If the thought of permanently getting rid of unwanted hair excites you and you're considering laser hair removal, make sure you read this first!

A laser hair removal company that is transparent will include a warning about the potential for paradoxical hypertrichosis, alongside the glowing success stories of other clients. Be sure to carefully review the fine print on the consent form. 

Surprisingly, there's a risk that instead of reducing hair, laser treatment could actually stimulate more hair growth! Yes, you read that correctly. While it doesn't occur in every case, it can happen even if you seem like the perfect candidate for laser hair removal. So, what's behind this unexpected outcome?

Paradoxical Hypertrichosis

It’s called paradoxical hypertrichosis — and even the name sounds scary. No one actually knows why this happens with laser patients, but after treatment, the laser can do the opposite of what you’re expecting and actually stimulate hair growth. And, if that wasn’t enough, the hair can actually come back thicker and darker!  Let’s look at some reasons why this might be happening.

Assessing Your Skin for Laser is Challenging

There is a theory that when hair is heated to 65 degrees, the hair follicle germ cells are destroyed, but anything below this could contribute to more hair growth. We won’t go into the details too DEEPLY, but this concept is ROOTED (ha ha - we love a good play on words) in something called the theory of photothermolysis. With laser clinics, the technician treating you needs to do two things:

1. accurately determine the strength of laser for your skin type
2. assess how your skin performed after each treatment. 

But these often don’t occur for two reasons:

1. laser is painful, so it’s tempting for the laser tech to run your machine cooler, making your treatment more tolerable but the result is your hair only reaches about 45 degrees, and thus stimulates hair growth
2. at a larger laser clinic, you may be treated by a different tech each time, so they won’t be fully aware of how your last treatment performed for you, which can be problematic in spotting issues.

It's About Hormones

Another theory of why your hair may grow back stronger and thicker after laser has to do with hormonal imbalance. It takes time to diagnose something like PCOS, and many women live with symptoms for years before their condition is diagnosed. One of the main features of PCOS is excess facial and body hair (also called hirsutism), thanks to higher-levels of testosterone and other androgens.  If this theory is correct, laser may not be the real culprit behind excessive hair growth after a treatment, but it may contribute to speeding up the process.

"So What Can Be Done About My Excess Hair?"

If any of this worries you, or you already have excess facial or body hair, you have options that will not require hours of plucking later. Let’s talk through some of them:

Electrolysis is Another Option for Hair Removal

If you’re worried about letting a laser loose on your face or another area of your body (and you should be), you can skip it altogether and make a safer and more effective choice! Electrolysis is the only 100% PERMANENT form of hair removal recognized by the FDA (laser can’t say this).  Come see us in our professional, caring, small salon environment.  We can permanently remove hair from anywhere!

See Your Doctor or a Naturopathic Doctor

This seems pretty pedestrian, but actually, women are often so busy taking care of others, they don’t stop and take enough time for themselves. There’s a lot that can be done for excess hair issues - especially if you suspect you may have a hormonal imbalance!

It’s OK to Shave Your Face

Really! Your hair will not grow back stronger and thicker, we promise (this is just an old wives’ tale)!  If you’re having a problem right now, this is a great immediate solution, and it hands-down beats tweezing, which can distort your hair follicle, cause ingrown hair, and make your hair stronger and thicker over time! 

We can’t stress this enough - NEVER TWEEZE, WAX, SUGAR, THREAD or NAIR but it’s totally ok to shave for the short-term, and then come see us for permanent hair removal with electrolysis!

If you want to learn more about the differences between Electrolysis and other forms of hair removal (laser hair removal, waxing, sugaring, threading, etc) - read our article here 

With Razor Free Electrolysis - this is what we offer - Electrolysis Permanent Hair Removal!