Final answer:
The process of removing hair by destroying the hair root with an electric current is called electrolysis, a permanent hair removal technique that targets the hair root inside the follicle.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of removing hair by destroying the hair root with an electric current is called electrolysis. This method is one of the few permanent hair removal techniques, different from other methods such as shaving, chemical depilatories, and other forms of epilation and depilation. During electrolysis, a device called an epilator is used to send electrical currents through a very thin needle probe into the hair follicle, thereby destroying the hair root and preventing future growth.
Hair structure comprises the hair root and the hair shaft. While the shaft consists of dead cells and is what we see above the skin, the root is the living part of the hair within the follicle. The active part of the root, the hair bulb and matrix, are crucial for hair growth and are targeted during electrolysis to achieve permanency of hair removal.