8/10
Open rating explainerInformationWIREDFDA-cleared. Short treatment time makes it easier to use. Charging dock stand ensures it’s always ready to go. Successful in reducing shedding and promoting some new growth.TIREDPricier than similar devices. Not hands-free. Results won’t be dramatic. It won’t revive follicles that are already dead. Must keep using indefinitely to maintain results.I’ve had long, thick hair for most of my life. Right up until my early forties, in fact, when large handfuls of my hair started falling out in the shower. “Why is this happening?” I asked my doctor at the time, as my front part began widening at an alarming rate.
My doctor ran thyroid tests, iron-deficiency tests, and pretty much every other test except for the estrogen and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) labs that, a couple years later, would ultimately indicate the problem: perimenopause. Fluctuating estrogen and progesterone hormones in the years right before menopause often cause a dominance of androgens, or male hormones like testosterone and androstenedione. In genetically susceptible women (like me, apparently), such androgens can shrink hair follicles and cause pattern baldness.
This was new information to me. I knew older women often wore their hair in a short, fluffy bouffant, but until I started shedding, I thought it was a style thing, not a strategy to cover their balding heads. I knew I was now in a race against time, so the concept of red-light devices for hair growth caught my attention—specifically, the quick-treatment Hairmax LaserBand, which only takes 30 seconds for each area of your head. (I do three sessions to cover my scalp.) As a full-time working parent, my daily mental load already defies the laws of physics; if a beauty regimen takes longer than a minute or two, I’m probably just not going to do it.
I’ve now been using the Hairmax for five months, and while the results didn’t exactly constitute a miracle, they were definitely noticeable.
Laser-Sharp
Clinical trials have shown that red-light therapy can help increase blood circulation and reduce inflammation, which can lead to increased collagen production in the skin. It’s not a huge leap to see how this benefit could extend to hair follicles in the scalp. In fact, studies show that red light can energize hair follicles and lower levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is another androgen that can cause hair loss.
Red light can also support the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an energy-carrying molecule that helps existing follicles remain in the hair-growth phase. However, while these devices can promote a healthy environment for living hair follicles, they can’t revive follicles that are scarred or long dormant. If parts of your scalp are totally bald and shiny, you may need to go to Turkey after all.
The Hairmax LaserBand, a 3-inch-thick blue headband with teeth, looks a lot like a shark mouth when sitting on its charging cradle, which is both a handy resting place and keeps it charged at all times. It's pricey—a few hundred more than similar devices. But unlike a lot of competitors, like CurrentBody’s LED helmet and HigherDose’s ball cap-style hat, the LaserBand contains no LEDs in favor of more targeted red-light laser diodes. (Some competitors, like GroWell and iRestore, use a mix of LEDs and laser diodes.)
Unlike more diffuse LED lights, laser diodes provide collimated beams of light that travel in a straight line for more focused treatment. The Hairmax 82 contains—wait for it—82 of these lasers, while the less expensive Hairmax 41 ($649) contains just 41.
Photograph: Kat MerckThe other main LaserBand selling point is, of course, the treatment time. Hairmax only requires 30 seconds per section of your head, several times a week (compared to much longer sessions for most other red-light therapy devices for the hair and face). After 30 seconds, the device will emit a loud, slightly startling buzz to let you know it’s time to move it to the next section. I’ve found I can usually cover most of my head in 90 seconds.
The Hairmax’s teeth are intended to both separate your hair to allow the light to penetrate your scalp and keep the headband secure on your head while you’re doing other things, but I found I had to hold it in place if I placed it anywhere but the very top of my head. This wasn’t a big deal since the treatment time is so short, and it’s not super uncomfortable to wear, but having to use your hands adds a layer of inconvenience compared to a hat that can just sit atop your head.
Five Months Later
Hairmax provides a list of seven clinical studies on its site detailing the LaserBand's efficacy, but you’re probably wondering if, after five months of use, it worked for me in real life. I wasn’t perfectly compliant. I didn’t bring the device on vacation, so there was a usage gap during that time; I was also guilty of sloppy placement when I wasn't looking in a mirror; and I forgot to use it altogether for a couple of weeks.
Despite those few hiccups, it did work. My results (pictured below) aren’t too dissimilar to the many before-and-after pics on Hairmax's website.
Photograph: Kat Merck
Photograph: Kat MerckThough I did color my roots between the photos—most of the new hair growth, to my surprise, was gray—I noticed more thickness in and around my part. I stopped shedding hair by the handfuls in the shower and could tell just from looking in the mirror that my hair was fuller.
The Hairmax has seven FDA clearances (FDA-cleared means a device has been deemed similar to an existing legal device, while FDA-approved means it's been proven safe and effective) for androgenetic alopecia, or age-related pattern hair loss. Like all LED hair-growth devices, however, use must be ongoing to maintain results. If I stop using the Hairmax for more than a few weeks, my hair will go right back to its old business and start falling out again.
While I can't definitively prove that the LaserBand is responsible for generating every new hair strand on my sprout from the past five months, is this device still something I'd pay $849 for? Honestly, as an insurance policy against future hair loss, I probably would. The results were visible, and the device was easy to use. I may never again have the hair of my thirties, but I think the Hairmax may well help me avoid a sparse and fluffy bouffant.
SpecsTreatment Time90 seconds per treatment, 3 times per weekLight Source82 lasersBattery10 hours continuous use (but sits on a charging dock)FDA-ClearedYesWarranty1 yearPower up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that's too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.
$849 $721 at Amazon$849 at Hairmax
