Quick answer: Laser hair removal uses your hair’s natural melanin (pigment) to destroy the follicle. People with very blonde, white or pale grey hair might need to use a different technique. A quick test will help find out.
Among the many misconceptions about laser hair removal, one of the most prevalent is that it simply doesn’t work on blonde hair – full stop. The truth is that it can actually work well, but, it is certainly true that the darker your hair, the easier it is to remove. When hair is particularly pale (we’re talking light blonde, pale grey and of course white), the laser won’t have enough melanin to target, and the treatment will be ineffective.
To get a better idea of the subject, we’ll have a proper look at how laser hair removal works, and explain the factors that make a difference when it comes to the procedure.
How laser hair removal works
Let’s start with a quick description of how laser hair removal works. Each hair all over your body grows from a follicle in the hypodermis, which is the layer of skin below the dermis and epidermis. This is where the root is formed, and the hair itself emerges through the outer layers via a tiny tunnel in the skin.
This follicle is also where your hair gets its pigment, which is called melanin. There are two types of melanin – eumelanin (responsible for dark hair) and pheomelanin (responsible for fair and red hair). Whether your hair is black, brown, red, blonde, grey or white, the melanin determines what colour a hair is. It also plays an important part in laser hair removal.
A laser is essentially a narrow, intense beam of light. When it shines on the melanin, it heats it up so much that it kills the root and damages the follicle, so no new roots can form there. It’s important to note that your hair grows in cycles, and the laser can only destroy the follicle at a specific stage of growth. That’s why you need several laser sessions to completely clear an area of hair.
The challenge with blonde hair
Have you ever noticed that clothes in summer tend to be paler in colour, or even white? One reason people dress like this in the sun is that the darker a colour is, the more heat it absorbs. So the person wearing it gets hotter, because they are being heated up from the outside. Light clothes, on the other hand, reflect light and heat, which explains why they appear brighter – and also why you’ll generally be cooler wearing white.
Well, exactly the same thing is happening with the way the laser is acting on the melanin. A darker colour absorbs more heat, making it get hotter and easier to destroy. A lighter-coloured pigment reflects a lot more of the laser beam, rather than absorbing it. So it doesn’t get as hot, and is more likely to survive the zap. This affects not just blonde hairs, but also grey, white and even some red hair.
So if you have light hair, it could be that laser treatment won’t be anywhere near as effective as it is on darker hair. There’s no exact threshold, because there are other factors at play, such as skin colour and follicle depth (see below). Many of us have different colours of hair on different parts of our bodies, and as we age, it’s normal to get a mix of dark and grey or white hairs, so laser treatment might be helpful, if not a complete solution.
Other factors that matter
There are a few other factors that affect how well a single session of laser treatment will work, including:
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Hair thickness and coarseness
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Skin tone
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Hair root depth
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Hormonal factors
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Body area being treated (some areas respond better than others)
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Individual genetics
These can combine with hair colours to affect the overall performance, so blonde hair with deep roots, for example, can be harder to remove than blonde hair with shallow roots.
A consultation will answer the question for you
With all this in mind, if you think you’re on the borderline between dark and light hair (or even pretty far into the light side) there’s a quick and reliable way to find out if it’ll work – a test. If you book a consultation with us, we can examine the area and advise you on whether we think it’ll work on your hair.
The best way to find out for sure is to do a quick patch test. We’ll treat a small area in exactly the same way as we would a real session, and if the hair starts to fall out after a few days, the chances of it working over the whole area are pretty good. If not, you’re better off going with another form of treatment. The one you go for will depend on how permanent you want the results to be, and other matters like pain tolerance, convenience, the area of your body and your budget.
Alternatives to lasers for hair removal
There are some other ways of getting rid of blonde hair, which don’t involve lasers. They all come with their own pros and cons, and their own levels of permanence.
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Electrolysis
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Hair removal creams
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Shaving
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Epilation and plucking
If it works for your hair, laser treatment is the most permanent and thorough, as long as you take the required number of sessions. Electrolysis is also pretty thorough, and is the closest match to lasers in terms of end results and duration.
Conclusion: if you’re borderline blonde, let’s do a test
As you can see, the idea that blonde hair can’t be removed is partly true, but there is a cut-off point where lasers stop being effective. Because of several factors at play, it’s impossible to judge whether it will work on you by simply looking at your hair.
The only way to find out is for you to pop in and have a quick patch test done. It’ll help you to decide whether you can go ahead with laser treatment or choose another hair removal method.