Hair typically sheds within 7-30 days following laser treatments, often appearing to grow back in what seems like new growth but is actually your body pushing out treated follicles.
Shedding hair after laser treatment is an expected and necessary part of reaching your aesthetic goal. When this doesn’t occur, there may be any number of reasons for its failure; read more here about why it could happen here.
1. Your hair is in the growth phase
Laser treatments work best during the anagen phase, when hairs are easily grasped by laser. Once in contact with each hair follicle, heat can move down each strand and into its root to damage it and signal to your body that its function no longer exists and eventually shed. Shedding typically begins 5-14 days post treatment and may continue for weeks; this process is what causes hair fallout after laser, not instantaneously but rather gradually over time – even sometimes appearing like continued growth!
The telogen cycle is the resting phase for your hair. At this time, no new growth or development occurs and laser treatments cannot target it effectively. However, your follicle remains alive and can enter anagen cycle and resume growing once its rest period ends.
Hair growth cycles vary among individuals depending on genetics, hormones and other factors; therefore not all your hair will be in its cycle at once, which requires four or six sessions for effective laser hair removal results.
However, patients may notice that not all hair in their treatment area has shed as a result of laser. This is because laser can only kill hairs in their anagen phase during one laser session – approximately 15% will likely be in this state at any given time.
After laser treatment, it’s essential that you refrain from picking at your hairs as this can irritate them and lead to their regrowth. Instead, use gentle exfoliation techniques or moisturize your skin regularly as this will hasten shedding process and keep follicles healthy for future growth. Rubbing, scrubbing or plucking the area may irritate it further and delay results; for best results make an appointment at a clinic offering laser services and allow them to assess your condition and suggest the most effective course of action for you.
2. Your hair is in the telogen phase
Hair follicles go through three distinct stages – growth (anagen), transition (catagen) and rest/shedding phase known as the telogen period. On average, around 80% of your scalp’s follicles will be in anagen mode at any one time. Ten to twenty percent of follicles remain in the telogen phase, where they do not produce new hair fiber. When in this state, hair becomes clubbed and will eventually fall out. Hair follicles usually remain dormant during their telogen phase for three to four months before restarting their growth again. When repeatedly exposed to stress, however, the hair follicle may enter an extended telogen phase that leads to telogen effluvium – which manifests with heavy shedding but often resolves within six to nine months.
After laser treatments, it is not unusual to experience some hair fallout during the initial days after treatment. You may also observe some new hair sprouting after therapy has concluded – an encouraging sign. This indicates that at least some of your follicles were successful and are now in anagen phase ready to produce new growth.
If you want to quickly remove hair in its anagen phase, avoid waxing, tweezing or plucking for several days before each laser treatment. Also avoid stimulating anagen phase follicles through rubbing as this increases chances of successful removal of unwanted hairs.
Take supplements that promote healthy hair growth, such as folic acid, iron and biotin. However, note that these will likely not be as effective when it comes to stimulating anagen phase because these supplements do not damage follicles the same way laser treatment does. As an alternative solution you could opt for electrolysis which might not trigger as strong an anagen phase but could still slow the rate at which hair grows back out.
3. Your hair is in the resting phase
At its most basic, resting is when hair stops growing above the skin’s surface and no longer shows above it. In this stage, older hairs fall out naturally while new ones develop. Follicles usually enter this phase within several months – so if you experience sudden thinning where you had laser treatments it could still be in this stage.
Shedding after laser hair removal occurs because the laser treatments damage pigment in hair follicles, signalling to them that their function has ended and prompting their hairs to shed off naturally over time. This typically happens one to three weeks post treatment and may appear as blackheads or stubble. Everyone’s growth cycle varies based on age, hormones, natural processes of hair growth etc so many will need multiple sessions over a period of time in order to ensure every hair has been targeted by laser treatments and destroyed permanently.
As your hair sheds, it is crucial that no plucking, waxing, tweezing or shaving takes place as this will unintentionally remove hair follicles that were targeted by laser treatment and increase their chance of returning to anagen phase in future cycles. A gentle exfoliating technique such as using a loofah or washcloth several times a week may speed up this process and hasten its completion.
Stress and certain medications can trigger the resting phase in hair follicles, leading to hair falling out suddenly when combing or washing hair. Telogen effluvium (pronounced TEL-oh-gen ef-FLOO-vee-um), is one such condition where significant stress causes large numbers of hair follicles to go into resting phase and lead to sudden hair fall out when combing or washing it; other conditions include thyroid disease, generalized stress, depression/anxiety disorders such as depression/anxiety disorders as menopause as well as trichotillomania (pronounced trik-oh-TILL-oh-mania); see TEL-oh-gen ef-FLOO-vee oh mania for further details.
Even if you miss one or two laser sessions, don’t panic! While all anagen phase follicles will have been destroyed, not all will have entered telogen phase and most likely never again produce hair growth. Therefore, it’s essential that you remain consistent in your treatment plan and return for your subsequent sessions on schedule.
4. Your hair is in the active growth phase
Laser treatment works best on hair follicles in their anagen phase. Therefore, multiple sessions should be scheduled over several months to achieve maximum effectiveness of treatment. At some point following treatment, your body will begin shedding off anagen phase hair which was treated – this indicates success of treatment! Eventually new growth should appear. It’s a positive sign and shows you’ve made progress!
Damaged hair follicles in the growth phase should no longer produce hair, and will eventually stop growing altogether. Unfortunately, this process takes weeks or months – which is why it is vital that patients adhere to their recommended treatment schedule and don’t miss any appointments; avoid methods which pull out roots like shaving, waxing, plucking or threading in areas treated; keeping skin hydrated will speed up this shedding process as well.
Shedding after laser treatment is a natural part of healing, and should not be seen as something to fear. Your body uses shedding as its way of ridding itself of hair that was in the anagen stage when treated by laser and will no longer reappear; usually 1-3 weeks post treatment it may look like blackheads or stubble.
Hair follicles in the catagen phase will gradually start to shrink, and some will move into the telogen stage, wherein they won’t produce hair growth but won’t necessarily shed. On average, this phase typically lasts three months.
Telogen phase hair cycles are essential to healthy scalp and head function, yet can make laser treatments harder to administer. If there’s a lot of telogen hair growing back after it falls out naturally, multiple maintenance laser sessions might be needed in order to eliminate all of it.
