darker longer hair on arm after cast was removed

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#1

When I was 12 years old, I was visiting my grandparents in Arizona, and one of their neighbors was a 9 year old girl named Jessica. Jessica broke her arm and had to wear a cast for 2 months. When I was visiting, she just had the cast removed, and her arm hair was significantly darker and longer than before. The longer darker hair was just on the one arm that had the cast on it. Before she had the cast, the arm hair was short, light, and barely noticble. She didn’t have long dark hair anywhere else on her body, so it wasn’t a hormomal thing. One of the other neighbors, Marge, who’s a 50 year old something lady, said when she had a cast on her leg years ago and had it removed after several months, her leg hair was long and black which was unlike what it was before.

I’ve come to the conclusion that bad hygiene and lack of proper respiration for the skin can lead to induced hair growth. I’m not saying bad hygiene and lack of respiration for the skin are the only factors to hair growth; I know hormones have to do with hair growth too. I just think taking care of your skin is a big deal when it comes to hair growth, especially when you’re young.

#2

There are three catagories that cause the stimulation of excessive hair:

Heredity - the built in pattern of hair growth that we inherit from our parents.

Hormonal - our body chemistry can effect hair growth

Topical - Sustained irritation almost always stimulates hair in the immediate vicinity of the affected area to grow deeper and coarser. The hair acts like a shield to protect the skin. Isn’t that neat? If there is an irritation then you can bet there is a better blood supply. Blood nourishes hair follicles. When an arm or leg is in a cast for two or three months, this falls under this catagory of constant irritation of the skin. Hair grows to protect the skin from the constant irritation of the plaster cast. When the cast is removed the irritation is removed and thus the hair usually disappears.

Hygiene and “lack of proper respiration” has nothing to do with the increased hair growth.

Dee

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#3

Well thanks for that insight. All makes sense. And thanks for responding so quickly!

#4

Well, I have just experienced this for myself. I broke my right forearm in a car accident in January, had it in a long arm cast for 6 weeks, it didn’t heal, and then I had surgery to have a metal plate and 7 screws put into it. I have been in physical therapy ever since.

Just last week, I realized that my right forearm has significantly more AND darker hair than my left. And I was by no means hairless in the first place! Does anyone know if this goes away after time? If it doesn’t I’ll be getting laser hair removal for it.

I got IPL last year on my lower legs and was pleased with it. I have very fair skin and very dark hair. I had 3 IPL treatments and it reduced my leg hair by about 50%.

Anyway, if anyone knows more about this hair increase after wearing a cast, let me know!

#5

After I had my cast removed I was horrified about the amount of hair that was on my arm. My doctor told me that the hair was not free to shed because the cast was on me. The hairs did end up shedding and the normal amount of hair started growing.

If having a cast on causes hair to grow, then that would be great for my dad who keeps buying crazy hair growth formulas. I think I will have him read these messages here and help him plaster his head! HEE HEE.

#6

My son broke his arm doing a jackass thing a couple years ago and had to wear cast from his wrist to elbow for six weeks. When the cast was removed, his arm was covered with hair so thick you could hardly see the skin below. The hair shed rather quickly and all returned to his normal pattern of hair growth within a short time.

You should be fine.

Dee

#7

The only reason for my concern is that I’ve had the cast off for 2 1/2 months now and it’s still much hairier than the other. I’m not sure how long to wait for it to return to normal before opting for some laser.

#8

the hair cycle there can take some time. i would give it 6-8 months minimum.

#9

I recall that my son’s hair shed quicker than 2 months. I guess everyone is different. You can clip the hair, bleach it or shave it as a temporary measure and wait a little longer.

#10

Thanks for the input.

#11

Hi so I fractured my arm and had to have a plate and screws put in i have been in PT since and still am lol but I asked about the hairs and they said it’s partially due to not being able to shed that’s why there is so much more then normal and part of why it gets so dark as well is it gets no sun light at all so think about summer time natural hair lightens a bit especially if in the sun a lot (: hope this helps

#12

Well, okay… one of the functions of hair is to protect the skin. The skin under the cast is bombarded by tiny amounts of friction when the cast moves. The friction is not enough to rub away the hair, but there is just enough friction to stimulate hair growth to provide a cushion or barrier between the skin and cast, so as to protect the skin. When the cast is removed, due to normal wear and tear, the excessive hair will gradually shed over a couple months.

#13

I had a similar experience: I broke my arm in February and had a plate put in a month later. My cast came off at the end of April. My surgeon warned me that I’d see heavier, dark hair in my arm, but I’m just seeing some very fine, darker hair, now - about 5 weeks post cast.

I know that genes have a lot to do with it, and I am very fair haired to begin with. But I have also been exfoliating and moisturizing my forearm very faithfully to deal with all that dead, dry skin. That might have helped shed any heavier new growth.