Permanent Hair
Removal – Electrolysis
Vickie L.Mickey, CT, CLHRP
Electrolysis
 Only proven method of permanent hair
removal recognized by FDA
 No published studies
 1875 Charles Michelle invented method
removing ingrown eyelash!
 Electrolysis - process
 Electrology - science & profession
 Electrologist - professional
Three Modalities of
electrolysis
 Thermolysis
 Galvanic Electrolysis
 Blend
Electrolysis
Galvanic current – DC
Moves in one direction
Chemical decomposition of follicle
Current causes salts & water in skin to form
sodium hydroxide (lye)
 Hydrogen gas & chlorine gas form – bubble
can appear at surface of skin
 Method effective but time consuming
 Accuracy makes up for time
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Experiment – Effects of
Lye on Skin
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Lay lye on a piece of meat
Crystal will dissolve
Puddle will form
Tissue decomposed – caustic action of
lye
Experiment #2
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Fill glass with water
Add 2 tsp. salt
Stir until salt dissolves
Place positive ground (hand held ground) in
water.
Place needle in the needle holder (not all the
way)
Turn on DC & turn up the power
Insert needle into water
Notice hydrogen bubble
Experiment #3
 Repeat # 2 using distilled water
 Current will not flow through
demineralized water
 Add salt slowly – the meter rises with the
addition of conductive material
Pouring Lye in Follicle?
How do we do that?
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Galvanic machine – turned on
Rectifier produces DC
Rheostat controls intensity of current flow
Millampere meter gauges the flow of current
Needle holder is attached to the negative cord jack on front of unit
Footswitch is attached to the jack on back of unit
Needle or probe is placed in needle holder
Needle is placed in patients skin
Footswitch is depressed , releasing current flow
Chemical action of current produces lye
Electrical current returns to the positive terminal of the unit
Galvanic Current Pros &
Cons
 Offers highest success rate in hair removal
 Accurate insertions are not as critical as current runs along the
complete needle surface
 Distorted follicles respond to DC
 Lye produced in follicle continues to destroy follicle after treatment
is over
 Very slow method – minutes per follicle
 Multi-needle much better
 Can have shocking pain sensation when current develops in
follicle
 Incorrect cord set-up can cause tattooing
 New equipment has a ramping feature to gradually build current.
Variables Affecting
Galvanic Current
 Lye gradient – the concentration of lye
produced in the hair follicle.
 Treatment energy – current duration &
current density.
 These factors affect delivery of lye to the
probe tip.
 Dermal papilla must receive enough lye.
Galvanic Do’s & Don’ts
 Follow manufactures guidelines.
 Make sure the negative cord is attached
to the negative jack to avoid tattooing.
 Do not use tapered needles.
 Do not pulse with galvanic current.
 Cataphoresis reduces redness but not
necessary.
Thermolysis
 Dr. Bordier developed the first thermolysis of
hair in 1923.
 Published results in 1932.
 Thermo – Greek word for Heat.
 Ysis – means to dissolve.
 AC – current.
 Referred to as high-frequency & shortwave
 Easy to learn by practitioner
Thermolysis Methods
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Manual
Semi-manual
Computerized
Thermolysis methods can range from unit
design
How Thermolysis Works
 Requires a conductor to deliver current
 Current can travel though air via sound
waves
 Needle is the conductor in the follicle
 Operates at 30 megahertz 30,000,000
times per second
Alternating Current
 To understand thermolysis one must
understand alternating current.
 Imagine a plastic tube filled with balls that fit
tightly into inside space of the tube. The balls
have a string attached to them; as soon as the
ball is pushed into the tube you will pull back
on it. This action creates a suction, as the balls
are pulled toward you. Repeat this process
over and over and you have created alternating
current affect.
Alternating Current
 Electrical generators create the “push and pull”
phenomenon by rapidly changing an electrical
charge from the negative to the positive.
Negative charges push the electrons out into
the power lines and positive charge pulls it
back.
 One - back and forth motion is called a cycle.
 Sixty cycles per second is standard American
household current.
High Frequency Current
 Imagine this back-and-forth motion accelerated
to million cycles per second.
