Experts believe HS starts in your folliclesa.k.a.
the tubelike structures that hair sprouts from.
Sounds great, right?
Jordan Moss
There are, however, some big caveats: Its expensive and probably wont be covered by insurance.
It may not work.
Heres a breakdown of what you should know before trying it.
(If you have severe HS, it may be too painful to even trymore on that later.)
They would get so bad, I couldnt walk, Humphrey tells SELF.
It was small and went away on its own, Humphrey says.
Laser hair removal does not get you out of the woods, Dr. Obioha-Lolagne says.
But, she adds, for some people, it can be a great complement to other therapies.
For a long time, laser hair removal was really only an option for people with light skinanddark hair.
(Without that color contrast, older lasers could not distinguish hair follicles from skin.
That meant the treatment was not only ineffective but carried a serious burn risk for people of color.)
Fortunately, Dr. Obioha-Lolagne says the technology has gotten much better.
But Dr. Obioha-Lolagne recommends cautionparticularly if you are a Black or brown person.
Finding a provider who checks all those boxes could be tough.
And it can stillaggravate HS symptomsin some people, according to the advocacy group HSConnect.
Assured, she decided to take the plunge.
It definitely hurts, she says.
Still, Humphrey tells SELF, the time on the table was the roughest part.
Any skin irritation or pain was gone by the next day.
And her HS flares quickly became less frequent and less severe during her treatment course.
Here are some other things to consider when you are deciding whether to try it.
Another word of caution: Laser hair removal should never be done in areas with open wounds.
You never want to treat open skin due to the risk of burns, Dr. Obioha-Lolagne stresses.
Laser hair removal is not one-and-done.
Even after all that, it may take time to see improvements in HS flares.
(For her part, Humphrey says shes already had hair regrowth.)
More importantly, its not clear how long the benefits for HS flares might last.
She has nothing against the hair, she says: I just want to feel okay in my body.
