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 In use about 50 years Thermolysis was devised and described as a hair removal technique by Dr. Bordier of Paris, France. His concept was the use of a radiating wave of electro-magnetic energy raising the temperature in the tissue surrounding the hair. The rapid oscillation of the wave would cause molecular friction within the tissue which would then increase with time or intensity. The increase in friction resulted in an increase in temperature. This works very much the same way as your microwave as it heats a styrofoam cup of water. Bear in mind that the energy can pass easily through the styrofoam into the water as well. This becomes very important in a later discussion, when I debunk a rapidly growing myth. What followed Bordier's invention was the slow, but steady decline in the use of galvanic electrolysis in favor of the "new technology" which promised so much more in terms of speed and volume. In 1945 the concurrent use of both thermolysis and galvanic electrolysis became possible. This was done by Henri St. Pierre and Arthur Hinkle whose company continues to manufacture equipment to this day. But thermolysis would continue to gain popularity because of two facets. It was fast and ANYONE could do it. By 1990, finding a good BLEND operator was difficult to say the least. On the East Coast U.S., and in Europe it was impossible!!! It is confusing to those of us on this side of the Atlantic to find that in many parts of Europe this process is actually called diathermy, but essentially the difference is in terms only. Fastest per-hair method Without a doubt, thermolysis is fast. A simple blink of power and the follicle, if done properly, is ready removed. Properly done, small, peach fuzz hairs can be removed easily. Swelling and discoloration are generally gone in about 2-3 hours. The "point effect" of the energy radiating downward from the tip of the needle is also quite useful when treating small sebaceous hairs. This removes the need for actual insertion itself. Simply touching the skin at the base of the hair brings the sebaceous bulb within range of the power band. But I warn you, this is not for amateurs and God knows, there are a few too many out there!! Besides, I have since learned that the proper use of galvanic power can be 5 times more effective, even here... Primarily meant for the removal of sparse or light hair Generally, the original intent of thermolysis was to remove a few sparse hairs or an upper lip of peach fuzz. Both St Pierre and Arthur Hinkle warned against the use of Flash Thermolysis for the purpose of removing coarse deep terminal hair such as beards. *sigh* Not many people have read their work prior to wrecking the complexion of some poor client. And yet the transgender community continually insists on this kind of work be done on them. Purveyors are not difficult to be found, either. For the removal of sparse hair, thermolysis can even be overused without significant impact to the skin. However in the case of facial beards or seriously dense hair thermolysis is subject to a problem with overlapping of power. This overlapping of power is touted to the community as doubling or tripling the effectiveness of treatment, when in fact, the overlap between any three hairs is sufficient to cook the skin into a serious second degree radiation burn with severe tissue damage. One community provider even went so far as to dismiss the damage as "an allergic reaction" and it was not until the scars formed that the truth was known. Widely used by many operators because of simplicity of operation The simplicity of thermolysis operation makes for a tantalizing position from the operator's view. Most modern machines are fully automated such that operating them consists of turning this knob to here and that knob to there and wail, man, wail. This is often as much instruction as some operators get. Bear in mind that many states have no testing or licensing, much less, training requirements. Difficult to obtain permanent hair kill I don't want to be accused of saying that thermolysis is not permanent, but don't worry, someone will do that for me. To further understand the nature of why thermolysis seems at the outset to not kill hair, we must go under the skin, to see how a philo-sebaceous unit works. It is prudent to point out here that the instant power stops, so does any means of further damage to the hair follicle. Not so with Galvanic lye. With thermolysis, we find that with each pass, we remove the main hair, but stimulate follicle sites surrounding the original offender. The skin, does what it does best, and that is to protect itself against stimulation and one of those mechanisms for protection is...