The Story of Why …
I am a licensed, African-American electrologist in New Jersey, USA with clients who continuously seek my services to correct a negative side effect of laser hair removal (LHR) called paradoxical hypertrichosis (PH).
PH is the increased growth of hair in or around an area of the body where it did not previously exist, and it can occur on the face and neck of women and the upper torso of men (shoulders, back and chest) with darker white, olive, brown and black skin* after LHR treatments.
Not only do my clients claim the area treated has more hair than it did prior to LHR treatments, but that their peach fuzz (vellus hair) in and around the treated area also turned darker, more coarse and is growing longer than ever before. This is because all laser and light sources have the potential to cause hair induction and it's most likely on darker skin. Unfortunately, the LHR industry knows this but they are not disclosing this information to patients before they treat them.
In addition to this omission, LHR professionals are making false claims about LHR's results. They are claiming it delivers permanent results when it can only offer permanent reduction which must be sustained by routine maintenance over the course of a lifetime. If the patient does not continue treatment, the hair will eventually grow back. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) restricts laser companies from claiming permanent hair removal; however, they do not police these claims so the laser companies are getting away with it when consulting in-person, on the phone, or live-chat, across their digital platforms, and in their marketing materials.
Another unfortunate fact about LHR is that it's restricted in most states to only being administered by medically licensed professionals like nurses and doctors. These professionals are held legally and ethically obligated to tell their patients the truth and yet, they are getting away with not upholding the promises and oaths to which they swore.
At Electrolysis Beauty Lounge », our clients come to us after spending hundreds of dollars they would not have otherwise spent on LHR had they known the risks and its limitations up front, and there are several other electrologists with client horror stories like ours. PH affects people's self-confidence as well as their mental and financial health when it could have been prevented had LHR professionals simply disclosed the whole truth. This must stop.
Help us by signing this petition so we can get support from the FDA & the Federal Trade Commission to hold the LHR industry more accountable by:
Better policing the LHR industry so they no longer make false claims about LHR as a permanent method of hair removal and claim that electrolysis is not a permanent form of hair removal when consulting in-person, on the phone, or live-chat, across their digital platforms, or in their marketing materials
Enforcing strict penalties upon those who violate this rule
Forcing LHR industry experts and scientists to do more focused research on paradoxical hypertrichosis, more specifically:
the impacts on those with darker skin types III, IV, V and VI*
the impacts on those with underlying hormonal disorders
identify if there is a direct correlation between hair induction and laser types, settings, and number of treatments, as well as client gender, ethnicity, and age
On behalf of my clients and all others whom this has or will impact, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Danielle Penn, Owner and Operator of Electrolysis Beauty Lounge, LLC.
For more information, email Beware of Laser » or Electrolysis Beauty Lounge »
* Skin types III, IV, V and VI per the Fitzpatrick Skin Scale »