A randomized clinical trial on the comparison between hair shaving and snipping prior to laser hair removal sessions in women suffering from hirsutism.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Hirsutism or excess hair growth is a common dermatological problem in females, affecting up to 10% of females worldwide. We aimed this study to compare the two hair-shortening methods shaving vs. snipping among hirsute women regarding the outcome of the therapy and also the paradoxical hypertrichosis phenomenon (terminal hair regrowth) 6 months after the final therapy session.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

In this study, 129 premenopausal women affected by hirsutism were randomly divided into two study groups according to hair-shortening method: shaving as group A (66 patients) and hair shortening by scissor as group B (63 patients). Each patient received six alexandrite laser therapy sessions every month for six consecutive months. Chin hairs in a 5 × 5 cm2 zone were counted, and the paradoxical hair regrowth was evaluated four times during the study: once at baseline, once before the third session, once before the sixth session, and once 6 months after the last laser session.

RESULTS:

Before the third session, the counts were 15.06 ± 5.20 in group A and 13.07 ± 4.44 in group B (P = 0.022); both counts were meaningfully less than the baseline count (P < 0.001). The counts before the sixth session were 2.80 ± 1.16 in group A and 2.71 ± 1.12 in group B (P = 0.673); the counts were significantly lower than the previous session (P < 0.001). Six months after the last laser session, the counts were 11.27 ± 9.30 in group A and 8.15 ± 3.12 in group B (P = 0.012). Paradoxical hypertrichosis was observed in three patients of group A vs. no patients in group B.

CONCLUSION:

We found that alexandrite laser therapy is really effective for treating hirsutism. Both shaving and using a scissor for hair shortening showed similar short-term results, but in one-year follow-up, paradoxical hypertrichosis was only observed in shaving group and also a lower hair count was observed in the snipping group.

• Authors: Robabeh Alijanpour, Fatemeh Aliakbarpour
• Journal: Journal of cosmetic dermatology (J Cosmet Dermatol) Vol. 16 Issue 1 Pg. 70-75 (Mar 2017) ISSN: 1473-2165 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 27616192 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)
• Copyright: © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Topics

• Adult
• Barbering (methods)
• Chin
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Hair Removal (adverse effects, methods)
• Hirsutism (radiotherapy)
• Humans
• Hypertrichosis (etiology)
• Laser Therapy
• Lasers, Solid-State (therapeutic use)
• Middle Aged
• Recurrence
• Young Adult