Schuler Andrew, Veenstra Jesse, Tisack Alison
Dr. Schuler is with the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Drs. Veenstra and Tisack are with the Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan.
J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2020 May;13(5):34-36. Epub 2020 May 1.
The neodymium:aluminum garnet laser has emerged as a generally well-tolerated tool for hair removal; however, some patients develop a folliculitis after treatment, which can limit utility. To our knowledge, the literature is currently lacking an adequate description of the etiology of laser-induced folliculitis or strategies to prevent and manage it. We present the case of a 33-year-old Caucasian male patient who developed a robust laser-induced folliculitis. We discuss management strategies and the possible mechanism of onset, as well as hypothesize that the mechanism driving laser-induced folliculitis is similar to that seen with pseudofolliculitis barbae, as the nidus for the inflammatory response appeared to be the hairs undergoing extrusion through the skin. While laser-induced folliculitis is a self-limited complication, it might discourage patients from seeking laser hair removal. In patients known to develop this adverse effect or those with hair features potentially more prone to developing folliculitis (i.e. curly, coarse hair or pili multigemini), it might be reasonable to treat with prophylactic doxycycline and topical steroids along with gentle washing techniques to assist in depilation. As demonstrated in our case, this might help to decrease the severity and duration of laser-induced folliculitis.
铝石榴石激光已成为一种普遍耐受性良好的脱毛工具；然而，一些患者在治疗后会发生毛囊炎，这可能会限制其应用。据我们所知，目前文献中缺乏对激光诱导毛囊炎病因的充分描述，也缺乏预防和管理该病症的策略。我们报告一例33岁的白种男性患者发生严重激光诱导毛囊炎的病例。我们讨论了管理策略和可能的发病机制，并推测激光诱导毛囊炎的发病机制与须疮样假性毛囊炎相似，因为炎症反应的病灶似乎是正在通过皮肤向外生长的毛发。虽然激光诱导毛囊炎是一种自限性并发症，但它可能会使患者不愿寻求激光脱毛治疗。对于已知会发生这种不良反应的患者或那些毛发特征可能更易发生毛囊炎的患者（即卷曲、粗糙的毛发或多生毛），预防性使用强力霉素和外用类固醇并结合温和的清洗技术以辅助脱毛可能是合理的。如我们的病例所示，这可能有助于减轻激光诱导毛囊炎的严重程度并缩短其病程。
