Clinic Based Laser Hair Loss Therapy

Opting to have low level laser therapy for the treatment of hair loss carried out in a clinic is likely to be more effective but at a financial cost.

It is recommended that before taking part in any form of laser therapy you contact a physician who has experience in diagnosing the cause of hair loss. This is because there may be more beneficial, or more effective forms of treatment available to you, and it may also be possible to use other treatments in conjunction with low level laser treatment which could enhance your chances of a good result.

It is possible that combined therapy makes a good deal of sense, as there is every chance that you may get complementary benefits from the different approaches, and one type of therapy may enhance the other.

It may make sense to consult a dermatologist in the first instance, as they are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of hair loss. When it comes to having treatment in a doctor’s office or clinic, it will involve the patient sitting under the machine, possibly similar to sitting under a hair dryer at the hair dressers.

There are advantages in having laser treatment carried out in a clinic, including:

• Lasers tend to be stronger
• There will be a precise amount of laser delivered each time
• Less stress than if you were doing it yourself
• The results are better monitored by a doctor over time

However, there are disadvantages also:

• You need to leave home to have it carried out
• Multiple trips to the clinic will be necessary
• It is much more expensive than a home treatment

Treatments will normally be administered two to three times a week for the first six weeks, and then dropping to once a week for the next sixteen weeks. When observable hair growth occurs, it is then necessary to have touch ups carried out to maintain the benefits of the treatment. Each treatment can last up to twenty minutes.

If you do decide to go to a clinic to have the treatment carried out, it is generally the practice that a charge will be applied for the treatment based on a three or six month course of therapy with up to three visits scheduled per week . This can often run into a substantial amount of money for this type of treatment.

Clinic based systems come in two different types: a system with fixed diodes and a system with moving diodes. In the fixed or static system there are approximately 100 diodes which emit light at a wavelength of about 65omm, and are within the apparatus which sits over the patient’s head . A diode is an electrical device which has two wires leading into it to produce a flow of electricity in one side and out the other.

A moving diode system makes use of Rotational Phototherapy in which 30 laser diodes rotate 180 degrees around the scalp of the patient. This process is supposed to increase the contact of the laser energy with hair follicles around the whole of the scalp and is therefore potentially more effective in stimulating hair growth than may be expected through the use of other types of lasers.

There is a “shade covering” on the scalp which is caused by the hair and may result in the laser being blocked from reaching the scalp and therefore is unable to do its job. However, with the moving diode system, a new position could ensure that laser penetration through the hair and into the scalp is more effective.