Fig. 6.

remove every hair cell for most people, and can take as much as one year, or even longer in difficult and extreme cases.

FREQUENTLY

ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. What are the causes of exces- sive hair?

A. There are four generally accepted causes of hirsu- tism, which is how this con- dition is known in medi- cal terminology:

1. Heredity: One can inherit patterns of hair growth that are excessive. For example, eyebrows that are thick and coarse and extend across the bridge of the nose could easily be in- herited.

2. Glandular disturbance: endocrine imbalances or dis- turbances, such as Cushing's syndrome, for example, can generate abnormal, exces-

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sive hair.

3. Normal Systemic chan- ges: nornal changes in hor- mone levels, such as occurs at puberty, menopause, or senescense for example, can signal the emergence of a new and disturbing crop of hair.

4. Topical irritation: such as can arise from the long incarceration in a cast, for example.

Q. Why is electrolysis better than temporary methods of hair removal, such as shaving or plucking?

A' First of all, for the obvious reason: they are temporary and have to be repeated frequently.

Secondly, shaving, as an example, leaves a stubble within hours, which is not too effective. Tweezing or plucking over an extended period of time can cause irritations, erruptions, pits, and scars, and can also distort some hair follicles, which will make permanent hair removal later on more time consuming, costly, and uncomfortable.

Q.Is electrolysis painful?

The instrument is inserted gently into the hair fol- licle, a natural pocket in the skin from which the hair grows. There is a slight,