23 years old- Can hair loss from laser be reversed with hormone replacement therapy (testosterone for trans ftm)?

Question

When I was 17-18 my parents made me do laser on my face. I've had about 6-7 sessions of YAG laser. I'm now 23 and I lost about 40-50% of my facial hair . I now know that I am a trans man (female to male) and regret the procedure. I hope to start hormone replacement therapy with testosterone soon. Will the increased testosterone level do anything for the areas with hair loss? Should I expect a patchy beard? Would hair transplant on the areas with hair loss be possible?

Serkan Kaya Ekinci, MD · Answer

In fact, in my opinion, Laser has an effect and permanence.
Nd:YAG (1064 nm) laser targets and damages pigmented hair follicles in the active anagen phase. This damage is usually permanent for those specific follicles (permanent reduction, not 100% destruction). It is a standard course for 6-7 sessions of the face and can provide a long-term reduction of around 70-90%, but results vary from person to person and region. Facial hair is especially sensitive to androgens (testosterone/DHT). Short answer: Testosterone does not “bring back to life” permanently damaged follicles with laser. However, it can activate follicles that were previously dormant (sleep) or not affected because they were not in the active growth phase during the laser. Therefore, some improvement/regrowth is possible, but 40-50% of loss should not be expected to be completely filled. High risk of patchy appearance. Beard transplantation, on the other hand, is a technically possible and applied method in post-laser areas.
Effect and permanence of the laser
Nd:YAG (1064 nm) laser targets and damages pigmented hair follicles in the active anagen phase. This damage is usually permanent for those specific follicles (permanent reduction, not 100% destruction). It is a standard course for 6-7 sessions of the face and can provide a long-term reduction of around 70-90%, but results vary from person to person and region. Facial hair is especially sensitive to androgens (testosterone/DHT). For this, check the blood values first :))

23 years old- Can hair loss from laser be reversed with hormone replacement therapy (testosterone for trans ftm)?

Answers (1)

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