Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often termed "forever chemicals," represent a formidable class of synthetic contaminants characterized by their extreme environmental persistence, conferred by the robust carbon-fluorine bond. This review provides a holistic synthesis of the complete lifecycle of PFAS, tracing their trajectory from mid-20th-century industrial development to their current status as a global environmental and public health dilemma. It delineates their diverse sources from industrial discharges and aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) to landfill leachates and consumer products, which facilitate their widespread dissemination into water, soil, and the food chain. The paper consolidates findings from global environmental surveys, confirming the ubiquitous presence of both legacy compounds and emerging alternatives in ecosystems worldwide, supported by a localized case study from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. A critical examination of the substantial body of evidence links PFAS exposure to significant adverse health outcomes in humans, including immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, metabolic dysregulation, and developmental neurotoxicity. The review further details the sophisticated methodologies essential for their extraction and analysis from complex matrices, underscoring the central role of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and high-resolution techniques. Finally, it provides a critical assessment of the remediation landscape, contrasting established adsorption methods with innovative destructive technologies such as advanced oxidation/reduction processes, sonolysis, and electrochemical techniques. The synthesis concludes that mitigating the PFAS challenge necessitates an integrated, multifaceted strategy, combining robust regulatory frameworks that address PFAS as a class, continuous environmental monitoring, and the advancement of scalable, destructive treatment solutions to permanently eliminate these persistent pollutants.