The papilla is similar to the ovary. New cells (eggs) are produced there (in the papilla). They are vigorous and grow rapidly. Soon they overflow from the papilla and are replaced by younger fresh, healthy new cells. As this happens they are going through the same changes as the cells that precede them and start shrinking. Room has to be made for the newer more vigorous cells. This is done by pushing the old weaker cells up and out through the follicle, however, since they are dead, they are dehydrating (shrinking) to make more room for the cells being ejected from the papilla. The bulb means the process was in anagen at the time you interrupted them because the papilla goes through the cycle when they stop growing new cells and “hibernate” until a new growth cycle begins. The amount of time a papilla stays in anagen is determined by the location on the body. Example…short hair in the arms and very long hair on the scalp. Some women have hair that grows from the front hairline over the top to the floor. That is about 6 feet and takes about 12 years. Does that satisfy you?
In order to KILL anything you have to STOP IT FROM GROWING and/or reproducing. Cellular reproduction and growing are the same (as I see it here) because the hair shaft can not do ANYTHING except rise to the surface from pressure put on it from the bottom by young growing cells. Once they become a hair they are no longer growing because they have converted from live cells to dead keratin. Hair is the residue of what used to be live cells but now these cells have converted to keratin and are dead just as your nails and upper layers of skin are.
The ONLY thing growing and reproducing is a tuft of cells called the “papilla”. All growth and reproduction takes place at the core of the papilla. As they reach maturity they are pushed outward to the surface of the papilla by newly formed cells that have not yet reached maturity. Therefore, the papilla is the target for electrologists because if that structure is disabled there can not be any new hair growth.
There is no growth taking place in the hair bulge. The bulge is due to the fact these cells still have a lot of water in them and the hair above the bulge has already completed the shrinking, therefore it appears more slim than the rest of the hair. As these cells mature and are cast off they dehydrate and shrink. Most of our body is full of water and that makes us bloat and gain weight. We need a lot of water to move fluids and nutrition from one compartment to another. It is called BLOOD. Once the cell has outlived it’s usefulness there is no use for it and the body sheds it. We can live a lifetime without hair and/or nails. They can be useful but are not necessary.
The energy pattern from the end of the thermolysis probe is interesting because it is not heat until the high frequency radio energy converts to heat.
Microwaves are a perfect example of what happens. You can cook food but the plate stays cool because only the water in the plate gets hot and this heats or cooks the food (food has moisture in it). The plate stays cool unless some heat from the food transfers to the plate but it never gets as hot as the food. The plate has to be rotated while cooking to provide uniform heating because the heat pattern from the microwave does not normally spread out, consequently, the plate is rotated to get uniform heating. The same is true of the electrolysis probe. Heat is not emitted from the sides of the probe. The end of the probe is where all the action takes place. With blend the lye can dissolve the hair and the skin. This means the operator has to be more careful to avoid scarring and this slows down the process.
Hi D fahey… You did a commendable job explaining to the patient what goes on in the BLEND. When you asked if that was too technical the patient stated that is exactly what she wanted. You offered the info without being asked and the patient loved it. Yes there are many who do not care but you do not know who they are in advance unless they say exactly what they are looking for.
Does that mean my explanations are not needed but yours are?
I guess it is a matter of perception. No two people will see it the same way and no two explainers or teachers will either.
Noted.
The matrix is an AREA that includes all the elements needed to make a hair. It starts with the papilla. Cells in the papilla are so small that you need a microscope to see them (like all cells). Next is the bulge. This is shaped like a flower bulb and fits over and on top of the papilla so that the papilla is covered by the bulb. Inside the bulb, like an apple core, is where the papilla cells are cast off to become a hair shaft. They are full of fluid at this time , consequently, they are plump. As they are pushed away they dehydrate and shrink. Eventually they shrink to become compacted hard keratin (the hair shaft).
As you can see… new cells come from the papilla but they are converted to keratin in the area called the matrix. The papilla MUST be destroyed or crippled so that no more cells are produced to eventually become hair.
I know this is a hard question to answer but please to all the pros answering this if im looking to thin out an area and make the hair look thinner, not looking for a completely bald look , how many clearances should I get??
Is this for laser or electrolysis? and for what area?
electrolysis , sideburns. I want to thin out the small hair that falls down on the side of my face.
When you say, “THINNER” , do you mean sparser (less hair per square inch or skinny hair shaft ? We have to use the same terms for the same purpose or we get nowhere.
To answer your question… It depends on what you are trying to achieve. The electrologist will remove hair wherever you direct her to work. It’s all the same. Either we know how to do the job or we don’t. You are the ONLY person who knows what you are trying to achieve. We remove it until you say ,“STOP”.
One of the biggest problems we face is explaining to patients how many follicles there are because they are NOT ALL FUNCTIONING SIMULTANEOUSLY.
Patients do not really want to know. It is also possible (more often than not) that you only have 1000 follicles functioning now and the rest will gradually start functioning a little at a time over a matter of months or years. It all depends on your genetics, age, hormones, and general health.
