It is also worth mentioning the ‘sideburns’ typical in male facial hair growth. Women have fine hair in this area, similar to scalp hair rather than the thick beardlike hair characteristic of the male. Clearing this area outright gives a result that ‘looks wrong’, but careful application of electrolysis accompanied with the effects of hormones, can actually convert the male type growth to a god facsimile of the female pattern. The method is as follows: The client must first grow her hair in this area to approximately 8-10 mm in length. Then for each hair in the sideburn area, look closely at it and determine whether it is a coarse male-type hair or a finer vellus hair. If it is vellus, it should not be treated. If it is a coarse terminal hair, it should be deliberately under- treated: apply rather less power than normal, and remove the hair even if there is traction. The effect of this is deliberately to fail to kill the follicle outright, but to damage and weaken it. Overtime, this produces the desired effect Pain Control Due to the lengthy treatment times and the pain involved it is important that the client is given advice on pain relief. There are three methods that are regularly used, topical anaesthesia, analgesics and sedatives, generally these are prescription drugs and it will be necessary to liaise closely with the clients GP. Pain relief Topical EMLA creams 5%
Analgesics e.g. co-proxamol Dihydrocodeine
Sedatives e.g. Lorazepam (1-2mg) or other Benzodiazepines
Advantages Can be easily applied Only treats area to be treated
Disadvantages Messy and has limited penetration so not always effective on deep rooted follicles
No mess Greatly reduces sensitivity
Can cause drowsiness And some clients intolerant to drug causing side effects
Does not reduce pain only help deal with pain levels, should only be used extreme cases
Limits activites e.g. driving
Production of this material is attributed to Rotherham College of Arts and Technology Revision 1 Creative Studies/Hair & Beauty/0506 6345 Equipment & Probing Techniques - NVQ Level 3
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