Is Laser Hair Removal for the Bikini Area Permissible?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question

Is it allowed for a woman to remove hair from the bikini area through laser if the procedure is done by a female (Muslim) doctor?

Answer

The basis is that this would not be permissible as it is not permitted to reveal the area between the navel and knee to even members of the same-sex. Additionally, there are methods of hair removal that one can undertake without the assistance of others, such as shaving and waxing.

It would only be permitted to undergo this treatment in medical contexts when deemed necessary. If one is genuinely unable to shave or wax such a region due to some real harm that may be caused by normal means of hair removal, one may seek out a professional for such laser treatment. It should be noted that “sensitivity” alone is not a sufficient reason unless it is a of a type that causes real harm as opposed to mere discomfort or some temporal pain. This is particularly the case when one can lessen the immediate discomfort through creams, taking pauses when shaving etc.

[Ustadh] Salman
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Born and raised in New York, Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studied Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir. He is now in his final year of his PhD at Oxford University, looking at the early evolution of the Hanafi madhab.
His teachers include: Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Shaykh Salah Abu’l Hajj, Shaykh Ashraf Muneeb, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Hamza Karamali, Shaykh Ahmad Snobar, Shaykh Ali Hani, Shaykh Hamza Bakri, Ustadh Rajab Harun and others.
Ustadh Salman’s personal interests include research into the fields of law/legal methodology, hadith, theology, as well as political theory, government, media, and ethics. He is also an avid traveler and book collector. He currently resides in the UK with his wife.