Month: September 2014

Hypertrichosis versus hirsutism

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Both hypertrichosis and hirsutism are forms of excessive hair growth and either can be congenital or acquired later in life.

Extreme cases of hypertrichosis can be seen in people with “werewolf syndrome,” where they exhibit the type of hair growth we see on animals. This effect can be localized to one part of the body, such as the face, or generalized and spread all over. It is driven primarily by the adrenal glands of the body.

Hirsutism is a specific type of excessive hair growth seen in women, seen in places dominated by androgen induced hair growth, like the face. As such, it is primarily driven by how much androgen the body produces.

How do you know which type of excessive hair growth that you have?

Hypertrichosis – sideburns, upper lip, chin, nipples, arms and legs
Hirsutism – cheeks, neck/under the chin, on or between the breasts, stomach or lower back, and inner thighs and possibly some receding hairline

Both can be indicative of a medical condition and we believe it would be wise to consult a doctor about your concerns.

In any event, if you are looking to have your excessive hair removed, electrolysis is the only method able to permanently remove any hair anywhere on the body regardless of the cause, your gender, skin or hair color. For more information or to book an appointment, contact us at hairinfo@EmancipatedElectrolysis.com or call us at 585-270-5230 and finally be freed from unwanted hair.

The root causes of hair growth

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There are three major categories that determine how much hair you have, congenital factors, topical issues and hormonal factors.

Congenital factors are the things we are born with… they include our genes, genetic ancestry, chromosomal malfunctions and similar issues that we inherit or are caused during our gestational development. Normal congenital hair include the areas where everyone has hair – our scalp, eyelashes and eyebrows, nostrils and ear canals, underarms and pubic region. How much hair you have depends on your racial or ethnic background and the amount of hair typical found on members from them.

Topical issues include anything that might cause irritation to the skin and hair follicles. This can include temporary removal measures like shaving or waxing, as well as friction caused by clothing. With some measures, you will find less hair growth and, with other measures, you can find that the friction stimulates more blood flow to an area, stimulating more growth.

Systemic factors are created through the basic aging and metabolic properties of the body. These can include menopausal hair growth, endocrine gland dysfunction or abnormalities like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT – either as part of treatment for menopause or for transgendered individuals undergoing therapy).

Sometimes, medical treatments are available to help remedy some of the systemic issues, such as thyroid medication to correct a malfunction or a DHT blocker to prevent a certain type of testosterone from causing male pattern baldness. How well one responds to medical intervention depends on the individual themselves and can vary greatly. Likewise, the desire to have an ideal image of one’s own hair varies from person to person.

Unfortunately, medicine alone usually cannot grant us with the image of ourselves that we would like to project. For those with more hair than they would like to have, electrolysis provides the only method that is capable of permanently removing any hair anywhere on the body. This allows us to permanently create the image that reflects what our clients want to project about themselves. If you have a systemic issue causing hair growth, we encourage you to see your doctor to ensure your health, as they can sometimes have effects far deeper than simply hair growth. In conjunction with that, we are here to help create your ideal self-image.

For more information or to book an appointment, contact us at hairinfo@EmancipatedElectrolysis.com or call us at 585-270-5230 and finally be freed from unwanted hair.

Permanent eyebrow shaping

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Ladies, are you sick of constantly having to pluck, wax or thread your eyebrows? Over the years, how many hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars have you spent going to the salon every few weeks to make sure your eyebrows stay the shape that looks best on you? Have you looked in the mirror to do your makeup before an important event, only to find your brows coming back when just as you want to look your best?

With electrolysis, we can make this problem a thing of the past. In as little as 15 minutes per session, we can clean up your eyebrows and give you the sharp, defined shape you’re looking for, free from strays. Every week or two, as new hair starts to come in, we can remove those in another brief session. After several sessions, once all of your hair has gone through a dormant cycle and emerges to be treated, you will never have to worry about your eyebrows again. We can also take care of those stray hairs on your eyelids and, if you are brave enough, even remove ingrown eyelashes (in fact, electrolysis was originally invented to treat an ingrown eyelash).

Guys, if you have a unibrow or bushy eyebrows, we can permanently take care of that for you too, using a staggered technique to create a natural, fuzzy hairline, so that nobody but you will ever know you had any work done.

If you are interested in safe, permanent hair removal for your eyebrows or any other part of your body, email us at HairInfo@EmancipatedElectrolysis.com or call us at 585-270-5230 to schedule your free consultation with complimentary trial hair removal and finally be freed from unwanted hair.

Transgender beard removal

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Perhaps the most difficult job in electrolysis, is the removal of an androgenic beard, whether caused by PCOS in cisgender females, or the testosterone in a trans person or cisgender male.

Unlike menopausal facial hair growth that many women experience, a true beard is very resilient, with a firm follicle structure and coarse, dense hair.

Proper settings and insertions are vitally critical in such a situation, and androgenic beards are best handled by people that already have experience in doing them. They simply aren’t the same as when grandma wants to have a few hairs on her chin removed and you aren’t going to get very far if the electrologist treats them as such. Many electrologists simply aren’t aggressive enough in their treatment and are content to routinely treat the same hair over and over again, becoming comfortable with the idea that their job is some sort of ongoing maintenance, rather than something to finish. Most electrologists don’t like to work longer sessions as the dirty little secret is, they make more money off shorter ones.

Many people seek to have laser first, and that is fine, if all you are looking to do is reduce your hair. Sometimes, it is recommended to start with laser and then finish with electrolysis as a means of saving money. At best, that approach may save some time, but it isn’t likely to save much money, as the remaining hair will be thinner and more frail, with a deeper and more traumatized follicle that takes a longer time to individually treat than if laser had never been done. We feel that, given the price of laser and the costly contracts many salons try to hook people on, we can help people more effectively for less than what it would cost to have laser first and then finish with electrolysis.

At Emancipated Electrolysis LLC, the proper treatment of androgenic beard hair is so important to us, it is what we specialize in. Yes, we are more than happy to work on grandma too, but we get the most enjoyment out of helping those with the most serious hair removal needs. While most electrologists shy away from such projects, we thrive on them. Whether you are trans, have PCOS, or are a cisgender male, we are your safe, supportive, private resource to put a permanent end to your beard problems.

Email us at HairInfo@EmancipatedElectrolysis.com or call us at 585-270-5230 to schedule a free consultation, and finally be freed from your unwanted hair.

Ingrown hair

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Lots of people have a problem with ingrown hairs. Many people get them after shaving, plucking or waxing, particularly if they have very curly or coarse hair, although anyone can get them. You can also get them in areas where clothing constantly rubs across the skin, if you are prone to clogged pores or if you have certain medical conditions.

What exactly is an ingrown hair? It is when a hair curls back on itself and remains buried underneath the skin instead of emerging from a follicle. Sometimes, they can appear as a simple pimple while, other times, you can see a fully formed hair buried underneath the skin. Ingrown hairs can frequently form infected pustules or scarring if someone has a severe, chronic condition. Some people will pluck them, use a needle to lift them out of the skin or use a topical solution to try to prevent them, but these are all temporary solutions.

There are two main conditions associated with ingrown hairs, folliculitis, or inflammation of the hair follicle, and pseudofolliculitis barbae, otherwise known as razor bumps. The good news, is that electrolysis can be used to treat either condition. In fact, electrolysis was originally devised for treating folliculitis of an eyelash. Further, as medical conditions, your treatment may even be tax deductable (talk to your tax specialist for details).

Email us at HairInfo@EmancipatedElectrolysis.com or call all us at 585-270-5230 to get a free consultation on how to permanently resolve your hair removal problems.