We do laser hair removals at my office. I have done myself and it has worked wonderfully. The bottom line is that it is approved for "permanent hair reduction." The darker and coarser your hair the better it works. No matter what anybody tells you, gray, blonde and even light reddish hair will not go away with laser. Basically it does not have enough pigment to absorb the heat energy from the laser.
The type of machine that is used is very important. You want to use a long wave length type laser such as a Yag laser that has a 1086nm wave length. The longer the wl, the deeper it penetrates and less possible choice of burning to the actual skin. Since many of us are tan, using lower wave length machines can burn your skin. It usually takes 5-8 treatments usually 4-6 weeks apart and you will be very well rewarded.
My arms, chest,abdomen and back were like a god damn carpet and obviously now are completely hairless. I do have hairs and follicles that occasionally pop up and i usually do a treatment or two a year to keep things in check but it is a 98% improvement from where i started. Hope that helps.