Showing posts with label laser hair comb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laser hair comb. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2009

Laser Hair Comb

The top selling medical device for laser hair restoration is the laser hair comb. This device is sold as an at home method of treating your hair loss with low intensity laser light. This laser com, also known as the laser brush, is based on the clinical hair restoration devices that used laser light in a bonnet arrangement. With the clinical device, the patient sits under a bonnet that looks like the old hair dryers found in beauty parlors. A series of low energy level laser lights would then pulse and apply light waves to the scalp. This light energy would then theoretically enhance the blood flow from to the hair follicles and thus cause the follicles to begin to manufacture good, strong hairs again.
This method may have a lot of basis in science even though the current scientific studies have not been completed fully to prove the effectiveness of the procedure. The main cause of hair loss in men is a condition known as male pattern baldness. This is caused by a build up of DHT around the follicles of the hair shaft which stops the transfer of oxygen and nutrients. Increasing blood flow to the follicles has been shown to increase hair growth by using such drugs as the FDA approved hair loss treatment Minoxidil. This drug was originally developed to treat high blood pressure by causes the blood vessels to expand and thus not impede the flow of blood. During clinical trials it was determined that men who were on the drug and were suffering from male pattern baldness actually saw increased hair growth. Further study found that taking the drug causes about 50% of the men to see positive results with their hair loss.
The laser comb is advertised as having the same effect on the blood vessels. The light energy passes throught the scalp and then excites the tissue below the skin level. This excitement causes a slight heat build up which allows blood to flow more freely. The increased blood flow then allows more oxygen and nutrients to be transferred to the hair follicle and the waste materials to be moved away. This increased flow allows the hair follicles to begin growing hairs again or to increase the cross section of the hair shafts that are growing.
The proper use of the laser hair comb is to slowly pass the device over the scalp at the hair loss area. The comb seems to be more effective if combined with hair growth drugs such as the above mentioned Minoxidil or Finasteride which is sold as the brand name propecia. Really good results have been reported anecdotally when the two methods are combined into one hair re-grow treatment.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Laser Comb Science

There is a lot of controversy about the laser comb and whether or not laser hair restoration is a reality or just a scam. One thing for certain is it is not magic. You can not pass a wand of light over your head and then hair will miraculously appear. That is just not how it works. If there is hair growth after the use of these items then there must be a reason for that to happen.
Most hair loss in men is caused by male pattern baldness. This is a result of the build up of DHT, a matabolite of the male hormone testosterone, on the boundary between the hair follicle blood supply and the cells in the hair follicle that manufacture the hair shaft material. The laser hair treatment claims to be able to reverse this process and allow the follicle to begin its manufacturing duties again. The laser comb is sold as a device to increase the growth of the hair. The light enegy is supposed to penetrate the skin and excite the hair bulbs into growth. This is called laser hair growth.
What possibly could be happening is the heat from the light source may be exciting the follicle and allowing better blood flow. It is a known fact that heat helps speed up blood flow that is why you add heat to and injury. It increases the blood flow and allows more oxygen and nutrients to flow to the affected area. This increased nutritional flow may allow the follicle to work better at retrieving oxygen and nutrients.
None of this has been proven scientifically because studies are still being done to find out exactly how the laser hair comb and laser hair brush work. Once this information becomes available it will be interesting to see what is actually working to grow hair if hair does increase under the use of this device.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Laser Comb Does It Regrow Hair

The laser comb is a new device that is gaining a lot of attention as a way to regrow hair quickly and easily. The theory behind this tool is that the light heats up the scalp and give better blood flow to the hair follicles. Considering that the number one cause of hair loss in men can be attributed to male pattern baldness this heating may make a difference. The jury is still out.
Male pattern baldness is caused by DHT in the blood stream. DHT is a metabolite of testosterone which is the male hormone responsible for the growth of the male sex organs during puberty along with other things. Actually women also have testosterone just in not as large a quatities as the men do. The testosterone can have the same affect on the hair though because women suffer from a condition where hair falls out in patches known as female pattern baldness. The causes are the same as for the men. The excess DHT in the blood stream builds up at the boundary between the hair follicle and the blood vessels. This buildup eventually chokes off the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the hair growth mechanism and the hair dies. This condition takes a while to come to an end which is why you see the hair on a man who is going bald turn whispy and thin before it actually falls out. Eventually though the hair succumbs to the loss of vital nutrients and oxygen and dies.
The laser hair comb is designed to increse the blood flow to the scalp. The feeling is the increased heat will cause more blood flow which will counteract the decreased flow caused by the DHT buildup. Laser hair growth would be caused because the increased blood flow would allow the nutrients and oxygen to get to the roots of the hair. There are two main laser hair restoration tools on the market today. There is a laser hair comb and a laser hair brush. Both of these use low level lighting to supposedly increase the amount of hair growth.
It has been claimed that the FDA has certified the laser hair comb and laser hair brush for use as hair restoration appliances. This is not the case. What the FDA said was these tools would not cause any damage but they specifically did not run scientific tests to see if they actually performed as advertised.
The laser brush seems to have a little larger following at this time but it is hard to tell. I would suggest you visit several manufacturer's websites and see if the information seems good to you.