Let’s dig into something that has become quite the conversation piece regarding red light therapy—hair loss. Millions of people worldwide experience hair loss. While it may be a natural process, many would instead prefer to reverse and regrow permanent hair.
Today there are multiple hair loss remedies designed to treat hair loss but only to a certain degree. While some of these treatments are as simple as taking a pill or using a specific shampoo, others require extensive surgery such as hair transplant surgery.
Causes of Hair Loss
For starters, hair loss is entirely normal! Now before we get into all the details of treating hair loss with red light therapy, lets take a look at what causes hair loss. Below we’ll go through the different conditions that cause hair loss in the first. One thing that needs to be made clear is that other health-related issues can cause hair loss, so it’s always best to consult with a medical professional to narrow down the issue.
Hereditary hair loss
This tends to be one of the most common causes of hair loss globally. Most of the time, men experience male pattern baldness while women experience female pattern baldness. This means that a gene has been inherited that leads to the hair follicles in the scalp to shrink. The early signs of female pattern baldness are overall thinning, while in men, the first sign is most likely a receding hairline or bald spot on the top of the scalp.
Age
Almost everyone experiences some form of hair loss as they age. This tends to be more prominent in males, and one estimate shows that around 40% of men will have some form of hair loss by the time they are 35 years old.
Poor nutrition
Poor nutrition is probably one of the easiest of the hair loss causes listed to treat. The human body needs the proper amount of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to function correctly. When your protein intake is low, it can damage normal healthy hair and inhibit new hair follicles’ growth.
Stress
While stress is an everyday part of everyone’s life at some point, it isn’t good for growing and retaining hair. So what causes this? Most of the time, it is psychological stress from a life event. The good news is that loss of hair from stress is temporary, and within a few months, your hair growth will be back on track.
WHAT ARE MY TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR HAIR LOSS?
It lends itself to ask, What is the best option for me with so many different treatment options? While there are many other options and a lot of snake oil out there, we’ve taken the time to list the most popular choices for tackling hair loss.
Topical Treatment
One of the most common drugs used to combat hair loss in topical treatments is Minoxidil. Minoxidil is typically in a liquid form and is blended with foam and shampoo solutions. If you want to see even the slightest of results with this treatment option, you’ll have to apply the solution twice a day for males and once a day for females.
The main issue with this treatment method is that you’ll need to continue to apply the solution every day to retain any of the benefits you experience, not to mention the amount of money you’ll end up spending throughout a lifetime buying the products.
Possible side effects from Minoxidil include dizziness, drowsiness, temporary edema, nausea, and vomiting.
Oral Tablets
Another option to combat hair loss is finasteride, otherwise known as Propecia. Propecia is a prescription drug for males that shows promising results in reducing hair loss. Most people who take finasteride experience a reduction in hair loss. In some cases, users have reported new hair growth.
While taking a pill is more straightforward than applying shampoo twice a day, it does have its downsides. To begin with, it takes a few months for someone to see results, and in the case, you are one of the lucky ones, you’ll have to take the pill every day for the rest of your life to retain any benefits you may have experienced.
Possible side effects from finasteride include decreased sex drive, trouble getting or keeping an erection, ejaculation disorder, increased breast size, and skin rash.
Hair Transplant
Hair transplants are becoming more popular as a means to treat hair loss, but again it isn’t permanent. In a hair plant procedure, the hair follicules are taken from other scalp areas and the remaining hair is transplanted to the bald spot. While this procedure doesn’t warrant an overnight stay in the hospital, it is painful and will require you to be sedated.
While hair transplant surgery may seem like the most ideal solution and permanent solution, it isn’t. If you choose to go this route, be prepared for possible risks such as bruising, bleeding, and infection, not to mention that you may need multiple surgeries. Again, we find that this isn’t permanent and if you’re hair loss is hereditary then you will eventually lose the hair gained from your surgery.
Possible side effects from hair transplant surgery: Infections, scalp pain, inflammation of hair follicles, bleeding, losing sensation around the surgical sites, and visible areas of hair that don’t match the surrounding hair or are noticeably thinner.
WHAT IS RED LIGHT THERAPY?
Red light therapy also commonly called cold laser therapy and low level laser therapy is the application of photons of light onto an area of the skin where it is absorbed. Red light therapy is a scientifically proven method for reducing inflammation, improving hair growth and stimulating the healing of wounds. You can learn more about the science of how red light therapy works here.
HOW DOES RED LIGHT THERAPY HELP REVERSE HAIR LOSS?
Red light therapy used to treat the scalp and is commonly applied in wave ranges from 630 to 670 nanometers. The Solbasium red light therapy range generates a perfect wavelength of 660 nanometers to treat hair loss. These wavelengths of visible red light are absorbed by the molecules located in the hair follicle. This, in turn, increases the blood flow in the scalp and stimulates the growth of hair follicles.
The good news is that treating hair loss with red light therapy is almost free of any side effects. The main rare side effects include a slight irritation of the skin that subsides or a little discomfort to the skin but nothing long-lasting.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND RED LIGHT THERAPY AND HAIR LOSS
There have been hundreds of papers discussing the benefits of red light therapy, and we have included a couple of these studies below relating to red light therapy treating hair loss.
- The following study conducted in 2013 on 44 males showed 39% percent hair increase and demonstrated no adverse events or side effects reported.
- The following study from 2014 showed that controlled clinical trials demonstrated hair growth in both men and women.
HOW SHOULD I USE A RED LIGHT THERAPY DEVICE TO TREAT HAIR LOSS?
The most suitable distance when treating the scalp with red light therapy is between 12 and 14 inches away for best results. You won’t need to dedicate a lot of time to this either. Simply use the device 1 – 2 times a day for 10 – 20 minutes at a time, 3 -5 times a week.
Like with the other hair loss treatment options, you will need to follow these guidelines for a few months to experience the best results and continue to incorporate red light therapy to ensure that you retain the results.
PICKING YOUR RED LIGHT THERAPY DEVICE
- When picking a red light therapy product, there a few things to consider when making this decision. Make sure you are buying a high-quality device backed up by an industry-leading 4 year warranty like Solbasium. Most companies choose to offer two or three-year warranties while Solbasium gives you peace of mind knowing that you are buying a product that lasts. Before you buy a red light therapy device, be sure that the company has a strong warranty and return policy in place.
- Take into consideration the price of the device. You don’t have to break the bank to reap the rewards of red light therapy. Most red light therapy devices on the market are overpriced and under deliver on quality, power output, and craftsmanship.
- Another item to consider when picking a red light therapy device is the size of the unit. The Solbasium devices range from portable solutions all the way up to full body treatment options. When picking a device, take into consideration the area being treated, and don’t forget that along with using red light therapy for hair loss a larger device will give the ability to experience other many benefits.
- Make sure that you pick a device that outputs at least 100 mW/CM2 of irradiance. Irradiance is the amount of power that light produces over a given area. This is the amount of light that will be delivered to your body over a given area.
SOLBASIUM RED LIGHT THERAPY
Solbasium is the leading innovator and manufacturer of red light therapy devices in the world. All Solbasium red light therapy products are backed with our industry-leading 4 year warranty. It’s our goal to deliver the best overall customer experience to you, and that’s why when you choose Solbasium, you’ll have a human being there to guide you and help through your red light therapy journey. If you have any questions, you can call our toll free number or send us an email.
