Fox–Fordyce disease (FFD) is a chronic blockage of the sweat gland ducts with a secondary, non-bacterial inflammatory response to the secretions and cellular debris in the cysts.

[2] In general, the disease often causes skin to darken near the affected area and raised bumps or papules to appear.

Papules can be found at the sweat glands in addition to periareolar, inframammary and pubic areas.

[4] Fox–Fordyce Disease can be a rare side effect of laser hair removal, particularly in areas like the armpits and bikini line, where apocrine sweat glands are concentrated.

While lasers, such as the Alex/Diode type, target hair follicles, they can accidentally damage nearby sweat glands, causing them to become blocked and leading to FFD.

FFD should be considered in patients who develop itchy lesions after laser hair removal, especially those with darker skin tones.

[5][6] Clinical evaluation along with identification of typical symptoms such as the eruption of papules on the apocrine glands along with a patient history report is used to diagnose the disease.

[4] With only a small number of case reports, treatment can be difficult and focuses primarily on axillary disease and specific symptoms.