I am about to start treatments with a LightSheer XC (Skin type III) and I am curious if the treatment is effective how long it will last. The word "permanent reduction” confuses me. Does this mean that if effective it will never come back, or does it mean that two years down the line I will see it all start to come back?
Permanent reduction as accepted by FDA involves follow-up at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after final treatment. Generally speaking most hair will have gone through at least one growth cycle by the end of a year, which means that it’s likey any reduction is permanent. That doesn’t mean that new hairs won’t sprout.
Keep that word “reduction” in mind. From my 3 treatments, I’ve only noticed a reduction (from black, corse hair… to lighter, finer hair). Actual permanent death of hairs is probably not reasonable to expect. 
The place I go to lets me pay for 4 treatments, and gives me whatever is needed after that for free for up to 2 years. They guarentee that, for 2 years, I shouldn’t notice any hair darkening or returning to “normal” of my hair.
I imagine though, long term after 1 or 2 years, that the natural repair cycle of the body might reconstruct or repair damaged follicles. When I received a bad burn from a motorcycle tailpipe… the hair and skin was burned away. 3 years after the skin had healed, hair started to come back.
If this is true, hopefully by the time the body repairs the follicles, some better hair removal method will exist.
Some consumers have seen permanent reduction of dark coarse hairs, meaning they never returned. This is not as common as one would hope, but some consumers are completely satisfied with laser results and don’t need to supplement it with any other method.
I think the one thing that makes total hair elimination elusive is the hair being in different stages of the growth cycle. I have never had laser treatments in the summer so hair that is in the growth stage in the summer is never targeted unless it is also in the growth stage during Feb-May when I do have treatments. I have had very good results so I must be hitting the growth stage on most of them.
Any regrowth that occurs usually happens within two months and it does not seem to increase after that.
The question is will hair mysterioulsy start growing back after 7 years, 10 years, or whatever? It’s not likely. I sure hope it doesn’t!
RJC2001
RJC2001, if it’s gone for a year, it’s almost certainly gone for good. You may have some new growth in ensuing years that was never treated, but that’s another matter!