 This incredible rate is said be “oscillating”.
 This quickened movement is called mega
cycles: millions of cycles per second.
 Blend epilators produce current output of 13.56
megacycles. 13 million back-and–forth
electrons per second.
 Oscillating current is called high frequency or
HF.
Hertz & Megahertz
 Hertz the car rental?
 No, Hertz & Megahertz are named for
Heinrich Hertz.
 More common names are “cycles” and
“megacycles” because these terms
express the cycling or oscillation process.
 Abbreviations for “Hertz” is Hz & MHz for
Megahertz.
Radio Waves
 Imagine a plastic tube representing a wire with
electrons moving back and forth a million times
per second. Suddenly, this energy is emitted
into the air, from the entire length of the wire.
This is called radio wave emission!
 Do you know what radio waves are? No one
does!
 Electrologist know what these waves do to
human tissue! Tell me what do they do?
Tissue Heating
 1899 scientists discovered that human
tissue could be heated by high
frequency.
 Experimentation in 1920’s & 1930’s
demonstrated the benefits HF Current.
 Diathermy was produced by numerous
medical devices for applications in
heating muscles and soft tissue.
Tissue Destruction
 HF can produce enough heat to cause
necrosis (permanent tissue destruction).
 Different degrees of HF used on
medicine produce specific results such
electrodessication, electro coagulation,
and electro section.
Electrocoagulation
 Low level tissue destruction : tissue is
clotted and rendered dysfunctional, but
not dried out!
 Electrodessication is severe tissue
destruction by heat that dehydrates.
 Dermatologist use HF devices call
“hyfrecator” to burn off moles and other
unwanted tissue.
HF Epilators
 Produce electrocoagulation by converting
liquids in the tissue , such as blood to
produce a jell-like state!
 HF denatures tissue proteins (the
cooking process).
“Coagulation” Term Used
in Profession
 Technically this term may not be
accurate within our profession, but used
for nearly a century.
 Terms: clot, “cook” denature and
coagulate are commonly used as a
synonyms to denote tissue destruction by
HF.
Other Names for High
Frequency
 Short Wave
 Radio Frequency
 High Frequency is the most universal
term!
Hinkel Explains HF
All matter is composed of atoms. Atoms
have positive charged protons and
negatively charged protons. The
presence of a negative charged proton in
the tissue causes an attraction and
electrons are repelled. Similarly, a
positive charge attracts electrons and
repels protons.
High Frequency Needle
Produces a radio wave when inserted into the skin, the
electric field causes certain atoms to become excited.
These atoms are pushed and pulled by rapidly
changing polarity. Agitated atoms vibrate against each
other and generate heat by friction.
Did you know that the needle does not get hot?
The tissue around the needle become hot because of the
surrounding HF waves or field.
Did you know that the heat felt during treatment is the
vibration of the molecules against one another!
HF Heating
 Hf is more intense in conductive substances
containing saltwater. The more conductive the
substance the hotter it will get!
 Dry material cannot conduct high frequency.
 Invisible radio wave energy radiates from the
entire needle, but it is concentrated at the tip!
This is called the Point Effect!
Summary
 Remember:
 Epilator produces HF current.
 HF current creates radio waves around
the needle.
 Energy fields causes friction in the wet
tissues.
 Generation of heat results in tissue
destruction which kills the follicle.
Point Effect
 Electrical current merges & concentrates on
sharp pointed objects.
 Lightening Rods have a sharp pointed end.
 The needle like shape works to conduct
lightening to the ground.
 The point effect is perfect for hair removal,
because the tip produces more energy,
coagulation is initially concentrated in the lower
follicle.
Heating Pattern
 DC the lye pattern flows out along the
entire needle, the lye is uniform in
formation.
 HF starts at the tip of the needle and
progresses upward.
 HF current climb takes place because the
current always flows to the wettest, most
conductive material.
Hotter Closer To The
Needle
 HF patterns climbs away from the
needle, coagulation continues to take
place in all the treated tissue.
 Tip tissue - exposed to HF longer.
 Highest temperatures at core nearest
needle tip.
 Temperature drops off and becomes too
low to affect tissue as it moves up.
