The ROOT Cause of Hair Loss & Baldness – Can Red Light Therapy Help?

red light therapy hair loss and baldness

Regrow a thicker, fuller head of hair without side effects

If you suffer from hair loss and wish there was a way to reverse your baldness so you can feel confident again, then this article is for you.

Hair loss or alopecia affects more than half of the entire population worldwide; that’s more than 3.5 billion people who are losing their hair.[1]  And despite this, the medical industry has come up with only two approved drug treatment options, both of which can have devastating side effects and it’s questionable whether or not they even work.

Can red light therapy – a powerful treatment with no side effects – restore hair growth on a balding scalp?

Red light therapy is a powerful form of therapy that has been established scientifically to help regrow a thicker, fuller head of hair.  Studies show it’s more effective than mainstream hair loss treatments, for both men and women – and much, much safer.  Of more than 50,000 studies conducted on red light therapy to date, not a single negative side effect has been reported.

In this presentation, you’ll learn the mainstream theory of hair loss, mainstream medical treatment options and some horror stories of people whose lives have been ruined by them.  Then you’ll learn what actually causes hair loss and whether or not red light therapy can help you restore hair growth.  I hope you enjoy this article.  Let me know how it helped you in the comments below.

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Billions of People Affected by Hair Loss

More than half of everybody alive suffers from hair loss.  By the age of 29, around 16 percent[2] of men experience moderate to extensive hair loss. And by the age of 49, that number increases to 53 percent.[3]

In women, by the age of 40 serious hair loss is experienced by around three to 13 percent[4] of the population.

Mainstream Theory of Hairloss

Hair loss occurs when tiny hair follicles stop producing hair.  Mainstream medicine believes that the culprit behind hereditary hair loss in both men and women is the androgenic hormone DHT, a metabolite of testosterone.[5-6]

If DHT is the cause of hair loss, then drugs aimed at blocking 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of testosterone to DHT, is a logical treatment.  Unfortunately, like most mainstream theories of disease, although highly profitable, this one is not based on science or common sense.

Mainstream drug Treatments for Hair Loss

Mainstream treatments for hair loss include drugs and surgery.  The only two currently approved 5α-reductase inhibiting drugs are Rogaine (Minoxidil) and Propecia (Finasteride).

Rogaine is a non-prescription medication for men and women.  Comes as a liquid or foam that is rubbed into the scalp daily.

Propecia is a prescription drug given to men that comes in pill form and is taken orally every day.

Mainstream Hair Loss Drugs Don’t Work

If hair loss drugs Propecia and Rogaine worked we wouldn’t have 3.5 billion people suffering from hair loss.
“I only have to venture to a major street in San Francisco to find that if there were an ‘effective’ treatment for baldness, a majority of men are either not aware of it, or are choosing to be bald,” wrote hair loss researcher Danny Roddy.

While testosterone production in the body peaks (7.2–31.1 nmol/L) at an average age of 19 years then decreases with age,[7] hair loss is uncommon at age 19 and then increases with age.  “Generally, the risk of losing your hair is proportional to your age,” says hair expert Dr. Alan Bauman.[8] Furthermore, we know DHT isn’t the problem because those with androgenic alopecia don’t actually exhibit higher than normal levels of testosterone.[9] Neither testosterone nor its metabolites like DHT are responsible for hair loss.

And despite their lack of efficacy, these drugs come with significant and sometimes permanent, life-changing side effects.  5α-reductase inhibitors may cause side effects such as erectile dysfunction, ejaculation problems and decreased libido in patients.  In some patients these side effects are permanent.[10]

Hair Loss Surgery Ineffective and Dangerous

Another option for treating hair loss is hair transplant surgery.  Admittedly, this is not intended to fix the root cause of the problem but “to make the most of the hair you have left,” according to the Mayo clinic.

This surgery involves the removal of patches of skin on the scalp, called plugs, which are then implanted one follicle at a time into the bald sections.

Hair transplants come with a long list of potential side effects including itching, pain, bleeding, swelling, infections, and in the long term the transplanted hair follicles tend to fail just like the previous follicles.

The Post-Finasteride (propecia) Syndrome Foundation

The three most common side effects of Propecia: Decreased sex drive, semen count and trouble with erections have devastated the lives of so many men that a foundation called Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation was formed to help men cope.

Dr. John Santmann, Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation CEO claims, “Of the more than 1,000 PFS patients who’ve contacted our foundation desperately seeking support, 12 felt that suicide was the only escape from the horrors of this condition, and ultimately took their own lives.”[11]

Propecia Horror Story 1

Dr. Irwin Goldstein is a San Diego urologist known for helping alleviate the sometimes unpredictable side effects when men stop using Propecia.

