Turn Down the Light to See Less Hair

Clinicians found a way to avoid stimulating increased hair growth in darker-skinned patients receiving laser hair removal.

We have seen anecdotal reports of paradoxical hair stimulation in patients undergoing laser or intense pulsed light (IPL) epilation, but the incidence of these events and the character of at-risk patients have not been elucidated. Clinicians at a dermatology laser practice in Spain performed a retrospective review of charts and photographs of 543 patients with Fitzpatrick skin types II, III, and IV who had undergone photo-epilation every 2 to 3 months (3 to 23 sessions) with the long-pulsed alexandrite laser (85% of treatments), IPL (10%), or the long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser (5%).

Increased hair growth occurred in 57 patients (10.5%), appearing within and just outside treated areas after 3 to 10 treatments, mostly where hair was fine or where fi…

Reviewing Author

George J. Hruza, MD