Denatured Protein
 When animal tissue is heated to a high enough
temperature, the protein is denatured.
 Regardless if you boil, fry, bake, or microwave
animal tissue you coagulate liquids and
denature the tissue protein.
 HF current is similar to the current in a
microwave oven, the energy radiates from the
tissue and denatures the tissue.
Egg White Analogue
 Egg whites are protein, like human tissue.
 Fill a small metal container with raw egg white.
 Wet your hand with water, cradle and hold
container. Wet hand grounds the HF.
 Insert needle into egg white – apply HF.
 High HF intensity coagulates at the tip of
needle and moves upwards.
TIDS
 Variables of Time, Intensity, Depth of insertion and
Size needle (TIDS) drastically change how HF cooks
tissue.
 Human tissue coagulation intensifies, temperatures
increase with longer exposure to HF current.
 Steaks become hotter and more well-done the longer
the pan remains on the fire.
 The follicle cooks with longer HF flow!
 If we leave the needle in the egg whites longer, the
higher temperatures and more intense cooking
develops within the pattern closer to the needle.
Intensity Variable
 As HF intensity raises, the tissue is
cooked faster.
 Higher HF intensity causes intense
tissue coagulation , as the intensity is
increased the larger the heating pattern
forms.
Depth: Variable
 Most misunderstood variable is needle depth!
 A deep needle insertion disperses the HF
current over a larger surface areas, causing a
slower cooking.
 Shallow insertion concentrates the current and
causes more intense tissue destruction.
 Most common error causes serve damage to
the skin in a too shallow insertion.
Size: Variable
 Needle diameter greatly affects how HF
destroys tissue.
 Thin needles produce more cooking than
thicker needles. Thin needles concentrate the
HF to a smaller areas.
 Larger needles concentrate the HF to a greater
surface areas.
 Many electrologist use too small of a needle
size, thus causing over treatment.
 Choose a needle the size of the hair!!
TIDS Conclusion
 Only you can control the TIDS variable.
 Always consider when using HF on a
patient!
Moisture Gradient
 Moisture Gradient of the follicle helps
concentrate coagulation in the lower
follicle area, your target!
 It protects the upper dermis area!
 The blood vessels in the dermis are like a
car radiator, it carries the HF heat away!
HF Too Low
 Low intensity may be less painful, however the
target area is missed!
 Upper dermis is coagulated!
 HF current used lower than correct blend
values results in coagulation in the middle of
the needle and progresses upwards.
 If the patient feels almost nothing the HF
current is too LOW!
HF Too High
 Dire consequences can result!
 Extreme HF creates a heating pattern
that climbs the needle so rapidly that
using manual timing is unthinkable.
 Fast current rise can result in pitted
scars.
 Some epilators produce HF levels that
are too high!
Flash Method
 The Kree company out of New York developed the HF
in automatic thermolysis. Known as the Kree Method.
 Current is on for ½ second & very high HF.
 Nearly all epilators are capable of the so called Flash
technique.
 High HF produces a narrow heating pattern that rapidly
climbs the needle.
 High current can produce blistering temperatures, a
sizzle, and dry-out the tissue.
 Super Flash is the modern version of flash. This
method emits HF for a fraction of 100th of a second.
Can cause a sparkler effect.
Flash Method Continued
 Large to medium hairs require several
super flashes at varying depths.
 HF Super Flash current is applied at the
bottom, middle, and top of the follicle.
 Ensures entire follicle is treated!
HF Blow-Out
 Dr. James Shuster describes the devastating effect of using ultra
high HF as HF Blow-out.
 HF Blow-out is when intense HF current converts water in the
tissue to steam that blows out of the follicle,
 Sizzle is heard as steam escapes from the follicle opening.
 The lower follicle fills with non-conductive steam that prevents
coagulation of the lower follicle.
 Hair Regrows and the skin is Overtreated!
 Flash users have been told that the sebum is being cooked.
 A puff of smoke, smell of burning tissue, result in the needle drying
out the skin with tissue stuck to the needle.
 This drastic level of tissue destruction is totally unnecessary.
Manual HF
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Correct blend levels of HF are much lower than flash.