(good grief)...HAIR. Often the harder you work, the more there is to do!!! Difficult to use without causing deep-tissue scarring and premature So, of course, many operators simply "turn it up". This works fine for hard rock music, but NOT for thermolysis. There are two knobs, so let's infer that the first knob is the timing. What the heck. It is the easiest to reach! Increasing the timing actually has two consequences. First the heating pattern moves upward into dryer skin where tissue becomes desiccated because it is already partially dry. Second, the heating at the lower depths is also beginning to dessicate tissue due to the increased length of time. Bear in mind, that all of this can occur in under one second!!! Of course, increasing intensity, the other knob, can also lead to tissue desiccation and scarring. The insidious thing about thermolysis is the fact, that the damage is often done long before either the client or the operator is aware of it. Usually scabbing will follow for a couple of weeks and then the skin displays a small circular scar around the original hair site. I have a few of these, myself. Not on my face, thankfully. They are the price I paid for being a guinea pig at electrolysis school. Large areas of high power thermolysis will ultimately present as white blotches in the skin. Can require up to 30 or 40 passes before hair growth is substantially reduced Thus, it is that we come to a serious problem. One way to remove all those hairs that seem to return week after week, and month after month is to simply remove them again. This is the least damaging way out of the dilemma and sadly, the least often used. Instead the temptation to increase settings prevails, and skin damage results. Far too many clients have turned up with 30-50 passes over a given area and asked me to do the remainder of the work. They are usually quite shocked when 3-4 passes later, very little re-growth remains. However, I usually do have to set them straight with regard to my attitudes on prior work. Can cause imbedded debris, ingrown hairs, circular scars (pits) Ho Boy! Here is where the horror tales begin. It is bad enough that permanent scarring and bleaching of the skin are the price to pay for using flash thermolysis on coarse, deep hair. But there is even more damage to come. When high levels of power are applied, the follicle heats unevenly, due to the presence of the hair. When inserting the needle into the follicle, the hair has to lie alongside the shaft of the needle. When the power is applied, the result is much like a bi-metal strip. One side of the follicle side expands more rapidly than the other. In high speed photography of this process, what is evident (besides the congealing of the tissue outside of the hair follicle) is the tendency of the lower follicle to twist or even invert. Sometimes the bend can very nearly approach 180 degrees of rotation!!! Of course, this process "freezes" when the power disconnects. The operator then "removes" the hair and the follicle dies. Well...maybe, maybe not. Generally, not, as the germination parts of the follicle may still be present and undamaged. Remember, when the power stops, so does the kill. Given sufficient distortion, and skin damage, there is simply no follicle at all. Should the hair begin rejuvenation, there is simply no place for it to grow. As the dermal papilla (end of the root) begins to re-start producing hair, the hair is simply pushed through the skin and this results in the exorbitantly high number of ingrown hairs. These are easily removed, once they reach somewhere near the surface where they can be dug out. Debris, on the other hand, is a far worse situation. This can be the burned remains of the lower part of the follicle. It can be small bit of keratinized stuff that was produced before the follicle changed its mind and died after all. It is usually dark and severely imbedded. Often found at depths of .75 cm (about 3/8") to 1.5 cm (3/4"), a piece of debris can be as much as 5 times the size of the original hair and look 5 times larger than its actual size, due to the diffraction of the light in the skin. As tissue is transparent, the effect is not unlike a magnifying glass. This produces a dark area under the skin which may take anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour and a half to extricate. Because of massive destruction or distortion of the follicle by high temperatures, there seems to be no way that the debris will work its own way out of the skin. Also, I have added a series of photographs which clearly show that the outer follicle was simply cooked into the consistency of a tough, semi-transparent “sac” which was so difficult to rip apart, that the debris and re-germinated hair were unable to exit the now dead follicle. Can damage surrounding tissue and most notably, sebaceous glands surrounding the hair follicle It may seem to be a bit of an
old drum that I am beating, but I feel that the dangers cannot be
overstated. I am continually the recipient of one woeful tale after
another, and the observer of the sick and sorrowful work being done
out there. I would like to focus on the exact nature of the skin
damage itself and not the debris. Although the two are intimately
intertwined, I feel that I should also discuss them in different
contexts, for a much clearer view of what is happening. The end result of excessive heating of the skin by the use of thermolysis
(also, see my section laser) is the gradual replacement of soft
supple skin with a much harder and less flexible form of scar tissue.
The result can often take as long as 10-15 years to be completely
evident. What is evident at that time is skin which is excessively
wrinkled and a smile that looks more like the parting of a theater
curtain.
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