Laser Hair Removal Regulations By State

The hair removal industry is a large and lucrative one. By 2026 it is estimated that the global laser hair removal market alone could reach $3.9 billion.

You might think that an industry that significant would be very regulated and consistent. You would be wrong. The truth is that it’s largely an unregulated one with very few consistent rules, regulations or even standards that a good practitioner should follow. And it has been this way from the beginning.

Laser Hair Removal Regulations By State

Laser hair removal regulations differ by US quite significantly. While improvements have been made since the early 2000s, you may be surprised to learn that this huge industry isn’t standardized in terms of training requirements and other standards.

Here, in the words of a long time laser hair removal clinic owner, is what the business was like when he joined in 2003:

Back then, the cosmetic laser industry was like the Wild West. There were few rules, a high risk of consumer injury (burns and scarring), and standardized laser training programs were nonexistent. Cosmetic laser education was limited to a four-hour equipment training session from the laser manufacturers. Basically, anyone could pick up a laser and zap a client.

National Laser Institute

His clinic is in Arizona which coincidentally was the first US state (back in 2005) to require that laser practitioners receive training at a state-approved facility including “40 hours of classroom education on skin biology, laser physics and safety protocols; 24 hours of clinical hands-on practice in laser hair removal and 24 hours of clinical hands-on practice in other light-based treatment modalities.”

In 2010, Texas followed suit with similar regulations and training requirements.

Fast forward several years and the current situation is a patchwork of rules and regulations as illustrated in 2016 when research summarized the regulations for each state:

New Jersey is the only state that requires laser operators to be physicians. At the other extreme, 11 states, including Massachusetts, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania, have “no” limits on who can perform laser procedures. 

PM360

Not much consistency in terms of who is allowed to perform the function. In general terms, laser hair removal regulations by state may differ wildly.

If you’re looking for updated information on state-by-state laser practitioner laws you may want to start with the American Med Spa Association website but it does involve a sign up.

The reality? It’s really up to you the individual to ensure that you choose a quality practitioner up front. Here are some suggestions to do just that.

How To Choose A Quality Hair Removal Clinic

Regardless of how well your state, province or local area regulates the hair removal industry, you can do certain things to help guarantee a good experience. Here are some tips to ensure you find a good quality laser hair removal clinic:

Check online reviews

Unless the clinic is new, their reputation shouldn’t be more than a quick Google search or two away. You can easily find reviews online for most businesses these days. Pay attention to the positive reviews but pay closer attention to any negative ones. Looks for recurring themes that customers complain about and use common sense to navigate the real reviews from possible fake or paid ones.

Visit the clinic in person

I remember visiting a clinic – not a hair removal clinic mind you – but a “professional” services firm and the sales guy actually told me “you need us more than we need you.” Needless to say I didn’t use them.

Visiting the clinic in person does a few things. The most obvious is that you get to see how they do business. Their cleanliness. How organized they are. How busy they are. How polite and helpful their staff is. How knowledgeable about their laser services and technology.

You also get to see the technology that they use and check the brand name(s) of the machines. Speaking of which…

Familiarize yourself with technology

Learning about the four types of lasers that exist and familiarizing yourself with major brands and manufacturers in advance is very important. If you were choosing between two clinics for hair removal and one had a modern machine with cooling technology to make the experience less painful and one didn’t, all things being equal you might choose the one with the more modern tech.

What if one clinic has a modern Nd:YAG laser machine and the other has an Alexandrite machine but you have a skin tone that is better suited to the Nd:YAG machine. Unless you know the difference, you may choose the wrong clinic.

Modern laser machines are very advanced when compared to older ones and can treat a wider variety of skin tones than ever before, often with less pain and discomfort. Not every clinic has experienced, knowledgeable, honest sales staff who even know the difference between the tech. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

Ask for referrals

Ask for examples and pictures of people who have had recent treatment with their laser removal services and look for people who are similar to you ie. similar skin tone, similar hair color, similar body part(s) being treated.

Looking for examples of past successes is of course a smart way to see examples of the clinic’s work. If the clinic is doing a good job, you would expect that they’d be happy to show them, no?

Conclusion

• Depending on where you live, you may find that there are little to no real regulations or guidelines for laser hair removal.
• You can do a number of things to ensure that you choose a legitimate, high quality laser hair removal clinic including reading online reviews, visit the clinic in person, familiarize yourselves with laser hair removal machinery and ask for referrals.
• You can learn more about laser hair removal tech and the process itself by reading my post on Laser Hair Removal that discusses 12 things you can do before choosing laser hair removal.