Permanent Hair Removal Facts
Most people think hair removal products will permanently remove hair, but this is not the case at all. Some people however only want hair to be removed temporarily while others are sick of shaving and want the hair gone forever. I was reading an article about permanent hair removal where it listed some very good hair removal facts you should know.
One would think that when shopping for a “permanent” hair removal method it would mean hair should be gone forever. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case even though manufacturers use this term in their advertising. For example, a permanent wave in your hair is not really permanent is it? and a permanent marker is not necessarily permanent as it can be removed with the right washing method.
Knowing it’s not easy to assess a new hair removal method that claims to be actually be permanent. There are only a chosen handful of hair removal products on the market that can really make sure hair will never return.
It’s for this reason I have attached this article explaining some true hair removal facts and a true specific definition of “permanent.” Some of these definitions seem a bit inadequate to me but yet manufacturers use these terms in the marketing. One manufacturer claims their device is permanent based on results after 9 weeks. That’s ridiculous. Waxing can last that long in most cases but it’s been clinically proven to only be temporary as you already know.
So let’s take a real look at some true definitions used for permanent hair removal.
Permanent hair removal
For the purposes of hair removal, the definition of “permanent” means you should be able to go a year after your final hair removal treatment without having to use another method of hair removal. Keep in mind that a year might not be long enough to determine true permanence, but most consumers would be happy to have one treatment a year.
The only method of clinically proven permanent hair removal is electrolysis. Some lasers and flash lamps have been able to achieve permanent hair reduction, as discussed below.
Long-term hair removal
Another undefined term is “long-term” hair removal. Again, it depends on what your definition of “long” is. The definition of “long-term” is being able to go 6 months after your final treatment without having to use another method of hair removal. Your definition may vary, but I don’t consider 9 weeks to be long-term. I arbitrarily decided on 6 months as a working definition, because most hair growth cycles will have completed in 6 months.
Semi-permanent hair removal
A newer term used by some hair removal marketers is “semi-permanent hair removal.” This is a marketing term used in the salon industry that some salons have started using to describe laser results. In the salon industry, it means “lasting a few weeks.”
Hair reduction vs. hair removal
Permanent hair removal has been established as the complete destruction of a hair follicle’s ability to regenerate and grow hair.
Several lasers have been considered to be newer hair removal methods and have demonstrated permanent hair reduction in clinical studies and are allowed to make this claim by FDA. The word “reduction” adds another term that is vaguely defined. FDA has accepted the definition of reduction as a stable reduction in the number of coarse dark hairs. Some lasers have demonstrated in clinical testing that they can reduce the size of hairs and lighten the color. In some patients, this reduction does appear to be permanent.
