Month: January 2023

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Laser Comb, Again

I have recently began using the new lazer comb. It was given to me as a gift. I was curious if it has been effective in the hair loss fight? Any comments, advice, side effects would be greatly appreciated.

I have not read any impartial scientific papers that verify the effectiveness of laser combs. I tend to discount any reports that claim the combs work, if they are written by those who have a vested interest in the success of the laser comb industry. On the positive side, I have not read any papers that claim that is unsafe to use the laser comb. Since the comb was a gift, and you plan on using it as recommended, I see no reason for you not to try it. However, if you see any adverse reactions or have continuing balding, you may want to have a doctor examine you and see if there are any recommended and scientifically proven methods that may help you.

I’ve previously written about this in a previous blog entry, Hair Lasers.

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Laser Clinic Claims a 95% Success Rate?

Hello,

I am 23 years old and already begin to thin around the crown of my head. Starting to notice hair on my pillow and when I shower. Thinning spot has been getting progressively more noticeable over the last 6 months. I have been using Rogaine for the last couple months without very much success. I am quite certain that stress and genetics are both major contributors to the early hairloss I am experiencing.

I have now begin to look at alternative treatment options and came across a laser therapy center claiming they have had 95% success rate over the last couple years. Laser therapy for a year was quoted just over $4000. That includes 15 mins under a laser helmet once a week for 12 months, a laser comb and topical solution for the 12 month timeframe. I have been advised that after the 12 months I would have to purchase topical solution for the rest of my life to avoid build up of DHT again which will progressively begin hair loss again. ($150/bottle every 7 months). According to the clinic they guarantee success or your money back (not something I would trust unless I see it in writing)

I would like to gain some insight into this type of treatment and see if anyone has had similar treatment with success. I am more than willing to spend the cash as my hair is an important part of my image and I have no desire to be bald by the time I am 30. Just want to make sure that the money is being well invested and that this is not a Scam.

Could you please provide me with some information on this type of hair loss therapy? Results? Studies? Success Stories? or anything else that can help in my decision. Thanks

I have written extensively about the use of lasers as a hair loss treatment — and simply stated, they do not work as claimed. To tell a client they have a 95% success rate — well, it depends on how they define “success”. If only 5% of their customers ask for a full refund, perhaps their judgment of success was that they were 95% successful in retaining your money. If they advertised a 95% success rate in regrowing hair, they’d probably be in violation of consumer fraud or advertising laws.

There was a recent case of a laser clinic in Chicago that was sued for refusing to honor their money-back guarantee when the laser treatment was found to be worthless, so just be sure to look out for these types of practices.

Here are some laser links worth reading:

  1. What Percentage of a Chance Do You Give Laser Treatment of Working?
  2. Reader Adds to the LaserComb / FDA Debate
  3. Reader Checks in with His Thoughts on the Latest LaserComb Study
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Larry David when very young with hair & balding

I wonder what his age was in the balding photo. Most men who develop a Class 7 pattern have it before their 30, mostly before they are 26 years old. The picture on the left must be his high school picture. I have little doubt that men like Larry David confronted with extreme balding at an early age, are impacted in such a way that it changes their lives. Maybe he owes his talent development and his career to his balding, a positive spin on balding for him.

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Largest FUE Session?

Hi Doc,

I had a large FUE session 8 months ago with a reputable surgeon consisting of just under 3000 grafts with good results so far.

FUE is a hot topic these days and I would like to know what is the largest FUE session you have carried out on one person?

We did a surgery of 2800 follicular unit extraction (FUE) grafts in a single, very tedious session. We don’t routinely perform FUE procedures of this size.

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Large Donor Area?

Recently, when at the barbers, I was told that the hairline at the back of my head was very low. Like most guys, I’d never put ‘hairline’ and ‘back of head’ together. Now that I have, i’m wondering: does having a low hairline at the back of my head mean I have a larger donor area, and the potential for more grafts if needed?

Thanks

Are you referring to hair at the nape of the neck? I’m a little confused as to what you mean by a low hairline at the back of the head. Neck hair may appear thick in some men, possibly even as thick as the hair in the true “donor area”. For people who have the narrow band of hair seen on Norwood 7 patients, there may be a limitation of your donor hair. However, you may have a very high density of hair, or your scalp may be very elastic, or your neck hair is very thick.

Neck hair is not considered permanent, as a substantial number of men will lose their neck hairs with age… so no matter how good your neck hair is, this should not be considered part of your donor area.

So there is no universal answer to your question without an actual examination by a physician. In matters of surgical recommendations, I would trust a doctor over a barber.

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Laminin-511 Molecule?

Could you tell me more about Laminins-511 please and whether you think it is a promising ‘solution’ to hair loss? I had never heard of it before reading this article, but i’m now very intrigued.

Link: Mens Health

I do not know much about laminin-511 besides this press release from 2008. These are studies performed on mice and the research is disseminated to the popular media, grabbing the interest of readers such as yourself. I don’t see a date on that article, but I’m guessing it was from back when the laminin-511 mouse findings were first announced. It says they’ll have trials in 2 years… so I’d assume there should be info already if it was successful, but I can’t find anything new.

These news stories create a definite interest, but the implications on hair loss treatment remains to be seen. We get these types of stories sent to us almost on a weekly basis.


2011-10-25 17:17:15Laminin-511 Molecule?

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Lactic Acid in the Scalp

I read the item about hair foliclle damage because of lactic acid secretions on the scalp. Well, I was told the same thing, and given a lotion to neutralize the acid. I can confirm this situation does occur when subject to unpresidented levels of stress. When i say stress, stress at such a level I was physically ill with it, for a long period of time. Halucinations etc

One day I notice that my incredibly thick hair was going fine and curly. Finasteride made no difference, and I was shown hairs from my head, that had no outer sheath on them. Also prior to seeking advice the affected area became hot, itchy and greasy- when i was stressed, and this is where the hair follicles have died.

Lactic acid is not a cause of hair loss. Whatever you read about lactic acid secretions on the scalp causing hair loss is false. I found some message board that talked about it, but I don’t think it went beyond speculation. It wasn’t mentioned in any medical journal that I could find.

Without knowing what dose or how long you took finasteride, I don’t know that I could agree that it “made no difference”. I don’t know enough information to give you anything beyond generalities, but if you’re balding in a pattern, it’s not stress. Stress could be exacerbating the loss, but it’s ultimately your genetics. I wouldn’t expect a “hot, itchy, and greasy” scalp to be normal from stress, and it’s certainly not normal to have hallucinations, no matter how much the stress. You need to seriously see a doctor.


2011-01-25 14:50:07Lactic Acid in the Scalp