Manually controlled.
Low current may flow up to 20 seconds.
Low current creates the preferred broad heating
pattern.
 Tissue is coagulated; not dried out.
 Technician has time to control tissue destruction.
 Manual low intensity HF, as in the blend, results in less
over treatment!
Measuring The HF
 All epilators produce a fixed range of HF
intensities.
 Measured in voltage.
 Average blend epilator produces 0 to 100 volts.
 Average flash epilator produces 50 – 300 volts.
 Face panel numbers indicate the HF levels,
some use meters.
 Indicates epilators output only, energy within
follicle is not measured as in DC meters.
Receptivity Factor
 HF entering the follicle is directly proportional
to the amount of moisture in the tissue.
 Skin has a “receptivity factor” for HF.
 Turn your HF dial to 50 volts, insert needle into
leather, nothing happens. Why?
 Use same setting on moist young skin and
heating tissue destruction occurs.
 Each patient has different skin moisture,
therefore HF output produces different current
levels in each patient and body area.
Follicle Temperature
 Level of destruction in the follicle is determined by the temperature
achieved in the tissue.
 No meter exists that can measure actual temperature in the
follicle.
 One must rely on well-designed machine output indicators to give
idea of temperature produced.
 Cell injury can begin at only 105 degrees.
 Coagulation of human tissue takes place between 127 degrees to
212 degrees.
 Above 212 degrees (the boiling point) tissue is desiccated),
deprived of water.
 Severe burning takes place at 240 degrees!
 Correctly designed blend epilators has HF output that produces
only coagulation temperatures. 35 to 90 volts encompass that
range in the blend method.
Capacitive Return
 HF does not require the use of hand-held
ground.
 For unknown reasons, radio waves are able to
travel from the patient into the air and return to
the epilator.
 This phenomenon is called “capacitive return”.
 Research has shown that certain epilators
require less voltage when the hand held
ground is used.
HF Overtreatment
 Used for over 70 years without
documented adverse side effects.
 Destructive capacity of HF is much more
than DC.
 Over treatment with blend is always
caused by improper HF.
HF & The Curved Follicle
 Hair that is naturally curly or “kinky” has curved
follicles.
 Degree of curve to the follicle makes accurate
needle-insertions more difficult.
 Sodium hydroxide produced by DC is capable
of reaching the areas outside of HF field.
Therefore single needle or multi-needle
galvanic is better on these patients.
 Galvanic current fills a need in our work and is
the basis for the blend-current method.
Pacemakers
 Emit electrical stimuli at either a constant-rate or on-demand.
 Constant rate pacemakers might be adversely affected by HF
emissions form the epilator.
 Most pacemakers have built in safety factors such as electromagnetic shields.
 Rarely does the HF field cause clinical problems.
 Before treating a patient with a pacemaker you must get written
approval from the attending physician and the manufacture of the
device.
 Unstable cardiac patients with pacemakers must not be treated!
 Do not work directly overlying a pacemaker, due to possible
interference of HF.
Pregnancy
 For the same legal reason do not work
on pregnant women, unless you get
written permission form the patient’s
doctor.
The Blend
 Hinkle’s scientific methods and willingness to
share information was his greatest gift to our
profession.
 Blend is considered the “golden” method of
electrology.
 Both HF and DC flow from the needle at the
same time.
 Hinkle analogy of Blend current best illustrates
the dual-current phenomenon.
Blend Effects
 Combining the DC & HF does not change the
integrity or unique way of destroying the tissue.
 DC flows producing lye to decompose the
tissue and the HF coagulates the follicle.
 The interaction of the current in blending is
complicated and not totally understood, but
they profoundly enhance treatment speed and
efficiency.
 Combining the two currents produce better
results than the individual current could attain.
Hinkle’s Findings
 The lye is more reactive in the blend.
 All chemicals react faster when heated.
 Studies in the Netherlands confirmed the
action of heat on lye.
 Normal blend temperature is 140F to
160F, lye causticity is four times greater
than at body temperature.
Hinkle's Findings
 When the HF coagulation renders the cell
a porous mass, it then breaks the cell
membrane to release moisture and
denatured protein molecule. This makes
the cell more permeable to enable the lye
to penetrate the cooked mass.
