Essay Part II - You paid too much / are going to pay too much for your mass-marketed laser device for hair loss!

When I made my first homemade laser brush, I was getting some cat calls from the peanut gallery from people that said my design (actually all homemade devices) was merely based on anecdotal evidence... we didn't actually KNOW what the functioning mechanism of these devices were, or what the specs of the lasers were. Well, of course, *I* knew... THEY just hadn't come to the realization yet that these devices are simple and can be replicated at very little cost.

The great news is that is the OLD way of thinking... there really aren't too many people left that think there is anything "magical and wondrous" about these laser devices. They are made of plastic, laser diodes to a certain specification, and wire, and the forums seem to have become more evolved to that understanding.

So, let's further the education. A laser diode has two aspects, wattage and wavelength. The wattage is the amount of power that the laser gives (and will give to the surrounding tissue at the impact point), and the wavelength determines how deep the beam penetrates into the skin.

About Wavelengths:

Look at this graphic that I shamelessly stole from the AiXiZ.com homepage:

You can see that the nanometers determine the color of the laser beam. Wavelengths on the left side of purple are considered "Ultra-Violet", and wavelengths on the right side of red are considered "Infra-Red". Ultra-Violet waves are the high energy, damaging ones. They cause tumors, cancer, etc. Infrared waves are of low risk to human tissue, and this has been studied for decades. "Low Light Laser Therapy" uses wavelengths in the red zone up through the infrared, and the wattages that these methods use have been proven to be completely safe with zero risk (a simple google of "LLLT, side effects" or "LLLT, cancer" will answer any questions you might have). This is why you never see green, blue, or yellow colors in LLLT devices!

Based on an accumulation of studies out there, the standard for laser therapy for HAIRLOSS is around 650 nanometers. This is because of a trade off involving brightness and penetration ability. If you remember, the higher the wavelength, the greater the penetration, and 650 nanometers will reach the depth of the follicles for biostimulation. Higher nanometers that result in an "invisible" beam haven't been show to be as effective as the 650 nanometers, and this is more than likely because of the brightness and color factor. The shades of red after 670 nm aren't as readily absorbed by the tissue because it more matches the color of blood (I'll have a link at some point), plus they become dimmer. It's a speculation that brightness is a necessary factor, and just the energy of an invisible beam doesn't give as good of results.

About Wattage:

Wattage for lasers is usually given in milliwatts (mW). For our purposes, the higher the wattage, the less time you have to use your laser device. The standard is 5mW, and as of right now when I type this, higher than 5mW lasers have NOT been shown to increase results. Of course, there is a lack of information out there on this so we really don't know for, but know this: The really expensive clinical lasers -including the $40,000 Sunetics "G" model ("G" must stand for "GOSH DARN... that's expensive!) use lasers that rate at 5mW, 650nm... and that company can afford to make that device with any diodes they want! ...And the results that these machines show? Spectacular.

Like Winston Churchill, I reserve the right to change my opinion when the facts change! lol...

Back to reality:

Ok, who cares about all of this, right? The good news is that a lot of lasers have their specs printed right on them, and most laser devices have a page that share these specs with consumers. That's good news for us! That means we can look and see EXACTLY what these devices have in them!

You can dress it up in fancy molded plastic with a timing mechanism all you want, but you are still only left with plastic, laser diodes, and wire that actually make up the brunt of a laser brush/​comb/​helmet/​hood/​whatever. One 5mW output, 650nm device it going to be the same as another.

...and we can get good quality, 5mW/650nm diodes for about $4.00 a piece. So, when a company sells a laser comb/brush for $600, and we know that it contains 9 5mW/650nm diodes, it should make you scratch you head. You can make that exact same thing for 9 x $4 = $36, plus the cost of the "holder" (brush, whatever), an adapter, and whatever tools/wire/supplies you don't have.

But why would you WANT to make something like that? This leads us to the next page, "Your laser device isn't/won't be strong enough"!