Laser hair removal named most popular treatment for PCOS sufferers

To coincide with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) Awareness Month (September), London clinic group Pulse Light Clinic conducted an exclusive survey for Aesthetic Medicine (Professional Beauty's sister magazine and events brand), among its patient base who suffer with the condition.

Excess hair was identified as the most common symptom, with 78% of respondents reporting that it was a concern.

Next more common were weight gain (57%), irregular periods (56%), thinning hair or hair loss (33%) and severe acne (18%).

Aiming to gain insight into the most common symptoms and how aesthetic treatments can help – and to spread this awareness to other sufferers – the survey was answered by 54 women.

65% said they had sought aesthetic treatments to help with their symptoms, with laser hair removal the most popular – 74% of respondents said they’d had the treatment.

Food intolerance tests and laser facials were among the other answers given.

70% of respondents said these aesthetic treatments helped to ease their symptoms, and 81% said they had helped to improve their confidence.

Laser hair removal can permanently remove excess hair caused by PCOS without the skin irritation associated with many other hair-removal methods.

Among PCOS patients, excess hair can often appear on the jawline, the sides of the face, chin, neck, upper lip and bikini line.