Laser hair removal is a safe, effective solution for eliminating unwanted body hair. Unfortunately, however, sometimes unwanted hair grows back thicker after receiving laser treatment.
This phenomenon is extremely uncommon and its cause could lie with any number of factors, so let’s take a closer look.
Patients can achieve nearly permanent results through regular treatments and touch ups every 6-8 weeks for several years.
Hormonal Imbalance
Laser hair removal sessions target and destroy the germ cells responsible for hair production, but some follicles may remain active in an anagen phase; when stimulated by hormones, these follicles could produce hair. Regular touch-up treatments may help address this issue.
Most patients require two to six laser treatments in order to achieve permanent results, though if you prefer the permanent route it’s essential that between sessions you refrain from plucking, waxing, or shaving the area so as not to disrupt follicles in anagen phase and disrupt laser targeting of targeted anagen phase follicles.
Hair types you are targeting when removing it also play a factor. If you are targeting thicker unwanted hair on your legs, armpits, or pubic region it can take longer for their follicles to heal from heat damage caused by laser and start growing again, which necessitates touch-up treatments every few months or annually to keep unwanted hair at bay.
Hormonal imbalances, which are particularly prevalent among women during peri/menopause, may cause your hair to grow back thicker after laser treatments. This is due to your hormones regulating body functions being compromised by these imbalances; if this applies to you it would be wise to speak to your physician regarding ways of correcting them – this could include taking supplements that balance out hormone levels in your body.
Spironolactone, an anti-androgen medication commonly prescribed to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), may help reduce testosterone levels in your body and thus inhibit hair growth in certain areas. This medication could potentially prevent excess hair growth.
Damage to the Hair Follicles
Laser hair removal works by targeting the pigment in your hair (melanin) and converting it to heat, damaging its follicle and stopping future hair growth. While laser hair removal treatments are generally painless and safe for most patients, their effectiveness depends on your hair type and color; lighter ones (such as strawberry blond and white) don’t absorb enough melanin to be targeted by laser treatments effectively while darker hairs could be less successful when they’re in their catagen or telogen phases, when not yet visible above skin’s surface.
At the start of a laser hair removal procedure, your doctor will press a hand-held laser instrument against your skin. The tip may contain a cooling device or cooling gel to protect and soothe skin during treatment and help reduce potential side effects like stinging. A laser beam then passes through your skin into each hair follicle, where melanin absorbs energy to transform it into heat that eventually destroys it and prevents future hair growth.
After your procedure, your body will start shedding dead follicles that were destroyed by the laser, which may seem alarming; but this process is normal and necessary for success. Once this process has run its course, new, more natural-looking hairs with lighter color and thinner texture will begin growing from your follicles.
Before and after laser treatments, it is crucial that any hair-removal methods be avoided in the weeks leading up to and following them. Plucking, waxing and bleaching disrupt hair follicles, slowing down their natural process. Instead, it may be beneficial to shave using either razor blades or loofahs – these will quickly rid yourself of unwanted hairs faster.
Most individuals require four or six laser treatments in order to target all their active hair follicles and force them into anagen growth phase. Once this has been accomplished, most will experience long-term results that last several months or years, possibly needing touch up sessions once or twice annually. If too much time passes between laser sessions, your follicles could become damaged enough that new growth begins again which would defeat the purpose of initial treatments.
Genetics
Hair that grows back thicker after laser treatment may have something to do with genetics. Hormones control hair growth; however, certain genes can increase its rate or make it more likely that thicker growth returns after treatment. Women who have a family history of polycystic ovarian syndrome are likely to have excessive hair growth that regrowths more dramatically post-laser than others who lack this genetic predisposition.
Hair or skin color can affect how effective laser treatments work for you; however, this won’t have an effect on how quickly or easily your hair grows back following treatment completion; for instance, they’re not considered effective on blond or white locks.
Laser treatments should ideally occur during the anagen phase of hair growth cycle. At this point, most visible hair is visible for laser light to target and kill off its follicle. Once in its catagen phase, however, follicles become less responsive to laser heat and will naturally begin falling out from their respective follicles without needing laser hair removal treatments at all. This process is completely natural and has nothing to do with laser treatments!
As your hair follicles recover from heat damage caused by laser hair removal sessions, they may produce new hair that is darker or thinner than before – this is a normal and temporary reaction which should dissipate once damaged follicles have entered their telogen phase and gone into their dormant stage.
Some hair follicles are more resilient to damage than others, which is why it’s crucial that you follow a pre-treatment preparation protocol before and after laser treatments. Avoid plucking or waxing during this timeframe as even simple hair-removal methods such as plucking can disturb follicles and compromise your results. Depending on your individual situation, additional treatments or a longer maintenance regimen may be necessary in order to achieve lasting hair reduction results; but repeated sessions still offer highly effective ways of permanently eliminating unwanted hair growth!
Over-Stimulation
Laser hair removal is a widely utilized treatment option to rid oneself of unwanted body hair, with long-lasting effects comparable to shaving, waxing, plucking and depilatory creams. But it is important to keep in mind that not every patient experiences similar outcomes following laser therapy – some experience hair regrowth following treatment due to factors like genetics and climate.
Hair grows in cycles. While laser treatments will target some anagen-phase hairs during treatment sessions, most will still be dormant or catagen phases requiring multiple sessions to capture all anagen phase hairs for full results – which is why many clinics offer package deals which enable patients to receive multiple laser sessions at discounted rates.
Hair growth can sometimes feel pointless; while it may seem as though everything was for nothing, it’s important to remember that what you are experiencing is part of an inevitable cycle.
As part of a laser treatment, light energy is applied directly to hair follicles to eliminate germ cells that grow inside them and thus destroys them. When hair regrows after treatment, typically finer and lighter colored than its original form; so it is crucial that you adhere to your plan and schedule touchup treatments as required.
Paradoxical hypertrichosis occurs when laser treatment leads to thicker-than-normal hair regrowth following laser treatments; it typically affects facial or body hair and occurs most commonly among those with darker skin tones, women who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome or who take prescription corticosteroids.
However, this side effect should be rare; however if it does arise it’s important to know that it should be easy to address. First step should be preventing over-stimulation of hair follicles by not picking, tweezing or waxing newly growing out hairs after treatments as this will stimulate them further and also by limiting exposure to sun between laser hair removal appointments.
