APEX Electrolysis & Bodywork

The common misconception about electrolysis is that you only need one treatment per hair. This is not so; because hair can take several weeks to several months to fully cycle through, complete the 3 state growth cycle, repeated treatments may be necessary in order to catch the hair in the anagen phase of growth. The hair must be in the anagen phase on order for destruction to take place at the nourishment source.

There are 3 stages in the life of a hair, anagen, catagen, and telogen

Anagen or the active growth stage begins at the moment the inactive follicle comes to life and descends to the papilla which connects to the nourishment source or blood supply. This stage ends when the dermal papilla ceases to nourish the hair, at which time the hair comes loose from the papilla.

Catagen is the next phase, during which the cells undergo a reversal of the growth process. Here, instead of the follicle reaching downward to the nourishment source, it shrinks upward toward the surface of the skin.

Telogen is the period of rest following catagen. During this time all that remains below the upper half of the follicle is a collection of hair germ cells from the outer root sheath and the dormant dermal papilla cells. At this stage the hair hangs out till it is shed.

Electrologist can treat and remove the hairs in the telogen and catagen stages, but they cannot reach the bottom of the follicle to do the destruction necessary to achieve permanent hair removal.

If you let too much time pass between treatments the hairs may not be in the anagen stage, and though they can still be treated and removed, the electrologist will be unable to reach the bottom of the follicle where the real destruction takes place. Keep in mind that in some cases the follicle has strengthened as a result of years of tweezing, which may mean that you will need more treatments to achieve permanence.