The teenager expertise is filled with terrifying firsts: navigating puberty and the bodily adjustments that include it, discovering a spot in the highschool social hierarchy, the ache of a classroom crush. It is all about coping with it a variety of. Then think about throwing a situation with debilitating bodily and psychological signs into the combo.
This was the case for Megan Stewart, who was recognized with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) at age 16, years after she first skilled a litany of signs. PCOS is an endocrine dysfunction attributable to an imbalance of reproductive hormones. It could produce ovarian cysts, which intrude with the pure means of ovulation, which might result in irregular durations. It additionally has signs comparable to weight achieve, continual stomach ache, temper swings and extreme hair progress on the physique (hirsutism). Finally, PCOS is the commonest reason behind infertility in girls of childbearing age, in line with the Endocrine Society.
Due to larger ranges of androgens (male hormones), as many as 70 % of ladies with PCOS could expertise extreme hair progress in areas typical of males: the higher lip, chin, breasts, decrease stomach, inside thighs, and decrease again. On an emotional stage, this may be one of the crucial irritating signs to take care of for these affected.
For Stewart, the hair progress additionally led to hyperpigmentation. “I’ve stored my hair all my life making an attempt to cover [the facial growth and marks] and I did not present myself there a lot as a result of I used to be so embarrassed,” she says.
Nonetheless, Stewart, now in his thirties, was decided to not be outlined by the illness—or undergo in silence. Ten years in the past she co-founded the PCOS Consciousness Affiliation to assist assist others with the situation, unfold consciousness and supply assets. In the present day it ranks because the world’s largest non-profit group devoted to polycystic ovary syndrome.
Fall and rise
An estimated 5 million girls within the US undergo from PCOS, a lifelong situation. Administration ranges from adjustments in weight loss plan and train to hormone therapies. Within the beauty discipline, it’s doable to do away with undesirable hair.
For Stewart, discovering a technique that labored was a protracted however finally profitable highway.
“Waxing, plucking, electrolysis — I’ve tried them all around the years,” says Stewart. “The epilation brought about irritation and hyperpigmentation. Waxing left thick patches of darkish pores and skin. And electrolysis by no means eliminated the hair – it simply stored rising again.
A couple of yr in the past she tried Milan Laser Hair Removing for laser hair removing therapies on her face and neck, abdomen and armpits, however not with out some hesitation. “As a black lady, I used to be slightly apprehensive about unwanted side effects,” she says. “I attempted laser hair removing 15 years in the past and it burned my pores and skin. However my supplier in Milan defined that laser expertise has progressed and is now simpler and safer for individuals of coloration.”
PCOS and laser hair removing
“Our laser can deal with all pores and skin tones,” says Shikhar Saxena, MD, CEO of Milan Laser, which has greater than 260 places within the US. “There are just a few hair colours and kinds that you would be able to’t deal with – peach, grey or white hair – however so long as there’s some stage of pigment in your hair, the laser can choose that up. And it’s protected for all elements of the physique.”
A giant distinction with laser hair removing in comparison with different strategies comparable to shaving, waxing or depilatories is that it’s a everlasting resolution. Laser hair removing is profitable at eradicating hair in delicate areas just like the face, neck, and chest as a result of it is exact sufficient to focus on hair follicles and take away it on the root with out damaging your pores and skin, explains Dr. Saxony out. This precision additionally helps to scale back the prospect of irritation and hyperpigmentation.
Though every particular person is exclusive, individuals with PCOS have a tendency to want extra periods than the common affected person, says Dr. Saxena. “Laser hair removing treats hairs which are actively rising, however PCOS could cause dormant hairs to turn out to be energetic at totally different occasions, inflicting new progress,” he says. As a result of remedy wants differ, Milan Laser gives a vast package deal, which begins at simply $29 monthly and covers as many periods as wanted for clean outcomes.
The bodily and psychological outcomes
Stewart calls her expertise with laser hair removing a “blessing”. A yr later, she hasn’t needed to shave or pluck extreme hair. “The final time I noticed my mother, she checked out my pores and skin — with none hair rising on my face and neck — and began crying,” she remembers. “She says I got here out of my shadow.”
And a number of other months in the past, Stewart had the boldness to do one thing she may by no means have imagined: she had her hair reduce three inches.
“The truth that I can actually apply moisturizer and sunscreen within the morning and go, and never have to fret about not being conscious of the darkish spots or seen hair, has been superb,” she says.
For extra details about laser hair removing, go to Milanlaser.com or @milanlaser on social media.
