9 Month Update

[Dr. Watt]

Haven't been on the boards for a while and wanted to post an update.

9 Months+ using 300 Diode 650mw helmet. Sadly hair is noticeably thinner than when I started. Not sure if this would have been the normal progression of my loss had I never used the helmet. Unfortunately I can say that LLLT has been no help for me and has potentially been detrimental. I have tried manipulating the times for benefit but that too has not panned out. I will continue to use this until the 1 year mark. At that point I will likely stop. I do believe in the science of LLLT but I am not sure that 650mw lasers in this configuration have any value in battling hair loss. At least for me I know for now it has not and that is all I really have the authority to speak to.

Best of luck

[1.....]

Dr. Watt do you use clay before treatment?

[Dr. Watt]

Dr. Watt do you use clay before treatment?

No I don't.

[1.....]

I highly recommend it. I didnt start seeing results until I started using it. It was like night and day difference. The DHT/sebum on your scalp if not removed before lasering, can be hurting you. As lasers are suppose to enhance topicals, if there is DHT and sebum on your scalp, my theory is that it could leave you worse off. Just my opinion

[hermann]

Dr Watt,

your system is 650mW output at 300 laser diodes. Is it self-built?

Around 2mW each laser diode.
Do you run it below nominal power? I know only laser diodes with 5mW minimum output power.
Maybe your application time is too little then?

Do you experience still shedding?

[Dr. Watt]

I highly recommend it. I didnt start seeing results until I started using it. It was like night and day difference. The DHT/sebum on your scalp if not removed before lasering, can be hurting you. As lasers are suppose to enhance topicals, if there is DHT and sebum on your scalp, my theory is that it could leave you worse off. Just my opinion

Interesting. I am sure it has been posted a million times but i have not payed attention to anything to do with clay. Can you point me to something that explains what it is, where it is obtained, and possibly how it is used. I am willing to try other things if they work assuming I don't really have to put clay all over my head (which is what I am visualizing here)

Thanks for the information

DW

[1.....]

Hey Dr. Watt,

I dont have anything that proves that it works except for personal experiance. I just took the advice from JDP and it really did make the difference. It is just important to have a scalp that is least oily as possible. Some other things that have worked for me to get the oil off my scalp is coconut oil, emu oil, magnesium oil, and the lithium shampoo recommended by immortal hair. But clay has seemed to work best for me. I have been using scalpure and leave it on for like 25-30 mins then shampoo it out then laser.

I think it will be definitely worth a try before you give up on lasers. Good luck!

[ih67]

Any mud packs will do the same thing. I believe fullers earth is good too. Basically anything that will remove the muck in your scalp. Minoxidil is very greasy and does leave a residue. Another good thig I think for getting sebum out as any kind of salt scrub for the body. The salt would dissolve any oil.

[OverMachoGrande]

Using clay (or any pre-shampoo topical designed for sebum reduction) is MANDATORY!!! I'm making a video that shows all you will ever need to know about it -how to make it what it does, etc. That'll be done soon.

Now, I've been using LLLT for OVER TWO YEARS, and I literally can count on ONE HAND the times that I haven't used a pre-shampoo sebum reducing topical. It's that important, and I attribute a lot of my success to it, and a lot of the FAILURES from the handful of people that aren't getting results after the six month point.

Before I was using poly 80/ethyl alcohol, but I feel the clay is far superior. I've been using it since mid-summer, and I could tell the difference in stimulation from the day I started it. The one drawback... it can overly dry your hair, so don't leave it on too long, ONLY use it on laser days, and my mind isn't made up on this part but it might be good just to add a tiny bit of oil (tea tree, maybe emu) to help keep the hair nourished. The problem with that is adding anything to the clay will, yes, take away from the absorbtion/adsorption abilities of it. That is exactly what we DON'T want to happen, but both jdp710 and I have found that actually having overly dry hair can reduce LLLT effectiveness! That sounds crazy, but we both independently found this out for ourselves, and no... we aren't talking about just a dry scalp. We know a dry scalp will reflect more energy, but apparently dry hair (with a normal scalp) can cause less stimulation for whatever reason. We do know that the hair itself does play a role in channelling the LLLT into your scalp (sort of like a dim fiber optic cable), so maybe that's being impeded or something.

