EXCESSIVE HAIR GROWTH ALL OVER THE BODY

DR IKRAMULLAH AL NASIR | DUBAI-BASED DERMATOLOGIST

I’m a 33-year-old woman suffering from excessive hair growth on my body. I’ve tried laser treatment but it has not been of much help.

Excessive hair growth on a woman’s body could be due to many reasons including racial/ genetic influence, hormonal imbalances or in some rare instances due to a disease and its treatments.

Among women in the subcontinent and a majority of Arab countries, the genetic factor is considered to be the most leading cause for hair growth. Incidentally, studies have also indicated that women from these two regions are also at a higher risk of developing internal hormonal imbalances, in many cases as a part of Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS). Other manifestations of PCOS syndrome include weight gain, menstrual irregularities, thickening and darkening of skin mainly over the body folds, difficulty to conceive (primary or secondary infertility) and insulin resistance, which increases their future risk for diabetes. Keeping this in mind, every woman suffering from this condition must be investigated to rule out all of the above suspected causes.

In many cases, failure of hair removal treatments is linked to not treating the internal connected conditions simultaneously. Other probable factors behind the treatment failure could include wrong assessment of the hair type, wrong selection of the laser type, settings/parameters. The last is quite often seen in cases here.

In your case, my advice will be to consult an experienced dermatologist who could first thoroughly examine your skin before carrying out investigations including detailed hormonal profiles in addition to a pelvic ultrasonography to rule out any underlying PCOS. Additional necessary tests based on your dermatologist’s clinical suspicion can also be beneficial.