As long as there is dark hair, laser can be effective, but it doesn’t work on light hair. If you are a red head with dark hair, then you are a candidate for laser hair removal.
Laser hair removal for redheads
I am a 32-year-old woman with bright red hair. I recently attempted to make an appointment for laser hair removal and was told "we don't work on redheads." Are there any lasers that treat all skin types that may work for me?
Comments
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38 posts
14 Jan 2009
Syneron Emax (or Elos) is FDA approved to work on all skin types and hair colors. It uses radiofrequency, which isn't as "picky" as laser. That being said, we often only get 40-50% reduction of hair after 8 treatments. Not great, but better than nothing.
92 posts
14 Jan 2009
Sorry, but laser hair removal does not work well for red hair. The laser needs to see the brown or black pigment in the follicle to work. We have had some limited results with Meladyne to darken the follicle, but only in the 50% effective range. Consider electrolysis or be patient... as new technologies come out every month.
5 posts
21 Jan 2009
Lasers work by heating up a hair follicle and "killing" it. The laser needs the hair follcle to be a different color than the surrounding skin to selectively pick it out. The greater the contrast, the better the result. Thus fair skin with dark hair responds best. If you are fair skinned and the hair is darker red, you would likely get a reduction or thinning of the hair but probably not complete removal.