Last Updated on 4 months by Francis

Do Laser light therapy work for hair loss?

Hair loss is a cause of concern for many individuals. Right from adult men and women to children, a large portion of the population from all age groups have been exposed to the problem of hair loss.

While every person experiences a minor amount of hair loss, the severity of it is a cause of concern for many. An average individual has around 100,000 to 150,000 hairs on their head. They lose around 100 of them each day. When this intensifies, then the problem of hair loss arises.

Thanks to modern research, there are methods to deal with it effectively.

Understanding how hair grows and the cause of hair loss

Every area of the skin has hair growth, except your palms and the sole of your feet. Some places it is clearly visible whereas in some areas the hair growth is so small that it is not visible.

The hair grows from a root situated in follicle of your scalp. The roots are made of proteins which are fed by the blood vessels. The hair pushes itself up through the skin as it starts growing.

The hair that is visible on the head is actually dead and is made of keratin. Follicles keep on generating new hair and it pushes the older ones as it grows.

Sometimes these hair follicles become smaller and become dormant. This prevents growth of further hair resulting in hair loss or baldness.

The remedies for hair loss

There are many household and clinical remedies available that you can use to prevent hair loss. Some medications like Minoxidil, Finasteride, Corticosteriod injections can help in regaining loss hair.

Clinical methods include hair transplant and laser therapy. These are little expensive but offer to be more productive and effective than taking medications. Laser light therapy is one of the most popular methods through which people are being able to regain loss of hair.

What is laser light therapy for hair loss?

Laser light therapy is a heat and light form of treatment that is used to cure genetic forms of hair loss. It is also known as soft laser, red light therapy and biostimulation.

Light therapy is currently under investigation and is being used for treatment of skin diseases, hair loss, wounds and scars.

How does laser light therapy for hair loss work?

Hair growth cycle comprises of three distinct phases Growth or the anagen phase Resting or telogen phase, and Shedding or catagen phase

Hair loss results because of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a testosterone compound of the skin. Laser therapy works by increasing the blood flow in the scalp region which stimulates metabolism in catagen and telogen follicles. This leads to production of anagen hair.

The photons emitted from diodes react on the cytochrome C oxidase leading to production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an organic chemical responsible for providing energy to the cells.

These ATP are converted to cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (AMP) in the hair follicle cells. It releases energy and helps in the metabolic process of hair growth.

The laser light therapy prevents excessive build-up of DHT which ultimately prevents hair loss and cures partial baldness.

How can it be administered?

Laser light therapy for hair loss can be given at a salon by a trained professional or at home with the help of portable devices. It is supposed to be taken 2-3 times in a week so as to result in maximum benefit.

Alongside with laser therapy, massages and scalp treatment can be administered on the patients. This will help to regulate the flow of blood in the scalp and increase chances of hair growth.

Do laser light therapy work for hair loss?

Like most other treatments of laser light therapy, there is a study and have concluded to determine the positive effect of laser light therapy in dealing with hair loss.

Most physicians are of the view that laser light therapy can work on women and men who are suffering from androgenic alopecia or genetic baldness. In addition to that they also believe that light therapy can help a hair transplant patient to heal their wounds faster.

Some major benefits of laser therapy for hair loss

Painless

Unlike hair transplant option, laser therapy does not cause any pain. Hair transplant involves the surgeon removing hair follicles from your scalp and replacing them with new ones. Laser therapy just stimulates the hair follicles resulting in growth of hair.

Inexpensive

When it comes to hair transplant and other medications for hair loss, they are very expensive. Sometimes the cumulative expenses run into several hundred dollars.

Laser therapy on the other hand is really cheap and effective.

Portable devices

There several portable devices available in the market that provide laser light therapy treatment to the users. They come in the form of caps, combs and brushes. This makes laser light therapy a convenient and easy to use method.

Can treat both men and women

Physicians use two separate systems – Norwood Hamilton Classification for men and Ludwig-Savin Scale for women to determine the degree of hair loss. Laser light therapy can be used to treat both men and women depending upon the class in which the patient falls.

No side effects

Though the use of laser light therapy has not been given a scientific momentum, no adverse side effects have been reported. It is clean and painless which makes it an even more lucrative form of treatment.

Conclusion

Many might seem to be still sticking to the question – do laser light therapy work for hair loss?

The answer to this seems to be a little ambiguous given the fact that laser light therapy still does not find FDA backing in full swing.

A study had shown that prolonged usage of laser light therapy did result in increase of hair in comparison to the ones who did not take laser light therapy. In another study it was observed that terminal hair density had increased due to the use of laser comb, a portable hair loss device.

The final thoughts is that there is no harm in opting for laser light therapy. Being a safe and painless way of treating hair loss, laser light therapy has indeed resulted in growth of hair in many studies.

Here is a link on Hair Growth Reviews Using Light Therapy Devices.

References https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/understanding-hair-loss-treatment https://hairprolaser.com/understanding-hair-loss/ https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/low-dose-laser-therapy-for-hair-loss/