Regular Member Brandnew Posted September 6, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 6, 2009 Hi, About a year ago I went in for laser hair therapy, it cost me close to 3900$ and I was promised results. The program had me go to their down town office at least once a week to sit under their lasers, while every second day I had to use a hand held laser comb at home for 15 minutes. On top of that I was given a shampoo and conditioner and a special hair tonix to put on my hair every night. Now I would say that my results weren't great, however I did notice a lot less hairs in the shower and on my pillow. As great as it is to not lose hair, I would of liked to of gained some back. Has anyone else tried something similar to this program with any success. All in all I don't think I would recommend it. For a few reasons, 1. I have a job that has me working very long hours and its hard to find time during the week to go to the clinic. 2. Results weren't exactly what I was looking for. Has anyone else tried this system with any success? There hasn't been a whole lot written about it from what I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Brandnew Posted September 6, 2009 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 6, 2009 Hi, About a year ago I went in for laser hair therapy, it cost me close to 3900$ and I was promised results. The program had me go to their down town office at least once a week to sit under their lasers, while every second day I had to use a hand held laser comb at home for 15 minutes. On top of that I was given a shampoo and conditioner and a special hair tonix to put on my hair every night. Now I would say that my results weren't great, however I did notice a lot less hairs in the shower and on my pillow. As great as it is to not lose hair, I would of liked to of gained some back. Has anyone else tried something similar to this program with any success. All in all I don't think I would recommend it. For a few reasons, 1. I have a job that has me working very long hours and its hard to find time during the week to go to the clinic. 2. Results weren't exactly what I was looking for. Has anyone else tried this system with any success? There hasn't been a whole lot written about it from what I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jim Jones Posted September 7, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 7, 2009 i agree that the laser is NOT a great product (close to snake oil). with that being said, it does "seem" to halt loss and make your scalp healthier for products like rogaine. moreover, it seems to make hair thicker and at least shinier. i don't think growth will occur at all and $3,900 is way too much money and time for this therapy. i wasted $500 on the laser comb which i stopped using when i bought two years ago after 4 months. i only started again liberally because of my HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member mmhce Posted September 8, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 8, 2009 There is no clinical evidence that suggests that laser therapy works. take care... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted September 8, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 8, 2009 oh my goodness...someone post a link to that encyclopedia of laser opinions from earlier this year. I can't take it, I am going to pull out my hair. Oh, I shaved it already. I offer again. If a patient can bring me 1 peer reviewed article in a US medical journal showing laser therapy works in humans and results in enhanced hair growth that is clinically visible with the human eye, I will buy them the laser. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairHope Posted September 8, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 8, 2009 I have to add PRP to your request also regarding US medical or (BMJ, etc) peer-reviewed journal articles...(PS, no trade rags). Originally posted by dr. lindsey:oh my goodness...someone post a link to that encyclopedia of laser opinions from earlier this year. I can't take it, I am going to pull out my hair. Oh, I shaved it already. I offer again. If a patient can bring me 1 peer reviewed article in a US medical journal showing laser therapy works in humans and results in enhanced hair growth that is clinically visible with the human eye, I will buy them the laser. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA Dec. 2004 - 1938 Grafts via Strip Feb. 2009 - 1002 Grafts via FUE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thanatopsis_awry Posted September 9, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 I believe Dr's Charles and Siporin feature LLLT at their clinics, so perhaps you could contact them directly as to their pro-laser stance. ----------- *A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics* 1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash. Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician. Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kydd3 Posted September 9, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 When penicillin first came out it wasn't peer reviewed either for a while I'd venture to say. Doesn't innovation necessarily come before peer review? And peer review, isn't that some kind of a stodgy self aggrandizing myth propogated by pointy headed theoreticians anyway? Where were Einstein and Galileo's peers when they were recreating their disciplines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thanatopsis_awry Posted September 9, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 You raise some interesting points kydd, though I'm not sure they defend LLLT against the other, more concrete criticisms and studies done to disprove its efficacy for treating MPB. But what you say makes some interesting sense, IMO, and I totally agree that for the continued spirit -- and life -- of man innovation must come before "peer review". ----------- *A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics* 1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash. Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician. Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairHope Posted September 9, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 k, then go pay for some of these treatments and tell us how it goes... equating penicillin and hair transplant treatments is hilarious! Wow. Dec. 2004 - 1938 Grafts via Strip Feb. 2009 - 1002 Grafts via FUE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Blond Posted September 9, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 Originally posted by HairHope:I have to add PRP to your request also regarding US medical or (BMJ, etc) peer-reviewed journal articles...