Laser hair removal is a relatively modern procedure, but its history may surprise you. Today’s laser hair removal is mostly painless, super-efficient and largely permanent, but when laser hair removal was introduced, it was quite the opposite. The first laser created to destroy hair follicles was invented by Theodore H Maiman in 1960. This laser was produced with a small ruby gemstone. Maiman’s ruby laser was tedious, languid and incredibly painful, often resulting in severe burns. Though it was successful in minimizing hair growth it was not a permanent means of removal.
10 years later, the alexandrite laser was developed. Though it was exceptionally less painful than its ruby predecessor, it lacked the heat necessary to truly destroy hair follicles, leading to imperfect results achieved sometimes only after years of treatments.
It was not until the early 1980s that laser hair removal became essentially permanent. In 1983 scientists finally developed a laser effective at precisely targeting a single hair follicle without inflicting pain to the skin.
Today’s laser hair removal clinics offer almost entirely pain-free, permanent laser hair removal treatments. There are even laser hair removal products approved by the FDA for home use (though we would recommend visiting a laser hair removal technician rather than attempting to do it yourself).
To learn more about laser hair removal, visit Laser Smooth Company’s FAQs page.