Laser SurgeryParadoxical hypertrichosis after laser epilation
Section snippets
Methods
This retrospective study included all patients who underwent laser hair removal at a single center between June 1999 and June 2003. A long-pulsed 755-nm alexandrite laser (Epitouch 5100, Lumenis Ltd [formerly Sharplan Medical Systems], Santa Clara, CA) was used for all patients. Most of the laser procedures were done primarily by trained nurses under the direct supervision of dermatologists; the remainder of the procedures were performed by board-certified dermatologists. Patients were included
Case 1
A 39-year-old woman of Mediterranean descent with type IV skin and black hair underwent laser hair removal to her face in June 1999. At an initial laser setting of 7-mm spot size, 30-millisecond pulse duration, and 23 J/cm2 fluence, there was a good immediate release of exposed hairs, but this immediate hair release became progressively more resistant with successive sessions. She reported a gradual increase in facial hair despite ongoing laser sessions. This became evident on clinical
Results
Of 489 patients, 3 reported postlaser epilation hypertrichosis during a 4-year period (0.6%, 95% confidence interval: 0.01-1.9%). In those patients, the laser treatments were considered the most likely cause for hypertrichosis, because hair growth occurred exclusively at treated sites. All 3 of our patients had black hair and skin phototype IV. The median age, race, skin type, hair color, and treatment settings for these individuals and the comparison group are summarized in Table I. As
Discussion
It was several years after the FDA approved laser hair removal devices when posttreatment hypertrichosis, a rare paradoxical effect of this type of treatment, arose. Moreno-Arias et al2 and Hirsch et al3 independently reported a collection of cases where increased hair growth developed after hair epilation procedures with intense pulse light and 755-nm alexandrite laser, respectively. Likewise in our center, we have noticed this rare event for which we have sought possible precipitating
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Funding sources: None.
Conflicts of interest: None identified.
Presented in part at the Fourth Intercontinental Meeting of Hair Research Societies, Berlin, Germany, June 18, 2004.