In a phone interview, Goldstein said he has more than 100 Propecia patients. “For many of them, it’s a nightmare situation,” he said. “It gets so emotional for me that I’m at a loss for words.”[12]

But the real horror stories are come from the victims of propecia themselves, of which I’ve got two for you now.

Propecia Horror Story 2

An Australian man who we’ll call Martin was 22 when a doctor in Brisbane prescribed him Propecia for hair loss. “I was extremely self conscious so I said ‘fuck it,’ and started taking Propecia,” he explained. “At the time I was about to finish studying as a journalist and had lined up an internship with the sports team at the Australian.”

After taking the drug for three weeks, right before beginning his internship Martin started to feel foggy and tired.  He stopped taking the drugs, and at first the symptoms dissipated.

“Then after a week, I experienced what’s known to Post-Finasteride Syndrome sufferers as ‘the crash.’ Imagine your worst hangover,” he says, “combined with complete loss of sexual function, depression, and suicidal ideation for every single second of your life. I can only describe it as an unimaginable hell.”

Martin says he could barely get out of bed for the next nine months. He canceled the internship and constantly battled the urge to suicide. “Then, after nine months, things improved, to the point where I can now function on a base level. But life is absolutely terrible compared to what it was.”

Martin is now 27. He describes himself as “a barely functioning human being,” and says he’s tried hormone replacement as well as a range of various diets and exercise regimes. “Today, I hold down a job and get by,” he says. “But to be honest, life sucks.”[13]

Propecia Horror Story 3

A Propecia victim from California named Mo started taking the drug in 2009 at age 26.

“I remember I was so conservative about the side effects, and several times I asked the doctor if there [were] any side effects with this drug, but they said no, it’s totally fine.”  Mo took the drug for seven years. When he stopped, the side effects began. He suffered severe insomnia, panic attacks and muscle problems.  “I was like a zombie,” he said.  He lost his relationship and his job.

“I remember I was one day in my office and out of nowhere I just started crying. Out of nowhere. I didn’t know why,” said Mo, but the worst symptoms had yet to come. “… maybe one or two months after that I start a feeling muscle twitching all over my body, everywhere. My face, my thighs, everywhere in my body started twitching. Then I searched a little on the internet and I said, “Maybe I have no magnesium.  Then I started taking magnesium but the muscle twitching still, after several years, is there. The worst nightmare started. I lost my sleep, 100 percent.  I couldn’t work. I remember I had several meetings with my HR. I couldn’t do anything. I was just not functional. I was like a zombie.”

Two years after discontinuing the drug, Mo has somewhat regained his ability to sleep but sometimes he still can’t sleep at all.  Mo begs other men, “Don’t take this horrible drug.”[14]

In summary of this section on mainstream treatments for hair loss, mainstream hair loss drugs are ineffective and their side effects are destroying lives.  If painful surgeries and toxic drugs aren’t enough to fix your balding issue, you can always get a wig.

Alternative Theory of Hair Loss

It is well known that hair loss can be caused by a number of factors including hormonal changes, radiation exposure, stress or trauma, chemical hair treatments and toxic medications.[15]

What do all of these environmental factors have in common?

They are all powerful inhibitors of oxidative metabolism.  By binding at sites such as the cytochrome c oxidase enzyme, stress, toxic drugs, environmental chemicals and radiation switch off efficient metabolism within the mitochondria of cells.

Our alternative theory of hair loss is this:  Hair loss is the result of a dysfunctional metabolism in hair follicles and the body as a whole.

Hair Loss Linked to Cancer and Heart Disease

The following data supports our ongoing theory that hair loss is the result of a dysfunctional metabolism in the entire body and is not just defective hair follicles.

  • Research has identified a link between hair loss and cardiovascular disease, including a recent study in India that found bald men are 5.6 times more likely to suffer from a heart condition.[16]
  • Another study found that men with bald spots at the crown are 1.5 times more likely to contract prostate cancer than those without.[17]

Hair Loss Linked to Oxidative Stress

Another systemic issue seen in patients with hair loss is increased oxidative stress in the entire body, which occurs as a result of the breakdown of efficient metabolism.

P Acharya and MC Mathur from the Department of Dermatology at the College of Medical Sciences in Baratpur, Nepal looked at the relationship between oxidative stress in the body and hair loss (Alopecia Areata aka “patchy hair loss”) in 2019.  They found that “Patients with AA had impaired oxidative balance with elevated levels of serum malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, and total oxidant capacity…” and “lower levels of serum superoxide dismutase, paraoxonase, glutathione peroxidase, and total antioxidant capacity.

