New Hair, Naturally

November 6, 2011

by Barry Thornton
(originally printed in the November issue of Natural Awakenings Magazine)

The body’s natural processes can make our hair tired and weak, or even cause it to go away. The cells that make our hair are losing their lust for life, along with the ability to grow robust and healthy hairs.

There is no rule of nature that says this is the way things have to be. If individuals are healthy and fit, their hair problem is not a medical condition, but a genetic one. The good news is that we don’t have to accept this fate.

Hair growth is a natural pro- cess — we can’t force it to grow. Solving the problem with chemicals or surgery is a brute force approach; they only paint over the problem and frequently do so with those proverbial unintended and unpleasant side effects.

There is a way to get new healthy hair to grow in and replace what is happening now—and it’s a natural and organic process. To understand, we must think like an organic farmer. Male or female, our goal is to energize our hair cells to produce great hair. So what would an organic farmer do?

First, we need to understand the “crop” that is the individual hairs on our head.

A hair follicle is a cell colony whose sole task is to produce a hair at the rate of about half an inch per month. At the bottom of the follicle is about 1,200 stem cells—each producing a stand of keratin. The rest of the cells add some color, lubricate it, create a sheath around this bundle of strands, and push it out of the scalp to be a hair. The follicle grows a hair for a few years and then takes a break. It shuts down and recuperates for a couple of months, and then it starts up again on a new hair and pushes the old hair out. Individuals naturally shed about 100 hairs a day, which also means about 100 new hairs start each day.

The problem is that a hormone found in both men and women causes some of the stem cells to stop growing too soon. As this process builds each time the hair goes through a growth cycle, it gradually becomes thinner and weaker. Eventually it stops growing altogether. Virtually all hair issues are stages of this process.

Back to our organic farmer; he or she thinks in terms of the purity of the four basic ingredients of life: Energy, Food, Air and Time.

Energy

The follicle is in desperate need of a boost from outside energies. The way energy is moved in nature is in the form of photons (what we call light when we see it). Photons excite and stimulate cells, which is why it is so important.

Certain photons are more effective than others. Photons that are synchronized do things together that they could not do alone are called laser photons. The right collection of photons aimed at the hair follicles will reverse the aging process of the follicle and get it to produce new and vibrant hairs.

Food and Air

Making a hair takes a lot of the body’s raw materials. It has to be delivered to the cells by the blood stream, which is why good blood flow in the scalp is mandatory for good hair growth. A healthy diet provides all the necessary basics but getting it to the cells can be an issue. There are natural energies that make the blood flow better at a cellular level. This energy is based on the Earth’s natural magnetic field.

Time

Hair follicles work shifts. When a program is started to bring the hair back, the follicles have to wake up, which usually takes about a month. New, thicker hair is visible in two to three months. Like a farmer, one must be willing to invest some time in the project. Patience is a virtue that yields new hair, strength, confidence and a new you.

A technology that uses the most basic natural process for the respiration of hair cells is ManeGain HALO— a process that delivers energies to the scalp over the right amount of time. The specific energies have each been tuned or optimized for their task. HALO consists of laser photon packets, four selected energy bands of sunlight like photons, a pulsed pure magnetic field, and a computer drive delivery system to get the energy concentrated at all angles on the scalp.

The HALO process is delivered from a machine that looks a bit like a hair dryer hood at select salons and spas. Individuals sit under it for 25-minute sessions to grow new hair naturally.

Barry Thornton is the inventor of the ManeGain Hairgrower, and co-founder of ManeGain. The ManeGain HALO Therapy is available at select spas and salons in the greater Austin area, in addition at select locations in San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. For more information, call 877-5-REGROW, email Info@ManeGain.com or visit ManeGain.com.

To download this article please click here.

Austin Edition www.AustinAwakenings.com

ManeGain Offers Revolutionary Hair Regrowth Technology at Finley’s Barber Shop

October 29, 2011

ManeGain, a cutting edge company that has developed a new, natural hair regrowth and restoration therapy, is pleased to add Finley’s Barber Shop to the cadre of premiere salons and hair institutions offering its ManeGain HALO Therapy.   This FDA-approved Therapy is a high-technology based treatment comprised of three non-invasive light energies that, when delivered simultaneously, stimulates the hair follicle cells, enhances blood flow, and minimizes the causes of gender pattern baldness, naturally reversing thinning hair and hair loss. ManeGain is so confident of this technology that a money back guarantee is offered to customers.

