It's 2015, and we're still stuck with laser/ipl/electrology.These methods do work, but they are slow. I wonder why there isn't any progress on permanent hair removal? It can't be that hard, now can it? Anyway, I gave it some thought, and I would like to hear your opinion about it.
So let's brainstorm!
The best way to permanently destroy the skin's ability to form a hair, is to destroy each hair growth apparatus. There are two things that need to done to accomplish permanent destruction:
1. The blood supply needs to be cauterized.
2. The stem cell reservoir (called the 'bulge') needs to be destroyed.
The blood supply is located at the base of the dermal papilla, and the stem cell reservoir is located at the side of the hair shaft. Cauterizing the blood supply is therefore not enough, because a stem cell will be dropped in it's place and starts to create it's own supply. That's a very generalized description, of course.
The body is an amazing machine, capable of self-regeneration. Sadly for us, this "miracle" works against us.
The best way to achieve destruction currently is, is to produce "lye" inside the hair follicle. With galvanic electrolysis, the complete hair shaft is undergoing a process of electrolysis, where salt and water form lye, a caustic substance that destroys the above said mechanisms. If lye isn't produced, or not adequately, then only the root and blood supply will be cauterized, and a new stem cell will be dropped from 'the bulge' to form a complete new dermal papilla.
This is a very elegant solution: using the body to produce it's own lye. But not all hairs/water and salt content are consistent, and therefore some hair needs up to 4-5 treatments. Which again, doesn't make it permanent.
The drawbacks of electrolysis:
1. Unstable environment -> salt/water contents is not predictable. Follicle should ooze with lye.
2. Heat production -> scarring risk.
3. Growth phase dependent -> only a growing hair can be treated, retracted papilla can't. (no NaOH production?)
4. Pain.
5. Slow.
All these can be mitigated by applying a solvent to the follicle. In the best case scenario, the follicle should ooze with lye, so that the stem cell reservoir is reached and also destroyed. This reservoir sits halfway in the shaft.
Here's what crossed my mind:
How about a system similar to electrolysis, but instead of of driving a current though a needle, we apply a small amount of lye or other chemical/caustic substance through a hollow needle? Surely, these days we can build nano-robots, so creating a hollow needle should not be rocket science. I guess this process would be much faster, nearly painless, cheaper and less labor intensive. The only thing that is required is a hollow needle, and kind of injection device with a chemical substance that destroys the above said mechanisms but keeps the skin intact. We basically inject each follicle, and that's it. I am not afraid of lye, as it doesn't do much damage to the skin. Only delicate tissues seems to be affected. I've had lye oozing my skin from electrolysis, and it didn't do anything permanent.
The hollow needle doesn't need to be made from steel/nickel. We could use polymer microneedles 0.1mm should be enough. The viscosity of the substance might be an issue, but there exists small syringes, in the range of 0.2mm which is twice as tick as a hair that can inject insulin, a thick substance.
Would love to hear your thoughts! I probably aren't first one to think about it, but hey, I want something better!
