Some women in Bermuda have had to surrender to excruciating hair removal procedures, like electrolysis, to get rid of unwanted growth on the face and chest areas.

But now there is a virtually pain-free method called Epil-Pro now exclusive to Renaissance Hair, Skin and Body Salon.

It is said to be the most "significant development in electrical epilation since the invention of electrolysis in 1875 and short wave diathermy (radio frequency) in 1924.

Unlike electrolysis, which can cause a stinging or burning sensation with a risk of scarring, the Epil-Pro technique -- which was developed by Indian scientists Parmod and Sujata Jolly -- uses tweezers and is based on static and sound waves.

The static component numbs the nerve endings, minimising pain, while the sound waves travel down the hair shaft, striking and disintegrating the papillary cells at the base of the hair follicle.

The system may be used to treat hair anywhere on the body. Senior beauty therapist and manager of Renaissance Hair, Skin and Body Salon Denise Giles Woodhouse said Epil-Pro has caused all her clients who have tried it to switch.

"I do the largest amount of electrolysis -- which involves pushing a needle into each hair follicle -- in Bermuda and an old client sent me a cutting from a newspaper in England about Epil-Pro last year because she knew I was interested in advancement and new products.

"It is very innovative and the inventors are both in medical research. One of our beauty therapists went over to England in the spring to research it and was totally amazed.

"I just came back from doing all the training in July with beauty therapists from all over the world,'' Mrs. Woodhouse said.

She added that Epil-Pro offers clients hair removal without pain. "We brought it in because before there was never any choice for people who wanted hair removal, it was electrolysis -- which is very painful -- or nothing.

"That means people having to deal with many years of pain, scarring, swelling and long term expense.

"All the clients to date, who have tried Epil-Pro, have switched. We offered all the electrolysis clients one session of Epil-Pro for the same price as they would pay for electrolysis and they also had the option of switching back if they wanted to.

"One client cried because she was so thrilled, she never had her whole chin cleared of hair before because with electrolysis it was always too painful.'' Mrs. Woodhouse said there are a lot of women in Bermuda suffering excess hair growth and it is a very personal problem.

"I was very skeptical about Epil-Pro at first because I thought it was too good to be true.

"After being in the business of electrolysis for over 20 years, I have now converted because I've seen the fantastic end results.'' Using a dual mechanism, Epil-Pro utilises: Static component -- numbs nerve endings minimising pain.

Sound Waves -- pass through the hair in a fraction of a second taking the path of least resistance. Travelling precisely down the porous hair shaft, the sound waves degenerate papillary cells without damaging the surrounding tissue.

Epil-Pro is also client friendly. Although large areas are treated and completely cleared in each session, there is no pain, no trauma or sensitivity to the skin.

Generally, the treatment is carried out every two to three weeks, with the period in between increasing as the treatment progresses. There is no risk of scabbing, scarring or pitted.

Mrs. Woodhouse said Epil-Pro is superior to conventional electrolysis because it is: Truly non invasive.

Pain free: no burning, no scarring or pitting.

Large areas can be treated and cleared in each session.

Safe for diabetes Treats smooth moles.

Excellence for transsexual.

Slower regrowth.

Make-up can be applied within 10 minutes after treatment.