You can have laser hair removal with moles. A mole itself is not a contraindication: the specialist covers it or goes around it, and the area around is treated as usual. No flash is done over the mole itself: it holds a lot of pigment and would absorb the light more strongly than a hair. Atypical and changing moles, a fresh mark after mole removal and hair growing straight out of a mole are separate questions. Step by step.
Why laser is not done over a mole
The laser looks for pigment. A mole has many times more of it than a hair, and a flash set for hair heats the mole more: a burn, a crust, and then the mole may get darker or, on the contrary, lighter and partly disappear. The danger is not that in itself, but that after a burn a dermatologist finds it harder to monitor the mole: one changed by a laser cannot be told apart from one that changed for other reasons.
So every salon has the same rule: moles are not treated. Small flat freckles and pigment spots across an area are a different matter, they are treated at lower power, but raised, dark and large moles are covered.
How the laser works around moles
Before the session the specialist examines the area and marks the moles: covers them with a white pencil or, if a mole is large, with a special pad that blocks the beam. The flashes go around it with a small margin. Hair around the mole goes like everywhere else, while on the mole itself and a couple of millimetres from it the hair stays.
On legs, arms and the back there can be many moles, and the check before the first session takes a few minutes. That is a normal part of the treatment, not a delay. If there are dozens of moles in the area, the specialist will warn you that single hairs around them will remain.
What happens if the flash hits a mole
One accidental flash usually ends in redness like sunburn, less often a small crust. The mole may then get darker for a few weeks or partly lighter. That is not cancer and no reason to panic, but such a mole is worth watching and showing to a dermatologist after a month, especially if it changed shape or colour unevenly.
If a mole "fell off" after a flash, that was not the naevus itself but a burn crust with the top layer. The base of the mole in the skin remained, and removing it with a hair removal laser is not possible, there are separate procedures for that with a dermatologist.
Sources: American Academy of Dermatology
Does laser cause cancer in a mole
There is no evidence that it does. A hair removal laser works in the near-infrared range, while skin cancer is caused by ultraviolet from the sun and sunbeds and by ionising radiation such as X-rays: those are what damage the DNA of cells. Cancer Council Australia, Australia's national cancer organisation, calls laser hair removal safe for most people, but notes that its long-term effects, including any cancer risk, have not been studied. It also mentions that researchers have observed changes in atypical moles after laser hair removal and suggest caution with a personal or family history of skin cancer or with atypical moles (irregular, multicoloured, growing, itching). In those cases we ask you to see a dermatologist first, and laser comes after their opinion.
Sources: Cancer Council Australia
Birthmarks and pigment spots
Large flat café-au-lait spots and birthmarks are covered like moles: they hold a lot of pigment, and a burn is likely. Small freckles and light pigmentation after the sun are fine, the specialist simply lowers the power. Fresh pigment spots after a tan are a separate matter: with those the session is postponed until the tan fades.
After mole removal: how long to wait
The mark after removal is a wound and then a young scar. Laser next to it is postponed until the skin has fully healed and the scar is light and flat, usually 4-8 weeks, up to three months after a large removal. The scar itself is then avoided for a few more months: fresh scar tissue reacts to heat with pigmentation. If the removal was due to a suspicion of something, laser in that area only after a dermatologist's opinion.
Hair growing from a mole
It happens often and it is normal: the follicle in a mole is usually more active than its neighbours, so the hair from it is dark and coarse. It cannot be removed with a laser, a flash over a mole is off limits. Plucking with tweezers is not a good idea either: repeated injury to a mole is undesirable, and dermatologists advise against it. The safe option: trim it carefully. If the hair really bothers you, a dermatologist may allow electrolysis by needle or remove the mole altogether, that is their decision, not the salon's.
How we handle it
At the consultation the specialist examines the area, marks the moles and pigment spots and says straight away what will be treated and what will remain. Large and dark moles we cover with a pad that blocks the beam, small ones we go around. If a mole raises questions, we do not treat the area "carefully", we ask you to show it to a dermatologist first. We work on a hybrid laser with contact cooling, and on skin with many moles the power is set separately for each patch!
Reviewed by: MEDULLA team