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The laser hair removal process can be…mysterious. After the first appointment, maybe the first two, it’s not totally clear that it’s working. 

The hair follicles may be zapped immediately, but it takes a while for the unwanted hair to actually be pushed out after each laser session.

And the shedding process can make it feel like nothing is happening at all. 

But read this post before you cancel the rest of your laser hair removal sessions! For most people, the laser hair removal procedure does work and people do get the results they were looking for.  

Who is a candidate for laser hair removal?

For the first several decades that laser hair removal existed, it was limited to patients with light skin and dark hair. And, to this day, white patients or light-skinned patients can generally pretty easily go get laser hair removal anywhere. I’m a white woman with dark brown body hair, and I was able to buy a Groupon and go wherever. However, this isn’t the case for everyone. 

Laser hair removal for dark skin

Newer lasers have been studied and found to be safe for patients of color — for example, alexandrite lasers are safe for the deepest skin tones. The YAG laser is often also recommended for skin of color. So laser hair removal treatment is now available to everyone, which is great! However, women of color should be cautious about where they choose to go for laser treatment. Not every medspa is going to be using these newer lasers. And not every medspa is going to have training for darker skin tones. It’s best to go by a referral from another woman of color when picking a provider.

So, I want to amplify a Black creator on this topic rather than discuss it myself, so here is a Black blogger’s post about her own laser experience firsthand. Her post is very helpful and that I would absolutely recommend that you read it! But I think it’s really important that the limitations for skin of color be brought up in every post about laser hair removal. Everyone should get a good, appropriate treatment that meets their needs! You can use this post to estimate your Fitzpatrick skin type by skin tone.

Laser hair removal for light hair

What about very light hair? Since all laser hair removal treatments work by targeting the pigment of the hair follicle, very blond hairs are generally not treated well. Some providers will tell you it will work on medium or dark blond hair color. Honestly, I think this is almost dishonest of them. Just like above, I would go looking for a recommendation from someone with a similar hair color before I spent any money.

As far as vellus hair (the very light, fine body hairs that cover our body), laser won’t work on those either. Depending on your complexion, those hairs might be see-through, light brown or medium brown. But regardless there is not enough depth of color to treat them. They don’t have the dark root that would respond to laser. 

(Years ago, I looked into electrolysis for vellus hairs in the hopes of getting rid of my keratosis pilaris forever. It’s not cost-effective and doesn’t appear to work well enough to make a difference. Would have been great if it worked!)

Why do I have to wait for the hairs to fall out? 

So, the laser zaps the hair, and the light energy travels down the shaft into the follicle. The zap weakens or destroys the follicle. (Remember that each treatment only affects the hairs in the telogen phase, where it’s in the new-growth stage!) So, after the first treatment, 15% of your hairs are treated. But it takes a while for the body to push each dead hair out of the skin. 

So you as the patient are kind of waiting out the normal hair growth cycle and waiting for the treated hair to be pushed out. For most people, it’s going to take between one and three weeks for that hair to fall out. So you will see the results from any given treatment before you have the next one. But… 15% of your hair is not a hugely noticeable difference. So the treatment results won’t be obvious until you’ve had a number of treatments. 

What if my hair is weakened, not gone?

It’s also possible that, depending on the thickness of your hair, the hair shaft may just be weakened at first and it will just put out finer, softer hairs. This often happens in the most coarse hair, like around the bikini line.

If this happens, it doesn’t mean that the treatment won’t work. But it’s a sign that you may need additional laser therapy sessions to get hair-free skin. I know that this is so disappointing when you find out it’s going to cost more than you thought it would! And some people may be satisfied with hair that isn’t as coarse and harsh. But most people will choose to keep going. 

I think laser is a little addictive — once you do one area you start scheming to do everywhere. I did my underarms first and have since done my bikini area and am planning to do my lower legs. 

How long does it take for hair to fall out after laser hair removal?

You’re looking at 1-3 weeks to see the full results of each treatment. Hair growth is really individual, but in general: if your body hair tends to grow fast you can assume you’ll see results faster. (I bet you’ve never been glad to have fast hair growth before!) And if your body hair grows slower, you won’t see your results quite as quickly. But as far as how long for hair to fall out after laser…you’ll be done before your next treatment.

All you can really do to speed up your hair fall is exfoliate your skin. If you remove dead skin cells, that will help. It ensures that as soon as the hair is ready to fall, it isn’t being held in place by skin cells. That way any loose hairs can fall immediately, ASAP. 

It’s super tempting to wax the treated area after a session to pull out the hairs that are dead anyway. But don’t do it! That will actually mess up your overall results. If you pull out the hairs completely, there’s nothing there for the laser to zap, and you’ll have paid for a treatment session for nothing. Resist the urge and stick to shaving for the duration of your treatments. 

How can I maximize the effectiveness of my laser hair removal treatment?

When you stick with the directions and get optimal results, laser hair removal works and is so worth it! 

Here are some ways to maximize your laser hair removal results:

• Saving or depilating ONLY, for months. resist the urge to do ANY kind of hair removal except shaving or depilating. Waxing, plucking, or epilating will mess up your results, because hair that should be in the active growth phase at your next treatment won’t be there to be zapped! It may be an inconvenience, but you can shave for six months. (Or use Nair if you can’t shave!) 
• Exfoliate frequently. Related: I got a ton of ingrown hairs as a result of laser when I did my underarms. It was uncomfortable and embarassing! On the very worst day that I came in, the tech at the medspa told me to be sure that I was exfoliating the area. She said that as the hairs got weaker it was harder for them to push through the skin, so if I wasn’t exfoliating a clear pathway for them, they would get ingrown. I got the best results from a physical scrub, and eventually I stopped getting ingrown hairs after about the fourth treatment when the hair started dying rather than weakening. 
• Consider your hormones. Though you can absolutely get long-lasting results from laser, the results of laser hair removal aren’t permanent. Any good provider will tell you that you should plan to do a few maintenance laser treatments every year. These maintenance sessions will treat any hairs that are popping up over time. (Honestly, I have done one maintenance session on my underarms ever…and I didn’t feel the need to until after about three years. So save your money and wait til a treatment feels necessary.) But! Hormone levels influence hair growth, and I intentionally waited until I was done having kids to pay for laser. If you do not intend to get pregnant or it’ll be many years away, laser may be worth it anyway! But if you are considering pregnancy in the short-term future, it might be a waste of money to have hormonal hair regrowth mess up your results. 
• Limit the sun. ​Once you’ve started your treatment, getting excess sun exposure and changing your skin tone can decrease the effectiveness of your treatment. No matter what your natural skin color is, you want maximum contrast between skin and hair to get the best outcomes for your laser hair treatment. So wear sunscreen or skip the tanning bed while you’re getting treatments! 

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