The study concluded that “Levels of oxidative parameters were significantly higher in severe AA compared to mild/moderate AA… Current evidence suggests that AA is associated with oxidative stress.”[18]

Unsaturated Fat & Prostaglandins Cause Baldness

In 2012, Garza and colleagues made a landmark discovery that prostaglandin D2 inhibited hair growth and accumulated in the scalps of balding men.[19]

Prostaglandin D2 is synthesized from the “essential” fatty acid, arachidonic acid, which is synthesized from linoleic acid (omega-6) in the liver.

All prostaglandins “are synthesized from ‘polyunsaturated’ fatty acids that must be supplied by the diet” according to Endocrine Physiologist Constance R. Martin.[20]

Interestingly, Animals made deficient in essential fatty acids produce less prostaglandins,[21] less estrogen,[22] and are incredibly resistant to stress[23].  And therefore, the gradual accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in tissues of the body is foundational to baldness.

In other words, overconsumption of “essential” fatty acids appears to be the primary cause of hair loss.  The culprits include vegetable oils like corn oil, soy oil, nut and seed oils, avocados and cold water fish oil. 

Toxic unsaturated fatty acids are the prime cause of hair loss and include all of the above sources.

Safe, protective fats to replace these toxic fats with include butter, coconut oil, olive oil, beef fat, lamb fat, shea butter and chocolate fat.

PUFA Damages Mitochondrial function

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are extremely vulnerable to oxidation and their presence explains the increased oxidative stress that is seen in people with baldness.  PUFA disrupt efficient metabolism within hair follicles and the body as a whole, causing mitochondrial damage.

The key to reversing hair loss & baldness is to restore mitochondrial function.

American scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a landmark study in 2018 that examined the effects of mitochondrial function on hair growth and wrinkled skin.

They demonstrated that reduced mitochondrial activity within mice resulted in “wrinkles and visual hair loss with an increased number of dysfunctional hair follicles and inflammatory responses.”

Their research found that “restoration of mitochondrial functions can reverse the skin and hair pathology.”[24]

The question we’re going to answer now is: Can red light therapy reverse baldness?

Red light Enhances Mitochondrial Function

Red light is one of the safest and most effective ways to heal a dysfunctional metabolism and enhance mitochondrial function.  Here’s a quote from a 2013 study:

“Evidence suggests that LLLT acts on the mitochondria and may alter cell metabolism through photodissociation of inhibitory nitric oxide (NO) from cytochrome c oxidase (CCO)(Unit IV in the respiratory chain of mitochondria), causing increased ATP production, modulation of reactive oxygen species…”[25].

Hungarian scientist Dr. Andre Mester, who was the first to discover the medicinal properties of red laser light in the 1960s, first observed that hair in shaven mice irradiated with a low fluence ruby laser (694 nm) grew faster than in non-irradiated mice.[26]

2013 Review

Dr. Michael Hamblin and his colleagues from Harvard University conducted a review on the use of low-level laser therapy for treatment of hair loss in 2013 and reported:  “Studies have shown that LLLT stimulated hair growth in mice subjected to chemotherapy-induced alopecia and also in alopecia areata. Controlled clinical trials demonstrated that LLLT stimulated hair growth in both men and women.”  Their review concluded that “LLLT for hair growth in both men and women appears to be both safe and effective.”[27]

2017 Review

A 2017 review analyzed 11 studies including a total of 680 patients who were treated with red light therapy for hair growth. The vast majority of patients treated with red light spoke favorably of the treatment.  Researchers noted significant improvements in both hair count and hair density. [28]

2018 Review

In 2018, American researchers from the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine conducted a review on the use of low-level laser therapy for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia and reported:  “Ten of 11 trials demonstrated significant improvement of androgenetic alopecia in comparison to baseline or controls when treated with LLLT. In the remaining study, improvement in hair counts and hair diameter was recorded, but did not reach statistical significance.”[29]

What’s the Best Red Light Dose for Hair Loss & Baldness?

Let’s take a closer look at one of the studies to find out a good dose for treatment.

In a 2014 US and Hungarian study published in the journal Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 655 nm red light and 780 nm near-infrared light was applied to patients once a day for 10 minutes.

24 male androgenic alopecia patients were treated and evaluated by a group of investigators.

After 14 weeks of treatment, an increase in hair density was observed, and 83% of the patients reported a high level of satisfaction with the treatment.[30]

Red Light Therapy is FDA Approved for Hair Loss

Based on the mountain of evidence showing repeatedly the incredible efficacy of red light for restoring hair growth in animals and humans, the Food and Drug Administration has approved red light therapy as a treatment for hereditary hair loss in both men and women.

