Yes, but it's hard to say how much of it is permanent. It definitely thins out the follicles, though -- like I said, my upper lip went from having a permanent gray shadow to actually looking like hew-mon () skin again. I guess the disclaimer is that I have fairly pale skin and dark hair.

Give it a couple of weeks, and if there are any patches that are particularly stubborn, it should be safe to zap every other day. The Braun is weak enough that you might be able to get away with not using cooling gel, but it's pretty harsh on your skin without the gel when you still have a lot of stubble trying to come in.