Laser treatment for hair loss

While researching various treatments for hair loss one of the suggestions which comes up now and again is laser treatment. Having little experience of lasers - beyond what I've seen in science fiction films - I decided to look into things further. Can you really use a laser to stop hair loss or encourage new hair to grow? The first thing I discovered is that the laser technology used here isn't the kind of thing you see in Star Wars, instead it's called "Low-Level Laser Therapy" (LLLT) and is even designed for use by the general public - in other words, it's fairly harmless. Anyone wanting to try this technology at home can buy a "laser comb", with the recommend schedule being around 5-15 minutes per session for 2 or 3 days every week. Alternatively, laser therapy is offered at various clinics where the client needs to make repeat appointments (how many? I saw figures of between 25 and 50 being quoted).

The basic idea behind laser therapy seems to be that the light can stimulate cellular growth, although there also other factors allegedly at play such as an increase in blood supply. As a result it is claimed that the hair you have (assuming you still have any!) will become thicker and stronger and hair you're in danger of losing may in fact decide to stick around.

So, how successful is laser therapy for baldness? It's difficult to say, most sites I visited seemed intentionally vague. However, I think it's safe to say that laser therapy certainly isn't a cure for baldness and any effect it does have is small at best, and even then not something everyone is going to experience. In addition, the costs over time seemed huge for anyone booking multiple sessions at a clinic.

Laser hair treatment might be worthwhile for some, but for most I think it's probably a waste of time and money.

Dealing with a receding hairline

The receding hairline. The first step on the slippery slope to ridicule, social isolation and absence of self-esteem.

Don't panic...I'M JOKING!

Sure, the receding hairline can be the first sign that the battle to keep your curly locks is being lost on the frontline but the war is far from over. Think of the slow retreat of the forward follicles as a call to arms, an opportunity to marshal your forces and send reinforcements.

OK, enough of the military analogies. Firstly, what exactly is a receding hairline? Usually seen in men from their mid-twenties onwards a receding hairline is that most often seen when hair starts to be lost from the sides of the forehead. However, hair is not always lost from the sides first, it can also recede primarily from the centre and more slowly from the sides or indeed the rate of hair loss can be fairly uniform at both the centre and the sides.

What to do when you first notice that your hairline is receding? Well, don't panic. You're not going to go bald overnight. Once you've recovered from the initial shock of discovering that your hair is happier without you, you might want to consider the following options:

1. It's often overlooked, but ask yourself if your hair loss might be a sign of poor health. It's far more likely to be the onset of male pattern baldness (assuming you're a bloke) but if you have any concerns about your health seek professional advice.

2. Assuming that there's nothing wrong health-wise and your receding hairline is the first sign of a natural balding process, speak to a good barber/hairdresser about covering it up. In skilled hands a receding hairline can at the very least be made less conspicuous.

3. If the thought of mentioning your little problem is something you'd rather not do (even though it's probably fairly obvious to your barber) consider some of the following options the next time you go to get your hair cut: grow your hair a little longer on top and have it cut to fall forward, have your hair cut fairly short and sweep it back from the forehead (this won't hide the hairline but will make it look as though you've fully embraced nature's little gift), dye your hair darker to give the impression of more thickness, and finally, the shaven head - it takes some courage to begin with but makes a powerful statement if you have the confidence to carry it off.

4. Start looking into the various treatments available to halt or at least slow down the rate of hair loss, e.g. Minoxidil or one of the Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibitors. Find out as much information as you can about these kind of solutions, especially with regard to their rates of effectiveness and the longer term costs involved.

Finally, try to keep your spirits up. Losing your hair isn't the end of the world and above all remember this - the way you react to your hair loss is very often a huge factor in the way others respond to it too.

Onion juice - a cure for patchy hair loss?

Yep, you heard right, onion juice.

According to Dr. Mike Sladden of the University of Tasmania one small, unpublished study found hair regrew in almost half of 60 subjects with mild cases [of alopecia areata] who applied onion juice.

Now, I know I set up Hair Loss Heaven because I don't like being bald and wanted to look further into possible treatments for hair loss but, my friends, it'll be a cold day in hell before I rub onion juice over any part of my body, bald or otherwise!

Have a great weekend, everyone, see you next week.

How does hair grow?

