Laser Hair Removal vs Shaving: Cost Comparison

Compared to a regular razor, laser hair removal is often perceived as an inherently expensive procedure. However, once you factor in that hair starts growing back the very next day after shaving — while the results of laser hair removal can last for months or even years — the apparent “cost advantage” of shaving becomes far less obvious. So which option is actually more cost-effective in the long term: laser hair removal or shaving? Let’s break it down.

All calculations below are conditional, as there are simply too many variables in this equation. The cost of laser hair removal varies depending on the equipment used, the city, and the level of the salon. Razors also differ significantly, ranging from cheap disposable ones to system razors with expensive replacement cartridges. In addition, people shave at different frequencies. Treatment areas and gender also matter, as prices for women and men may differ.

We’ll base our calculations on average, realistic assumptions. You can use this framework and substitute your own parameters if needed. The key question we’re trying to answer is simple: is laser hair removal always more expensive, or does it become economically justified over the years once the cumulative cost of shaving is taken into account?

Shaving: Costs Per Year and Over a Decade

For simplicity, we base our calculations on current prices without factoring in future price increases. This is not a forecast, but a comparative model. As a reference point, we use prices from one of the most popular supermarket chains in Ukraine. Their assortment includes very cheap disposable razors priced at around 6 UAH, but their quality is so low that they are usually avoided. There are also premium options, with prices exceeding 200 UAH per razor.

To avoid extremes, we’ll take a mid-range, mass-market option — popular three-blade Gillette razors. When buying larger packs or during promotions, the price can be lower; when buying single units without discounts, it can be higher. For the sake of calculation, we’ll assume a conditional average price of 50 UAH per razor.

To determine what’s cheaper — laser hair removal or shaving — we’ll use the following shaving scenario:

• one razor is used for 3 days and then replaced;
• calculation period — 10 years.

We’ll also include consumables:

• shaving foam or gel — on average 150 UAH per can, enough for about 2 months;
• aftershave products (balm, lotion) — on average 200 UAH per bottle, enough for about 3 months.

Shaving Costs Over 10 Years

You may also find it useful to read our article on whether frequent shaving can negatively affect your skin.

Laser Hair Removal: Costs Over 10 Years

To determine which option makes more financial sense — shaving or laser hair removal — let’s look at the second method. Unlike shaving, these costs are not evenly distributed over time but are concentrated at the beginning due to the initial treatment course.

The prices in this section are taken from the current price list of our LaserVille salon network in Kyiv and Warsaw. To keep the calculation comparable and avoid extremes, we’ll consider full leg laser hair removal. This is a convenient “middle-ground” option. Obviously, treating the upper lip and, for example, full body laser hair removal would result in very different costs, so we deliberately choose one average treatment area.

Basic assumptions:

• to achieve long-lasting results, an average of 8 sessions is required;
• the cost of a package of 8 sessions — 16,000 UAH;
• the treatment course lasts approximately one year;
• after completing the course, maintenance sessions are required, on average every 6–12 months;
• for calculation purposes, we use an average interval of once every 9 months;
• the cost of one maintenance session — 2,500 UAH.

Note: maintenance sessions are counted only after the main course is completed.

Laser Hair Removal Costs Over 10 Years

Which Is Cheaper: Laser Hair Removal or Shaving

If we simply compare the final figures at this point, the picture is already quite clear. Under the chosen assumptions, the annual cost of shaving is about 7,800 UAH, which adds up to 78,000 UAH over 10 years. Full leg laser hair removal, in turn, comes to approximately 43,000–44,000 UAH over 10 years, including both the initial course and maintenance sessions.

The difference is almost twofold — and this is despite the fact that our laser hair removal calculations are based on a cautious, not an “optimistic,” scenario, while shaving is calculated using far from the most expensive options. In other words, we are not talking about rare edge cases, but about common and realistic usage patterns.

You may also find it useful to know – does frequent shaving make hair grow faster and thicker?

The Time Factor: The Hidden Cost of Both Methods

To understand which option is truly more cost-effective — laser hair removal or shaving — in the previous sections we compared only direct financial expenses. However, hair removal comes with another cost that is often overlooked at first glance: time. In the long run, it is often time that turns out to be the most expensive resource. Let’s look at both methods in terms of how much time they typically require.

How Much Time Does Laser Hair Removal Take

In the LaserVille salon network, one full leg laser hair removal session using MOVEO technology takes on average about 40 minutes.

Let’s recall the parameters:

• main course — 8 sessions;
• maintenance sessions — 11 sessions over 10 years.

Total: 19 sessions × 40 minutes = 760 minutes, or approximately 12.7 hours over 10 years. This is all the time required to maintain results over an entire decade.

How Much Time Does Shaving Take

Now let’s look at shaving using the same logic. We’ll assume a moderately realistic scenario:

• full leg shaving takes an average of 10 minutes;
• shaving is done once every 3 days.

Per year: 365 / 3 ≈ 122 shaving sessions.

Over 10 years: 122 × 10 = 1,220 sessions.

Time calculation: 1,220 × 10 minutes = 12,200 minutes, or approximately 203 hours over 10 years.

Time Comparison Over 10 Years

As the table clearly shows, the difference is more than 15-fold. Time spent shaving is barely noticeable on the scale of a single day or week, but over a 10-year period it turns into hundreds of hours of repetitive routine. Laser hair removal, by contrast, requires infrequent and predictable visits, the total time of which is comparable to just a few working days — spread out over many years.

We deliberately do not convert lost time into money — for example, by assigning an hourly rate and multiplying it by the difference between the two methods. This approach quickly overcomplicates the calculations and shifts the discussion into a highly subjective area.

Instead, we simply highlight the time difference and leave it to the reader to decide how much an hour is worth — whether it’s work time, rest, sleep, or time with loved ones. This difference — on the order of hundreds of hours over the long term — is exactly the factor each person can weigh individually when deciding which is better: shaving or laser hair removal.

Want to know whether you can shave after a laser hair removal session? Read the article in our blog.

Final Thoughts

In today’s article, we set out to determine which option is cheaper — laser hair removal or shaving. When we analyze shaving, the annual costs and, even more so, the expenses accumulated over decades show that this method is not as inexpensive as it may seem at first glance. In addition, shaving takes up a significant amount of time in the long run. Laser hair removal, by contrast, requires far less time and proves to be more cost-effective over the long term. When all calculations are reduced to a single comparison, the difference becomes obvious:

• shaving — around 78,000 UAH and 200+ hours over 10 years,
• laser hair removal — around 43,500 UAH and only about 13 hours over the same period.

Want to learn about additional advantages of laser hair removal compared to shaving? Read our article comparing different hair removal methods.