Red Light Therapy Superior to Propecia for Hair Loss

What’s more effective for treating hair loss?  Propecia or red light therapy? 

Amazingly, red light therapy was compared directly to 5AR inhibitors Finasteride and Dutasteride for hair growth in 2018.  The review included 22 studies and researchers concluded that red light therapy was the superior treatment.

Not only did red light therapy outperform these drugs for effectiveness, but red light therapy was also found to have no side effects.[31]

Red Light Effective for Lichen Planus

Lichen planopilaris is a type of scarring hair loss that results from the disease lichen planus.   Lichen planus is said to be caused by autoimmunity, but according to mainstream medicine, the reasons for this type of hair loss is unknown.  If you haven’t already, check out our other presentation exposing mainstream medicine’s mistaken theory about autoimmune disease and what it really is, at https://endalldisease.com/episode19

Anyway, the very best drug treatments that mainstream medicine has come up with for Lichen planopilaris have dismal success rates of only 10% and as always come with horrible side effects.

What happens when you apply red light therapy, a treatment with no side effects, to patients with lichen planopilaris?

Researchers from Madrid, Spain tested the effects of red light in patients with Lichen Planopilaris in a 2018 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dematology.[32]

In the study, 8 patients were treated with red light for 15 minutes a day, every day for 6 months.  The study results…

A = Before red light therapy B = After red light therapy
  • Significantly thicker hair after 3 months and 6 months
  • Hair was less patchy and scalp was less red
  • Decreased activity of the Lichen Planopilaris disease

Red Light Reverses Hair Loss in Women

47 women aged 18-60 years old were treated using red lasers and LEDs in a 2014 study published in the journal Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.[34]

Participants’ scalps were treated every other day for 16 weeks using a bicycle helmet-like device and the results were analyzed.

The study found “significantly improved hair counts in women with androgenetic alopecia at a rate similar to that observed in males using the same parameters.”

Active treatment group subject pre and post treatment image examples.

Before and after photos of two patients treated with red light. Patient A on the top, patient B on the bottom. Before on the left and after on the right.

Hair counts for subject A were 153 at baseline and 221 post treatment.

Hair counts for subject B were 108 at baseline and 209 post treatment.[34]

The ultimate Red Light Device for Treating Hair Loss?

There are a number of products for hair regrowth on the market today, some of which use lasers, some use LEDs, and some use both. 

The laser comb is a novel product for hair loss treatment.  It emits nine beams of 655nm laser light.

There are also devices like the Endalldisease handheld red light therapy device which can be used to treat hair loss and emits the two most efficient wavelengths of red light 620nm and 670nm.

There are also helmet devices which you wear on your head during treatment, like the iRestore which emits a combination of lasers and LEDs during treatment.  All of these devices are effective to varying degrees, but their power and prices are enormously different. 

Before you go out and spend thousands of dollars on the first device you find for treating hair loss, let’s compare a few devices to help you get the greatest value for your money.  Below we’re comparing what you get with the Hairmax laser comb, the iRestore and the Endalldisease handheld red light.

The Endalldisease handheld device is the clear winner.

The Endalldisease handheld device is 500x more powerful and 6x less price than the Hairmax Ultimae 12 laser comb and 17x more powerful and 12x less price than the iRestore Professional. Furthermore, the laser comb and helmet devices can ONLY treat your scalp, while the Endalldisease handheld device can be used for other treatments after your hair has regrown.

If you’re ready to try Red light therapy on your scalp, checkout the Endalldisease handheld red light therapy device in our store.

Conclusion

Red light therapy is a safe and effective treatment for hair loss that is increasingly being used in place of the highly toxic and dangerous hair loss drugs offered by the pharmaceutical industry.

Red light has proven to be more effective than pharmaceutical hair loss drugs while causing none of the permanent and lifechanging negative side effects that these drugs cause.

While the prevailing mainstream belief about hair loss is that it’s caused by the testosterone metabolite DHT, the evidence has clearly shown that the primary cause of hair loss is hair follicle damage resulting from exposure to toxic unsaturated fatty acid breakdown products like prostaglandins.

Hair growth can be restored by restoring mitochondrial function in damaged hair follicles.  Reducing consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids is essential for long term healing damaged hair follicles, and red light therapy is, and will forever be one of the safest and most effective treatments for boosting cellular mitochondrial function.

References

[1] Najem I, Chen H. Use of low-level laser therapy in treatment of the androgenic alopecia, the first systematic review. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2018;20(4):252-257.