Who knows, who cares... the fact is EVERYONE DOING LLLT SHOULD BE USING A CLAY OR POLY 80/ETHYL ALCOHOL PRE-SHOWER TOPICAL, and we can't let our hair get overly dry either! It's that important!

Oh, and "overly dry" hair is when it feels like it's damaged because the cuticles are becoming kinked together.

[Jacob]

Hmmm..I wonder if those LLLT salon/clinics use such a pre-treatment.

[ebutterg]

Edited for retraction

[Socceroo]

Dr Watt is says you are a norwood IV and have been suffering hairloss for 21 years. Could it be that your follicle has reached a point where it cannot be rejuvenated? There have only been a few people who have had success brining back hair on slick bald spots using the lasers. Just don't want you to get your hopes up about things.

[Jacob]

I really would like to know if they use any "pre-treatment" at those clinics/salons. I know topicals are usually used.

[Anxious1]

speaking of clay, ive used scalpure for 5+ months now, which is just clay like u guys use for lasers, over the last few months ive been shedding hairs with that white bit on the end of it. and i know weve had theis argument b4, but its not just the sheath or dead skin, im talking a cylindrical/oval 1 mm x 2 mm chunk of sebum or something. (which is ALOT bigger than ur average white bit on a hair, and even looks too big to have popped out of any oil gland or pore or anything.

these last few weeks i seem to have these chunks on 70% + of my shed hairs, not to mention plenty of these chunks without hairs also. Its like my scalp is spitting out all of this crap, but some had hairs that were already fallen, but stuck in the 'sebum plug' or watever u want to call it.

Ive even had many with one terminal hair, and one small hair stuck in the chunk of sebum. also some with 2 terminal hairs stuck in.

I still dont think much of scalpure, that is i think its just a guy trying to take the credit for a excellent cleansing clay that nature provided us with, and BS ing us about regrowth.

never the less, i'd have to say that this is promising , because now i must have unclogged pores, or empty glands or something, for new hair to hopefully grow out of.

[Dr. Watt]

Catching up on the thread....

Thanks for the information "1...." on the clay, very interesting and thank you for the information.

OMG, I don't see how you can say clay in mandatory? When did all this start? I have been following the LLLT threads for about a year and a half. Clay was never mentioned as needed let alone mandatory? What study is this coming from? I have never heard of the salons discussing this in their pre-laser treatments.

Hermann, my system was built by OMG and is very good quality. He did excellent work. I wired this myself and maintain a watch on the power outputs as recommded by OMG. They seem to be inline. My shedding had stopped but unfortunately over the last month it seems to have kicked in again. Very discouraging I have not had to worry about major sheds for so long....I am very concerned about increasing my treatment times as the shed was just too great the last time.

Socceroo, yes I have been battling hairloss for a very long time. I have ups and downs. I was on Minox 6 months before it was available by prescrition in pharmicies (1988). This took time but had good success initially. Started Proscar in 1997. Again, excellent initial results and managed to pull my scale in a notch or two. However, about 5 years in, the dreaded tolerence kicked in and I began a slow loss again. I have never been slick bald. I am a diffuse thinner so my hair for the most part was still there but just miniaturizing cycle after cycle. However, during my treatment time (9 months) I do now have slick bald spots on my temples.But they were not when I started.

[hermann]

Catching up on the thread....
...
I have ups and downs. I was on Minox 6 months before it was available by prescrition in pharmicies (1988). This took time but had good success initially.
...

Dr. Watt,

For me the same: 7 years ago I started with minox, it worked (friends commented). I tried again one year ago without success.
Maybe a critical mass of hair is needed for minox.

[Dr. Watt]

Catching up on the thread....
...
I have ups and downs. I was on Minox 6 months before it was available by prescrition in pharmicies (1988). This took time but had good success initially.
...

Dr. Watt,

For me the same: 7 years ago I started with minox, it worked (friends commented). I tried again one year ago without success.
Maybe a critical mass of hair is needed for minox.

Yes, I think Minox at bests keeps your follicles going when they would have otherwise shut down. However, the hair that remains over time is not necessarily significant. My hope was always to keep the follicles generating hair until something came along to turn them back on.