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Permanent hair removal facts

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No hair removal method is 100% effective in all clients

All methods have some clients who do not seem to respond to treatment. The reason is unknown, and the exact percentages are not established. Below are some examples of published studies lasting six months or more that report significant change:

All methods have some clients who do not seem to respond to treatment. The reason is unknown, and the exact percentages are not established. Below are some examples of human clinical studies published in medical journals or submitted to FDA. Note that some studies report good results but do not report non-responders. Laser clinical results are still widely variable in the published literature, with long-term response rates from 0% to 100%, depending on the study.

Method	Study	# in study	# (%) with significant change**
OTC* hair inhibitors	NONE	--	--
"Transdermal	NONE	--	--
"Transcutaneous	NONE	--	--
Photoepilators	NONE	--	--
Microwave	NONE	--	--
Electric tweezers	Verdich (1984)	8	0 (0%)
Vaniqa	FDA data (2000)***	393	228 (58%)
Electrolysis	Verdich (1979)	56	50 (90%)
Electrolysis	Richards (1986)	281	261 (93%)
Flashlamp	Sadick (1999)	67	28 (41%)
Laser (alexandrite)	Eremia (2001)	89	89? (?)
Laser (diode)	Alster (2001)	20	20? (?)
Laser (diode)	Baumler (2002)	16	4 (25%)
Laser (ruby)	Liew (1999)	48	17 (35%)
Laser (Nd:YAG)	Nanni (1997)	12	0 (0%)

*** OTC = over the counter topical products sold on the web and on infomercials
*** defined in this table as significant change in amount of hair at more than 6 months after last treatment
*** unpublishedFor more on this, see my section on clinical data.

See also hair removal definitions for more about vague terms used by this industry.

For more on this, see my section on clinical data.