Do lasers work for unwanted hair growth? Part 1

Unwanted hair is simply not nice, especially for a female. Like acne, there are hundreds of products out on the market to get rid of unwanted hair. While some work, there is no permanent treatment - hair usually grows back.

Today, the majority of spas and clinics offer laser devices like alexandrite, diode, neodymium: YAG, and ruby lasers and intense pulsed light. There are thousands of ads hyping the benefits of lasers and their effectiveness. The facts are that these devices are expensive, have side effects, cause a lot of pain and to make matters worse- no one really knows if they remove hair permanently. For all those who have never been zapped by a laser, it is not a great experience.

In the present study, researchers reviewed randomized studies to determine if lasers really worked and how long the “hair free” period lasted.

It was discovered that the majority of published data on hair removal with lasers were only for 6 months. There was evidence that a short-term effect of roughly 50% hair reduction with alexandrite and diode lasers up to six months after treatment.