When looking for solutions to unwanted body hair everyone would love to find a permanent solution. Unfortunately many of the companies that make hair removal pads ,laser hair removal machines,and other products have adopted a very loose definition of the word ‘permanent’. For most, it simply means a long term hair removal and not that you will never have hair in that spot again. For this reason if you are asking the question: is laser hair removal permanent? The answer would be… it depends.
While most people will see a very long period of being hair free it may take many treatments to get to that point, and even then, you will almost be guaranteed to see some regrowth eventually. The FDA has not certified that lasers provide permanent hair removal, though they do agree that long lasting results are possible for many people after many treatments.
As with everything, the success rate of hair removal can vary greatly from one person to another. It’s important to talk to your doctor to find out whether or not you are a candidate and if using this type of hair removal makes sense for you.
One of the factors that will determine your chances of success is your hair color. Most types of lasers simply don’t work as well on blond hair as on other hair colors. Regrowth is very common in people with blond hair. If you have just a little ‘fuzz’ on your face that you want to remove, a laser isn’t your best choice. Lasers simply don’t work on such fine hair.
For the best chance of success, long term hair removal, you will generally need to have anywhere from 6 all the way up to 8 laser treatments. These will need to be spaced out a month apart which can get very costly and time consuming and even then it’ s unlikely that your results will be truly permanent.
While it is impossible for you to know accurately how well you will respond to the treatments, your doctor should be able to give you an idea based on your hair color as well as other factors. If you aren’t able to commit completely either financially or with your time, to the full spectrum of treatments you are just wasting your money and you should probably find another method to remove unwanted hair.
The skill of your doctor, the color and texture of your hair, as well as the type of laser and the way that it is calibrated are all factors that will decide how successful your treatments are. These can all be discussed with your doctor before you sign on the dotted line.
Just remember that permanent hair removal can be a term that is open to interpretation. Many people would be satisfied to at least have significantly less hair and have to spend less time trying to get what they do have removed. These are all things to keep in mind the next time you ask the question: is laser hair removal permanent?