ManeGain’s CEO, Barry Thornton, explains, “The ManeGain HALO Therapy actually reverses the “root” causes of hair loss, or alopecia and grows hair.  It bathes the scalp with naturally occurring energies and acts as sort of time machine to reverse normal age-related hair loss between 5 to 20 years in most people.  We started ManeGain thinking that this would be something gentlemen would be very interested in.”

When asked why Finley’s Barber Shop was offering the ManeGain Therapy, Founder Scott Finley stated, “Finley’s caters to men and making men feel and look good with a one-of-a-kind experience. We know that as men start to lose hair, or have thinning hair, their self-esteem can be impacted. With ManeGain, we are able to explore a new ground-breaking technology that can actually work to combat hair loss through an all-natural, non-invasive, chemical-free sessions.  We are excited to be one of the first to offer the ManeGain system to our customers at our Westlake location in the Austin, Texas area.”

Jeffrey Fry, ManeGain Marketing Chief added, “While we have been very successful in high end salons and spas, sometimes gentlemen want a “male-centric” establishment when dealing with such a touchy subject like hair loss. Finley’s brings the great old world charm of straight razor shaves with some ultra-modern services for men which makes this a perfect fit.  We are both interested in making people (men) feel more confident by looking good.” Mr. Fry went on to say, “Finley’s is a great choice because they understand offering people our HALO Therapy not only can reverse hair loss, but create an environment that can even prevent the onset of alopecia (balding) in men.  It is a one-of-a-kind experience!”

For more information about Finley’s Barbershop in Westlake, you can contact them at www.finleysformen.com  or call them at (512) 520-8326.

ManeGain Adds Thomas Saverio to its A-List

October 10, 2011

Central Austin’s most personable, upscale and fashionable salon, Thomas Saverio Salon & Spa, has joined with ManeGain to offer the ManeGain HALO Therapy which naturally reverses thinning hair and hair loss. Thomas Saverio’s commitment to making the customer feel more confident by combining style and artistry to address each client’s unique requirements to maintain their youthful look of vitality and beauty is a great fit with ManeGain. Thomas Saverio makes the sixth high-end salon to offer the HALO Hair Regrowth Therapy in the Austin area.

When asked why Thomas Saverio was offering the ManeGain Therapy, Vicki Sicola, Thomas Saverio’s manager said, “Thomas Saverio believes that real beauty is created from within and that our stylists compliment that inner beauty into a personal fashion statement.  ManeGain’s HALO Therapy is totally in line with our philosophy of offering an all natural way to restore people’s youthful look in a non-invasive, chemically free way.  We know that as men and women start to lose hair, or have thinning hair, their self-esteem can be severely affected. It is great to be able to combat that with an effective, non-surgical way to reverse their deteriorating hair issues. It is fantastic that this Therapy creates an environment to regrow hair and at the same time puts energy back into the scalp in order to produce stronger, healthier, more abundant hair.”

 The ManeGain HairGrower, which looks very much like a salon hair dryer, bathes the scalp and hair with three types of light energies: Low Level Lasers, Visible Light, and Magnetic Energy.  In combination, these therapies reverse hair loss and maximize hair volume, thickness and strength at its source.  ManeGain’s CEO, Barry Thornton, explains, “The ManeGain Therapy actually reverses the “root” causes of hair loss, or alopecia.  It bathes the scalp with naturally occurring energies and acts as sort of time machine to reverse normal age-related hair loss between 5 to 20 years in most people.”

Jeffrey Fry, ManeGain Marketing Chief added, “Thomas Saverio’s central location allows us to better serve the discriminating clientele with an our all natural hair regrowth therapy in the northern and western parts of Austin.  Thomas Saverio is a perfect fit in they advocate the same beliefs in creating whole hair health and increasing a person’s confidence.” Mr. Fry went on to say, “Thomas Saverio is a great choice because they understand offering people our HALO Therapy not only can reverse hair loss, but create an environment that can even prevent the onset of alopecia (balding) in men and women.”

