Blue Door Electrolysis - Electrolysis Frequently Asked Questions*

(*This page applies to electrolysis only, for REIKI questions Click HERE)

What does Electrolysis feel like? (I’ve heard it might hurt.)

Quick Answer: Mostly like a quick, localized, very small flash of heat.

Detailed Answer: Not all hairs or body areas are created equally. People and body areas have different levels of tolerance, and individual people will have different tolerance levels on different days depending on what’s going on in their lives. But, what it feels like is subjective. I’ve worked on folks who’ll fall asleep during the process, whereas others find it annoying and get fed up after about 30 minutes. Most everybody, however, is surprised at how easy the process is. The computerized epilator I use can deliver a current in 16/100ths of a second, so by the time the current has come and gone, your brain barely has time to acknowledge what’s happened and I’ve moved on to the next hair. But, the best way to describe it is that it’s a very quick, very small, very localized flash of heat; and then the hair is gone and THAT feels wonderful! Additionally, we can use a topical analgesic or ice to help reduce any negative sensations.

How long does Electrolysis take?

Quick Answer: Depends on the hair growth, what you’ve been doing to keep it in control, the frequency of your visits, and where the hair is.

Detailed Answer: Without seeing your unwanted hair, it’s difficult for me to determine how long it will take for you to reach complete clearance. But, with regular appointments, you WILL get complete clearance. Most people have more unwanted hair in an area than they realize because they’ve been pulling it out in some way shape or form (see scary chin story). Until you let that pattern fill in, it’s difficult to know what we’re dealing with. But, with regular visits, you should be able to get permanent clearance in 18-24 months (results vary for different body areas and different clients) once we’re clearing it every visit.

What’s the "chin hair" story?

Quick Answer: Most people have more unwanted hair than they realize.

Detailed Answer: While it seems like the same two or eight hairs that you’re tweezing over and over, but due to the nature of hair growth, you’re not dealing with two or eight hairs, you’ve got a whole lot more. Let’s do some math, shall we. Say you plucked 2 hairs a day every day of the week, to be 14 hairs a week. For simplicity, let’s say there are 4 weeks in a month so 14 hairs a week times 4 weeks in a month equals 56 hairs. Depending on the growth cycle, which on the chin is about 15 months, then multiply the growth cycle time by the number of hairs and you’ve got 56 hairs/month times 15 months equals 840 hairs on the chin! Yikes! Your chin has about 500 hair follicles per square centimeter, which is about the space on the tip of your index finger. So, while it feels like it’s the same hair over and over, it’s not.

Chin Hair Summary
2 hairs/day x 7 days/week = 14 hairs a week
14 hairs/week x 4 weeks/month = 56 hairs a month
56 hairs/month x 15 month growing cycle = 840 hairs!

Often, there are more hairs as plucking chin hairs is usually just a mindless part of your normal grooming routine.
Add to this that chin hair on women is hormonally driven so when a hair is plucked or tweezed or waxed from the chin, the blood supply to that hair is stimulated, bringing with it oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to create a stronger, more resistant hair, that’ll often bring reinforcements! Next thing you know, you have a regular hair party on your chin that you’re encouraging by plucking!

So how should I deal with chin hair?

Quick Answer: Come to Blue Door Electrolysis or shave it or clip it.

Detailed Answer: Detailed Answer; No, shaving does not stimulate growth. The reason it may appear so is because shaving cuts the hair at it’s thickest part and that cut is blunt so the hair feels coarse. And yes, more hairs will appear when you stop plucking and start shaving because your pattern is filling in. With regular electrolysis, we can keep the area clear as the pattern fills in. Then you will experience decreasing visits and freedom from unwanted hair!

How much does Electrolysis cost?

Quick Answer: Rates vary depending on how much time you want. Please see price list.

Detailed Answer: Blue Door Electrolysis charges by time, not body area, and has prices for every budget. We also offer pre-paid packages that offer a discount against the per-session price.

Does Electrolysis really work?

Quick Answer: Yes.

Detailed Answer: Yes, in fact electrolysis is the only method of hair removal recognized as permanent by the FDA and AMA. It will take multiple sessions for complete clearance depending on the current situation and any underlying medical conditions or medications that can cause excessive hair growth.

Is Electrolysis safe?

Quick Answer: Yes.

