Sunburn Caused Hair Reduction

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi all,

Last summer I got a terrible sunburn. My whole body was covered in second degree burns. I peeled off enough skin I thought I was beginning to lose weight due to the amount of skin I was shedding. (I wasn’t out in the sun that long - I am just Extremely white.) I kept garbage bags next to my bed just to put all the skin into it was so gross.

I couldn’t walk for 5 days and had to have my mom help me to the bathroom and bring me food twice a day.

My legs were PURPLE. Not red, not maroon, but Purple.

Since my sunburn, I have a noticed a drastic reduction in hair growth on my legs. I used to shave at night and I’d have stubble by the next morning. Now I shave at night and when I come home from work the next night sometimes my legs are still smooth! This is 9 months later.

It was just something I noticed and thought I would share. Of course I would never recommend this but it seems to fit with the whole theory of laser/pulsed light sheer hair removal, etc. Clearly excess light/burns will reduce hair growth.

[ April 16, 2004, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: marie24 ]

#2

Someone on a cycling forum made the same observation:

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t92176.html

A good dose of full-spectrum light can definitely affect the skin, including hair growth, conceivably. You essentially got a slow-motion treatment from the solar system’s biggest flash lamp. The only difference is you got a tasty dose of UVa and UVb rays, too, which IPL/flash lamps are supposed to filter.

Like sunburn, laser and flash lamp can cause blisters and scabbing as the skin. It would have to be a real doozy to cause damage to hair follicles, but it sounds like yours was. Definitely not a good way to try it, as the damage to other structures in the skin is not worth the cost of trying this intentionally.

#3

Andrea thanks for the link. I had never read about this anywhere else, but I know I was certain I have reduced hairgrowth in my sunburned legs.

I got just as sunburned on my stomach too however and the hair there does not seem to have decreased at all. Sometimes it doesnt’ seem like the reduction is as much as it was a few months ago, and then other times it does it’s weird!

But I will say that I am so far very impressed with the only one laser treatment I got on myunderarms, I can’t wait to go back and get more done! I’ve seen at least a 75% reduction on just the first treatment!