Articles
| Open Access |
DOI: Clinical efficacy of Electrolysis and Laser Hair Removal in PCOS patients
Marta Ivaskevych , IMS Electrolysis May 2025Abstract
In this study, we investigated whether electrolysis is a more effective method of hair removal in clients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) than laser hair removal. A total of 203 women with PCOS who completed a full course of electrolysis between 2021 and 2025 were examined. The study focused on hormonal sensitive facial areas ( chin, cheeks, upper lip, sideburns), were traditional light-based treatments usually fail. We compared clinical outcomes, safety, cost, and client satisfaction. Electrolysis has repeatedly shown superior efficacy for permanent hair removal, particularly in hormonally sensitive facial areas for all skin types. Laser hair removal in clients with polycystic ovary syndrome was reported to cause paradoxical hair growth (paradoxical hypertrichosis). Although electrolysis required more treatment sessions, it ultimately offered a more reliable, cost-effective, and permanent solution. Based on our findings, we prioritize electrolysis over laser hair removal when planning the treatment of facial hirsutism associated with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Keywords
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Electrolysis, Laser Hair Removal, Hirsutism, Facial Hair
References
Diamanti-Kandarakis E, et al., editors. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Current and Emerging Concepts. Cham: Spinger; 2016.
Azziz R, Woods KS, Reyna R, Key TJ, Knochenhauer ES, Yildiz BO. The prevalence and features of the polycystic ovary syndrome in an unselected population. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89(6):2745-9.
Carmina E, Rosato F, Janni A, Rizzo M, Longo RA. Relative prevalence of different androgen excess disorders in 950 women referred because of clinical hyperandrogegism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(1):2-6.
Lipton MG, Sherr L, Elford J, Rustin M, Clayton WJ. Women living with facial hair: the psychological and behavioral burden. J Psychosom Res. 2006;61(2):161-8.
Escobar-Morreale HF. Polycystic every syndrome: definition, aetiology, diagnosis and treatment. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2018;14(5):270-84.
Alster TS, Lupton JR. Laser hair removal: a review. Dermatool Clin. 2002;20(1):59-68
Rao J, Goldman MP. Prospective, single-center, clinical evaluation of the long-pulse 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser for hair removal in skin types IV-VI. Dermatol Surg. 2005;31(6):733-7.
Alajlan A, Shapiro J. Paradoxical hypertrichosis after laser epilation. J Am Acad Dermatol.2002;46(3):405-8.
Yildiz H, Karadat AS, Ozkanli S, Ozlu E, Bilgili SG. Paradoxical hypertrichosis after laser hair removal: retrospective analysis. J Cosmet Laser There. 2014;16(6):294-7.
Article Statistics
Copyright License
Copyright (c) 2025 Marta Ivaskevych
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain the copyright of their manuscripts, and all Open Access articles are disseminated under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC-BY), which licenses unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is appropriately cited. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.