To the question "How does hair grow?" you're probably thinking, "It doesn't!" and believe me, I share your point of view. However, an understanding of how hair is formed and how it grows is crucial to understanding why we lose our hair and how - potentially - we might one day be able to start growing it again.

The first thing to know is that hair, which we've already seen is made from a protein called keratin, grows from a "follicle". A follicle is sometimes described as a pouch or sac and is comprised of various parts - the pear shaped "papilla" at the base, the "hair matrix" which surrounds the papilla and is where cell division takes place (a process which is mainly responsible for creating the hair itself), the "root sheath" and the "hair fiber". A sebaceous gland which produces sebum and tiny muscle fibers called "arrector pili" are attached to the follicle.

So, those are the basic building blocks, how do they work together to produce a growing hair? The crucial thing to realise here is that hair doesn't just grow, it grows in phases, the main phases being anagen, catagen and telogen. Here's a quick rundown of what happens in each of these phases:

Anagen - In this stage the cell division in the follicle mentioned above is taking place rapidly and this causes the hair to grow (about 10cm per year). Hair on the head (and let's face it, that's the area most of us are interested in) remains in this phase for around 2-3 years, occasionally longer - even as much as 6 years. Around 85% of hair is in this phase at any one time.

Catagen - This phase is known as a transitional phase and lasts for around 2 to 3 weeks directly after the anagen phase. The hair follicle shrinks and the lower part is destroyed.

Telogen - The resting phase. The hair does not grow during this period and for head hair this phase lasts about 100 days. 10-15% of hair is in this phase at any one time. When this phase is complete the anagen phase is entered once more and a new hair begins to grow, pushing out the old hair if it has not already been shed. It is normal to lose around 50-100 hairs for this reason each day.

That's it, basically. Simple, isn't it?!

What is hair?

If you're anything like me, most of your thinking about hair is probably directed towards either keeping it or regrowing it, very little is spent wondering about what hair actually is!

Perhaps this isn't too surprising - after all, very few of us want to keep our hair for any reason other than our looks - put simply, we think we look better with it than without. Before we start to look in any detail at the various treatments and regimes out there, though, it pays to take a closer look at hair itself. Only then do we stand a chance of separating those treatments which might be worth paying for from those which are just going to empty our bank accounts.

OK, here's the science bit. Hair is mainly made out of a substance called Keratin, a protein (proteins are linear chains of amino acids). Hair is found only on mammals, and in non-human mammals it is called "fur". In humans there are three distinct types of hair (and remember, we're not just talking about head hair):

Lanugo - a fine hair which covers fetuses

Vellus - body hair often described as "peach fuzz"

Terminal - hair that is longer and thicker than vellus hair

So far, so simple. However things get more complex when we look at hair texture, which is is determined by the diameter of individual hairs and of which there are four main categories: fine, medium, coarse and wiry. Within these textures hair can be categorised yet further according to its density and whether it is straight, curly or wavy - straightness or curliness being determined by follicle shape and the direction the hair strand grows from the follicle.

We've looked at what hair is made of (a protein called Keratin) and how we describe it once it's grown, tomorrow we'll look at how hair grows.

Hair - What is it good for?

In the words of Edwin Starr (before he foolishly changed it to something more political): "Hair - what is it good for?"

This is a question which most of us baldies, or indeed hairies, give little thought to. We know it makes us look better in wedding photos and gives loved ones something to run their fingers through - as opposed to just slapping us playfully on the head - but WHY exactly do we have hair?

It's obvious why animals have hair - they'd look stupid without it. But why do humans...oh, wait, hang on, I suppose you could say the same thing about us. Seriously though, just what is the deal with this troublesome thing called hair?

Well, there are a number of possible reasons for having hair but the first thing to remember is that scientists believe primitive humans were a lot hairier than we are now. Perhaps in the past hair served a similar purpose to that served by fur (the name for hair on non-human mammals). In fact, hair is thought to serve a number of functions. Most obviously it's an insulator, keeping us warm - or in some cases actually protecting against excessive heat. Less obviously, hair colour is thought to be a means of either camouflaging a species or signalling to other members of that species. Hair can also act as a defence mechanism, either by protecting the skin or by stopping small foreign bodies from entering the eyes, nose and ears. Finally, and this is probably the least obvious reason, hair can be used to sense the environment around us.

