FAQs

Electrolysis is the only method of hair removal recognised as permanent by regulatory bodies, including the FDA. The treatment involves inserting a very fine, sterile probe into the natural opening of each hair follicle. A small amount of electrical energy is then delivered to permanently destroy the follicle’s ability to produce hair.

Laser hair removal works differently. It uses light energy to target the pigment (melanin) in the hair shaft, which means it is most effective on dark hair and lighter skin tones. Results can be limited or unpredictable for individuals with lighter hair colours or darker skin tones.

Electrolysis, by contrast, targets the hair follicle directly rather than relying on pigment. This makes it effective on all hair colours — including white, grey, blonde, red, and brunette — and all skin tones. For this reason, electrolysis is often the preferred or only option for clients who are not suitable candidates for laser hair removal.

Most clients describe the sensation as a mild sting, pinch, or brief snapping sensation. The level of discomfort varies depending on the treatment area, individual sensitivity, and the electrolysis modality used. Areas such as the upper lip, bikini line, and underarms are generally more sensitive than areas like the legs or arms.

While electrolysis is not completely pain‑free, modern technology such as Apilus delivers energy with exceptional speed and precision. As a result, any sensation is typically very brief, lasting only a fraction of a second.

Client comfort is always a priority. Your feedback during treatment is encouraged, particularly when working on sensitive areas. If discomfort becomes difficult to tolerate, treatment settings can be adjusted, or shorter sessions may be recommended to ensure the experience remains manageable and comfortable.

During your initial consultation, we assess your sensitivity and determine appropriate treatment settings. We use insulated probes to precisely target the hair follicle while minimising impact on surrounding tissue, helping to reduce discomfort and avoid overtreatment.

Some clients find that booking shorter sessions or listening to music or podcasts during treatment can be helpful. While numbing creams are sometimes discussed, we generally do not advocate their use. Being able to accurately assess your tolerance to treatment allows us to work safely and effectively, ensuring the correct energy levels are used and protecting the skin.

We strongly encourage consistent hydration in the days leading up to your treatment for several important reasons. Well‑hydrated skin and hair follicles are healthier and respond more effectively to electrolysis, making the hair removal process more efficient.

When the skin is adequately hydrated, treatment settings can often be kept lower, which can improve comfort during your session. In addition, proper hydration supports the skin’s natural healing processes, helping it recover more quickly following electrolysis.

Maintaining good hydration before and after treatment plays a key role in both treatment comfort and optimal outcomes.

Most clients are eligible for electrolysis. However, your medical history must be reviewed prior to treatment to ensure electrolysis is safe and appropriate for you.

Electrolysis may not be suitable for individuals with certain medical conditions or circumstances, including:

• Pregnancy in the first trimester

• Diabetes

• A pacemaker or other implanted electrical devices

• Heart conditions or the use of blood‑thinning medication

• Serious or uncontrolled illness

• Epilepsy

• Metal implants

Your eligibility will be assessed during your initial consultation, along with a review of your medical history and any relevant contraindications. This ensures treatments are delivered safely and in line with professional standards of care.

Some temporary skin reactions are normal following electrolysis and are part of the body’s natural healing process. You may experience mild redness or localised swelling in the treated area, which is usually minimal and not a cause for concern. In some cases, small pimples, or temporary hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation, may occur as the skin heals. With correct post‑treatment aftercare, these effects typically resolve on their own.

It’s important to understand that electrolysis involves controlled, targeted trauma to the hair follicle. The intention is to destroy the cells that nourish hair growth, and this process may temporarily affect surrounding dermal tissue. Any visible side effects are a reflection of the skin healing and regenerating.

With appropriate aftercare and time, side effects are usually mild, temporary, and kept to a minimum.

Immediately following treatment, you can expect:

• Redness and swelling, which often subside within a few hours

• If your skin is more sensitive, these effects may take slightly longer to settle

You may also notice small scabs forming within 24–48 hours. These are a normal part of the healing process and should never be picked, as this can increase the risk of pigmentation changes or scarring. Scabs should be allowed to fall away naturally, which can take up to two weeks, depending on the area treated.

To support healing:

• Keep the skin well hydrated — moisturise twice daily and drink plenty of water

• Cleanse gently using mild, fragrance‑free products

• Avoid skincare containing alcohol or active ingredients while undergoing electrolysis

We recommend simple, gentle products such as Cetaphil or QV, along with alcohol‑free witch hazel and aloe vera gel. Skincare does not need to be complicated or expensive — consistency, moisturising, and daily sun protection make the greatest difference to healing and long‑term skin health.

