If medications are not suited to your lifestyle or health, there are non-drug non-surgical options that may be effective. In recent years lasers and light sources have been suggested for the treatment of hair loss based on observations of hair growth in mice exposed to certain wavelengths of light in a laboratory setting.
The molecular basis for hair growth in response to light is not clearly established; it may be linked to increased blood flow, growth factors and a specific energy molecule that all stimulate the hair cycle. The efficacy of low level laser therapy (LLLT) is not supported as well in the literature as Finasteride or minoxidil, but the few published studies on the effectiveness of LLLT have reported statistically significant growth compared to placebo light devices.
Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia with low level laser therapy (LLLT). Exposure of the affected areas at a certain wavelength for several minutes over months can initiate significant growth of resident hair.
The treatment is painless and there are few adverse effects, but therapy requires several minutes spent under direct contact with the light source daily or weekly for several months in order to observe a noticeable difference. It is also unknown if these variables are dependent on the hair characteristics of the patient.