[2]/[3] Rhodes T, Girman CJ, Savin RC, et al. Prevalence of male pattern hair loss in 18-49 year old men. Dermatol Surg. 1998;24(12):1330-2.

[4] Ramos PM, Miot HA. Female Pattern Hair Loss: a clinical and pathophysiological review. An Bras Dermatol. 2015;90(4):529-43.
[5] Kaufman KD. Androgens and alopecia. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2002;198(1-2):89-95.
[6] Price VH. Androgenetic alopecia in women. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 2003;8(1):24-7.

[7] Kelsey TW, Li LQ, Mitchell RT, Whelan A, Anderson RA, Wallace WH. A validated age-related normative model for male total testosterone shows increasing variance but no decline after age 40 years. PLoS ONE. 2014;9(10):e109346.

[8] When Do Men Go Bald? Huffington Post Canada – https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/05/male-baldness-_n_4731311.html

[9] Knussmann R, Christiansen K, Kannmacher J. Relations between sex hormone level and characters of hair and skin in healthy young men. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1992;88(1):59-67.
[10] Motofei IG, Rowland DL, Baconi DL, et al. Androgenetic alopecia; drug safety and therapeutic strategies. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2018;17(4):407-412.
[11] http://www.pfsfoundation.org

[12] Why I would never take propecia, President Trump’s Hair Growth Drug, Dailybeast.

[13] I need to quit hair loss drugs before they kill me, Vice.
[14] Propecia Victim’s Warning: ‘I was like a zombie,’ Drugwatch.
[15] Lolli F, Pallotti F, Rossi A, et al. Androgenetic alopecia: a review. Endocrine. 2017;57(1):9-17.
[16] Early baldness higher heart disease risk factor than obesity, says study. BBC News.
[17] Giles GG, Severi G, Sinclair R, et al. Androgenetic alopecia and prostate cancer: findings from an Australian case-control study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002;11(6):549-53.

[18] Acharya P, Mathur MC. Oxidative stress in alopecia areata: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Dermatol. 2019;

[19] Garza LA, Liu Y, Yang Z, et al. Prostaglandin D2 inhibits hair growth and is elevated in bald scalp of men with androgenetic alopecia. Sci Transl Med. 2012;4(126):126ra34.

[20] Martin, C.R. Endocrine Physiology. 1985.

[21] Ball, H.A., et al. Essential fatty acid-deficient rats are resistant to oleic acid-induced pulmonary injury. Journal of Applied Physiology August 1989 vol. 67 no. 2 811-816.

[22] Obinata, K., et al. The effect of essential fatty acid deficiency on hepatic bile salt sulphotransferase in rats. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 1992 Jul;42(6):625-7.

[23] Cook, J.A., et al. Essential fatty acid deficient rats: a new model for evaluating arachidonate metabolism in shock. Adv Shock Res. 1981;6:93-105.

[24] Reversing wrinkled skin and hair loss in mice by restoring mitochondrial function. Jul 2018.  Singh et al.
[25] Low-Level Laser (Light) Therapy (LLLT) for Treatment of Hair Loss. 2013. Pinar avci, et al.
[26] Mester E, Szende B, Gärtner P. [The effect of laser beams on the growth of hair in mice]. Radiobiol Radiother (Berl). 1968;9(5):621-6.

[27] Avci P, Gupta GK, Clark J, Wikonkal N, Hamblin MR. Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) for treatment of hair loss. Lasers Surg Med. 2014;46(2):144-51.
[28] Afifi L, Maranda EL, et al. “Low-level laser therapy as a treatment for androgenetic alopecia.” Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. 2017 Jan.

[29] Low-level laser therapy for the treatment of androgenic alopecia: a review. Feb 2018.  Darwin et al.

[30] Avci P, Gupta GK, Clark J, Wikonkal N, Hamblin MR. Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) for treatment of hair loss. Lasers Surg Med. 2014;46(2):144-51.
[31] Gupta AK, Mays RR, et al. “Efficacy of non-surgical treatments for androgenetic alopecia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.” JEADV. 2018 Dec.

[32] Effectiveness of low-level laser therapy in lichen planopilaris. 2018.  Fonda-Pascual P, et al.

[33]Wikramanayake TC, Rodriguez R, Choudhary S, et al. Effects of the Lexington LaserComb on hair regrowth in the C3H/HeJ mouse model of alopecia areata. Lasers Med Sci. 2012;27(2):431-6. [34] Lanzafame RJ, Blanche RR, Chiacchierini RP, Kazmirek ER, Sklar JA. The growth of human scalp hair in females using visible red light laser and LED sources. Lasers Surg Med. 2014;46(8):601.