What Is Red Light Therapy for Hair Loss?
Red light therapy, also known as cold laser, soft laser, and low-level laser therapy, is a safe form of light treatment that’s being used more and more to treat the genetic forms of hair loss (androgenetic alopecia or pattern balding) common in men and women over 35.
What Is the Action Process of Red Light Therapy?
- Growth (Anagen Phase)
- Resting (Catagen Phase)
- Shedding (Telogen Effluvium Phase)
Red light therapy has been found to increase blood flow (microcirculation) in the scalp and stimulate the metabolism in catagen or telogen effluvium follicles.
The result is an accelerated production of anagen hair – new hair (stimulation of epidermal stem cells in the hair follicle bulge and shifting the follicles into anagen phase).
How Does Red Light Therapy Work to Stop Hair Loss?
Both red light therapy and near infrared light therapy have been known to stop hair loss and to promote regrowth of fuller, thicker hair.
Sometimes light therapies are called by other names such as soft laser, low-level light therapy or photo bio-modulation (or PBM for short).
Whatever they are called, red light therapy is a safe light-based treatment becoming popular as a method to stop hair loss, including genetic forms, which are a very common problem for men and women over age 35.
Red light therapy for hair loss typically uses LED lights, which emit a red light in a specific range of wavelengths (630-670 nm), that have been established as effective at causing hair to grow.
For men, the most common balding pattern involves a receding hairline and hair loss at the crown of the head, while for women hair loss more often involves thinning of the hair all over the head. Either way, red light therapy can help.
What Benefits Does Red Light Therapy Have?
Low-level light therapy (LLLT) using red or near infrared light is scientifically proven to treat genetic forms of hair loss (androgenetic alopecia).
Red light therapy has been shown to cause hair to regrow in the crown area and along the hairline, the most common places that men tend to lose their hair.
Neither red nor infrared light therapy is known to have serious side effects. The treatment is painless, safe and easy to get access to.
In most cases hair regrowth has been seen after 12 to 26 weeks using red light therapy, including loss of less hair each day and a noticeable improvement for hairs growing on the head.
With the addition of certain hair serums, results can be obtained in only a few weeks, especially if paired with red light therapy.
Are There Any Side Effects of Red Light Therapy?
Everyone is different, and although there are not very many side effects of neither red nor near-infrared light therapy, it’s always possible an individual could experience problems that no one else does. Therefore, when beginning with any type of light therapy, it’s important to use accredited experts like those at Eternal Hair & Esthetics who will monitor your progress and wellbeing very closely.
Will Red Light Therapy Cause Hair to Grow in Other Unwanted Places?
Red light therapy can stimulate hair growth but it cannot grow hair in places where it has never existed. It can improve the quality of the hair that grows by increasing the blood supply to the area, making sure that the growing hair is getting the nutrients it needs to be healthy.
Red light therapy has many other benefits including increasing the production of collagen as an anti-aging defense.
Will Red Light Therapy Work for All Types or Causes of Hair Loss?
Depending on the cause of hair loss, the mode of treatment will vary as well. No known therapy will work for every form of hair loss, as there is no one-size fits all treatment for it. For example, if you are having hair loss because of a certain medication, you will not stop losing your hair unless you stop using that specific medication. Moreover, the earlier a treatment is started, the better the chances of success through its use.
There isn’t much that can be done to resurrect a hair follicle once it has died, much like when brain cells die. Therefore, it is suggested that when using any treatment for hair loss, beginning early will be critical to optimal success. The primary target of Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and red light hair loss therapies are people who have temporarily lost their hair due to issues such as emotional and physical stress, medication side effects, or other conditions, such as male pattern baldness or menopause.”
How Fast Can You See Results?
Wait two to three months to see significant results. This is not an overnight process. Although hair cells typically divide and generate fast, it will not be an overnight process. Stop stressing out and let your body do its work. You did not lose your hair overnight, it is not going to grow back overnight either. Although, what it might do overnight is stop falling out, which is a great start.
Red light therapy produces oxygen as a byproduct of its process. Use a daily topical antioxidant for the scalp to lead to faster and better results.
How Long Do I Need to Bask Under the Red Light?
This will depend on the type of device you use. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and do not over bake. Longer treatment times do not necessarily mean it will yield better results, so it is important to follow instructions exactly.