that you’re prepared to return to life as soon as you leave the office.
Other Things to Know
1. Is It Painful?
Electrolysis is not considered terribly painful, but it’s not exactly comfortable either. Laser treatments tend to be more comfortable, particularly because modern laser technology comes with cooling features in the handheld device itself that protect the skin as the laser passes over it. In either case, a numbing cream can help if pain is a concern to you.
2. Is It Permanent?
Both treatments are considered “permanent” treatments, but this doesn’t mean that hair can never, ever grow back. In either case, you should expect to see months and even years of hair-free skin, but ultimately the growth of hair on your body is controlled largely by your hormones. Your hormones are more powerful than any treatment! If you get pregnant, if you suffer from PCOS, or if you have some other reason to experience a change in hormones at some point in the future, you may see the hair coming back. However, even in these cases, treatment will last for some time and give you months of freedom from shaving, plucking, and waxing at a time.
Get Started in Indian Harbour Beach & West Melbourne Today
If you’re ready to be free of unwanted hair, we can help. If you’re in the Indian Harbour Beach or West Melbourne area contact The Refinery Medspa & Wellness and Skin & Body by The Refinery by using our simple online form. Alternatively, you can also call us at 321-341-3321 to reach us in West Melbourne, FL, or call us at 321-428-3004 to reach us in Indian Harbour Beach, FL. Let’s talk about your goals and needs, take a look at your skin, and find the right treatments to improve your health while getting you the radiant look you’re searching for. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for our latest deals and specials & events!
