What Are Your Thoughts On Low Level Laser Device For Hair Growth?

Thank you for the great blog. Can you kindly comment on the study of the hairmax laser comb? There was a study published on the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology in 2014: Efficacy and Safety of a Low-level Laser Device in the Treatment of Male and Female Pattern Hair Loss: A Multicenter, Randomized, Sham Device-controlled, Double-blind Study

It seems like a good study but the results and conclusions from the study is plainly states: “A higher percentage of lasercomb-treated subjects reported overall improvement of hair loss condition and thickness and fullness of hair in self-assessment, though the results did not always reach statistical significance.”

It means the subjects felt improvement but the results did not always show statistical measurable significance. In fact, it states Rogaine and Propecia worked better overall in the end.

The report ends by stating: “Further clinical trials are needed to define the optimal duration of treatment, the duration of response, and the use of the lasercomb in other alopecia conditions.”

This reflects what I’ve been saying and seeing in my office. I personally do not think that the laser therapy for hair growth works. I have seen many patients over the years and some say it helped a bit but they cannot see the gross cosmetic difference (a real change someone can see). I have not been able document the results in numeric terms or objective terms even with our recent laser trials here either. It doesn’t mean patients were not dissatisfied but I did not find a documented benefit. I still remain unconvinced that it works. As for my opinion, it’s a free world and a free market. Any one is welcome to spend the money to try it for themselves. It’s apparently declared safe by the FDA.

We’ve written about it here, here, and here.