Is laser hair removal permanent?
Yes, any hair that is treated will not return. You have hundreds of hair follicles on a square centimeter of your skin. That being said, there are many factors that affect hair growth. If you go through all of your treatments and you are hair free and then you have a major change in hormones (e.g. pregnancy or menopause) some new hair may appear. These were dormant follicles that the laser never treated. The hair growth will never be what it was prior to a laser hair removal treatment.
Available information on laser hair removal makes it plain that the term ‘permanent laser hair removal’ is controversial because any laser light beam intended for topical use can only penetrate skin tissue two millimeters deep. Wikipedia’s information on lazer hair removal explains that “the dermal papilla is the only appropriate target of destruction, as it is the only substructure of the hair shaft which can reproduce a new root system, and therefore a new hair shaft. The dermal papilla is located at a depth of 7-8 millimeters for coarse hair, and so is beyond the reach of laser. At most, 5% of hair in a given area can be removed, which adheres to the common usage of the word “permanent”, usually because the hair root has no pigment, or is not very deep or thick in diameter and is therefore within the two millimeter range of the laser. This is why laser technicians are required by law to use the term “reduction”.
There is no laser that has received FDA clearance for a claim of permanent hair removal. However, the LightSheer™ Diode designed by Lumenis™ was the first to be cleared by the FDA for permanent hair reduction. That is defined by the FDA as 85% or greater hair reduction. It is possible that follicles in the treated area, while not being completely destroyed, will be sufficiently disabled to the point where they produce only fine, light hairs that do not respond to further treatment. This is backed up by extensive clinical studies and you should be wary of anyone who claims otherwise.
There is no laser that has received FDA clearance for a claim of permanent hair removal. However, the LightSheer™ Diode designed by Lumenis™ was the first to be cleared by the FDA for permanent hair reduction (which is defined by the FDA as 85% or greater hair reduction). It is possible that follicles in the treated area, while not being completely destroyed, will be sufficiently disabled to the point where they produce only fine, light hairs that do not respond to further treatment. This is backed up by extensive clinical studies and you should be wary of anyone who claims otherwise.
