Why Is Facial Hair Different From Body Hair When It Comes to Laser Hair Removal?

Why facial hair requires more careful evaluation—and why laser isn't always the right answer

By Ashley Serveta, LE, LSO, LC, CHHP

Published in The Renew Clinical Journal™

A publication of Renew Laser & Aesthetics

A client may have excellent results with laser hair removal on her underarms or bikini area and then wonder:

“Why isn't the hair on my face responding the same way?”

Because facial hair is different.

The face is one of the areas where I am particularly selective about recommending laser hair removal. Hair color and thickness matter, but so do the growth pattern, hormonal influence, treatment history, and the type of hair actually present.

Sometimes laser is an excellent choice.

Sometimes electrolysis is more appropriate.

And sometimes the most important decision is knowing which facial hairs should not be treated with laser at all.

Why can facial hair be more complicated?

Hair growth on the face—particularly the chin, jawline and neck—can be strongly influenced by hormones.

Women may notice changes during different stages of life, including reproductive years, perimenopause and menopause. Conditions associated with androgen activity can also contribute to facial hair growth.

This means the hairs you're seeing today may not necessarily represent every hair you'll develop in the future.

That's an important distinction when discussing long-term expectations.

Laser can reduce appropriately targeted actively growing hair that is present, but it cannot prevent hormonal changes from influencing other follicles later.

Does laser work on women's facial hair?

It can—when the hair is an appropriate laser target.

Coarse, visibly pigmented facial hair may respond very differently from fine, soft or lightly pigmented facial hair.

That's why I don't recommend laser simply because someone tells me she has “facial hair.”

I want to see it.

A few coarse dark hairs on the chin, widespread fine hair along the cheeks, and hormonally influenced growth along the jawline are three very different presentations.

They shouldn't automatically receive the same treatment.

Why can chin hair appear again after successful laser treatments?

This is another question I hear frequently.

If new chin hairs appear months or years after a successful laser series, it doesn't automatically mean all of the original treated hair has “grown back.”

Hair follicles don't all become active at the same time, and hormonal changes can influence previously inconspicuous follicles over the course of a woman's life.

This is particularly relevant with facial hair.

So when a client returns with new growth, I don't automatically assume she needs another full laser series.

I look at what is growing now.

If there are coarse, pigmented hairs appropriate for laser, additional laser treatment may make sense. If only scattered individual hairs remain—or the remaining hairs aren't appropriate laser targets—electrolysis may be the better next step.

What if I have white, gray or blonde facial hair?

This is where electrolysis becomes particularly important.

White and gray hairs do not contain sufficient pigment for conventional laser hair removal to target effectively, and very light blonde hair generally isn't an appropriate laser target either.

It is common for women, particularly as they get older, to have mixed facial hair—perhaps some coarse dark hairs alongside gray or white hairs.

In those situations, the answer doesn't have to be “laser or electrolysis.”

Sometimes it is laser and electrolysis, with each method being used for the hairs it is best suited to address.

Is facial hair different from underarm, bikini or leg hair?

Often, yes.

Body areas such as the underarms and bikini region frequently contain relatively coarse, pigmented terminal hairs, which can make them very good laser targets when the client's skin and other factors are appropriate for treatment.

Facial hair can be much more varied.

Within a relatively small area, I may see coarse terminal hairs, finer hairs, different colors, different densities and evidence of hormonally influenced growth.

That's why I don't approach a woman's face as simply another laser “area.”

I approach it as a hair-growth pattern that needs to be evaluated.

What do I look at before treating facial hair?

When someone comes to Renew concerned about facial hair, some of the things I consider include:

• Where the hair is growing

• Whether it is coarse, fine or mixed

• How much pigment is present

• The density and distribution of the hair

• Whether the growth pattern suggests hormonal influence

• Previous laser, electrolysis, waxing or tweezing

• Whether the hair has changed recently

• How the area has responded to previous treatments

I also want to know what the client is actually trying to accomplish.

Someone with dense, coarse chin and neck hair may require a very different strategy from someone bothered by six isolated hairs.

When would I recommend electrolysis instead?

If the remaining hair is white, gray, very light, isolated, or otherwise not an appropriate laser target, electrolysis may be the better choice.

Electrolysis treats individual hair follicles and does not depend upon hair pigment in the way laser does.

This is one reason I value offering both laser hair removal and electrolysis at Renew.

I'm not limited to recommending laser simply because laser is the only permanent hair-removal modality available to me.

The treatment can be chosen around the hair.

A note about sudden facial hair growth

Gradual changes in facial hair can occur throughout a woman's life.

However, sudden, substantial or otherwise unexplained increases in facial hair deserve medical evaluation, particularly when accompanied by other new symptoms.

Hair removal can address unwanted hair, but it isn't a substitute for evaluating an underlying medical or hormonal change when one may be present.

The Bottom Line

Facial hair deserves more thought than simply deciding which laser setting to use.

The question I ask first is:

Should this particular hair be treated with laser at all?

For the right facial hair, laser hair removal can be extremely useful. For other hair, electrolysis may be the more appropriate choice. And for some clients, the best long-term strategy involves both.

After years of treating facial hair, I've found that good results often begin with something very simple:

choosing the right treatment for the hair that's actually there.

Considering Permanent Facial Hair Removal?

If you're dealing with unwanted chin, jawline, neck or other facial hair, the first step is determining whether the hair is better suited to laser hair removal, electrolysis, or a combination of both.

At Renew Laser & Aesthetics in Palm Beach Gardens, every permanent hair-removal treatment is personally evaluated and performed by Ashley Serveta.

Submit an Appointment Request to determine the most appropriate approach for your facial hair.

Ashley Serveta, LE, LSO, LC, CHHP

Founder | Practitioner, Renew Laser & Aesthetics

Licensed Electrologist • Laser Safety Officer • Licensed Cosmetologist • Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner