After I got laser the peach fuzz hairs on my face that were barely noticeable turned into horribly thick very black noticeable hairs that do not go away It has been years since I did the laser and the hairs continue to grow thick no matter what. I never had this much hair before laser. Laser actually made my problem a billion times worse.The hair grows in excessive amounts it is very depressing. I am very fair skinned with dark hair. Has anyone heard of this happening before or knows anything that works to get rid of the hairs that grew as a result of the laser? I have been getting electrolysis but it is very slow I continue seeing hair growth… Please Please help I would appreciate it dearly. I have searched all over the internet for people with results like mines and have found some but very little results on this. I would appreciate some feedback Please. Thanks so much
I’m sorry you have to go through that. I have a question though, how many treatments did you have and when did the hairs start to become thicker?
And I think your best bet now would be electrolysis.
I had a total of 5 treatments and I thought the laser was working. A few months after my last treatment I started noticing super thick and massive amounts of hair I never had before.As time progressed it got worse and worse. No matter how much plucking or waxing there is no controlling it. I wish I never got laser. (Before laser I barely had anything only a little peach fuzz but I decided to do the laser on my peach fuzz because it only costed a little more to to it since I was doing my upper lip area. The difference in money to do the upper lip and the upper lip plus face was minimal)I so regret it and dont recommend laser to anyone. (although some people it seems to work for)
I found some research online that stated that sometimes laser activates dormant hair meaning it actives hairs that are asleep and were never a problem. I was wondering HAS THIS HAPPENED TO ANYONE ELSE AND HOW CAN IT BE CORRECTED???
Yes, there are regular reports of laser induced growth on this forum. Usually from posters looking for a solution.
Offline, most people I know who have had facial laser have experienced this, so I think it’s very common. It is a combination of treating areas with hairs that are too fine to treat with Laser (Laser should only be performed on coarse and very dark hairs, with aggressive settings) and/or hormonally sensitive areas.
You may have noticed this earlier but I suspect your treatments were too closely scheduled, so you would go for your next appointment without being able to make a proper assessment of the status of the hair. This is not your fault but the clinics that schedule appointments too soon.
Your only solution is to permanently ‘kill’ these follicles using electrolysis. However, I would recommend waiting at least a year after your last laser treatment before starting electrolysis. You can start now but then neither you or the electrologist will be able to tell the full extent of the problem and therefore how long it may take to reach the end.
Thanks for your response. I am now doing laser but it is a slow process. I have been doing it for a while and continue to have hair growth. I feel my hairs are now black and thick enough for the laser to probably work but I am so scared to ever have laser again.
Thanks so much for your feedback. 
I meant to say I am now doing electrolysis…
I would stick with electrolysis.
I know people who continued having Laser to attempt to remove the thicker induced hairs but without luck.
Please just read through the electrolysis threads to have an idea of what you should expect from the process, so that you can be confident that you are getting good treatment.
You won’t believe how many people think they are having effective electrolysis when the hairs are just being plucked… my aunt was one such case and it was not until I educated her about the process that she realised she was being duped. This person was not really an electrologist though and my aunt did not know any better. Now she has been seeing an actual electrologist for about a year and is almost done (she had extremely thick, dense and deeply rooted chin hairs).
Generally, if you are having treatment from someone who is an almost full time electrologist (as opposed to beauty therapist), you should be fine.
Also, there are cycles of hair growth, so the hair that keeps coming in is not ‘new’ hair but the next cycle. And all these cycles will have more hair present than pre-laser. It is more of a mission but if you stick with regular treatments, try to get ‘clearance’ and then maintain this, you should start to notice a difference about six months in (maybe later for you).
How is it possible that the laser induces thicker growth from the tiny hairs?
I mean, that hair does not shed because the laser can’t target them, yet they get mutated like this?
I’ve often wondered that myself! I had absolutely no hair to baby fine hair under my chin before laser and suddenly dark hairs appeared all over the area. I considered maybe the heat triggered the growth, but if that were the case, electrolysis would worsen the situation too. The hairs were definitely not dark enough to be targeted by laser, as they were more blonde than anything. I’m still trying to figure this one out!
I know one thing for sure, it’s not those vellus hairs that you know were always there. They don’t shed after laser so they can’t just get thick.