Hinkle's Findings
 Turbulence from the HF in the follicle causes
the tissue to churn, lye produced by the DC is
forced into hidden crevices of the follicle.
Hinkle believed this help to destroy the follicle.
 Hinkle also contended that when the two
currents flow at the same time the HF heating
pattern supersedes the DC lye pattern.
 He believed that the HF controlled the DC and
was the master current.
DC & HF Experiments
 This experiment demonstrates several
important characteristics of the DC & HF
currents.
 Note: non-living tissue reacts differently
however these test will demonstrate
visible evidence
Schuster’s Findings
 Dr. Schuster studies suggest that DC electrons
flow through the skin, lye forms in the tissue
itself.
 Schuster’s studies do not show that HF alters
the DC.
 Schuster doubts that HF causes tissue
permeability.
 Schuster supports Hinkle’s notion of increased
lye reactivity.
Conclusion
 Bono believes that the laboratory experiments
are attempts to describe the blend! Blend is a
proven method for over 50 years!
 Arthur Hinkle never invented methodology
based solely on laboratory findings or theory
concepts.
 Hinkle observed countless expert blend
technicians and them attempted to understand
the results.
Research Conclusion
 DC creates lye that decomposes the follicle.
 HF heats saltwater in the tissue, thus increases lye efficiency.
 Deep coarse hair in moist skin creates a high “receptive factor”
which can result in over treatment.
 Such hairs have big target areas requiring ample treatment.
 DC alone takes too long to eliminate course hair.
 HF generates a narrow heating pattern that can miss the target!
 The lethal combination of coagulation and hot lye is disseminated
in the lower follicle before the HF rises.
 Hair is destroyed without over treatment.
 The blend can make up for inaccurate insertions by the broad
destructive pattern.
Classic Blend
 1. Choose needle size – about the size of the
hair. Correct needle size guards against HF
over treatment.
 2. Needle length – approximate the exact
depth of the follicle. Do depth gauge!
 a. Short needles for small to medium hairs.
 b.Regular needles for larger hairs.
 c.Tapered needles come in different lengths.
Choose one that is longer than you think
necessary.
Classic Blend
 3. Position needle in needle-holder, tighten the pinvise.
 4. Once a year check pin-vise – they should not close
with a circle or hole in middle. If so replace the needle
holder as it will not permit proper electrical contact.
 5. Finger Position – use what works best of you.
 6. Stretch the skin – use the thumb and first finger to
hold the tweezers and needle holder, use remaining
fingers to gently press and stretch the skin.
Classic Blend
 Did you know that recent research proves that
stretching the skin does not permit the needle
to slide into the follicle?
 Dr. Shuster’s experimentations demonstrate
that the needle does penetrate the outer root
sheath.
 Stretching firms and stabilizes the skin as the
needle punctures the bloodless outer root
sheath.
Classic Blend
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Insertion – aim the needle tip at the follicle opening. Align the
needle to the first millimeter of the hair shaft emerging from the
follicle.
The first millimeter of the shaft points you to the exact location in
most cases.
This is referred to as the “Pathfinder”.
This hair is fresh out of the follicle and relatively moist.
Keep needle stationary as the current coagulates the follicle.
Subtle movement to verify insertion accuracy can be done by
moving the needle to the other side of the follicle. If needle is
perfectly inserted the hair “wags” like a dogs tail!
Classic Blend
 Establishing depth gauge – after thoroughly
coagulating an anagen hair, remove the needle
from the follicle. Place tweezers at skin level.
Grasp the hair and epilate. The epilated root
and the hair shaft are the depth gauge.
 Note your correct needle depth!
 As you continue the treatment, a tiny DC “froth”
sticks to your needle exactly at skin level. This
is another indicator of correct insertion depth!
Classic Blend
 HF current controls the HF coagulation and DC
lye in the follicle.
 Establish your HF first!!!
 Think of your epilator intensity dial is just like a
radio volume control. As it increases the
current strength goes up.
 Like the radio increases, the control until the
tissue coagulation takes place.
