Laser Hair Removal works by the principles of selective photothermolysis. When laser light hits your skin, it is absorbed more by darker tissues than lighter tissues. Since hair shafts and follicles normally contain more melanin, the chemical that makes skin cells darker, they tend to absorb more light than surrounding tissues. This causes them to heat up more rapidly than the surrounding skin and suffer more thermal damage, which causes the follicles to shut down or even die.