UV Light Treatment - Hair Loss & Hair Transplant Surgery Guide

When you start to research male-pattern baldness in detail, you’ll soon start to discover lots of different types of treatments, products and procedures that are available. Depending on where you look on the internet, you may read that electric pulse therapy is the latest treatment that you can spend your money on and expect great success. Alternatively, somewhere else might claim that infra red light waves are in vogue. Next it is steam treatments that are all the rage. Or of course, there is always ultra violet light!

 If you are considering this type of treatment, it is worth looking more closely at the scientific thinking behind them and considering whether or not they will work for you.

Tell me more about UV Light Treatment?

Manufacturers are always looking for the next big breakthrough; the product or treatment that will help them to corner the market. Many of these treatments may look and sound highly advanced. But in reality, they are often just used by hair treatment clinics to bamboozle patients while they test a variety of other treatments on you. There is no ‘science’ to it – they simply want to keep you coming back until they find something that works!

UV Light Treatment does have some evidence showing that it can be successful in stopping hair loss. However, the science behind the treatment is confused. The UV Light rays are said to stimulate blood circulation and add nutrients to the hair follicles. But we know from looking at the causes of male-pattern baldness elsewhere on this site that increased blood circulation is unlikely to make a dramatic difference.

More often than not, the cases where UV Light Treatment is effective are cases where hair loss is minimal and more likely to have a different cause to male-pattern baldness. Therefore, it is more successful in cases such as alopecia areata, where the cause is often the general health and wellbeing of the patient rather than genetic factors.

So why is it still available?

Some types of alopecia are temporary and hair grows back by itself without any form of treatment. For some men, medical treatments like Minoxidil and Finasteride work and for others, the same medical treatments do not work. Male-pattern baldness, broadly speaking, happens at a different pace for each person. Therefore, with such variations, it is often difficult to disprove the claims that a particular product or treatment works.

Similarly, many hair clinics develop programmes that utilise a variety of treatments at the same time. Therefore, while they may recommend UV treatment, they will probably also combine it with a course of Minoxidil or Finasteride. Many people will experience good results and be happy with their treatment. However, they do not realise that if they had found the product that worked for them, they could probably have restored their hair at a much reduced cost.

What other ‘breakthrough’ treatments should you watch out for?

There are several treatments that fall into the same same category as UV Light Treatment. Let’s call that category, ‘unproven and unlikely’.

Electric Pulse Treatments have been used in the past in attempts to treat male-pattern baldness. The thinking was that electrical stimulation was regularly and successfully used to repair bone and body tissues that had been damaged.

Why not use it, therefore, to repair damaged hair follicles? The answer is because the follicle damage is caused in a different way and will not respond to the same type of treatment.

Infra Red Light Waves have also been used in the same way as UV Light Treatments. They are supposed to massage the scalp and increase blood circulation. The problem is that this will not affect male-pattern baldness.

Of course, many men will always consider treatments like UV Light, simply because even the slightest chance of success is considered worthwhile. And who knows? You may be one of the lucky few people who respond positively to light treatment and find that in some way, it helps you to restimulate your hair growth. However, the fact is that many of these treatments have been around in various forms for 20-30 years. They are simply re-packaged and re-marketed – but if they were the miracle cure they claim then surely they would be more widely accepted by now?

If you are worried about baldness, the best approach is to speak to your doctor first. They will be able to give you information on approved treatments and recommend the approach that is right for you.