New twist on an unproven method
The late 1990’s saw the rise of “transcutaneous hair removal,” a new twist on an old unproven method of hair removal.
Background
Electric tweezers had run their course in the early 1990’s, after IGIA saturated the U.S. market with their bogus device. Electric tweezer makers looked for the next scam and came up with “transdermal electrolysis” (also called transdermolysis or transdermalysis). Electric tweezer manufacturer American Hair Removal System (AHRS) led the way with this new twist, offering a modification that replaced the electric tweezer with an electrified cotton swab (like a Q-Tip). As with their tweezer, conductive gel was still spread on the skin, and the cotton swab was then touched to the gel. Supposedly, the electricity that passed through the swab would travel down the hair and result in permanent hair removal.
By the end of 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had finally stated that electric tweezers had produced no statistically significant data indicating the devices could perform permanent hair removal.
In 1999, the FDA stated that they had not evaluated claims made by these “transdermal” devices and that they were not allowed to make claims of permanent hair removal.
Also in 1999 (on 29 March), the owners of AHRS submitted a patent for “an electrolysis system comprised of one or more patches that are secured to a skin surface.” The patent was awarded in 2000, and the owners came out with a new device under International Hair Removal Systems (now called 
Rejuvenu). The new device is the SuperPhaser Gold.
On 2 April 2001, FDA told the maker of Super Phaser Gold they were in violation of federal law in making claims of painless and permanent hair removal using transcutaneous patches.
$9,000.00 or $30? Your call.
The IGIA website featured IHRS Medical Director Mark Chandler in 2001, discussing patch devices like IGIA Touch n’ Go (see screen shot below). This raises a good question:
Why spend $9,000.00 on an IHRS SuperPhaser Gold when the IGIA Forever Gone Plus is only $30?
The same guy is featured on both sites, so if you’re going to waste money, why not save yourself $8,970?
Comparison of transcutaneous devices
| Manufacturer | Model | Tweezer | Swab | Patch | Cost |
| AHRS |
TE 629 | X | X | $3,700.00 | |
| AHRS |
TE 429 | X | X | $2,500.00 | |
| AHRS |
TE 229 | X | X | $1,500.00 | |
| IHRS |
SuperPhaser Gold | X | X | X | $9,000.00 |
| IHRS ( HairLabs) |
TransQ-2000 | X | X | X | $7,500.00 |
| IHRS ( Harmonix) |
Pinnacle 1250 | X | X | X | $7,500.00 |
| IGIA |
Forever Gone Plus | X | $29.95 | ||
| IGIA |
Touch n’ Go | X | X | X | $100.00 |
| Global Electrolysis Supply |
AAVEXX 549 | X | X | X | $300.00 |
| Mehl |
Finally Free Ultra | X | X | X | $80.00 |