The MATRIX is an area that CONTAINS THE PAPILLA, melanocytes, new cells, and dead cells on the way to become hair. IT IS All one system. Papilla is where the new cells are born, germ cells, becomes the new hair. Like an ovum becomes a baby with all the intermediate steps.
And with that, I hope everyone now understands what Harvey and I mean when we use the term MATRIX… at least when we are not talking politics, or hit movies 
NO, NO, NO, NO and NO.
The black bulb is already hair that has not yet dehydrated that is why it is plump and juicy. REMEMBER: HAIR IS KERATIN. IF IT IS ALREADY KERATIN IT IS NOT LIVE CELLS, THEREFORE, YOU CAN NOT KILL IT AS IT IS ALREADY DEAD. HAIR IS ALL KERATIN WHICH IS THE RESIDUE OF DEAD CELLS THAT ARE NOW BEING CAST OFF. THEY ARE USEFUL FOR A WHILE BUT THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY OUT. IT IS BLACK (or some other color) because as they move up the follicle they have to pass through an area that where melanin is injected into these dead cells by melanocytes and that is the color of the hair. At this point it becomes hair with color. All this real action takes place in the MATRIX. Think of the MATRIX as an area of layers. The layers is where different things take place at different levels as cells are “born”, ejected from the papilla, to become hair with color.
Since the bulb is already dead cells it has NOTHING TO DO with a growing hair. Technically hair does not grow because it is dead and can not grow. It is pushed away from the papilla by young, live, vigorously growing cells underneath it. It is easier to explain it as “growing” but you can see it is not alive, therefore, it can not grow. Growth implies reproduction and hair does not reproduce as it has no live cells to do that. The entire area that is needed to send out cells that will become hair plus the melanocytes is what comprises the MATRIX. Pulling a hair with a bulb does not necessarily mean anything because the stuff that keeps putting out more cells is either alive or hibernating while waiting to come “alive” to keep producing new cells in the cyclic manner of all follicles.
Correct… It is ALMOST certainly a KILL.
You asked a Question and them added, “or is it the papilla”. All growing cells absolutely MUST have nutrition plus water to deliver nutrition. Destroying or altering the cells of the papilla and/or the capillaries in the papilla that deliver nutrition will definitely alter the growing process by stopping it. Coagulating these cells that are part of the system that delivers nutrition and water will ultimately absolutely KILL, KILL, KILL the hair producing elements. The matrix is an AREA that is all inclusive of all structures that ARE NEEDED TO MANUFACTURE HAIR FROM the REMAINS OF DEAD CELLS. THE PAPILLA GROWS NEW CELLS THAT WILL DIE AND GET “KICKED OUT” OF THE PAPILLA BY HEALTHY, NEW, YOUNG, CELLS THAT ARE GROWING ONLY TO REACH THE AREA WHERE THEY TOO WILL DIE ANND THE WHOLE PROCESS WILL START ALL OVER AGAIN.
THERE IS A “RULE OF THREES” IN MEDICINE. "YOU CAN LIVE FOR 3 MINUTES WITHOUT AIR, 3 DAYS WITHOUT WATER, AND 3 WEEKS WITHOUT FOOD AND THAT IS “IT”.
Why did you feel the need to post 3 times in a row? Can you not fit everything in one reply or learn to use the EDIT feature? Come on. It’s time to learn.
And for the 100th time, you can stop with the semantics. Everyone knows exactly what is meant by "killing hair. You need to stop wasting precious space on this forum and find other hobbies. It’s really not that hard to contribute only relevant information - I promise you.
There seems to some misunderstanding here because part of the question, consequently, part of the answer, is related to electrolysis using DC current and the chemical action of LYE. The rest of the answer refers to thermolysis which requires the application of heat. Both have some similar actions and both have some different action even though both end up destroying those areas that cause hair to grow.
Electrolysis is the first method developed to permanently remove hair. It was developed by a doctor to remove ingrown eye lashes and works very well on all areas of the body. This only involves a few hairs at any one time, consequently, time is not the issue. Ingrown hair grows inward towards the cornea and is a serious problem because the patient is so uncomfortable by the hair scraping against the eye surface which is extremely sensitive to foreign objects. A scratch on the cornea can occur and subsequently become infected. Blindness of that eye is a possibility but not common. The lye is manufactured in the follicle in extremely small quantities by the action of electricity. All of this is under the strict control of the electrologist.
The process depends on the chemical action of LYE on the tissue. Lye is very caustic and will destroy hair by dissolving it and converting it to another harmless chemical when they come in contact. Because hair is 100% keratin there is 100% dissolution of the hair and the hair forming elements, thereby, preventing the follicle from producing another hair.
Thermolysis also destroys the hair forming elements but it uses heat. The primary action is to “cook” (heat) the tissue that makes the hair to the extent it is “burned” beyond it’s ability to heal and make new hairs. It heals but it leaves behind a mini scar that is well below the surface and not visible. If you have ever seen skin that has been burned, it heals with scar tissue. This is NOT skin. It is shiny, has no follicles and no sweat glands. It is scar tissue and can not grow hair any more than brain or muscle tissue can.
Dear toeman, perhaps in this video you can better understand the cycle of life of one hair.