Key Conclusion: IEC 60335‑2‑113 is the core safety standard for home‑use laser hair removal devices entering international markets, and the 2025 second edition has officially replaced the previous version. Building on general electrical safety, this standard sets dedicated testing requirements specifically targeting special risks such as laser/intense light source optical radiation, skin contact temperature rise, and safety interlocks. Understanding its testing logic is not only a matter of product compliance but also directly determines user safety.
I. Introduction: Why Home‑Use Laser Hair Removal Devices Need a Dedicated Safety Standard
Home‑use laser hair removal devices heat hair follicles or skin tissue through specific wavelength lasers or intense pulsed light (IPL) to inhibit hair growth. These products have two core risks that distinguish them from ordinary household appliances:
Optical radiation hazard – even after filtering, residual radiation may still cause eye injury.
Skin contact safety – the device relies on physical contact with the skin to operate, and uncontrolled temperature rise can cause burns.
IEC 60335‑2‑113 was developed specifically to systematically control these special risks.
The standard applies to household and similar beauty care appliances with rated voltages not exceeding 250 V (including DC‑powered and battery‑powered devices), with a light‑emitting surface area of less than 25 cm². Products with a light‑emitting surface area equal to or greater than 25 cm² fall under IEC 60335‑2‑27. It is particularly important to note that medical‑use equipment (IEC 60601 series) and general skin/hair care appliances (IEC 60335‑2‑23) are not within the scope of this standard.
II. Standard Framework: Relationship with the General Standard
IEC 60335‑2‑113 is a "Part 2" standard within the IEC 60335 series for beauty care appliances. It is not applied independently but in conjunction with Part 1 (IEC 60335‑1): Part 1 specifies general safety requirements, while Part 2‑113 supplements or modifies these with special requirements for laser/intense light source products. This means testing engineers must refer to both standards simultaneously to determine compliance.
The 2025 second edition has several noteworthy changes compared to the previous version:
Alignment with IEC 60335‑1:2020
New accessible surface temperature limits (Clause 11)
Updated optical radiation assessment standard to IEC 62471‑7
New power supply requirements
These changes reflect the standard developers‘ continued attention to actual usage risks in home scenarios.
III. Core Testing Content: A Complete Chain from Electrical Safety to Photobiological Safety
3.1 Electrical Safety Testing
Although hair removal devices typically have relatively low power, they involve direct skin contact and may be used in humid environments, so electrical safety requirements are not relaxed. Core test items include: insulation resistance and dielectric strength testing, leakage current testing, earthing continuity testing, and input power testing. For rechargeable products, safety requirements under battery‑powered mode also apply.
3.2 Optical Radiation Safety: The Core Technical Barrier of the Standard
This is the most critical testing dimension that distinguishes home‑use laser hair removal devices from other small appliances. The standard requires stray light radiation assessment in accordance with IEC 62471‑7. Testing uses spectrometers and laser power meters to measure output wavelength, pulse energy, repetition rate, and emission time, and calculates the Accessible Emission Limits (AEL). For laser‑type products, reference must also be made to IEC 60825‑1 for laser classification; home‑use hair removal devices typically must meet Class 1 or Class 1C conditions. Structurally, the standard requires the device to be equipped with safety interlocks to ensure pulses can only be emitted when the treatment head is correctly in contact with the skin; after loss of contact, laser radiation must be interrupted within 0.1 seconds.
3.3 Temperature Rise and Contact Temperature: Key Strengthening in the 2025 Edition
The newly added accessible surface temperature limits (Clause 11) in the 2025 edition directly address the practical pain points of laser hair removal devices. During operation, the treatment head window, housing, and handle grip area may all heat up. Testing must measure the temperature of all accessible surfaces under normal and abnormal conditions to ensure they do not exceed the limits specified in the standard. This poses a substantial challenge for products using high energy density output, often requiring heat dissipation structure design or power management strategies.
3.4 Mechanical Safety and Structural Inspection
Mechanical safety testing focuses on physical protection reliability. Key aspects include: enclosure strength, protection of sharp edges and moving parts, and durability of safety interlocks. For products with replaceable treatment heads or adjustable power levels, safety consistency across different configurations must also be verified.
3.5 Marking and User Manual Review
The standard requires the product nameplate to clearly bear the laser warning symbol and class designation, and the user manual must include complete safety warnings. The 2025 edition specifically adds two new requirements: warnings regarding use by children and instructions for beauty salon‑specific devices.
IV. Testing Process: A Standardised Path from Sample Submission to Report
4.1 Preliminary Preparation and Documentation Review
Before submitting samples, manufacturers must prepare a complete technical documentation package, typically including: product specifications, circuit diagrams and PCB layout diagrams, key component lists, user manual, and product photos. The testing body conducts a pre‑assessment of the documentation to determine whether the product falls within the standard‘s scope and to identify potential testing difficulties.
4.2 Sample Testing Stage
Once samples enter the laboratory, testing proceeds in the order of the standard‘s clauses. Electrical safety testing is usually completed first; optical radiation testing requires the use of a dedicated darkroom and spectral equipment; temperature rise testing requires continuous operation under specified ambient temperature and load conditions until thermal steady state. If non‑conformities are found during testing, the manufacturer must make corrections and re‑submit samples for re‑testing – this is the main variable affecting the timeline. The standard testing cycle is typically 7 to 15 working days.
4.3 Report Issuance and Compliance Value
After all tests are passed, the testing body issues a bilingual (Chinese/English) test report. The value of this report lies not only in demonstrating compliance with IEC 60335‑2‑113 but also in serving as technical supporting documentation for CB certification and CE certification (LVD Directive). In some cases, it can also assist with radiation safety justification for U.S. FDA registration.
V. Conclusion
The testing framework of IEC 60335‑2‑113 is essentially a risk‑correspondence mechanism: electrical safety corresponds to electric shock risk, optical radiation testing corresponds to eye and skin injury risk, temperature rise testing corresponds to burn risk, and structural inspection corresponds to misuse risk. The 2025 edition revisions further tighten these lines of defence, reflecting regulators‘ clear awareness of the reality of "non‑professional users, uncontrolled environments" in home scenarios. For manufacturers, incorporating standard requirements for compliance assessment at the early product design stage is far more efficient than passive corrective actions after test failures.
