Asian Male Hair Stimulated after Laser. Help!

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Apologies for the long post, but I feel that the details are necessary. Any advice/help will be greatly appreciated !!

So I’m an Asian Male (Chinese) aged 24 (Skin type is III - IV, closer to 3) who went to Silk Laser Clinic in Australia. I honestly wish I had found this website sooner, I’d only read about stimulated hair growth on faces, not on other places of the body via reddit etc.

My body had thick black hairs (hair on my chest (around nipples), stomach, lower arms, armpits, legs). and few strands of hair on my back. Upper chest/ upper arms/ shoulder no hair.

Areas treated: (all spaced 6 weeks apart)
Back/Shoulders: twice
Lower arms/wrist: twice
Full Legs: twice
Chest/Stomach: three times

I wasn’t sure what laser they used, but on the fourth session (after quarantine restrictions eased around August 2020) I noticed the machine had ND:YAG written.

December 2019 ~ January 2020
Each session was a different technician that treated me
I got 2 sessions on my legs, back + shoulders (sale on at the time, cheaper than just back) spaced 6 weeks apart. Including chest + stomach, entire leg, lower arm+wrist

After 2 months from the last session (I noticed it around late March 2020), my entire back (especially upper) grew excessively hairy as well as shoulders (looks like a fur coat not joking).
My upper chest grew hairier (connecting to my back) not as hairy compared to my back+shoulder
Areas of my arm which had no hair also grew hair
Legs appeared less dark the hairs.

Fast forward August 2020
I contacted Silk Laser Clinic and they told me they had cases where this happened, where they took more extra care and after 10 treatments, the person received the results they were after. They explained it most commonly happens to men in hard to treat areas such as back and shoulders. Wish they told me this at the start…
I was told that when the hairs are stimulated and grow, continued treatment will remove it

They said that they will keep me with one technician who is their most skilled, and the technician told me that they usually give her these cases as she’s most familiar with the appropriate levels.

I’m not sure what settings they used but with this technician I’m able to feel the zap every time, whereas previously I’d only feel it more in areas with darker hairs.

Should I continue to see them or should I stop immediately? I’m unsure as they’re telling me they treated this before and appear familiar with it. I want to think they’re telling the truth but I’m finding it difficult to due to what happened and reading so many of other peoples stories.

I’m strongly considering electrolysis if there’s 0 hope for me with Laser.

My next appointment is next week (only doing chest + stomach and full legs)

Sorry for the long post, I can provide more details if you feel that I missed anything
Please give me any advice and your input on my case

#2

Welcome, and I am sorry you are having problems!

You might want to consider doing test areas before committing to large areas again.

#3

Hey Andrea, thanks for the welcome :smiley:

I appreciate your suggestion. Would you think being undertreated is the main cause of my stimulated hair growth? and would increases the heat levels solve this issue? (just stuff I’ve read on this forum)

Thanks!

#4

Yes, stimulation is usually because because the fluence does not reach levels high enough to cause follicle damage. They may need to keep the settings below that threshold because of your skin color or sensitivity, but you should test small areas at higher levels to see how your skin tolerates treatment. I recommend not testing in your face or other often visible areas.

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#5

Do you think it’d be worth to get 1 session done, then wait a few months to see for any stimulated growth, then do another session and wait a few months?

Or would this make the laser uneffective?

Thanks!

#6

higher risk of hair stimulation when:

  1. undertreated
  2. colour, diameter & density of hair is too light
  3. too early or waiting far too long between each laser session => Timing is essential, not only to obtain the best reduction result but also to minimise the risk of hypertrichosis => the good time to hv the laser treatment is when majority of hair is in anagen, only then u will get the most reduction result
  4. …
#7

Because I’m already getting treatment at the moment, would it be a good idea to stop since my hairs are sparse? (although they’re quite dark)

Also my treatment time is every 6 weeks, which I assume the hairs are in anagen?

If my hairs continuously are being stimulated due to undertreatment or poor timing, would they grow significantly after I finish 6 sessions? Because it’s hard to tell if the laser is working, so I’m worried if I stop suddenly then continue laser if it appears to work etc.

Thank you a lot for your informative replies !!

#8

Hi there, unfortunately the same thing happened to me with stimulated hair growth from laser (back and shoulders). I’m not an expert on laser but I know I’ve had enough treatments to know that it did not work for me and I had a lot of treatments thinking that it would resolve the issue. It is almost like the stars and moon have to align just right to see any results of which I had none.
Anyways if I were you I’d look for a good electrologist to help you get some permanent results. I ended up doing my chest and stomach and shoulders myself with electrolysis and having someone work on my back currently. Something I wish I would have done in the first place. Let me know if you have any other questions since I was in the same situation as you.