 When the patient feels tissue being destroyed
you have reached your working point.
Classic Blend
 Automatic blend epilators are not the
classic manual blend.
 Follow instruction manual to disable all
automatic functions.
 Find starting point on epilator, should be
in manual. It will be a specific number
such as “3” or it may be a number on the
HF meter.
Classic Blend
 Confirm the starting point by setting the epilator
at the lowest HF setting.
 Insert into a medium size hair on your arm, you
should feel mild current in 2-3 seconds. Keep
the current on for 20 seconds.
 If these conditions are met your epilator is
correctly set.
 Begin treatments at your starting point, allow
the patient to get used to the low current, then
gradually advance HF.
Classic Blend
 Repeat this process several times, increasing
HF intensity slightly each time that you
coagulate and epilate a new hair.
 Communicate with the patient, let them know
that your are trying to find their pain tolerance.
 Remember that most West Coast electrologists
use the two hand technique, which enable
them to count the seconds that it takes to have
the hair release with progressive epilation.
Classic Blend
 The working point reveals the skin’s electrical
resistance.
 Dry skin has higher resistance, more HF is
needed, and vice versa for moist skin.
 The HF working point is your electrical conduit
for DC.
 Early pioneers were confronted with obstacles
as to how to combine two currents.
Classic Blend
 HF is considered the dominant current, DC can
block or “flood-out” the HF.
 If DC is too high, the HF flow can be reduced.
 Hinkle realized that the correct amount of lye
was necessary, therefore named the
measurement the “unit of Lye”.
 Hinkle defined the unit of lye as the product of
the amount current (in DC milliamperes)
multiplied by the time current flow in seconds.
Classic Blend
 For 20 yrs. Hinkle studied and collected data
regarding the units of lye formulation.
 Small vellus hairs require 15 units of lye, 30
units on small terminal hairs, Medium require
45 units, large terminal need 60 units, and very
large need 80 units.
 He learned that all hairs epilate with HF 3-20
seconds.
Classic Blend
 Hinkle’s simple formula for blend is: divide
units of lye by seconds of epiliation time.
 Example: judge a hair to need 30 units of lye,
the time to epilate is 10 seconds. Divide the 30
units by 10 seconds and you get 3.
 The number three is the setting for your DC
meter 3mA.
 If the numbers are not even set the DC meter
to the nearest round number.
 Do not use the seconds counter, count the
seconds yourself.
Classic Blend Summary
 The basic steps you have learned will
become second nature.
 Choose correct needle size, find your HF
working point, set the DC meter!
 You got it!
DC & HF Experiments
 Hinkle's Meat Experiment demonstrate
several characteristics of current.
 Current will react differently in meat as it
is not living tissue.
 These tests will give visible evidence of
how DC & HF acts on human skin.
What You Need
 1. Beefsteak – fresh and moist with a
little fat. A small cube of meat is all you
will need.
 2. Glass of saltwater: mix 2 teaspoons of
salt in water.
 3. Sheet of Aluminum Foil
Basic Setup
 Place meat on aluminum foil.
 Wet the meat with saltwater – this grounds meat to
aluminum and moistens the meat for a good electrical
conduction.
 Roll the DC ground up in the aluminum foil.
 Wet your hand with saltwater and firmly hold the
aluminum foil and ground – this grounds the HF.
 Check all cords are connected properly.
 Use a .004 inch diameter needle.
 Periodically moisten the meat and your hand with
saltwater in ensure proper electrical contact.
Test 1:DC
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Lay needle on meat.
Set DC meter to 0.5 mA (5 tenths milliamperes).
Allow current to flow 2-4 minutes. Observe narrow
pattern of lye form with hydrogen bubbles.
Stop current, wipe away foam with finger.
Observe groove that has formed as meat dissolved.
There is not “cooking” of tissue.
Repeat this experiment using 1.0 mA, observe much
faster DC lye formation.
Test 2: DC Inserted
 1. Insert needle deeply into meat.
 2 Turn DC to 1.0 mA (10 tenths milliamperes).
 3. Allow current to flow for 2-4 minutes. – Frothing
appears at insertion site.
