Effects of Hair Removal on Sperm

A relaxed man sitting after IPL hair removal on groin area.

by Andrew Thompson

It's commonplace nowadays for men to seek the removal of pubic hair with IPL or laser.

However, at time of writing, there's little information in the public domain about the effects of light-based hair removal on fertility in men.

As someone working in the industry, I decided to conduct a case study on myself, to help answer the question.

A Case Study into the effects of IPL Hair Removal on sperm

Case Study 1: 2006-2007

I performed the first series of treatments at Body Sync (now Man Thing) in Brisbane between September 2006 and April 2007. I performed a full treatment each month of penis, scrotum, perineum, anus, and pubis.

For this series of tests, I used an air-cooled Chromolite S IPL machine at 30 Joules with a universal skin filter.

The result which I measured was sperm concentration. Samples were collected 2 days after each treatment and tested by Queensland Medical Laboratories.

Prior to first treatment: 20.5 million
September 2006: 19.5 million
October 2006: 18.5 million
November 2006: 19.0 million
December 2006: 20.0 million
January 2007: 20.0 million
February 2007: 21.0 million
March 2007: 19.5 million
April 2007: 19.5 million

Case Study 2: 2009

With the advent of more high powered machines and better filters, I performed a second series of case studies in late 2009.

Additionally, I wanted to measure total sperm count as well as concentration to test for the effect on fluid volume. The areas treated were the same as the first test, however conducted one week apart instead of one month.

As I had scheduled a vasectomy in December, the prospect of harming my sperm was of no concern, while presenting the perfect opportunity to create the most extreme scenario.

For this series of tests, I used an air-cooled GSD 666 PTF machine at 60 Joules with no skin filter.

Prior to first treatment: 19.5 million/300 million
9 October 2009: 19.5 million/300 million
16 October 2009: 16.0 million/250 million
23 October 2009: 17.0 million/255 million
30 October 2009: 17.0 million/240 million
6 November 2009: 18.5 million/320 million
13 November 2009: 18.0 million/280 million
20 November 2009: 20.5 million/290 million
27 November 2009: 19.0 million/290 million

Protocols

In the first case study, there's little fluctuation. Of note is that the setting was low, and on a salon-grade IPL machine using a very strong filter.

In the second case study, there's a marked decrease after the second treatment then a return to normal levels over subsequent treatments.

Of note in the second study is that treatments were fast tracked to a week apart instead of a month. The setting was very high without any filters, and on a high powered medical-grade machine.

This was an extreme test that no responsible therapist would dare replicate on a member of the public.

Conclusions

The results indicate a temporary reduction in sperm count and volume following an IPL hair removal treatment, then an eventual return to normal, not too dissimilar from the effects of sitting in a hot bath.

The results need to be read in context though. These case studies were conducted on only one person who had high range sperm and volume counts to begin with.

Updated Observations: 2025

As of 2025, several colleges and universities have since conducted tests and case studies of their own. To date, I've not seen one conflicts with my conclusions.

This years also marks two decades that I've been performing genital pubic hair removal treatments using IPL. During that time, many of my clients successfully fathered children either during or after their course of treatments.

Noone has informed me of an adverse response in regards to sperm count or sperm volume.

Disclaimer

This article is not intended to convince you one way or the other about receiving a genital hair removal treatment. The decision is yours alone and should not be taken lightly.

If you have doubts or reservations, Manzilian Waxing is another option to consider.