They make it sound so easy and pain free to remove hair yourself, you start to wonder why anyone would bother with expensive and inconvenient salon treatment.

But take care when you buy. These machines are often not as effective as they are made out to be by the manufacturers. For one thing, run a mile from any home electrolysis machine which works without a probe or needles. There are machines, for example, which use a kind of electronic tweezer to grip the hair and then you send a mild electric current down it. This is supposed to kill the hair follicle but this process simply does not work. So avoid products like the Verseo Epen and Finally free – they won’t free you up from anything at all.

Instead, look out for a machine which is akin to those used in a salon where you have to tackle the follicle itself. These are not pain free unfortunately but at least you will get some results!

On the other hand, if you are not the patient type you may want to think twice. Professional electrologists have a long training program to be able to successfully treat all types of unwanted hair on anyone but you will need to practice a fair amount treating yourself to be able to use the machine effectively. Even if you go to a salon each hair may need to be treated several times to catch it in the right place and at the right part of the growth cycle. Your skills will build as you get used to the procedure but many people give up too soon and fail to make a difference. Those who are determined to deal with their problem and are motivated to do so, generally succeed with the right machine.