Detailed Answer: Sarah practices universal precautions for all clients. What this means is that she uses disposable, pre-sterilized, individually wrapped probes; wears non-latex gloves during the process and then throw those away after treatment; all tweezers are heat sterilized and individually wrapped and sealed according to FDA standards after each use on a client. Sarah does not re-use probes or gloves and all tweezers are sterilized in between clients.

If you visit an Electrologist who does not wear gloves (or reuses gloves), reuses probes, or does not sterilize their tweezers please do yourself a favor and leave immediately and then please do the electrolysis industry a favor and report them to the Office of Professional Regulation (in Vermont they can be reached in Montpelier at 802-828-2191).

How is the Electrolysis equipment cleaned?

Quick Answer: A monthly test for the sterilizer to ensure it is actually sterilizing the tweezers.

Detailed Answer: Vermont requires all licensed electrologists perform a monthly bio test on all sterilizers, be they heat or autoclave. This is done by including a bio-strip with a standard run of tweezers. When the sterilizing process is finished, the bio strip is mailed with a control strip to a lab. The lab runs both strips through a process to grow biogens. A pass is recorded when the TEST strip (i.e. the one that was run through the sterilizer) fails to grow biogens, meaning the sterilization process worked. All electrologists are required to retain the reports for these bio tests. Feel free to ask your Electrologist to see the bio test strips and/or resulting reports. THIS IS REQUIRED FOR YOUR SAFETY and is just a good sanitary practice.

For more information on Vermont’s regulations for electrologists please see the Electrologists page at the website of the Office of Professional Regulation.

What about the indicator label on the sterilization package?

Quick Answer: The indicator label shows that the item was exposed to heat. It does NOT prove the item is actually sterile.

Detailed Answer: Most electrologists use an indicator label of some sort. This might be a separate sticker or part of the sterilizing package. The label indicates that the item has been exposed to heat and does NOT mean the sterilizer is sterilizing. This is why the bio test is important. Again, ask your Electrologist to show you the indicator process he/she uses and to explain their method. And ask to see the test results. The sterilization process means that an item is exposed to high heat for up to 2 hours. The goal is to kill all biogens. We can only be certain that a sterilizer is definitely killing all biogens by performing a monthly bio test NOT by an indicator label color change.

How does electrolysis work?

Quick Answer: Sarah will insert a thin, flexible probe along the hair shaft to the base of the hair follicle. Then the computerized epilator delivers a current that will destroy the lower two-thirds of the hair follicle, including the germinative cells.

Detailed Answer: Sarah cannot see beneath your skin, nor can she see the hair follicle so she uses the hair as a guide. Sarah will stretch the skin to open the follicle then insert the probe. The process is automated so within a second, the current is delivered. At that point, you may feel a flash of heat but by the time your brain registers that sensation, Sarah has removed the probe and will be removing the hair. It’s very fast.

Can you really remove hair from anywhere with Electrolysis?

Quick Answer: If Sarah can see the base of the hair, she can remove it.

Detailed Answer: Since Sarah can’t see the hair follicle or beneath your skin’s surface, she uses the hair as a guide. If she can see the base of the hair and can open the follicle she’ll be able to insert a probe accurately to perform electrolysis. Which means she cannot remove hair from the inner ear or inside the nose, but everything else is workable.

Are there side effects of Electrolysis?

Quick Answer: Possibly short term redness and puffiness. Definitely permanent removal of unwanted hair!

Detailed Answer: Detailed Answer: Since electrolysis is essentially localized flash heat in a concentrated area, your body will show some reaction. Most of the time, this includes temporary redness (erythema) or puffiness/swelling (edema) to the area. Often, this redness and puffiness will be gone in an hour or two, but it can last a bit longer depending on each person’s sensitivity. Some clients find that if they take ibuprofen several times during the 24 hours before electrolysis, and once or twice after, the swelling and redness will dissipate faster.

Additionally, with the unwanted hair removed a person will experience fewer ingrown hairs, less folliculitis, increased self confidence, and the freedom from unwanted hair!

See the Aftercare Products Page Aftercare Products page for some products clients have told me work well for them.

What about tips? Should I tip Sarah?

Quick Answer: Tips, while nice, are not expected.

Detailed Answer: Sarah enjoys extra cash as much as anybody but feels the rates for Blue Door Electrolysis reflect the level of service all clients deserve. The best “tips” from clients are:

-Timely appointment arrival. -Coming to Blue Door Electrolysis for their permanent hair removal needs. -Telling friends and family about the great service they receive at Blue Door Electrolysis.