Tamoxifen & Hair Growth
Tamoxifen is a hormonal therapy used in treating or preventing breast cancer, particularly in those with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Acting as a selective estrogen receptor modulator, tamoxifen binds to estrogen receptors and effectively blocks estrogen and its ability to signal cancer cells to proliferate — significantly impeding or halting the growth of cancer cells. Great news!
One of the lesser known side effects of Tamoxifen, however, can be an increase of hair growth in unwanted places — especially the face, arms, and shoulders. This is because lower estrogen levels disrupt the balance of hormones in your body in much the same way as menopause. Even as estrogen levels drop, androgen hormones often remain higher — a condition known as relative hyperandrogenism. These higher-than-normal levels of androgens that can prompt darker, thicker hair to suddenly grow in areas it normally wouldn’t.
If you’re grappling with extra facial fuzz while on Tamoxifen, exploring treatments like electrolysis is beneficial. Electrolysis is the most effective option for removing unwanted hair as it surpasses the results that even laser and IPL can deliver. In fact, people are often surprised to learn that electrolysis is the only 100 permanent method of hair removal recognized by the FDA. It is one of the most trusted and recommended method of hair removal by doctors including surgeons, dermatologists, and endocrinologists because it works for every type of hair and skin — even for those with lighter hair and darker skin tones that aren’t a good fit for pigment-based treatment like laser.
“Electrolysis hair removal can yield impressive results and literally everyone is an ideal candidate,” says Roroc Hoffman, a board-certified electrologist at Prickly Pear Electrolysis in Flower Mound, Texas.
Recently, a breast cancer survivor shared she opted for laser hair removal but was disappointed with the results. “It was effective on certain hairs, but unfortunately not on gray ones!!! Tragic.” The truth is laser and IPL have limitations that electrolysis doesn’t…for instance, laser doesn’t work on blonde, gray, red, or white hair. Also, people who have medium or dark skin tones have an increased risk of being burned by the laser. This is because laser works based on pigment in both the skin and hair. If your hair color is too light or your skin color is too dark, your results may not be what you were expecting. There are other limitations with laser too that simply aren’t a problem for electrolysis.
If you’re experiencing unwanted hair growth on Tamoxifen, many electrologists offer a free consultation where they’ll answer all your questions about permanent hair removal and even give you a test zap, so you can explore if electrolysis might be right for you. Whatever you choose, Tamoxifen is wonderful in the fight against breast cancer! If you experience problems with unwanted hair as a side-effect though, you have a really good option to combat that too — with electrolysis!
If you’re in the DFW area and want to book a consultation with Prickly Pear Electrolysis, we’d love to see you.