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Is laser hair removal permanent? To help in understanding this, we look at how long does laser removal last and does laser hair removal permanently remove hair? Read on to get insights on these and much more to help you understand whether laser hair removal is permanent or temporary.
Is Laser Hair Removal Permanent?
The process of laser hair removal involves exposure of unwanted hair to pulses of laser light. The concentrated beam of light when directed to the hair gets absorbed by melanin. The light energy then transforms to heat energy which destroys the hair follicle well enough to cause stunted growth of the hair. Given this process, is laser hair removal permanent? To answer this, it is important to go understand how hair grows.
The hair undergoes three growth phases. These are the anagen phase which is the active growth phase, the catagen phase which is the shriveling phase and the telogen phase which is the resting phase. The various phases take different times and hair growth is different on each individual. Some phases will also be longer in some parts of the body than in others.
Among the things that affect the different phases are genetic makeup, gender, age and health. One’s hair color and shape of the follicles also affect the duration of the phases. This difference and organization of the growth cycle is the reason why numerous treatments are necessary since laser hair removal treatment is only effective on hair that is in its anagen phase.
Since each individual follicle grows at its independent schedule, one is required to keep going for further treatment sessions for follicles that were not treated previously to be treated. Due to this indeterminate growth cycle of the hair and the requirement for it to be caught at its anagen phase for the process to be effective, the procedure is not permanent. Any hair that is not treated will till grow.
Supposing that after the scheduled treatments all the hair is treated; is laser hair removal permanent then? Hair growth is still possible even after the necessary treatments. The growth though may come out finer and less. The Mayo Clinic estimates the reduction of hair count by about 40 to 80 percent. It is no wonder then that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the method for permanent hair reduction and not permanent hair removal.
Laser Hair Removal Permanent or Not (Temporary)
A lot of arguments have been raised on laser hair removal permanent or not status. The FDA has approved laser machines for their ability to reduce the amount of hair that one has significantly. Some of the machines can help get rid of up to 85 percent of total amount of hair. It would therefore be more accurate to describe this removal method as a temporary one but with long lasting effects.
How Long Does Laser Hair Removal Last?
When embarking on a process, we normally wish to know how long it will take us. The same applies to laser hair removal. How long does laser hair removal last? This may be hard to estimate since the time needed between the treatments is dependent on the client’s skin type, their hair’s rate of growth and how well the treated part of the skin responds.
In average circumstances, it takes the treated hairs two weeks to be shed. The hair is then given a four months period for some other hair to get to the anagen phase. The treatment cycle thus takes at least six weeks. These could be more. Normally, between three to six treatment sessions on the same area are required for a remarkable reduction in hair count. It is only in rare occasions that more than six sessions may be required.
As such, to answer the question; how long does laser hair removal last, it could take anywhere between four and a half months to six months. This though is in an ideal situation and may vary depending on how successful the removal procedure is. It is therefore hard to give an accurate prediction of how long it will take for the process to be over.
Once the regular sessions are over, how long does the effect of the laser hair removal treatment last? There are many factors affecting hair regrowth. Since most of the lasers only reduce the hair, some percentage grows back. Where the client being treated had blond or white hair, a complete re-growth could be experienced within a year.
For light skinned people with dark hair, a significant hair reduction is likely to be experienced. However, after the sessions are over, it may take up to two years for a regrowth to occur. Scheduling annual maintenance sessions helps keep the hair at bay.
Does Laser Hair Removal Permanently Remove Hair?
A common question when it comes to laser hair removal is; does laser hair removal permanently remove hair? Laser permanent hair removal is a misnomer that has mostly been used for the purposes of marketing home laser hair removal devices.
Through the laser hair removal process, it is possible that the hair follicles found around the treated area may not become completely destroyed but are sufficiently disabled. As a result, the hairs they produce are those that fail to respond to further treatment. They are normally light and fine due to retarded growth resulting from the effects of the laser treatment.
This being the case, is laser hair removal permanent? There may not be a distinctive answer to this since it all depends on how one looks at. While majority of the hair does not grow back, a certain percentage does. As such, though there are hairs that will never grow back, one cannot rest assured that no more hair will come back after the series of treatments. One would be required to undergo treatment annually to keep hair away. Were the procedure permanent, this would not be necessary.
Since the method does not completely remove hair permanently, it would be inaccurate to call it a permanent hair removal method. It would therefore be more appropriate to consider this a permanent hair reduction procedure.
