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Can Hair Loss be Stopped?

Hair loss is a big worry to many people, both male and female

Hair thinning is a scary reality for men and women alike. While many live in a state of denial until their thinning or baldness is irreversible, recognizing the problem early is your best defense against further thinning.

Blood flow to the scalp A study in Japan found that blood flow to the scalp of young men diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness) was 2.6 times lower than in the normal control group. A research team at L’Oreal’s subsidiary, Inneov, identified diminished circulation as a critical element of the balding process that needs to addressed in the treatment process, if one is to obtain cosmetically significant results.

The discovery that increasing blood flow to the scalp helps stave off baldness may be old news to many barbers. For years, they have been advising clients to massage their scalps as a way of stimulating circulation and hair growth.

Diminished peripheral circulation has also been implicated in what is termed “senescent” or age related thinning, a universally occurring condition that results in thin, wispy, see-through hair, that is common in both genders in their late 50’s and beyond.

Stress or Tension One particular condition that can cause hair loss due to poor circulation is tension or stress. When someone is stressed, their scalp tissues tighten – thus reducing blood flow to the extremities of your body. This includes blood flow to your hands, feet, and yes – your head as well. Once the capillaries constrict, the hair roots no longer have enough nourishment.

"Shedding 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal. When a hair is shed, it is replaced by a new hair from the same follicle and the growing cycle starts again. Scalp hair grows about one-half inch a month. As people age, the rate of hair growth slows"

"Clients are reporting Low-Level Laser Light ss one of the most effective therapies to treat hair loss. Currently, over-the-counter laser therapy devices for hair growth are available through convenient hands-free systems, which may be used at home, and does not require the supervision of a physician."

Low level laser therapy is intended for men and women with thinning hair
or pattern baldness caused by a hereditary condition.

Laser Therapy Background and History
In 1903, the second Nobel Prize in Medicine (Physiology) was awarded to Niels Ryberg Finsen, M.D., in recognition of his contribution to the treatment of diseases with concentrated light energy, PhotoTherapy. Dr. Finsen was recognized for opening a whole new avenue for medical science.

It was this Nobel Prize winners important discovers in the field of PhotoTherapy that laid the foundation for the invention of the Laser Comb for the treatment of hair. Dr. Finsen is also responsible for bringing early credibility to this therapy.

"In 1967, a Hungarian scientist studying the use of lasers for other purposes in mice, discovered that visible red laser light may stimulate hair growth. The hair on the backs of the mice were shaved in the area to receive treatment. One group of mice received laser treatments, and one group did not. The hair within the shaven area grew back more quickly in the mice treated with laser."

Previously, laser photo therapy was only available at expensive clinics and salons in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere worldwide.

The underlying technology of the hand held Laser Comb is based on Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) or Laser PhotoTherapy. It is thanks to these many years of research that the hand held hand held Laser Comb is available to user with the backup of solid scientific backing.
There have been over 3,500 positive scientific studies of Laser PhotoTherapy (Low Level Laser Therapy) published internationally to date.

How LLLT Works
Modern scientific research has proved that laser can penetrate through surface tissue to enhance the activity of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is one of the key matters to delivery intercellular energy, thus small power and low energy laser has obvious activation effect on cells, can influence metabolism, boost the tissue regeneration and accelerate the anti-inflammation.

Light from a laser has an effect on your body when the specific wavelength of light is absorbed by molecules of the target tissue. When light energy is absorbed by target tissue molecules, the energy level of the molecules is increased and the molecules respond by "working off" the excess energy with adaptive changes. These changes may be chemical or physical and they may have biological effects on the target tissue or surrounding tissues.

Clinical evidence to show laser hair therapy is effective?
Physicians have varying views on whether or not low level laser therapy is effective. While some physicians reject its use entirely, others believe that low level laser therapy can provide benefit for some men and women suffering from androgenic alopecia (genetic baldness). It has also been suggested that it may assist a hair transplant patient’s postoperative wound healing process and expedite hair growth.

¦Results of a double-blind, sham device-controlled, randomised multicentre trial have shown that 110 male patients with Norwood-Hamilton classes IIa-V androgenic alopecia, exhibited a significantly greater increase in mean terminal hair density compared with subjects in the sham device group after 26 weeks therapy with the laser light comb (p <0.0001)

Dr. Charles (one of the well respected members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians) believes it may provide similar hair loss prevention benefit to Rogaine in the mid vertex area and crown. Benefits in the frontal area include an increase in overall hair quality rather than hair loss prevention

Hair growth in subjects who used laser therapy increased by an average of 19 normal-size hairs per square centimeter, while it decreased by an average of 7 normal-size hairs per square centimeter in those using the placebo device.

Consistent with this evidence for primary effectiveness, significant improvements in overall hair regrowth were demonstrated in terms of patients' subjective assessment (p < 0.015) at 26 weeks over baseline.
Treated subjects also experienced more favourable hair attributes, such as thicker, shinier, and more manageable hair compared to those who used the placebo device.

When interviewed by the "New York Times," dermatologist Sandy Tsao, an instructor at Harvard Medical School, expressed skepticism. Lasers have been primarily used to remove hair--not encourage regrowth. However, Tsao indicated that when lasers were used to remove hair at inadequate energy, hair growth was noted. "So now the theory is, if you can stimulate the follicle to reactivate hair cells, you can get new hair growth," Tsao says. Dr. Alan Bauman, who was featured on "Dateline," calls laser hair restoration "low laser light therapy," or LLLT. Bauman explains that the laser light is absorbed by cells, which in turn repairs them and encourages regrowth. According to the "New York Times" article, laser hair restoration won't bring dead hair follicles back to life; however, it will stimulate follicles in the state of decline and make existing hair thicker and fuller.

Benefits of laser therapy for hair loss
¦ Low level laser thereapy can be used in both men and women
¦ No adverse effects have been reported
¦ It is clean and painless
¦ Low level laser hair therapy is relatively inexpensive
¦ It requires minimal time commitment
¦ Some low level laser therapy devices are portable
¦ Hair growth may occur on the top of the head/crown and along the hairline of forehead
Improvement is reported in at least some users after 12 to 26 weeks of use, with reduced hair fall and noticeable hair growth.

The long term clinical research on female baldness and male baldness carried out by International Laser Association indicated that “cool electric wave” stimulating biotherapy will bring numerous benefits to the skin and hair quality.

The Laser Comb is a low-power hand-held laser device designed especially for the scalp. It should be used three times per week and involves slow combing of the hair for 10-20 minutes

And how did I overcome the shame, embarrassment, and dread that baldness once inspired in me? And even more importantly, how can other men Aand women achieve the same blissful reversal to their own hair loss?