Understanding Regrowth Dynamics of Hair Understanding Regrowth

Types of Hair & Appearance Vellus - fine short hair, often referred to as peach fuzz. No pigment or medulla present. Only 1mm long! Accelerated vellus – Appears on the cheeks in mature women. Terminal – course pigmented hair that covers the scalp, arms, legs, and facial areas of men and women. Can grow to lengths of 3 feet. Deep terminal- scalp hair and beard hair. Lanugo – soft downy hair, that covers the fetuses in utero. Often shed at birth, however, can remain to shed at a later stage.

Stages of Hair Growth Anagen hair will be fully pigmented, however, new anagen hair may present white tips. The shaft of the anagen hair will be pigmented. Catagen hair may begin to loose color near the epidermis, with little pigment at the shaft of the hair. Telogen hair generally lacks pigment and appears thinner at the epidermis.

Hair Releasing Anagen hair releases easily when the timing & intensity is correct! Appears to be syrupy upon release from epidermis. Telogen hair will not want to release from epidermis. When extracted will present a blunted base. Often referred to as a “club Hair”!

Regrowth of Hair Following Electrolysis or Laser Hair can regrow in in the same area of prior treatments. New growth – is not present a the time of treatment but appears as new terminal hair. Alternate growth – is not present at time of initial treatment but appears within twelve months. Hair conversion- is vellus hair that has converted to coarser hair due to hormone changes. False growth – is perceived as regrowth but has emerged naturally due to not having been treated in prior treatments. A new anagen hair replacing a shedding telogen hair.

Regrowth Cont. Distorted hair roots - the lower portion of the hair appears soft, spongy, and stretches like a rubber band and springs back into a distorted shape. Distorted hairs are difficult to treat. When treating with electrolysis use blending or galvanic current to supply the lower section of follicle with enough current/lye to remove the hair. Distorted hairs are much easier to treat with the laser provided the color of the hair is absorbed with the wavelength of the laser.

True Regrowth True hair regrowth can be caused by the following: 1. A bad insertion, angle off. 2. Improper depth of insertion, too shallow or deep. 3. Improper current, not enough to remove hair. 4. Incorrect needle size or width. 5. Tweezed hair! It didn’t slide out after treatment.

Ingrown Hairs An ingrown hair can appear 2-4 months after a treatment with electrolysis. Dead cells and sebum are trapped by the coiled hair within the follicle – can be referred to as embedded hairs. Ingrown hair may be present in a large comedone. Folliculitus is an inflammation of the opening of the hair follicle. Often presents as a form of acne. Ingrown hairs can be a result of plucking and difficult to distinguish from electrolysis or laser treatments of the hair. Curly hair is a result of a distorted follicles which often become infected. Often times ethnic habits results in tweezing of distorted hair which presents cause for follicultus.

Other Types Regrowth Twin-pili – this is when two hairs are growing in one follicle. Often one hair will emerge above the surface of the skin, when treated the other hair that remains under the surface of the skin will die. It will shed at a later time and appear to be regrowth.

Tombstone Hairs A tombstone hair can emerge 4-6 months after treatment, this hair is dead but never shed. Tombstone hair is more apparent after 6-8 laser hair removal treatments. Tombstone hairs appear to look thick, dark and dried-out with no root or inflammation.

Corkscrew Hair Follicle is curved or in a circle formation. Difficult to treat with electrolysis due to the curve of the follicle. Laser hair removal is excellent on corkscrew hairs. Appears in skin of color clients.

Replacement Hair Replaces a teleogen hair in a new anagen state of growth. May appear to clients as the same hair that was present prior to treatments. Not regrowth it was never treated.

Causes of Regrowth Improper insertion Needle length Insufficient timing and intensity Modality not correct for hair type Hair growth stage – 80% of hair present on the body at one time is in anagen!