#9

Hey there

Did you notice any inflammation of your hair follicles after treatments or felt any zaps? (These are indicators of the lazer working i read)

Thanks for sharing with me, currently feeling super worried and thinking if i should just go with electrolysis for my entire chest, stomach, shoulders, back

This is exactly what they’re telling me as well, possibly just a way to get as much money out of me I’m guessing

Thanks !!

#10

Yes there was inflammation every area they zapped. It was extremely painful on chest and stomach still hurt on shoulders but less and back was much less. I didn’t really have much hair there back then though. I thought things were going well until I stopped getting my treatments then all the hair came back and even worse, then I went for more treatments then I decided it was a waste of money. Even after all that I noticed no improvements on the areas I had a lot of hair and had stimulated growth on areas I had barely any.
I’d do some research some good electrologist in your area. Not sure but maybe try and get your money back or something from that place.

#11

Did they do any adjustments on the settings or anything afterwards if you told them about your stimulated hair growth

This is exactly what happened to me now…

Did the areas already with hairs get worse too?
Also you’re doing electrolysis now, how long has it taken to see results?

Yeh i asked for refund but they refuse to…
Only on the sessions i haven’t used

#12

It was so long ago I can’t remember if they made any adjustments, I wasn’t looking at the settings. I do remember telling them to go as high as they could if needed. The areas where I had hair didn’t get any better or worse. Remained the same. Shame they refused to offer a refund but guess you tried at least.

#13

How many treatments did you have if you remember?

Glad to hear the areas didn’t get worse at least…

#14

If you are considering electrolysis want to chat about options, visit our website www.permanence.com.au for information - will be glad to assist you. If you wish to speak with me personally, email me noreen@permanence.com.au and I will give you a call. Your situation is not uncommon, after lockdown and no maintenance electrolysis clinics have seen an increase in the number of people requiring their services. I am no expert in laser, therefore will leave comments to others as to why this has happened

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#15

Hey, thanks for reaching out
I looked at your website, it appears that you’re based in Sydney only?

#16

I can’t remember it was a while ago. I’m going to estimate like 8-11 sessions

#17

It usually took around 6 sessions for most (not all) of my clients to have around 80% permanent hair reduction, provided that the clients have dense, coarse & thick dark hair and their skin colour is upto Fitzpatrick type IV.

For those with fairer skin with coarse dense dark hair, it took less sessions for my clients to see significant hair reduction.

It took more sessions or less hair reduction results for those with lighter hair and/or darker skin.

Eversince i hv started offering these services I hv never treated anyone more than 8 sessions for their 2-yr initial laser hair removal course. Either because they hv obtained good significant reduction results or they r not good candidates for laser.

If u hv doubt whether your have received effective treatments, please read => https://beauty-electrolysis-laser.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-do-you-know-if-such-laser-treatment.html

#18

From your experience, do you think having like 3 sessions done is enough to see any kind of results? (i.e at least changes from before and after laser) ofc waiting like 3months or so for regrowth

The place I’m going to, Laser Silk Clinic is saying 10-12 treatments is recommended
But you’re saying 6 sessions for most for your clients, makes me question them a lot

Thanks for the link, I had a read through it :smiley:

#19

If the first six treatments are done at the highest intensity possible that is safe for your skin type, each subsequent treatment will have significantly diminishing returns. Many laser clinics will choose a lower intensity and increase for each treatment to justify doing ten or more. If clients are properly treated from the start, ten treatments are not necessary.

I also notice you said you had no hair on your shoulders and only a small amount on your back. These areas should not have been treated at all. The operator should have drawn a treatment map on your body to specifically avoid this.

At this point, I would work towards finding an electrologist who can help you make a solid treatment plan so you can be done in less than two years from now.

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#20

Yeah, if only I had knew that sooner. Sadly a lot of the pros/cons of laser I read before laser never mentioned stimulated growth (only read that for the face)…

The place definitely felt unprofessional with the consultation mainly being about pricing and how many treatments I needed which should’ve been a red flag

I’m looking for a electrologist in Adelaide, South Australia at the moment !! But quite hard as there is barely any reviews. Hoping to find a good electrologist. Thanks for the reply :smiley: