Does laser hair removal treatment (IPL) affect pregnancy in any way?

LHR likely does not affect fertility.  The mechanism of action would not be clear on how this could occur.  Many of our patients have had laser hair removal have later become pregnant, however this would be anecdotal evidence.  There are no studies examining the effects of laser hair removal on fertility.

Hi Mona. There is no effect on future pregnancies having Laser hair removal or IPL done. Although we don't recommended having treatments while pregnant or nursing, your medical provider would place your sessions on hold to continue after you have given birth. 

While Laser treatments are not recommended while pregnant, there are no studies to show that lasers cause problems with future conception. Best of luck on your treatment!

Hi Mona.  Laser energy is light based and non-mutagenic.  This means it is non cancer causing.  Laser light will also not affect your ability to conceive.  Although we do not perform treatment on pregnant or breastfeeding women, this is a liability issue with our insurance carrier rather than a practical issue of causing harm. 

You should feel safe getting laser hair removal and being able to conceive in the future.  Good luck.

Generally speaking, lasers are superior to IPL for hair removal. That said, lasers or light-based devices (IPL) will not affect future conception, although to be safe, I wouldn't do any laser or light treatment during a pregnancy (there are no studies on safety). ~ Dr. Benjamin Barankin, Toronto Dermatology Centre.

Thank you for your question. Laser hair treatments will not affect your ability to get pregnant. It is a low controlled energy and does not travel far past the pigment in the hair follicle. You are fine to continue your treatments. It is recommended as a precaution to stop laser treatments if you do get pregnant during a laser treatment series but is fine to resume once the baby is delivered.

- Best wishes
 

Lasers create a beam of highly concentrated light that penetrates superficially into the skin where it delivers a controlled amount of therapeutic heat. This light energy is absorbed by the pigment located in the hair follicles. The laser pulses for a fraction of a second, just long enough to destroy numerous follicles at a time and leaves the surrounding skin unaffected. It does not affect deeper structures so it will have no negative effects on your trying to get pregnant.

Laser hair removal is permanent, meaning the hairs that are able to be treated are permanently removed and will not regrow. There is no laser hair removal laser that will affect conception because it only goes deep enough to get the hair follicles. These are extremely shallow, so even if you treat over the stomach or pubic region, you are treating upper layers of skin and follicles, not reproductive organs. We don't recommend treating people who are pregnant (there is no proof it would harm a developing fetus but all doctors ask pregnant women to stop doing anything deemed unnecessary during pregnancy). I have 2 staff members who did hair removal treatments over many body parts and both of them had healthy pregnancies and babies afterward.