Trending News: Treatments for balding may be going high-tech
SHORT VERSION
A new way to treat male pattern baldness may be on the horizon.
LONG VERSION
Are you a man with thinning hair? Have you started to notice bald spots on the front, back or middle part of your head? Hoping to find treatment options that don’t include transplants or surgeries?
If so, welcome to the club. Each year, millions of men search for ways to deal with male pattern baldness. According to the American Hair Loss Association, two-thirds of men experience appreciable hair loss by age 35.
And things only get worse as time goes on. By the time 50 rolls around, a whopping eighty-five percent of all men notice a significant amount of hair loss.
At present, there are a number of non-surgical treatments available to help guys deal with alopecia; the umbrella term for balding.
Examples include over the counter topicals such as minoxidil (Rogaine)and prescription strength drugs like finasteride (Propecia). Additionally, scalp injections through PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy are also possible.
But if scientists with the American Chemical Society (ACS) are successful, a new option may be available to encourage follicular growth. Specifically, the use of a wearable light stimulator consisting of red vertical light-emitting diodes.
Yep, that’s right. One day in the future, you may be able to take a bike ride, do yard work or go walking while sporting a high-tech doohickey that recharges your hairline.
According to an abstract published on ACS Nano, a team of scientists used the photo-stimulator to treat hair loss in test mice. You may be wondering how this worked?
It’s simple. Investigators shaved the hair off the mice’s backs. For a period of 20-days, one set got light treatments. Another group received traditional minoxidil. The control group got nothing.
What investigators noticed was the group of mice who received the light treatments showed significant hair regrowth – over a wider area – than the other mice.
Now obviously, a lot more testing needs to be conducted, particularly in humans, to demonstrate efficacy. That said, the initial results of this study are promising.
Goodness knows that as a tribe, men spend millions of dollars a year on grooming products that promise to regrow and thicken hair. And companies that cater to guys know this.
For example, is it any wonder Dove Men Care has a shampoo and conditioner specifically targeted to males?
We will have to keep an eye out for advancements with the light-device as mentioned in the ACS study. If it works out, you may one day be able to combine existing treatments with the photo-stimulator to regrow some of what you’ve lost.
Who knows, maybe in the future, they’ll create a high-tech thingy to prevent grey hair. So, what do you think? Would you use a light stimulation device to combat balding?
