Question: I am interested in laser hair treatments. I am a 24-year-old man, and my arm, leg, and chest hairs are all far too long. I know that laser hair treatments can thin out the hair somewhat but can they also make the hair shorter?
Answer: That is a great question, and I personally feel that it is on a case-by-case basis as to whether your hair will actually be shorter. In my opinion, in most cases, your hair actually will be shorter but that is not true in everyone. The growth cycle of the hair may not be changed by the injury from the laser hair removal treatment and therefore the hair may be thinner and less pigmented but could theoretically continue to be as long. The upside is that you should have far fewer hairs in the areas that have been treated, and it should give the appearance that you have shorter hair simply due to the fact that you have far fewer hairs that are visible. Ultimately, we never promise a patient that all of the hair will be completely gone nor will we promise them that all of the hair will be shorter but they should have a rather drastic reduction in the number of visible hairs, the visible hairs that remain should be thinner and less pigmented and, overall, the appearance of the area being treated should be greatly improved through laser hair reduction therapies.