The laser works on pigment, and the lighter the hair, the less there is for it to work with. Dark blonde hair that is clearly darker than the skin responds to a course. Light blonde and red: there will be no result or a minimal one. Grey and white hair the laser cannot see at all, with any device or any power. In our practice there are clients with light hair whom the laser has helped, but they are the exceptions. How to tell which group you belong to, step by step.
Why the laser needs pigment
The flash of light passes through the skin and is absorbed by melanin, the pigment inside the hair. The hair heats up, the heat travels to the follicle and destroys it. Dark hair takes in a lot of light and heats up strongly. Light hair takes in little, and there is not enough heat to damage the follicle. The skin receives the same flash, and you cannot raise the power endlessly: the hair still will not heat up, but the skin will burn.
There are two kinds of pigment in hair. The dark one, eumelanin, the laser absorbs excellently. The red one, pheomelanin, absorbs weakly. That is why red hair is almost as much of a problem for the laser as light hair, even though it looks vivid. And grey and white hair has no pigment at all, there is nothing to heat.
Dark blonde hair: it works if there is contrast
The main question is not "light or dark" but "is the hair darker than the skin". Dark blonde hair on light skin responds to the laser: there is contrast, the light goes into the hair, not the skin. The alexandrite range, 755 nm, helps here: its light is absorbed by pigment most readily, so it copes best with fine and light brown hair.
A course on dark blonde hair is usually longer than on dark hair: 8-10 sessions instead of 6-8, and the first changes show later, after the second or third session. That is normal, the hair simply gives off less heat per flash.
Blonde and red: minimal or no result
Light blonde, ash blonde, red hair: there is too little pigment. Some hairs may become thinner and grow more slowly after a course, but there will be no smooth skin like with dark hair. A specialist says this in advance. Our experience has shown that a few clients with light hair got a good result, but those are exceptions rather than the rule.
If the hair is light but there are dark hairs among it, the picture is different: the laser removes the dark ones, the light ones remain. This is common on the face, belly and arms. A course makes sense if it is the dark hairs that bother you.
Sources: Cleveland Clinic
Grey and white hair: the laser does not work
Grey hair has no melanin, the light has nothing to grab, and no laser, diode, alexandrite, neodymium or hybrid, can deal with it. An advert for a "laser for grey hair" is either not a laser or not about grey hair.
For grey and white hair there is another method: electrolysis. A fine needle is inserted into each follicle and destroys it with a current, and the hair colour does not matter. It is slow, one hair at a time, and more noticeable than laser, but on grey hair it is the only thing that works. We do not offer electrolysis, we say so at the consultation and do not start a course that will give no result.
If greying is only beginning and there is still plenty of dark hair around it, laser makes sense: the dark hairs go, and the odd grey ones can be dealt with by needle later. The main thing is to decide that at the start, not after eight sessions.
Sources: Cleveland Clinic
How to tell in advance whether this is your case
A simple test at home: look at a hair in daylight next to your skin. If it is clearly darker than the skin, the chances are good. If it blends in or is lighter, the laser will work weakly. Hair differs from area to area: dark on the legs, light on the arms, grey above the lip, so look at each area separately.
Usually an interim result is visible after the first session: hair sheds, growth slows down. Our specialist examines the skin on the treated area at every visit, watches how the hair responds and adjusts the settings. Nobody gives final answers after the second or third session, the course runs under constant observation.
What to do with light and grey hair
For dark blonde hair: a course in the alexandrite range, 8-10 sessions, maintenance 1-2 times a year. For blonde and red: the first sessions show how the hair responds, with modest expectations from the start. For grey and white: electrolysis, so the laser does not waste your time and money. And do not bleach hair before laser: bleach removes the pigment from the hair, the very pigment the laser works on, and makes the course pointless.
How we handle it
The first visit starts with a free consultation: the specialist looks at the colour and thickness of the hair on each area and tells you what to expect. If there is little pigment, you will hear it straight away. We work on a hybrid laser with an alexandrite range for fine and light brown hair and contact cooling, so even a long course is comfortable. Our specialists guide you through the whole course, watch the skin and hair at every visit and adjust the settings to your result!
Reviewed by: MEDULLA team