I've never heard anyone use it for that. There are a also a few reasons why I would think it would be a terrible idea:
- The lasers are not even close to 100% effective at removing hair, especially with thick dark hair (which beards tend to be).
- The lasers will probably discolour the skin. I believe people often report the treated skin area to have a lighter colour to it.
- Pain - the thing can be pretty painful if they have to crank up the power. I doubt you want a red swollen face for a few days after each round of treatment.
Yes some women may have used it for hair removal on the face but I doubt that is thick hair, so the power can be set quite low, and the area of treatment will be small compared to a beard.
Lasers (proper lasers, such as the Diode or Alexandrite laser,
not IPL*) are very effective. It can take several treatments and while hair
can still grow back it never grows back the way it once was.
Skin discolouration is unusual and typically happens if something has gone wrong, i.e., a burn. It isn't par for the course.
It doesn't hurt
that bad. It's like being flicked with a rubber band. It looks and feels like a minor sunburn for about a day, even in the most sensitive of areas. There are numbing creams that are really helpful in the later treatments when they do indeed turn the laser up.
I would think the trouble with lasering a beard is that before the treatments are concluded the hair probably won't be gone uniformly, which might look weird come 5 o'clock between the 4-6 week sessions, which are important to keep because of the way hair cycles.
For the first week or so after treatment while waiting for the hair to fall out it can look a little strange and you're not supposed to shave. This might be a problem considering it's no so easy to hide a face.
The other thing is that when you're done it can look like hair never grew in that place. I'm not totally sure if this applies to a beard because the hair is pretty coarse there but if it does, the baby-face on a man may look a little odd.
The pros though, no shaving! Just thought I'd give you a little info and some other stuff to think about.
*
IPL isn't total rubbish or anything but some believe it to be less effective. The first response here by Dr. Michael Law explains the differences in lasers. By far the easiest explanation I've found. Here's another
link that may be of some use to you.