 The ManeGain HALO Therapy involves no special procedures.  The technology has been approved by the FDA, and there are no known side effects or contraindications.  ManeGain is so confident of this technology, that they even offer a money back guarantee to hair loss sufferers that if your hair does not begin to regrow within 12 weeks and you are not completely satisfied, they will refund your money.

A Novel Way to “Restore” Hair?

August 5, 2011

 Well, this is an interesting way to get a “hair transplant” doing it yourself…It actually is passable for “new” hair…a do it yourself hair transplant…but would you not really want new hair?  Then see us!

How Hair is Made: A Hair Follicle

July 24, 2011

As part of our educational series about Whole Hair Hair, we will post short blogs on hair growth, hair loss, and hair health for our readers’ education and enjoyment.  This is the first and is titled: How Hair is Made: A Hair Follicle.

Simply put, a hair shaft is made in the Hair Follicle and is comprised of thousands of strands of keratin wrapped around a mass of cells called a medulla. This bundle of keratin strands is then wrapped with a cuticle protective layer.  The keratin is produced in a mass of 1,250 to 1,500 stem cells located in the base of the hair follicle called the Papilla (see Figure 1 left).  The papilla is located in the dermis and is the only place where there are actually live hair cells. Once the hair shaft leaves the dermal layer of skin, nothing can be done to correct any problems. The thickness, strength, and luster of the hair can only be affected in the papilla.

The ManeGain Effect Explained

July 16, 2011

The ManeGain Effect™ – Explained

This article will explain how the ManeGain Hair Rejuvenation Therapy™ affects and corrects the root causes of hair loss, and offers an all natural process to maximize the abundance, thickness, strength, and luster of a person’s hair.

How Hair is Made: A Hair Follicle

Simply put, a hair shaft is made in the Hair Follicle and is comprised of thousands of strands of keratin wrapped around a mass of cells called a medulla. This bundle of keratin strands is then wrapped with a cuticle protective layer.  The keratin is produced in a mass of 1,250 to 1,500 stem cells located in the base of the hair follicle called the Papilla (see Figure 1 left).  The papilla is located in the dermis and is the only place where there are actually live hair cells. Once the hair shaft leaves the dermal layer of skin, nothing can be done to correct any problems. The thickness, strength, and luster of the hair can only be affected in the papilla.

Life Cycle of Hair

A typical scalp has between 110,000 and 120,000 hair follicles, and at any given time about 10% of these hair strands are dormant and can possibly be shed as part of the normal human hair growth cycle.

There are three phases in the hair growth cycle: Anagen, Catagen, Telogen and Early Anagen sometimes referred to as the Exogen phase.  As seen in Figure 2 above, the Anagen phase involves hair growth.  This phase can last anywhere from 6.5 to 8 years, depending on age and genetics, and involves rapid production of keratin in the papilla and can produce about ¼ to ½ inch of hair per month.  At any given time, about 85% of the hair on your scalp is in this phase.

The Catagen phase, also known as the transitional phase, allows the follicle to, in a sense, renew itself. During this time, which lasts about two weeks, the hair follicle shrinks due to disintegration and the papilla detaches from the dermis and “rests”, cutting the hair strand off from its nourishing blood supply.  At the same time, the follicle shrinks to about 1/6th its original length, causing the hair shaft to be pushed upward. While hair is not growing during this phase, it does look like hair is getting longer due to the hair fibers being pushed upward.

During the telogen, or resting phase, the hair and follicle move into a dormant state lasting anywhere from 1–4 months. Ten to fifteen percent of a person’s hair is in this phase at any given time. The anagen phase begins again once the telogen phase is complete. The preceding hair strand is pushed up and out by the new, growing strand. The process causes the normal hair loss known as shedding and is sometimes referred to as the Exogen phase.  Normally, you lose about 100 hair strands a day.

Hair Loss and Thinning (Alopecia)

Now that you understand how head hair is produced, let’s explore what causes hair loss and thinning and how to address these “root causes.” There are two things that are necessary to have either male or female pattern hair loss, also known as androgenic alopecia: Genetics and Hormones, primarily testosterone.

