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About Low Level Laser Treatment for Hair Loss

Hair loss is a problem that affects millions of people. However, knowing that countless others are suffering a similar fate does not mitigate the frustration of waking up morning after morning with an ever-increasing amount of hair left on your pillow, coupled with an ever-decreasing amount of hair on the person in the mirror. Numerous hair-loss treatments have been offered throughout the years---most transient solutions designed to delay the inevitable for a few more precious years. One of the newest protocols on the market is low-level laser treatment. Read on and discover more.

  1. Causes of Hair Loss

    • There are countless causes that can result in hair loss. Stress from major medical procedures, prolonged illness, hormonal imbalances, use of certain medications, infections or just unfortunate genetics. But out of all of these reasons, pattern baldness (male and female) remains the No. 1 cause of hair loss. Contrary to popular belief, hair loss affects both men and women, though men suffer to a significantly larger degree.

    What Is Low-Level Laser Treatment?

    • Low-level laser treatment is, as the name suggests, the utilization of low-energy light to energize and stimulate your scalp to reinitiate the growth of hair follicles. As long as the lasers are operating within the proper wavelength, the energy can be absorbed into individual cells of the body, resulting in renewed growth of formerly dormant hairs on the scalp.

    Does It Work?

    • According to the FDA, yes. Low-level laser treatment resulted in a 90 percent success rate, with average regrowth occurring at a rate of 19 new hairs per centimeter. In fact, photobiostimulation (using light to stimulate biological processes) has been successfully used for the past 30 years to treat pain and a variety of injuries. So the actual technology is nothing new---only its utilization for hair regrowth is novel.

    What Are the Risks?

    • Fortunately, there are no known risks associated with low-level laser treatment. The process itself is relatively benign and appears to be completely safe. The only real risk is that you will fall within the 10 percent of individuals who are unresponsive to the procedure. For the other 90 percent, when low-level laser treatment is used in conjunction with other common hair-regrowth products, such as Minoxidil or Saw Palmetto, it can form the backbone of a highly effective, full-hair regrowth regimen.

    Considerations

    • Of course, for those with unlimited resources, the choice is simple and the decision to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at the issue of hair loss is a foregone conclusion. However, for those operating on limited budgets, prioritization is key. More often than not, medical novelty translates into a substantial price tag. While low-level laser treatment does work, the issue becomes whether the benefit justifies the cost. For those who are younger and losing their hair, treating the condition could provide a weighty psychological boost. For those who are older, hair loss is certainly not the end of the world. But for those who decide that the promise of hair regrowth is worth any cost, low-level laser therapy is a good route to explore.

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