PCOS and dealing with hair growth.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a very common condition that many women suffer with. Symptoms include irregular or absence of periods due to irregular ovulation, weight gain, thinning hair, acne and excessive hair growth, usually on the face, chest, back or buttocks. 

It can be very frustrating for women living with this condition and treating the symptoms can feel overwhelming. 

Many women will feel self-conscious about the excessive hair growth. It can be a daily task plucking, waxing or trying to disguise the unwanted hair. 

Fortunately, there are treatments that can make a huge difference. 

Laser hair removal can be effective for treating areas of thick, dense hair growth. This treatment can help to permanently reduce hair growth meaning that there is less hair to treat, it’s usually much slower growing and you may be hair free for long periods of time. 

It’s important to stress that treating clients with PCOS with laser hair removal is a way of managing the hair growth so the client may get longer periods of time between other methods of hair removal. Shaving or trimming the hair is the only other method we recommend so as not to stimulate the blood supply to the hair which could in turn encourage more hair growth. 

Our favourite treatment to use for unwanted hair growth, particularly on the face or hairs that are white, is electrolysis. This is the only type of hair removal treatment that is recognised as permanent hair removal. Whilst this treatment can take a considerable amount of treatment, time and money, it is the most effective way to permanently treat unwanted hair. 

Many of our clients that have PCOS have found our hair removal treatments to be life changing. From shaving twice a day to once a week may not sound much of a result to some, but for people that battle this daily, having the freedom not to treat the hair every day and not having to wear make-up to hide the dark shadow is a huge achievement. 

Whilst there is no cure for PCOS, working with your healthcare provider can help to treat the symptoms and some women will become less aware of the condition over time. Results from laser hair removal and electrolysis will vary person to person dependant on individual circumstances and as such, we treat everyone’s treatment journey as unique. 

The main thing is not to suffer in silence as there are treatments that can help which in turn may greatly improve your life.