With all those advantages to hand, the question has to be asked, "Why do we have less hair now than primitive humans did in the past?" The fact is, nobody knows for sure, although one theory is that less hairy people were considered more attractive and hence reproduced more... (oh, would that that were true from the ears up these days!)

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, that's all very well but hold on, what about the hair on our heads (if you're lucky) and the hair elsewhere, like the hair under our arms? The answer to that, at least partly, is that in conjunction with phoremones released by the body this kind of hair aids olfactory communication. Yep, like it or not, it helps people to smell you.

Finally, what about pubic hair? What's the deal with that? Again, there are no definitive answers but it's probably a combination of things we talked about above: health, warmth, pheromones, perhaps even signalling to others. Personally, I'm glad it's there, the seventies wouldn't have been the same without it.

Hair Loss is Big Business

One of the most amazing things about hair loss - apart from the fact we can grow a human ear on a mouse but still can't regrow hair on our own heads - is just how much money is spent by those of us looking to regain our crowning glory.

It has been estimated that spending on hair loss treatments in the US runs at somewhere around $1.5 billion every year. Yes, that's right - one and a half BILLION dollars in America alone. Expand that to cover the rest of the globe and you're talking a truly staggering figure.

Why so much money? Well, the obvious answer from a consumer perspective is, "Because everything's so bloody expensive!" Although somewhat facetious, there's a lot of truth in that statement. Products like Minoxidil (brand name Regaine or Rogaine) or Finasteride are expensive - and on top of that you have to keep taking them for the rest of your life if you want to maintain their benefits (assuming, that is, you're one of the few who actually see any significant benefits). In fact, it's even worse than that, not only are you locked in for the long term but there's also a delay before you even find out if they work for you.

The other main solution to hair loss is, of course, the hair transplant, and we all know how prohibitively expensive those can be - especially micro-grafts.

Want a cheaper option? Fine, get a wig. Want a good wig, professionally made and professionally fitted? Sorry, that's expensive too.

Still, if you think the consumer is paying too much for hair loss remedies consider for a moment the medical research companies desperately looking for a cure for baldness. Hair follicle multiplication (commonly referred to as hair cloning) may be the holy grail we're all searching for but if you thought it will come cheap, think again - the companies working in this field are investing astronomical funds. If or when a solution hits the market don't expect to afford a holiday that year.

Baldness is something which affects people from all walks of life. Unfortunately the fight against it is being won primarily by those with the deepest pockets - don't expect that to change any time soon.

Hair loss - when to say something...and when not

Here's a question recently posted to the Philadeplhia Inquirer:

Dear Amy: A 21-year-old friend is slowly but undeniably losing his hair. He seems unable to admit it to himself.

I'd like to suggest he start treatment, but I'm afraid he will get angry.

Is there any way to broach the topic without harming our friendship?

Amy comes up with what I thought was pretty fair advice:

Dear Worried: I find it hard to imagine your friend isn't aware of his hair loss. Men seem to have an extra-special connection to their follicles. Perhaps he's accepted his emerging scalp and just doesn't feel like discussing it with you.

If you have experience and have reversed the inevitable, share your treatment with your friend. If you want to point out the obvious and make suggestions based on infomercials, it would be best to keep your thoughts to yourself.

I particularly like the last line about infomercials (although I know people who swear by the ThighMaster!)

Even though I hate having lost my hair I've never had a problem with other people mentioning it. Perhaps I'm lucky in that any comments have always been good natured and most of the time if there's a joke being made I'm the one who's making it. Some people feel very differently about their hair loss, though, and for a minority their life is almost a living hell, one where they're just waiting for someone to say something with a feeling approaching dread. To anyone in that situation there is, perhaps, very little that can be said of any real use, other than to say you're not alone.

Hair loss is a difficult process, even traumatic at times, and we all need to be sensitive to those going through it.

The 'bald' business advantage

So...finally some good news for those of us who have already lost the follicle fight. According to this article baldness "encourages approachability". Whether this is out of sympathy or just a magpie-like attraction to shiny things the CEO in question doesn't say. Then again, anyone who runs a chain called "El Pollo Loco" has got to have a few crazy ideas I suppose!