What is regrowth?
Depending on the area of the body, up to twenty percent of all hair is not visible. Try to visualize another 25% of the visible hairs to see all of your hair. These hairs have shed and are in dormancy or are starting to grow back. Each hair follicle cycles through phases of growth, retraction, rest, shedding, and dormancy. For us humans, the time in each phase for each hair follicle is different, which differentiates humans from some animals with distinct shedding cycles. We don't really notice normal hair loss and regrowth, except when there has been a significant physiological change. It is impossible to predict when a new hair from a previously dormant follicle will emerge; but, the new hairs will likely become visible shortly after the resting phase (reportedly up to three months). Hair emerging from resting follicles may be mistakenly viewed as regrowth of treated hairs.
Regrowth of Treated Hair
As suggested, there can also be regrowth of hairs previously treated. There are two causes of regrowth after treatment: 1) inaccurate insertion and 2) insufficient electrical action. The result of an inaccurate insertion is the same as a tweezed hair. Hinkel¹ (p.258) offers the following averages for regrowth of tweezed hair of different sizes:
Medium depth terminal hair (as on side of face and body): 6 to 7 weeks
Medium depth intermediate or accelerated lanugo hair: 7 to 9 weeks
Shallow lanugo hair (downy, general face): 8 to 10 weeks
The result of insufficient electrical action is similar to regrowth from a resting follicle, as there is significantly delayed growth while the follicle is rebuilding itself. It is impossible to predict when this regrowth will emerge, as each follicle will have different damage from treatment. This regrowth can appear as fine hair around two months or so, coarsening and becoming deeper over the next three or four months, and appear as fully-grown hair in five months.
Average Time of Hair Reappearance After Tweezing or Waxing
Deep, coarse, bulbous terminal hair (as on chins): 5 to 6 weeksMedium depth terminal hair (as on side of face and body): 6 to 7 weeks
Medium depth intermediate or accelerated lanugo hair: 7 to 9 weeks
Shallow lanugo hair (downy, general face): 8 to 10 weeks
The result of insufficient electrical action is similar to regrowth from a resting follicle, as there is significantly delayed growth while the follicle is rebuilding itself. It is impossible to predict when this regrowth will emerge, as each follicle will have different damage from treatment. This regrowth can appear as fine hair around two months or so, coarsening and becoming deeper over the next three or four months, and appear as fully-grown hair in five months.
Permanent Hair Removal
As a percentage of hair before treatment, regrowth can be up to 60% (or more). Obviously, 60% regrowth does not sound very good, but it can happen. Even higher regrowth is observed from the misapplication of flash thermolysis on curly hair (curved follicles) or coarse hair (deep follicles), or from not applying sufficient electrical action to destroy all follicular stem cells. However, even with 60% regrowth, after three clearings over nine months, the remaining hair would be around 25% of the starting growth. In comparison, with 30% regrowth after each of three clearings over nine months, the remaining hair would be around 5% of the starting growth. In both cases, the remaining hair is weakened and likely can be treated effectively in a few short sessions. This is permanent hair removal.Total Time of Treatment
As your electrologist, my goal is to minimize the total time of treatment (TTT), without damaging the epidermis, and without excessive discomfort for you. Obviously, to minimize TTT, regrowth must be minimized. To minimize regrowth, accurate insertions must be made and sufficient electrical action must be applied. I use proper magnification and lighting and positioning, and I apply a two-handed technique for stretching the skin to assure accurate insertions. We will work together to find the electrical settings for your desired comfort and the action time sufficient to destroy the follicular stem cells. You will be in the driver's seat telling me how high and how fast to go, and I will be executing accurate insertions, observing skin reactions, and applying sufficient electrical action to permanently destroy the hair follicle stem cells.
Please be aware that all of the preceding discussion assumes that no new hair is forming due to unbalanced hormonal activity. This will be discussed in future posts.
¹ Hinkel, Arthur R., and Lind, Richard W. Electrolysis, Thermolysis and the Blend: The Principles and Practice of Permanent Hair Removal. California: Arroway. 1968
Please be aware that all of the preceding discussion assumes that no new hair is forming due to unbalanced hormonal activity. This will be discussed in future posts.
¹ Hinkel, Arthur R., and Lind, Richard W. Electrolysis, Thermolysis and the Blend: The Principles and Practice of Permanent Hair Removal. California: Arroway. 1968