Hair loss doesn't sound like a very serious condition—unless you are the one affected by it. Even though it can affect women too, hair loss is especially common among men. A whopping 42 percent of men aged 19 to 42 are affected by moderate to extensive male pattern baldness. It usually starts with thinning hair and gets more severe in older age groups.
Baldness is not just about aesthetics. Male and female pattern baldness, as well as conditions such as alopecia areata, can have a serious psychological impact. This can range from emotional suffering to career and marital problems, causing conditions such as depression, anxiety, and even PTSD.
Trying a sea of common hair restoration treatments with no luck shouldn't leave you feeling discouraged. Luckily, it's not impossible to treat hair loss. Red light therapy is an effective treatment that helps with hair restoration, leaving you with thicker, healthier hair.
What Are The Main Causes of Hair Loss?
Several factors influence whether an individual will lose hair. Hair loss actually starts deeper than the part we see—the growth, which consists mostly of a protein called keratin. Hair loss begins in the epidermis, where the hair follicle is located. When a hair follicle shrinks or becomes loose, hair starts falling out, and hair counts diminish.
Aging
Aging is the leading cause of hair loss in both men and women. This kind of hair loss is called androgenetic alopecia, and it affects a huge percentage of men and a significant number of women. A study conducted in an outpatient dermatology clinic in Turkey found that almost 24% of women suffered from hair loss. The study also found that the older the individuals were, the more they would lose hair.
Genetics
Androgenetic alopecia is very much hereditary. It usually runs in families and occurs in predictable patterns. For men, it typically starts with a receding hairline. Women’s hair loss usually starts with thinning hair or a bald patch at the crown of the head.
Hormonal Changes
Hormonal changes are one of the most common causes of lessening hair counts in both men and women. Hair loss can occur due to changes in the levels of testosterone, estrogen, and thyroid hormones.
A drop in female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone causes hair to grow more slowly and can result in a thinner hair shaft. On the other hand, a rise in testosterone and other male hormones can shrink the hair follicle, leaving less space for a hair bulb and making hair growth more difficult.
Thyroid hormones T3 and T4, whether high or low, can cause hair loss by disrupting the process of energy and oxygen usage, leading hair to stay in the shedding phase. Unlike androgenetic alopecia, this results in overall thinning of scalp hair.
Treating hair loss caused by hormonal imbalances usually requires a twofold approach—therapy to promote proper hair growth and treating the hormonal imbalance itself. Red light therapy appears to be very effective for both promoting hair growth and for thyroid disorders.
Cancer Treatments
Radiation therapy doesn't distinguish between cancer cells and healthy cells, affecting both. For head cancer treatments, there is up to a 100% likelihood of some degree of hair loss because radiation affects the cells of the hair follicles, causing hair to become loose and fall out.
Patients undergoing chemotherapy also commonly suffer temporary hair loss, with most able to regrow hair after about six months. In rare cases, chemotherapy-induced alopecia is permanent due to damaged hair follicles.
Hair Treatments and Hair Loss
Chemicals from certain hair treatments can cause hair breakage, damage, and even hair loss. Untreated hair can also fall out due to overly tight hairstyles, known as traction alopecia.
Which LED Light Is Best for Hair Growth?
Many forms of photobiomodulation or light therapy are available today, including lasers, blue light therapy, and red light therapy. For hair loss, the preferred treatment is red light therapy.
Red light therapy devices use LED light diodes emitting light from the visible red light spectrum and infrared light frequencies. These frequencies affect cells at different depths—both in the skin and in deeper tissues.
Research on ex vivo hair follicle culture from transplant patients has shown that red light significantly boosts the proliferation of hair follicles, prolongs the anagen phase (active hair growth), and delays the catagen phase (when hair stops growing). This is especially true for red light from the visible light spectrum.
These findings are a game changer for patients with androgenic alopecia and other hair loss conditions.
How Can Red Light Therapy Help With Hair Growth?
Red light therapy has a stimulative effect on the body, starting on a cellular level in the mitochondria, which produce energy and oxygen for the cell. By supporting this process, red light therapy boosts mitochondria proliferation and overall cell health.
Most cells contain hundreds or thousands of mitochondria. The more mitochondria cells have, the better oxygenated the tissue will be, and the more energy it will have.
When treating androgenetic alopecia or other hair and scalp conditions, red light therapy ensures the scalp tissue has optimal amounts of oxygen and nutrients. Cellular stimulation is not the only factor influencing hair growth with red light therapy.
Red light therapy also increases blood flow to the scalp, stimulating hair follicles to exit the dormant growth stages—catagen and telogen. This process supports epidermal stem cells in the scalp, driving the growth cycle forward and allowing hair follicles to enter the anagen phase, the phase of growing hair.
How Long Does It Take for Red Light Therapy to Grow Hair?
Unlike many other hair loss treatments, low-level laser therapy gives consistent and relatively fast results for hair regrowth. Red light therapy for hair loss works from within to stimulate hair follicles and the scalp tissue.
Results are not instantly visible. A double-blind, controlled clinical trial monitored the effects of red light therapy on male pattern baldness over 24 weeks. Compared to the placebo group, the red light treatment group showed significantly greater hair coverage, hair density, and hair count after the 24-week period.
In general, it takes at least three months to see improvements in hair growth.
How Often Should You Use Red Light for Hair Growth?
Red and near-infrared light therapy are hair loss treatments that use light frequencies from natural sunlight to hasten hair regrowth. Unlike many other treatments for male and female pattern hair loss, low-level light therapy is effective without causing negative side effects. It is an entirely non-invasive method to promote hair growth without chemicals or harmful UV rays, making it a superior treatment for everyday use even for those with sensitive skin.
In one study, red light therapy treatment every other day with visible red light laser therapy measurably increased hair counts compared to placebo.
For the fastest results in promoting new hair growth, daily red light treatments lasting from 10 to 30 minutes are recommended.
Recharge Lights offers a range of Red Light devices that are simple to use at home. With highly adjustable settings, they can be used for daily light therapy to support hair growth and overall scalp health.