 4. With current flowing, slide needle up and down in
meat. Observe the needle does not stick to meat as
there is no cooking of tissue.
 5. Set current at 1.0 mA, make a very shallow insertion
– immediately abundant lye is formed with much
bubbling. (Current is concentrated on small surface
area thus generates concentrated lye.)
Test 3: HF
 1. Lay needle on meat.
 2. Use 60-90 HF level – observe meat turning brown. Note
coagulation starts at the tip of needle and flows up. Heating
pattern is broad. With magnification you will see that HF causes
moisture to boil. Turbulence is created by HF
 3. Experiment using different current strengths.
 4. Experiment using different needle lengths.
 Observe : higher current creates faster coagulation, less needle
contact with meat causes rapid violent cooking. Note: meat may
stick to needle. This indicates unnecessary tissue destruction.
Remove any tissue from needle as it insulates the needle which
will make the subsequent test difficult
Test 4: HF Inserted
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1. Insert needle deeply into meat.
2. Turn HF dial to high output (70V-90V).
3. Allow current to flow 20 seconds.
Observe: at 15-20 seconds the cooking at insertion point, current has
risen slowly.
4. Insert needle shallow.
Observe: almost instant tissue destruction and burning. (this happens to
your client when you make a shallow insertion . Note the tissue sticks to
the needle .
5. Insert deeply again and apply high level HF. Slowly withdraw the
needle until the needle is out of the skin.
Observe: cooking is rapid as the needle is withdrawn. Finally, with the
needle just touching the surface of the meat a burn is created. Notice
tissue smokes as it is burned.
6. Repeat experiment again using different depths and current strengths.
Test 5: DC & HF
 1. Lay needle on meat.
 2 Use 70V HF and 1.0ma Dc (10 tenths millamperes).
 3. Apply current simultaneously for about 20 seconds.
Observe: Coagulation (browning) and lye (frothing)
formation. Note the coagulation and lye patterns are
broad and congruent. Notice lye production is
accelerated and the needle does not stick to the tissue.
 4. Try different needle depths and current levels.
Observe: Shallow needles cause rapid coagulation and
potential burn.
Test 6: DC & HF Inserted
 1. Insert deeply into meat.
 2. Apply 70V – 90V HF and 1.0 ma DC simultaneously
for 20 seconds. Observe: bubbles appear (hydrogen
frothing) along with coagulation.
 3. Slide needle up and down with currents flowing.
Observe: Needle does not stick because DC dissolves
tissue and coagulation is not intense. Tissue is not
dehydrated.
 4. Insert shallow. Observe: shallow insertion causes
rapid coagulation and lye formation. Note coagulation
dominates.
Test 7: HF Blocks Lye
 1. Insert needle about half way into meat.
 2. Use full power HF and 0.5 mA DC (5 tenths
milliamperes).
 3 Apply DC current and see that meter reads 0.5 mA.
 4. Now, add the HF full power. Observe: HF superheats and dries out the tissue. DC is not able to flow,
or becomes unstable as the epilator attempts to boost
voltage. Note: that the meter drops, or becomes
unstable as the epilator attempts to boost voltage.
(This experiment demonstrates that high HF output
must not be used for the blend, it hampers DC lye
formation.
Test 6 : DC & HF Inserted
 1. Insert deeply into meat.
 2. Apply 70 V – 90V and 1.0 mA Dc
simultaneously for 20 seconds. Observe:
bubbles appear along with coagulation.
 3. Slide needle up and down with both
current on at same time. Observe:
The Epilator
 Not all epilators are designed the same.
 Bono likes to have control!
 When purchasing a epilator don’t expect all
units to produce the same HF.
 Know the face-technique and body-technical
settings, a wide range setting has better
control.
 “If automation keeps up, man will atrophy all
his limbs but the push-button fingers.”
 Frank Lloyd Wright
The Epilator
 Bono contends we still need to use the
basic concepts laid down by Hinkle. They
still have merit!
Bio.
 Michael Bono, The Blend
 Arthur Hinkle,PEE
 Richard Lind, BA,Ma, Electrolysis ,
Thermolysis, and the Blend: The
Principles and Practice of Permanent
Hair Removal