Is laser hair removal permanent? The crucial answer is this

Having very smooth and hairless skin is something that many people want to have and are willing to pay good money for it. Thanks to the advancements of technology, removing unwanted hair can be done without going through the hassles (and discomfort) that come with shaving, plucking and waxing. That convenient solution is none other than laser hair removal (LHR) which has been practiced for many years now all over the nation and for hundreds to a few thousand dollars, a patient can finally have that super smooth hair-free skin he or she wanted. But the hot question at hand is this – is laser hair removal permanent?

So is laser hair removal permanent? To put things into perspective it is best to keep in mind how LHR works and what its process is. First the laser hair removal device is aimed at a certain spot that has hair that need to be removed. Hair that gets hit with the laser gets heated dramatically and the heat travels down the hair, reaches the root and eventually destroys it permanently. With the permanent destruction by laser, no new hair will grow. This explains why skin that had its hair removed remain very smooth and hairless.

Back to the question at hand – is laser hair removal permanent? The crucial answer is this – laser hair removal is actually 98% to 99% permanent, not 100% permanent. This is because the laser itself is attracted only to hairs that are in the growth stage and there are also four stages of hair growth to keep in mind. The laser also cannot destroy hair that has stopped growing, nor can it get rid of hair in the new follicles. These details reveal the weaknesses or limitations of laser hair removal itself and these explain precisely why patients keep coming back to the LHR clinics months after getting treated.

Theoretically, the only way to achieve 100% permanent laser hair removal is for all the hair to grow together at the same time which is scientifically not possible at all. At any random moment, countless strands of hair grow at varying paces, they each have different growth cycles and they also have reached different levels of their growth by the time an LHR procedure is performed.

At the same time, there is still no laser hair removal equipment that has been approved for complete and permanent hair removal until now. It is also important to keep in mind that the change and development of hormones in the human body can create all new hair follicles and even spots that were treated laser hair removal procedures can eventually grow hair again after some time. As such, further visits to the clinic for more LHR treatments, touch ups and scientific analysis are inevitable and unfortunately for patients wanting smooth hairless skin the visits mean more expenses. The number of visits may also vary from person to person as well as the needs at hand.

So is laser hair removal permanent? Only up to 99% permanent, nothing more.