Home electrolysis

Technically, these devices work the same way as those that the professionals use (they also carry the same health risks). However, the risks for the home-use machines are not very great because the voltage and current output are not very high, and that means they aren’t as effective. I know we’ve all seen those little machines you can buy via mail order (for about $100) that claim to remove hair painlessly and permanently. They’ve been advertised for years and years. I remember them from when I was a kid. The chances of operating these successfully yourself are at best slim. You probably would end up just tweezing instead of zapping the hair because getting the device to work right is extremely tricky and incredibly time-consuming. Given the time it takes for a hair to grow back, it could take months before you knew if it was really working (Source: FDA Consumer magazine, September 1996). There is no research indicating these machines do anything but tweeze the hair. The low voltage makes these machines extremely low risk, but they are also ineffective. What a waste.