subject: Does Laser Hair Therapy Work? [print this page] Does Laser Hair Therapy Work? Does Laser Hair Therapy Work?
Hair loss solutions and quick fixes are so ubiquitous and large in number that it's difficult to know which ones are actually effective and which ones simply amount to nothing more than consumer scams. Often enough, the supposedly revolutionary hair loss solution comes and goes and becomes nothing more than a passing fad. Today, laser hair therapy is becoming one of the more popular hair re-growth alternatives available. Naturally, the procedure has many skeptics, as well as its fair share of supporters, both outside and inside the scientific community. So does using a medical laser for the treatment of hair loss actually work? The answer is a bit complicated and essentially depends on who you ask, and what you mean by "work". Laser hair therapy is a non-chemical and non-invasive treatment that involves the use of a cold laser device. Cold laser therapy has already been used successfully in various other medical and cosmetic fields, including breast augmentation, laser fat removal and the treatment of skin disorders and muscle pain. But hair therapy is still a point of contention. Even positive reports on the effective use of laser hair therapy on hair loss patients include some kind of clause that says something to the effect of, "More large-scale clinical trials are still needed in order to make a definite judgment on the treatment's real effectiveness, and results vary depending on the patient." One of the most important papers published on the topic of laser hair restoration to date is a peer-reviewed consensus paper that appeared in the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy in 2007. The majority of the physicians involved in the consensus agreed that laser devices were safe and "mildly effective" (when used correctly) in helping remedy hereditary hair loss. They also concluded, however, that there is a lack of published scientific data on the subject, and thus a rather insufficient understanding of the actual mechanism by which low level laser light helps stop and/or reverse hair loss. The last item above is one of the main reasons why the FDA still considers cold laser treatments to be an experimental field, despite the fact that it has officially cleared many low level laser devices for clinical use. One of these includes a hand-held low level laser device designed for in-home use. Hair loss patients can apply the laser treatment on themselves in a matter of minutes. Again, though, results may vary.