Heat stimulation can activate dormant follicles and the fine hairs will still absorb a certain amount of energy, causing some damage. In trying to heal this damage, the follicles can be strengthened. This is why it’s never good to treat at low settings or too fine hairs - they should be high enough to completely destroy the cells. It’s more common in hormonally sensitive areas.
This doesn’t happen with properly performed thermolysis because the heat is localised and causes enough damage to destroy the hair producing capability of that follicle… it’s not dependent on the hair itself absorbing energy.
I have been told the only way to fix this is by electrolysis.
Today someone told me that electrolysis is no good for hairs that are very dark and course. Does anyone know if this is true??? Please help.
I have been doing electrolysis for over 2 years but still have dark thick hairs. Also I was told that the laser used on me which was IPL laser is not the correct laser for hair removal and thats why my peach fuzz turned into madness. I was told only true lasers remove hair.
Can someone tell me if electrolysis is effective on dark really thick hairs?
also is the risk of induced hair growth present in all laser types or only IPL?
Thanks everyone so much for your responses
All laser and ipl.
I can add myself to the list of laser casualties, yoyod05! Like you, I didn’t know it was possible for laser to not work / make the situation worse before I came on this forum.
In fact the clinic(s) told me that because it had worked in certain areas for me (bikini line, lower legs - coarse hair there) it would probably work in other areas too! What nonsense. The only thing they ever assessed was the lightness of my skin and the darkness of my hair - NEVER the thickness of the hairs. So the laser resulted in the same hair problem as before in one area (thighs) and a much worse problem in the other area (bottom). Thanks, laser clinics!
After deciding to stop those treatments and go on to electrolysis, I still had one session left that I’d already paid for, so I decided to use it up on a few sessions for my underarms knowing that the hair there should be coarse enough (on me, anyway). Funnily enough, the first treatment was quite successful (hairs less dense and finer), but then the second treatment hasn’t made any difference at all! It’s as if the moment the hairs get finer, they stop responding to laser!
Anyway, all I will say is that laser is a method that should be handled with care by the consumer. It is only ever reliable if your hair is dark AND coarse.
P.S. I asked my second laser clinic (the first one had already made things worse) whether they ever saw cases of increased growth after laser, and they said no! Surely that was a blatant lie.
@ stoppit&tidyup: thank you so much because I was really confused about this
Tealight: I’m sorry that happened to you. I have been told the same thing that there is no way possible that laser can cause more hair growth I know for a fact it is possible and does happen because it happened to me. Do you mind telling me which type of laser hair removal you had done?
Laser induced growth, is very common particularly on the neck and chin. When I worked in Sydney many laser companies would refuse to treat this area and refered clients for electrolysis.
The chin and neck hair has the potential to grow very thick and strong, such as in the case of imbalanced hormones or hair that has been tweezed. There is something with laser that can trigger this response, and probably this is why laser works best on lower leg, underarm and bikini where the hair has already grown to its full potential. Chewbacca86 -(electrolysis would worsen the situation) this would not happen as heat is applied directly and precisely to the hair root cauterizing the hair follicle, therefore a stronger hair can not grow back.
I can tell you with certainty that electrolysis is effective on dark very coarse hairs. Hundreds of electrologists throughout the world can say hip! hip! to that well. If it is done correctly with good equipment and skill, no hair follicle can possibly survive being treated with the destructive forces ( modalities) that electrolysis offers.
Electrolysis is effective on fine blond hairs, fine dark hairs, medium hairs, coarse hairs (not spelled course) very coarse hairs whether they be red, white, clear, brown or black hairs. Electrolysis gets them all and gets 'em good forever and ever. Electrolysis is precise because we can be selective as we treat individual follicles. Electrolysis can be performed whether you have a tan or are naturally very dark or if you have no color at all. Heck, even dogs have been successfully treated for ingrown eyelashes with electrolysis. It works when no other method can work. It is the gold standard by which all hair removal is compared to and nothing has come close to what a good electrologist can do for a hairy person in over 140 years of use anywhere in the universe. But, you wouldn’t know any of this by reading glossy magazines or medical journals, so thank goodness you have found hairtell.
Light based systems can remove hair permanently as well, but they have their limitations, as you know. IPL systems offer permanent hair reduction, too. I have observed that with my own eyes, but generally speaking, a good laser is better, so I hear. Electrrolysis has no limitations. Your fate lies with the practitioner 's skill, so it is wise to go on the hunt to seek out the best person you can find by getting as many consultations as you can to help with this important decision.