Laser Hair Removal History

In the mid-1960’s, dermatologists first experimented with lasers, but they couldn’t be controlled enough to prevent skin damage, making them unsuitable for permanent hair removal. In the late 60’s, the Q-switch, which looks like a camera shutter, emitted laser energy in controlled pulses and opened the door for laser hair removal practitioners.

Photoepilators, devices that selectively targeted follicles by delivering energy through a wire-thin fiber optic probe were marketed in 1969 as a painless solution to permanent hair removal. But proper testing for safety and effectiveness had not been conducted and they turned out to be ineffective, prompting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate their sale. The original Omicron Photoepilator was taken off the market in 1972.

Similar to electrolysis, early published clinical data on laser hair removal involved the successful treatment of ingrown eyelashes. This led to the arrival of an argon laser device for hair removal, but it also proved ineffective.

Researchers began using lasers for dermatological procedures like tattoo removal and vascular lesion treatment. In some instances hair loss occurred in treated areas, which led to epilation experiments in animals and humans in the early 1990's.

The first hair removal laser that was approved by the FDA in 1995, was the SoftLight™ laser by ThermoLase. The laser hair removal process involved rubbing a carbon-based lotion into the skin after waxing and then heating the carbon to create a shock wave of energy that would damage hair follicles. However, it was less effective than targeting naturally occurring dark pigments in the skin.

Despite the setback, the device was sold to physicians and treatments were offered in clinics primarily in affluent communities. A 1997 medical paper revealed full re-growth of all hair under this treatment, and in 1998 a class action suit was brought against ThermoLase for falsely advertising its product as a permanent hair removal solution, even though it had knowledge of the ineffectiveness. ThermoLase settled the suit in 2000, and closed its clinics and stopped manufacturing SoftLight in the U.S.

In 1997, the FDA cleared Alexandrite and Diode lasers for laser hair removal. Despite its current popularity, little data exists on the success of alexandrite lasers for hair removal. Diode lasers are often called a promising laser hair treatment, but little published clinical data exists. Ruby lasers were also cleared in 1997, and currently have the best published documentation of results.

Since 1997, ergonomic hand pieces and epidermal cooling have made laser hair treatment more tolerable and have reduced the likelihood of some side effects, but a full understanding of lasers and their long-term effects on hair and other skin is still in the early stages.