This is a very common question, particularly for first‑time clients. Although the term “needle” is often used, electrolysis does not involve piercing the skin in the way people typically imagine.

The probe used in electrolysis is extremely fine and is gently inserted into the hair follicle’s natural opening (the pore), alongside the hair itself. The skin is not punctured or broken. Because of this, insertion is usually barely perceptible and should not cause pain or discomfort.

Electrolysis probes are very different from medical or hypodermic needles. Their purpose is simply to deliver energy precisely to the hair follicle, allowing for safe and effective permanent hair removal.

Session length depends on the area being treated and the amount of hair present. Smaller areas, such as the upper lip, typically require 15–30 minutes per session, while larger areas — including the legs or back — require longer appointments. Most treatment plans for moderate‑sized areas involve sessions of 30–60 minutes.

The total number of sessions varies from person to person and is influenced by several factors, including the size of the treatment area, hair density and coarseness, hormonal influences, and how consistently appointments are attended.

Electrolysis is a progressive treatment, not a one‑off procedure. While permanent results are absolutely achievable, timelines differ for each individual. A personalised treatment plan and realistic expectations will be discussed during your initial consultation, once your hair and skin have been properly assessed.

Electrolysis is a staggered treatment process designed to deliver optimal, long‑term outcomes. This is not a “once and done” treatment. Your electrolysis journey is ongoing until the final destination — permanent hair removal — is reached.

This is one of the most common questions we’re asked, and with full transparency, it can be difficult to give a precise answer. There is no fixed framework that applies to everyone, because every individual, hair pattern, and physiology is unique.

Rather than thinking in terms of a set number of visits, it’s often more helpful to consider electrolysis in terms of the total hours required to progressively weaken and permanently destroy individual hair follicles.

Multiple sessions are always required to achieve permanent results.

The overall duration of treatment will be discussed during your initial consultation. Most clients can expect treatment to take place over approximately 6 to 24 months, allowing us to effectively treat hairs throughout their full growth cycle.

Session length and treatment timelines depend on several factors, including:

• The quantity of hair being treated

• Client comfort and sensitivity

• The type of hair (coarser hair often requires more treatment)

• The underlying cause of unwanted hair growth — for example, hormonal hair may be more persistent and prone to regrowth depending on individual physiology

Our role is to support you throughout the process with honest guidance, realistic expectations, and a treatment plan tailored specifically to you.

Seeing hair appear after electrolysis can feel confusing, but it is a normal and expected part of the process. There are several reasons this can happen:

• Hair grows in cycles, and not every hair is in the ideal growth phase at the time of treatment. If a hair was treated outside the active growth phase, it may not have been fully susceptible during that session. This is why following your electrologist’s instructions — such as avoiding tweezing or waxing between appointments — is essential to prevent unnecessary re‑treatments.

• A hair follicle may take several treatment cycles to be completely destroyed. In these cases, the hair often grows back weaker, finer, and lighter, and will continue to diminish with ongoing treatment.

• Also, what looks like regrowth may be a previously dormant follicle becoming active. These hairs were not visible or treatable at the time of your earlier session.

• Be reassured,  commonly, the hair you’re seeing is actually a different hair from a different, previously untreated follicle. For example, the chin alone can contain hundreds of hair follicles per square centimetre. Unless every follicle in that area is treated in a single session — which isn’t possible — new hairs will continue to appear as they enter the growth phase.

• Hormonal influences, including conditions such as PCOS or certain medications, can stimulate new follicles to activate over time.

This is why electrolysis is a long‑term, progressive process. 

The goal is to identify and treat each individual hair follicle as it becomes active, across the full hair growth cycle. When we maintain consistent, regular sessions, electrolysis will systematically treat every active follicle over its full growth cycle to achieve permanent results.

Many clients notice a visible reduction in hair density relatively early in treatment, often after just a few sessions. However, it’s important to have realistic expectations. Electrolysis is a course of treatments, not a single procedure, and the timeline to visible improvement and full clearance varies depending on the individual and the area being treated.

Because electrolysis works progressively across the hair growth cycle, results build over time. This treatment is very much a case of “trust the process.” Changes can be gradual, and taking regular photos can be a helpful way to track progress and see improvements that may not be immediately obvious day to day.

With consistency and patience, these early reductions continue to build toward permanent results.

