Most people think "permanent" means lasting forever. Unfortunately, that's not always the case as it's used in advertising.

The burning question: is laser hair removal permanent ? Not likely, but it's definitely a treatment that results in permanent reduction of hair growth. The only way to remove hair permanently is through electrolysis. There are a few flash lamps and lasers that have been able to accomplish permanent reduction of hair growth. Permanent removal of unwanted hair is the result of the complete destruction of hair follicles. This way the follicles completely lose the ability to regenerate, so hair just won't grow anymore.

It's not easy to criticize a new hair removal treatment that advertises itself that as being permanent. Most people only see that after a certain period of time, it's unlikely that hair will actually never regrow. This is why a lot of people have suggested a certain explanation of "permanent." Some of these definitions seem inadequate. One manufacturer claims their device is permanent based on results after 9 weeks. That's ridiculous. Hair removal cream or waxing can give this result, and this has been proven to be temporary.

For the desirable results of hair removal, "permanent" means not having to use another treatment for at least a year after your last treatment. Mind you, a year might not be long enough to be sure the treatment is permanent, but probably most people would be happy to have one yearly treatment.

Another unclear advertised method is "long-term" removal of hair. Keep in mind that it all depends on what you think "long" actually means. For the desirable long-term results, one should not have to use another treatment until 6 months after the last treatment. Nine weeks should not be considered long-term, but definitions are different for everyone.Logically 6 months should define long-term hair removal, because one hair growth cycle takes about 6 months to complete.

A new used term in hair removal is "Semi-permanent". Laser hair removal results are claimed to be semi-permanent in the salon industry, but "lasting a few weeks" is more likely to be the actual result.

Some devices for laser hair removal at home, recognized by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), have proven to result in permanent hair reduction in actual clinical studies, rather than permanent removal. The term "reduction" is another vaguely defined result. Hair reduction is conceived as stable reduction in the amount of coarse dark hair by the FDA. In clinical tests some laser devices have demonstrated that they can reduce the size and lighten the color of hair. This reduction appears to be permanent in some cases.

2010 - 4TotalBodyCare