How many times a week should you use your laser device for hair loss?? -ANSWERED!

I get asked this question all the time, as you can imagine (and obviously I tell my customers EXACTLY how to use the Laser Messiah II in my instructions!).

I'll cut to the chase here... I used to recommend THREE and only three times a week, but I've evolved in my thinking based on the real life/real world observations from the growing body of users out there. This article will help explain how we all reached these conclusions!

Please note: this article doesn't talk about the TIME you use it each session. That depends on a number of factors of the device, and I'm not going to post that info here anymore. I've inadvertently ended up "helping" these unethical companies --I've seen my exact words from my site, the forums, and my EMAILS taken and twisted and used to fit whatever bogus science they are trying to sell, and I don't want any part of that! So, mass-marketers, please go away, and don't trick me into talking to you anymore! By the way, what's hilarious is that I often see ads for these mass-marketed devices where the manufacturer/seller clearly knows nothing about the recommended times, by the way! The times are WAY OFF.

But I digress, and let's move on...

The General Gist of Laser Therapy Usage Frequency

So, here are some summary statements, and I'll explain them further:
1) Three times a week seems to be the median number of times per week based on past findings from professional clinics, manufactures, etc. Laser therapy is "dose dependent" --but there are limits because you can get too much.

2) You should have at least a full "day off" in between treatment sessions. This will allow ample recovery time.

3) Using it WITHOUT THE PROPER REST can cause an "acclimation of the tissue" to the therapy, resulting in the treatment being less effective. Basically, laser therapy usage has been shown to "compound" if the tissue doesn't have enough recovery time. A 6 joule dosage during one session followed by a 6 joule session soon afterwards would end up being 12 joules --which you do not want!

Therefore, it's pretty obvious that Monday/​Wednesday/​Friday seems pretty optimal, especially since you have two full "off days" to rest at the end of the week to make sure that you've fully recuperated by the start of next week.

PLEASE NOTE: Some professional laser clinics will recommend LESS TIMES PER WEEK than what I am stating to you in this article. Please understand that this is rooted in selling packages to customers. 1) A customer will be less likely to "sign up" if they think they have to go three times a week for the rest of their lives, and 2) the laser clinics want that chair under their professional device to have as many customers as possible. One more opening a week means one more opportunity for $$$.

I hate to be so crass, but look... it's the truth.

Now, please look at reality here for a second. Once again, I have to point out that if you think there is a room full of scientists somewhere testing every dosage amount and frequency, and diligently reporting their findings to the world, well, ha ha, you are are wrong (and innocently naïve like I used to be! Nothing wrong with that, of course... wow, I miss those days of having faith in doctors/scientists/the medical establishment, etc.!). So, we have to take the existing data we find in laser therapy studies on every topic, couple it with personal experiences from a large body of users (yes, I have a large body of Laser Messiah II users!), and extrapolate it all together into one big bundle!

Here is one example taken from the study "Effect of Multiple Exposures of Low-Level Laser Therapy on the Cellular Responses of Wounded Human Skin Fibroblasts", and it addresses the fact that it's definitely in our best interest to get the proper REST between dosages.

Here is a chart from this study:



The study states that "Laser therapy has been shown to be cumulative (the dose from one treatment lasts some time, and what "remains" of the dose is added to the dose at the next treatment), it is vital that treatments are not too close together, so as to avoid a situation where the accumulated dose eventually ends up above the biostimulating range or even in the bioinhibitory range, with consequently poorer results."

So basically, your tissue can still be "charged" with the energy and it can lead to over-doing it if you attempt multiple dosages within too short of a period. It's safe to say from this that a full "day off" between sessions would definitely be in our best interest! Just like when you workout your body, you need to have a time period (a minimum of 48 hours) to fully recover the muscle group you just exercised in order to get the full benefits.

By the way, on a side note... if you read the study you find that the biostimulation ranges were observed at 2.5 to 5 joules per centimeter squared dosage levels (this should sound familiar to you by now since it's not far from the 3-6 average we've repeatedly established... and try to do that with a standard laser brush! Ha ha! Good luck!), and with an inhibitory dose at 16 joules. NONE OF THIS IS NEWS TO US!

Updated Findings Based on my YEARS of Practical Observations

I used to say ONLY three times a week. I now say AT LEAST three times a week!So, this is something that I’ve recently evolved on: I used to always say "three times a week" (instead of "AT LEAST three times a week"!), and say that you need a day off in between. In fact, my auto-signature at the bottom of my emails said that for years! As we just discussed, this is because laser energy can "compound" if you don't have a break. If you use it back to back to back, you run the risk of over-stimulating the tissue because it hasn't had time to fully recover.

HOWEVER, after years of experience with this and hearing from hundreds and hundreds of others, I truly think now that 24 hours (with a good nights sleep in there) is enough for that tissue to recover in most cases. I’m saying this because I only ever hear GOOD THINGS when people use their helmet four or sometimes even five times a week for prolonged periods –which means that, yes, there are one or two days in there where people use it "back to back" –meaning, the next day without a full day off.

If you use your laser device two or less times a week, you will be on a much longer, more difficult path to success!I do think that some of that energy could compound on "back to back days" (but the 24 hour period would take care of most of it, and the “wiggle room” for the window of energy prevents it from being too much), so I’d *never* recommend using it every single day –you definitely need some breaks in there! But, like I said, it seems that "AT LEAST three times a week" should be the goal (ex: Mon/​Wed/​Fri), and you can add a 4th time (ex: Mon/​Wed/​Fri/​Sat -with Fri/​Sat being back to back "on" days), maybe a 5th, if 1) it fits your schedule and 2) you feel better doing it that way (yes, “feelings”, meaning “scalp sensations”, are important here!). Doing it every other day so you have seven "on" days over a two week period (ex: Mon/​Wed/​Fri/​Sun/​Tue/​Thurs/​Sat) is also frequently done by others.

You can always try three times a week for a few months, switch to four, etc., and see if you notice anything different as well –just know that I just don’t hear negatives –only positives- from an extra day or two. Just don’t forget to take some days off to give your scalp a rest!

By the same token, over the years I’ve heard from others and experienced the same thing here: if you use the helmet two or less times a week, your results will not be as good, and you will be on a longer path to real results. Once again, we have given birth to a new standard here, and that is "AT LEAST" three times a week!!!

-O.M.G.
omg@​overmachogrande​.com

PS - I'm sure you knew this by now, but please note that I'm NOT talking about standard laser brushes here, I'm talking about devices that actually give the proper amount of energy for biostimulation!

As my "Second Cardinal Rule of Laser Therapy for Hair Loss" states... with a standard laser comb, you need to worry about getting the NECESSARY exposure -not worry about OVER-exposure. If I had to guess, I think that making an (albeit feeble) attempt at getting the proper energy trumps the "tissue acclimation" aspect.