Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

Hair growth after laser hair removal?! #shorts

30 Jan 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:34

YouTube Short (Shereene Idriss) explaining 'paradoxical hair growth' after laser hair removal: insufficient laser heat can stimulate rather than destroy hair follicles. The speaker notes higher likelihood in darker skin tones and in hormone-sensitive areas (e.g., jawline) or in people with hormonal conditions like PCOS, and suggests mitigation options (switch technologies, adjust settings, or transfer to electrolysis).

Chapters

It took me 10 years to learn this, but I'll teach it to you in 10 seconds. You don't always hear this before you book a laser hair removal package, but this is called paradoxical hair growth. Basically, instead of removing your hair, the laser can stimulate new hair growth because the heat is not strong enough to destroy the hair follicle and it stimulates it instead. It happens in darker skin tones, usually in hormone sensitive areas like the jawline and people who have hormonal sensitivities like pcos. But you're not destined for failure because you got options either. We can switch technologies, adjust the settings, or transfer you to electrolysis for permanent removal.