blatt@Glacier.ARPA (Miriam Blatt) (10/03/85)
I have a problem with facial hair, to which I'd like a solution as close
to permanent as possible. Over my summer holiday (in Australia) I tried one
place where I was given electrolysis - 50 or 60 hairs removed in 10 minutes.
This was quite painful, and I came out feeling bruised and somewhat mutilated.
Hence I was pleasantly surprised when the next place I tried used depilatron,
which is far less painful, although much slower (1 minute per hair).
Both use an electric current to kill the hair root - depilatron by holding the
hair with tweezers until the current travels down to the root and kills it,
electrolysis by applying a needle directly to the root.
Anyway, the lady in Australia said that depilatron worked better than
electrolysis, whereas the people here say that depilatron is no better than
just plucking the hairs out. Furthermore, electrolysis people here are called
electrologists and are registered with the state. Finally I should mention
one more advantage of depilatron - it is simple and safe enough for one
to be able to buy a machine and do it at home, without paying out money
and making appointments to see specialists.
So by now the source of my confusion should be clear. To what extent does
hair conduct electricity - could the depilatron hypothesis be valid? If
hair does conduct electricity, then what about skin - which method would
do the most skin damage? I have a vague memory of some newspaper reports
from some years back in which depilatron was discredited as a method of
permanent hair removal - to what extent was it proved to work, and
was it permanent for some people, if so what percentage?
It seems that I would be safest going to state registered electrologists,
unless anyone has definite information about depilatron. I guess if I
find someone good, it won't be so bad, however, it is tough after my
first experience there.
Any ideas, or former experiences?
Please reply by mail.
Miriam Blatt
blatt@su-amadeus.arpa
... {decwrl,hplabs}!glacier!blatt
barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) (10/07/85)
After several years of rather painful electrolysis I think the results are well worth the pain. Unfortunately the electric tweezers - depilatron - don't seem to work all that well. Human hair is basically an insulator. By what means does the "current" travel down the hair shaft into the folicle to destroy the hair root? --Joanne Dow (using the computer of Lee Gold)