Laser treatment for hair loss came onto the market a few years ago and it is a therapy that is promising, but expensive. The lasers used in hair loss therapy are cool lasers, meaning they do not burn the skin the way certain wavelength lasers do that tackle other problems, like aging facial skin. The lasers basically shine a red light onto the scalp. The therapy has its beginnings back in the 1960s shortly after the first laser was invented. A researcher showed that shaved mice exposed to cool laser light regrew their hair twice as fast as shaved mice in normal light.
Today's hair regrowth lasers in doctors' offices look similar to a hood style hair dryer, and the patient sits under them. At-home versions are available as laser hair brushes, which have the red light between rows of the brush's bristles. These are expensive, but many people suffering from hair loss have reported good results - particularly those whose thinning is more diffuse. The HairMax LaserComb is perhaps the most well-known of these laser combs. They cost up to $500, so they are an investment. Then again, some other hair loss systems add up to hundreds of dollars over a period of a few months.
Hair regrowth lasers in combination with other hair loss therapies are popular. For example, men taking Propecia may add laser therapy to their plan for hair loss treatment. Propecia inhibits production of DHT from within the body, while the laser acts directly on the scalp. Likewise, hair regrowth laser therapy can be used in combination with topical drugs like minoxidil as long as the user is careful to stop if scalp irritation occurs.
There is no reason why hair regrowth lasers can't be used with over-the-counter hair thickening systems like Nioxin. The lasers as far as is known do not produce negative side effects. The main reason they are not as popular as other treatments is that they are expensive. While the laser combs cost in the hundreds of dollars, laser treatment devices in doctors' offices can cost a patient thousands of dollars a year. Nonetheless, many doctors believe that in some patients, they encourage new growth, and in hair transplant patients in particular they encourage healing and production from the transplanted hairs.
Some hair loss patients have reported purchasing over-the-counter light treatments designed for acne that produce red LED light in an attempt to get the benefits of laser hair loss treatment without the cost. Some of them have reported thickening of the hair with these, though there have not been any scientific studies done to verify whether these other types of lights affect hair growth.