Improving Hair Condition With Laser Treatments

What is a laser? It's short for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Laser light consists of extremely pure light. Laser light is called coherent light because the light it produces is highly ordered, in contrast with that of ordinary light bulbs that are typically unorganized.

Laser and intense pulsed light (IPL) hair removal has long been used as a means for hair reduction in medical conditions having excessive hair growth. Lasers and IPL's cause permanent hair destruction through primarily photothermal effects, targeting the melanin within the hair shaft and bulb. However, several documented reports of hair thickening and darkening have emerged as the popularity of laser hair removal continues to increase.

Physicians who routinely perform hair removal using lasers have reported that they have often noticed hair stimulation within the treated area and nearby surrounding areas. It is believed that when 'sub-therapeutic' thermal energy is delivered to the follicles that are the target of 'hair reduction,' that this may induce an unwanted increase in hair growth. While this has been reported consistently in the medical literature, the mechanism is still unknown. The physicians who published this report believe that the laser induced terminal differentiation, instead of miniaturization, more often in those patients who had thinner, finer (vellous) hair on the areas being treated. On the heels of the recent FDA-clearance of the first laser therapy device for the promotion of hair growth, these reports may help give us a clue as to why low level laser hair therapy (LLLT) seems to help improve the quantity and quality of scalp hair growth in patients.(1)

What is a medical laser?

There are two main types that stand out in terms of medical purpose.

The first type is High Power Lasers that are used to cut, coagulate, and evaporate tissues. These are also called surgical lasers.

The second popular type used is Low Level Lasers. They can be used for the stimulation of cellular function. They are also termed Low Intensity Lasers or Bio-stimulating Lasers. The pure light of the lasers causes photochemical reactions in the cells. This induces pain relief and healing. Their effects are striking especially in the areas of the body where cells are under stress. The LaserComb with 9 Lasers is one such example of a low level laser, which is suitable for stimulating hair growth.

History of LLLT

In 1967 a few years after the first working laser was invented, Endre Mester in Semmelweis University Budapest, Hungary wanted to find out if laser might cause cancer. He took some mice, shaved the hair off their backs, divided them into two groups and gave a laser treatment with a low powered ruby laser to one group. They did not get cancer and to his surprise the hair on the treated group grew back more quickly than the untreated group. That was how "laser biostimulation" was discovered.(2)

At present time, Low Level Laser is being used in the management of hair loss. Instead of surgery, LLLT uses an almost infrared light is to help the hair grow. Laser rays are directly applied on the scalp so that the supply of red blood cell is stimulated. This will in turn bring more oxygen and nutrients to the scalp. In addition, with the increased red blood cells, blood circulation is enhanced allowing the hair to grow well.

How Does Low Level Laser Therapy Work?

Low-level lasers provide energy in the form of photons. This is contrast to electricity, which supplies electrons, and in contrast to acidity and alkalinity, which is based on protons. It is becoming apparent that the body signals within itself in protons, electrons and photons. The wavelength of photons influences their effect – visible light is transmitted through the skin's layers, light waves in the near infrared ranges break through the deepest of all light waves in the visible spectrum. It is these wavelengths that are used to stimulate cellular function.

Low Level Lasers energize the tissue since light is a form of energy. For instance, laser light on the scalp and on the hair follicles provides high levels of light, which are used by the cells to assist in the normal chemical processes, performed by those cells. The term for this is photobiostimulation.

The most familiar example of light converting into chemical energy is photosynthesis, a process wherein plants are nourished or fed through light converted into chemical energy. In a comparable way, laser penetrates into soft tissue and increases the action of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that is a foremost carrier of energy from one reaction site to another in all living cells. By doing so, laser light enhances the energy available to cells so they take in nutrients faster and get rid of waste products.

Photobiomodulation, also known as low level laser therapy (LLLT), cold laser therapy, and laser biostimulation, is a promising medical procedure in which exposure to low-level laser light can stimulate cellular function leading to beneficial clinical effects such as that in hair stimulation.

Laser hair growth therapy is a non-invasive method based on stimulating the scalp without chemical treatments. During the past few years, studies suggest that cold laser hair treatments increase circulation at the hair roots. In trials, cold laser has been shown to decrease inflammation and improve protein synthesis.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the laser combs for use in hair growth stimulation. (HairMax Laser Comb). In laser comb trials, it has been found that 93% of the men experienced a 10% increase in scalp hair. A study presented at the last International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) meeting in Las Vegas (2007) by Maria A Muricy, MD, confirms increase in hair shaft diameter, hair fullness, and overall hair quality with laser hair treatment alone.(3)

The FDA clearance of the LaserComb (LaserComb with 9 Lasers) has significant implications for the Hair Loss Treatment industry. With the development of the laser comb, both men and women no longer need to worry about continuing expenses of hair therapy or dealing with the negative side effects of other hair therapies and chemicals.

Unlike other treatments, laser energy works on all areas of the scalp. Laser energy relieves irritating scalp conditions, repairs and improves hair quality, and increases hair strength.

While the low level laser therapy works well as a standalone treatment, it is possible to use it in concurrence with the other approved therapies for hair stimulation. The 5 Laser LaserComb provides a noninvasive, drug and chemical-free treatment option.