The differences
Speed factor
These 2 methods couldn’t be more different. How much hair are you targeting, and what colour is it? Electrolysis treats one hair at a time, approximately 200-800 hairs per hour. Laser can treat hundreds in minutes. Because electrolysis is less costly per hour than laser, the rule is, if you have only a few hairs to treat (e.g. less than 100), it would make more sense to go with electrolysis. For large areas or large amounts of hair, laser treatments are the most cost effective as well as much faster.
Hair colour factor
What colour is your hair? Electrolysis can kill hair of any colour. Laser can only target pigment, and so it works better on darker hair. Red is targeted very poorly. Although our Gentle Max Pro laser can successfully treat medium brown, and somewhat red tinged, we may augment treatments with electrolysis. If you have a combination of hair colours, we would recommend using laser in combination with electrolysis.
Sensation
The sensation is not the same. Most individuals find both treatments tolerable, especially when analgesics are used. Electrolysis has a sharper more lingering feel, while laser, especially when cryogen is used, is more instantaneous and may feel much more indistinct. The coarser and denser the hair growth, the more intense the sensation. Since electrolysis is often used to treat finer hairs, a low intensity treatment is needed which is quite mild, less than the plucking of a hair.
Skin responses
Electrolysis involves the insertion of a probe into the hair follicle while laser can penetrate the epidermis non-invasively. Therefore post-treatment effects with these methods also differ. The epidermal response to laser is generally minimal. A redness and a little edema may be present for a few hours. Facial skin responses to electrolysis usually consist of reddening and slight swelling which normally dissipates within minutes or hours. In some cases, an irritated look or a few whiteheads may appear for a short time and later speckles of reddish brown eschars which may last for several days may form. These may be concealed with makeup.
Laser is an efficient way to clear out ingrown hairs!
Areas
Electrolysis can treat hairs in very hard to get at places like ears and nose. It can be selective and therefore good at precision sculpting as in eyebrows. Ears and nose anyone? Laser is King when it comes to the larger body areas, able to motor through areas in minutes when electrolysis would take hours.
Skin Colour factor
Electrolysis is colour-blind. The probe is making contact with the follicle and heating it directly, whereas laser, being attracted to pigment and heating the follicle, may also heat a darkly pigmented skin. Dark hairs on light skin will respond optimally. Effectiveness may decrease with an increase in skin pigment beyond Type 4. Certain wavelengths like the nd Yag 1064 are best used for darker skins.
Darker skins may be more prone to skin speckling and temporary hyper-pigmentation with electrolysis.
Treatment protocols
The treatment protocols are different. During electrolysis, each hair, along with the root is removed. You can come in for your treatment with short or long hair, it is up to you. If you’ve been waxing or plucking, you don’t have to let it all grow out and it doesn’t matter what length it is as long as it’s long enough to grasp with a tweezer. In order to do a laser treatment, we prefer that you haven’t waxed more recently than 2 months. and we usually prefer that it’s clean shaven (with some exceptions). Roots are released or ‘shed’ for up to 2 weeks after the treatment, and shaving is recommended during this time.
After a laser treatment there is a long period of hairlessness (4-8 weeks), much longer than with any other hair removal method. Treatment scheduling differs somewhat. Electrolysis treatments can be scheduled as needed, every 1-6 weeks depending on the rate and amount of growth as well as personal preferences. Laser treatments, because they’re more costly are done more infrequently in an effort to maximize the number of hairs present. This is usually every 6-8 weeks.
Because there is no minimum amount of time enforced between electrolysis treatments, customers often opt to come in when they see a small regrowth. Therefore the total number of sessions (although short) are higher than sessions for laser clients.
Permanence
On average with regular treatments, electrolysis achieve 75% permanent reduction in 6 months while laser may take a few months longer. At this point treatments should become less frequent. The average treatment period for laser would be about 1.5 years while with electrolysis a little less.
In certain cases, results come quickly. Treating fine hairs is where electrolysis shines, capable of killing a high percentage of hairs in one session. High kill percentages are also possible with laser when the hair is extremely dark.
Hair growth patterns evolve and aren’t always complete at the time treatment is initiated. In fact often hair removal is begun when stimulated hair is first observed. After puberty most body patterns are mature, and so will almost never be replaced once treated. Unfortunately hair growth of the female face and male back is not always complete and growth spurts continue into old age as hormones change. Genetics are a clue as to whether your growth patterns are complete. Also the density and length of your fine hair is a clue. Personal consultations are the best way to find the answers you’re looking for.