The debate onhair removal by pulsed light reaches the legal sphere. Tuesday, March 11, three beauty institutes located in Orléans and Blois were convicted of illegal practice of medicine for having practiced this type of hair removal. They were fined 2,000 euros each suspended by the criminal court of Orleans. “A second conviction in the next five years would however make the conviction effective,” AFP added.
The initiative was taken by four doctors, arguing a 1962 decree that “any method of hair removal is a medical act, except hair removal with tweezers or wax.” Indeed, laser hair removal is reserved for doctors, but the law concerning optical radiation devices, such as those used for hair removal by pulsed light, is unclear.
30,000 institutes involved
One of the doctors assured during the hearing that this practice presents risks for health, while potentially threatening its income. However, other French courts have ruled that this type of hair removal was not reserved for doctors.
The managers of the three beauty institutes therefore intend to appeal as much as, like them, 30,000 institutes commonly use this hair removal process. Among other things, “some customers have paid packages and are only at their third session,” commented Séverine Poubeau, manager of a beauty salon in Orleans, quoted by AFP. It takes an average of eight sessions to remove all the hair.
