Electric Tweezer Permanent Hair Removal
Electricity is used for both productive as well as destructive purposes as a form of energy. The electric current is a good destroyer. This aspect of electricity is used in the electric tweezer permanent hair removal method.
History and background
Electric tweezers were first patented in the year 1959. Following this many electrical tweezers were promoted especially targeting beauticians. They also responded well by heavy procurement by charging heavily the consumers for this unproven permanent treatment. In the year 1985, the company Remoatron was charged for its deceptive advertisements and unproven claims. Its market share of electric tweezers was more than 80%. However, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s order barring electric tweezers had a loophole. It stopped the use of AC tweezers only. Exploiting this, direct current electric tweezers came on the market. Since then electrical tweezers using direct electric current continue to be sold on the market.
How it works
The electric tweezer permanent hair removal method employs tweezers for removing hair. Electric current is passed through the tweezers, which holds the hair on the surface of the skin by grasping them for several minutes. Electricity enters through the hair to its root and permanently damages it.
Types of Electric Tweezers
Electric tweezers are electronic appliances that are designed to remove the hair permanently. It consists of a pair of tweezers at the tip. The handle incorporates a button to switch on the high frequency electrical signal and to close its tweezers.
- Radio frequency electric tweezers - The manufacturers of these tweezers claim through the TV commercials that modified alternating current (AC) travels down all the way to the root of a hair grasped by their tweezers. The mechanism is just like needle thermolysis where the hair follicle is damaged by the electricity. This product was first introduced in 1959 and does not have any substantial medical proof. Even after the directive of US FTC, the product still exists in the market under the new phrase as “ultrasound” tweezers.
- Galvanic electric tweezers - Instead of AC, it uses direct current (DC) in its mechanism. The propaganda claims to have enough current to reach at the root of a hair and acts just like regular galvanic electrolysis, which is yet to be supported by scientific evidence. They also claim that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed them to sell these devices for permanent hair removal.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of the electric tweezer permanent hair removal method include that it does not cause any pain or side effects. If properly used, it is also safe. Nevertheless, people question the authenticity of the claim by lack of proof of any clinical data. No clinical proof has so far been published about the claim of the promoters. That is the major disadvantage associated with the electric tweezer permanent hair removal method. There is also a claim that it is much slower than ordinary tweezing.
Apart from the claims and counter claims of the consumers, the scientific community has reservations about the method. This is because of the following fact: Hair is supposed to be a poor conductor of electricity. However, human skin conducts electricity. The tendency of the electricity is to pass through the medium of conduction, which offers least resistance. When electricity is passed through the tweezers to the skin, there is a question why it should pass through the hair, which has bad conductivity. The electric current will as well dissipate on the skin of the body rather than trying to pass through the hair. When that is the case, the claim of electricity destroying the root of the hair has no scientific backup.