(PS, no trade rags). Give it time... its relatively new. But I agree that LLLT sounds like a load of tripe... Blond. ----------------------------- PhD (Experimental and Clinical medicine) 1.25mg Finasteride Minoxidil 5% (EOD) Nizoral 1% (x3/week) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Jotronic Posted September 9, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 My post on LLLT... http://hair-restoration-info.c...6060861/m/8701040113 In addition, the lasers used in these devices are no different than the lasers used in laser pointers you can buy from Staples. 650nm wavelength and both are class III laser devices. The Truth is in The Results Dr. Victor Hasson and Dr. Jerry Wong are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Sparky Posted September 9, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 Laser hair therapy is a bunch of bullcrap. Advanced Hair Studio offer this. Enough said. My Hairloss Website http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=2198 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thanatopsis_awry Posted September 9, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted September 9, 2009 Just in case my prior post wasn't pointed enough...I actually agree with HairHope, Jotronic, et. al. and think LLLT is a sham and disgrace to be sold to patients with high hopes. It's one thing to offer it for free, as a complimentary gesture of hoping improving one's hair in a truly experimental way, but to be actually sold as a truly viable treatment to a man with sincere, if not desperate hopes, requires a serious explanation on the part of the seller. ----------- *A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics* 1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash. Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician. Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted September 11, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 11, 2009 Blondie I too expect that PRP will have to show proven results that can be verified scientifically. I don't think its there yet....but, I know that a few of my colleagues who do offer it are pretty up front about this is a new technology and its still in the experimental stages. I have been intrigued by PRP and think that there is some science to it, unlike LLLT, and I think it may be a reasonable option for some patients to consider. Notice my language that I am not saying its a cure. Rather, in a young person with really severe diffuse thinning, who hasn't really been helped with medical therapy; I think its probably worth trying. And I suspect that it works well on some folks and not so well on others, even when treated by the same practitioner. People are individuals, not math. I think that I would be inclined to try it if I were in that boat. I think its likely that we will offer PRP at some point, but with the clear education of the patient that at least at this point, the treatment is not a proven therapy. There are no significant downsides that I can see to it other than financial. Unlike some therapeutic options which have a risk of systemic illness or local infection; PRP uses the patient's own tissue for treatment. I have based alot of things I offer on whether I would be a prospective patient (botox, chemical peels, lifts, hair, propecia...) and I think that I would personally TRY PRP as an alternative to surgery if I were really diffusely thinning, with limited donor quality hair, and very young; as long as I didn't place all of my hopes on this treatment. Unfortunately it takes time to determine if treatments are as promising as early results sometimes suggest. Fortunately PRP is safe and appears, at least to me at this time, to offer some patients significant benefits as reported by a number of ethical doctors on this and other sites. But to close, I think that at some point, likely several years down the road, it will have to be proven efficacious in a peer reviewed study. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Blond Posted September 11, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 11, 2009 Dr. Lindsey, I couldn't agree more with you. I also think there will be a lot more of messy, biased and even perhaps somewhat staged results before someone is likely to invest some real money and produce a scientific study to back up claims. You are in a fantastic position to try PRP for yourself and I for sure (as well as others) would really value your unbiased opinion on its effects. Do you plan to try PRP in the near future? Blond. ----------------------------- PhD (Experimental and Clinical medicine) 1.25mg Finasteride Minoxidil 5% (EOD) Nizoral 1% (x3/week) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jim Jones Posted September 11, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 11, 2009 My final advice is DO NOT waste a dime on the product. Use the laser of your mouse computer, or something far cheaper. I mean the idea sounds innovative -- light promotes growth and healing. I just don't think the technology is sufficient yet for laser treatment. Buy an iPhone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted September 15, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 15, 2009 Blondie I had planned to go up and watch Dr. Feller do a few more treatments this week. But we have some family medical issues that need tending to this week. I expect to get up there before October 15, and take my tech Wendy along to look at it closely again. I think its likely we will offer it this fall. It will take someone smarter than me to figure out and complete a double blind study with prp though. That ultimately will need to be done, but even the propecia studies (and I believe in propecia) are tough to get exact pics and hair weights that show clinical effectiveness. If a large pharmaceutical company had alot to gain from the results they could put the manpower and logistics in place to show results--just like the propecia studies. But for an individual practioner to do that I think will be difficult. Then you might add: why don't a bunch of you docs pool your results? TO that I'd respond, getting docs to agree to follow the same techniques EXACTLY is like herding kitty cats. I bet half would want to use 10 cc syringes, and half something else... Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kydd3 Posted September 19, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted September 19, 2009 lasers can be used to effectively herd kitty cats, at least my cat will follow one anywhere (promotional link removed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now