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Is Laser Hair Removal Permanent?

That Depends On Your Definition of Permanent!

Is laser hair removal permanent? The answer is that no hair removal treatment, not even electrolysis, can guarantee permanent hair removal for everyone who undergoes it. The EDA has approved electrolysis for permanent hair removal but studies have shown that some people have a regrowth of hair and require additional treatments to become truly hair free.

Laser machines have been approved as a hair reduction method but not as a permanent hair removal treatment. There’s a reason for this. Unlike electrolysis which doesn’t care what your hair looks like, laser hair removal works best only on dark coarse hair. With electrolysis, needles are inserted directly into the follicle and an electrical current is sent through it burning the follicle and preventing it from growing another hair. Laser’s on the other hand, rely on the hair to absorb the heat energy of the laser to accomplish the same thing. Obviously dark colors absorb heat better than light colors so dark colored hair is the best treatment candidate for lasers.

There’s another factor to take into consideration as well. Lasers work best on light complexions. The light colored skin reflects the heat energy thereby providing a natural defence against the laser doing damage to the skin. Dark complexions may absorb the energy and that can result in permanent white blotches appearing.

The Mayo clinic estimates that laser hair removal treatments can reduce the amount of hair by 40% to 80%. While that’s a fair amount of hair reduction it is still a far cry from claims that laser hair removal is permanent. Be sure to read the fine print on any laser hair removal program before you sign a contract. Understand exactly what their definition of permanent is.

Now the hair that grows back may not be the same as the hair that was originally removed. It may come back thinner or silkier or a lighter color but it will come back and you will have to deal with it.

So if laser hair removal is not permanent, maybe you should forget the astronomical session fees and try getting a home use device for much less. It still is not going to separate you from your hair for good but it can save you literally thousands of dollars. Obviously if you’re going to try this at home you want to do your homework and read the instructions very carefully.

So if the answer to is laser hair removal an unqualified No, then what other options are there? Actually you’re back to shaving, creams, waxing and plucking. In fact over time, waxing and plucking can so damage the follicle that it won’t grow hair anymore. Unfortunately for men, about the time the plucking creates a permanent hair loss, we’re old enough that hair starts to grow where it never grew before.