Absolutely. This is a very common situation. Many clients use laser hair removal to achieve an initial reduction in hair density over larger areas, then transition to electrolysis to permanently remove the finer, lighter, or more stubborn hairs that laser is unable to effectively target.

There is no clinical reason why you cannot move from laser to electrolysis. In fact, many professionals use both technologies strategically to achieve more complete and permanent results. We simply assess the hair that remains and treat the area as we would for any new client, creating a personalised treatment plan based on your current hair growth and goals.

Some clients also choose to have laser and electrolysis for different areas at the same time, depending on suitability. This can be discussed during your consultation to ensure the safest and most effective approach for you.

Not everyone will experience post‑inflammatory hyperpigmentation following electrolysis. PIH occurs when the skin produces excess pigment as part of its healing response, and individual risk varies depending on skin type, genetics, sun exposure, and adherence to aftercare instructions.

If pigmentation does occur, it is usually temporary and can take up to 18 months to fully fade on its own, depending on the depth of pigmentation and individual healing response.

Proper aftercare plays a critical role in reducing the likelihood and severity of PIH. Once the skin has healed:

• Gentle exfoliation may help support skin renewal

• Rosehip oil can assist in improving skin tone and supporting barrier repair

It is important to wait until electrolysis treatments are complete and the skin has fully healed before introducing any active skincare ingredients or corrective treatments. Using actives too early can irritate the skin and worsen pigmentation.

Consistent sun protection, gentle skincare, and patience are key. If you have concerns about pigmentation or are prone to PIH, this can be discussed during your consultation so your treatment plan and aftercare can be appropriately tailored.

Once your electrolysis treatment plan has commenced, certain hair‑removal methods are permitted, while others should be avoided to ensure the best possible results.

You may shave, dermaplane, or trim hair between sessions. Bleaching and depilatory creams are also acceptable, provided they are not used within 72 hours prior to a treatment, as they may irritate the skin.

However, tweezing, waxing, threading, and epilating must be avoided. These methods remove the hair from the follicle entirely, disrupting the hair growth cycle that electrolysis relies on. When the hair is removed from the root, the follicle cannot be treated, which significantly delays progress and extends the overall treatment timeline.

To achieve permanent results as efficiently as possible, it is important that the hair remains present in the follicle so it can be treated during electrolysis sessions. Following these guidelines helps ensure consistent progress and optimal outcomes.

Electrolysis can be safely performed on areas with tattoos and is the only permanent hair removal method suitable for removing hair growing within tattooed skin.

When performed correctly using advanced technology such as Apilus, electrolysis targets the hair follicle beneath the skin without affecting the tattoo pigment. The treatment does not alter the colour, shape, or appearance of your tattoo.

Special care is taken when working over tattooed areas to ensure treatment is delivered precisely and safely. This makes electrolysis an effective option for clients who wish to permanently remove hair without compromising their tattoo.

An initial consultation is an essential first step in your electrolysis treatment process. During this appointment, we take the time to understand your individual needs, concerns, and goals, and to explain how electrolysis can work for you.

Your consultation includes a review of your medical history to help identify any underlying causes of unwanted hair growth and to ensure electrolysis is safe and appropriate for you. We also assess for any contraindications to electroepilation, such as pregnancy, skin conditions, moles, pacemakers, or certain medications, to ensure treatment is delivered responsibly and in line with professional standards of care.

The consultation itself is complimentary. A test treatment (patch test) is performed during this appointment, which carries a nominal fee of $40 to cover the cost of sterile, single‑use materials. The test patch allows us to assess your skin’s response, confirm suitability for treatment, and ensure you are comfortable with the process before proceeding with a full treatment plan.

This careful, considered approach helps ensure safe, effective, and personalised treatment outcomes.

Sunscreen is a critical component of post‑treatment care following electrolysis. During treatment, controlled heat is applied to the hair follicle, which temporarily compromises the skin barrier and increases skin sensitivity.

Exposing treated skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation too soon can impair the healing process and significantly increase the risk of post‑inflammatory hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin). Even brief or incidental sun exposure can trigger pigmentation changes while the skin is healing.

To protect your skin and ensure optimal results:

• Avoid direct sun exposure for 48 hours post‑treatment

• Apply a broad‑spectrum sunscreen daily once the skin allows

• Use SPF 30 or higher, even on cloudy days

Consistent sun protection supports proper healing, helps maintain even skin tone, and reduces the likelihood of long‑term pigmentation concerns.