Is Laser Hair Removal Bad For You?

When done by a trained professional, laser hair removal is a safe way to potentially achieve long term hair removal up to and including permanent hair reduction after multiple treatments. So while laser hair removal cannot guarantee permanent hair removal, with repeated treatments spread out over time, you can permanently reduce the amount of unwanted hair that you have.

Is Laser Hair Removal Bad For You?

Immediate side effects directly after laser treatment can include swelling, skin redness, irritation and a stinging sensation that feels like a mild sunburn. These typically go away within a day or so. More serious side effects could be blisters, scarring and permanent skin discoloration but these should not occur and are rare. When laser hair removal is done properly, mild redness and perhaps a bit of pain for a few hours after treatment should be all that you experience.

Short Term Side Effects

Laser hair removal has been around long enough that we have a long track record dating back to the 1980s when the process became widely commercially available. This includes Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) hair removal too which is not a laser but is a similar process from the patient’s perspective. IPL became widely commercially available for hair removal in the 1990s but was previously used for other health-related treatments.

Laser hair removal when conducted by a trained professional is safe but there are a few things to consider. While the treatment is often described as feeling like someone is flicking an elastic band against your skin during treatment, it is a powerful laser flash that is hitting your skin. The more hair you have to be removed, the more it will hurt as the light penetrates each hair and travels down the follicle to destroy it. I personally noticed that laser and IPL both hurt more around bones (ie. collarbone area) and more sensitive body parts like the back of the neck.

Long Term Side Effects

Current research has not concluded any link to laser hair removal and serious, long term side effects other than some of the ones mentioned above to the skin being treated. When people hear the term laser, they might think of a red beam like they see blowing things up in the movies. But the laser used for hair removal is a brief flash of light that is designed to specifically target unwanted hair.

If you look online you may see people asking about whether or not laser hair removal causes cancer or other serious illnesses. Laser hair removal is utilized in such a way that the beam of light is just enough to penetrate into the skin to hit the bottom of the hair follicle. That’s it. It doesn’t target bodily organs and only travels a very short distance into the skin. There is no evidence that laser hair removal is responsible for any serious side effects like cancer or other diseases.

Safe Laser Hair Removal

I’ve had both laser and IPL hair removal treatments and in both cases, went to a health clinic. The laser hair removal was done at a clinic offering various spa and hair removal services. The IPL treatment was done at a plastic surgery clinic where the owner was a surgeon. The actual hair removal work at both places was done by a nurse. In other words both clinics were professionally run with well-trained pros.

It isn’t hard to find $99 (or less) laser hair removal teaser ads in newspapers or online to get you in the door. And while we all love to get a good deal, sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Especially when it comes to a service that involves use of a laser to touch your body. You want to make sure you go a place that you trust who doesn’t go cheap on service and quality. Before agreeing to a hair removal option, visit the clinic in person and take a tour to observe how they do business. Look for customer references and before and after photos, too.

During the treatment itself, you should only experience pain that is tolerable. Remember the flicking of the rubber band analogy mentioned above? All the laser and IPL clinics use this analogy because it’s true, more or less. If you’re experiencing significant pain during treatment that feels excessive let the practitioner know right away. They should be asking you throughout the treatment how you’re feeling anyways but don’t be afraid to speak up if needed while the hair removal is being done, not afterwards when it’s too late.

Is Laser Hair Removal Safe If You Are Pregnant?

Before receiving many forms of healthcare treatments, patients are required to fill out a questionnaire which seems to get longer and more detailed over time. Thank a litigious society for that. Often, one of the questions asked is directed specifically at women and asks if they are pregnant. While there doesn’t appear to be research that discusses the possible side effects of laser hair removal while pregnant, the adage that it’s better to be safe than sorry applies.

In other words, your best bet is to avoid laser hair removal while pregnant. Some laser clinics may not even perform the treatment if you’re pregnant due to legal concerns. While there is no specific evidence that there is a danger to the baby or mother, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Laser Hair Removal Considerations

Laser hair removal isn’t for everyone and not everyone is a candidate. Laser hair removal doesn’t help those who have unwanted hair that is red, blond, white or gray in color. If you have very fine, thin unwanted hair it’s likely that laser hair removal will not work for you either. If you have sensitive skin, a history of herpes simplex in the area to be treated, have taken photosensitizing medications in the prior 6 months or have a history or keloids (scars) in the treatment area, laser hair removal might be not be suitable at the present time for you either. Women who are currently pregnant may be untreatable while expecting too.

Also, people who have darker skin tones in the Skin Tone IV – VI range should only consider newer laser technologies such as the Nd:YAG laser. Older lasers like Diode and Ruby do not work well on darker skin tones and can seriously hurt you. Having said that, anyone who visits a clinic who only has an older style Diode or Ruby machine should keep shopping since there are newer, better lasers out there for everyone to benefit from.

The Ideal Candidate

Traditionally, the ideal candidate for laser hair removal has been a fair-skinned person with Skin Type 1 or 2 whose unwanted hair is dark. Older laser technologies were only able to detect the contrast between light skin tone and dark hair so they were unsuccessful in helping darker skinned patients even if they had dark colored hair. As time went on, newer laser breakthroughs enabled Skin Types III-IV to also be treated successfully.

But newer laser technologies like Nd:YAG enable people with Skin Tone Types V-VI to successfully undergo laser hair removal treatment, too. At this point in time however those who have red, blond, white, grey and/or fine hair still will not achieve successful hair removal treatment with laser regardless of skin tone.

Conclusion

Laser (and IPL) hair removal have a long track record of success given the prevalence of this form of hair removal dating back several decades. Having said that, it is a health service and certain clinics and practitioners will be more skilled than others. Going cheap can end up costing you more in the long run not only with the money you pay but the pain and side effects that could occur if the process isn’t done right.

Also, not everyone is a suitable candidate for laser hair removal. Certain hair colors as mentioned above and those with very fine unwanted hair won’t achieve success with laser hair removal at this point in time. If you find you are not a candidate for laser hair removal you might consider electrolysis for certain body parts and also consider other hair removal choices like waxing in the meantime. Given the technological improvements we’ve seen over time, it’s possible that eventually all skin tones with all hair colors will be able to be treated with laser.