Testosterone is a powerful hormone found in both men and women.  Individuals who are genetically susceptible (parents or grandparents) to the effects of DHT (DiHydroTestosterone) will start to experience hair loss sometime in their life.  Fifty percent of men by the age of 50, and forty percent of women by the age of 40 experience alopecia, or genetic hair loss.

DHT affects the production of keratin in the papilla as the hair shaft is formed.  The DHT attaches to hair producing stem cells and signals them to stop producing keratin. Over time and through the growth cycle of hair, your hair will get progressively thinner, shrink, and eventually not be able to produce keratin at all.

Figure 4 and Figure 5 demonstrate the effect of DHT on the mass of hair producing cells in the papilla.  As more and more cells reduce their keratin production, less and less hair is produced.

Weak, Tired, Fatigued Hair and Normal Hair Loss

As we age, all the cells in our body start to slow down their metabolic rates, this includes the fastest growing cells in our body: our hair follicles.  As such, there is a normal amount of hair loss and thinning that happens as part of the aging process.  Of course, there are many variables to this including racial makeup, general health, illnesses, stress, nutrition, drug usage (prescribed or otherwise), and environment (pollution, climate, etc.).  What this means is that just as DHT affects individual cells with receptors on them to produce less keratin, a lower metabolic rate in hair follicle cells results in an overall deterioration in the quality, abundance, strength, and thickness of hair strands.  Unlike genetic hair loss which is usually constrained to certain parts of the scalp, this malady affects all the hair follicles on your scalp.  You may notice hair that easily breaks, or less luxurious hair, or flat hair, or just less luster and volume.  Whatever it might be, it is caused by a decreased production of keratin and cuticle throughout the scalp hair.

Closely related to weak or fatigued hair, is normal hair loss due in part to your hair follicles’ inability to produce any more keratin.  Hair follicles that do not have enough energy stored within them to manufacture keratin will start to make less and less hair over an ever shrinking Anagen growth phase.  The end result is a general loss or thinning of hair all over your head.  Yes, aging is not pleasant, and most of us will have hair problems or issues during our lifetimes.

Remedies – Whole Hair Health

So, what can you do if you have one of the hair conditions named earlier?  The answer depends on which of the two camps you are in: Are you currently experiencing the effects of alopecia or susceptible to them, (genetic hair loss or thinning) or are you just experiencing normal diminishing hair (hair loss due to aging).    Figure 6 below shows a graphical representation of typical hair loss conditions for men and women who are experiencing a range of hair maladies.

There are three lines you should be aware of in the diagrams above. The first is the red dashed line representing typical alopecia hair loss, the next is the solid blue / pink lines indicating normal hair loss due in part to decreased metabolic hair production (aging), and finally the gold dashed line labeled The ManeGain Effect™ represents the gain in  production of more abundant, luxurious, thicker, stronger hair starting from the root up.

So, looking at the graph, you see that if you are experiencing hair loss or thinning hair, and begin the ManeGain Therapy, that over a period of 1 to 2 years you can recover your hair loss (the green line), and then move past just normal hair loss to actually start producing more abundant, richer, fuller hair. Looking at it another way, the broken golden line is just a “delayed response” to normal hair loss.  So, if you begin using the ManeGain Therapy say at 35, your hair may not look like it did at 18, but it will look like it did at 28 or more specifically, what “normal” hair would look like at 28 years of age.  We like to say we are a time machine for your hair, but in actuality we are just energizing your scalp to produce the maximum, strongest, most robust hair possible.

As an aside, there is a point of no return for people experiencing alopecia.  That is a place where the damage done by DHT and aging is too far gone.

How can ManeGain do this?

The ManeGain Hair Rejuvenation Therapy® addresses the health of an individual’s hair from the inside out.  This revolutionary new product addresses beauty and health from underneath the skin and will add luster, youthfulness, radiance, abundance, thickness and strength to the external look of hair.

In looking at Figure 7 below, not ONLY does ManeGain correct the BIG problems of hair loss and thinning hair, it PREVENTS and DELAYS Hair Loss & Thinning, as well as strengthens the skin, follicle, roots, and hair shaft resulting in a more youthful look of vitality.  Our Therapy also acts as vitamins for the scalp to address a whole series of hair maladies for individuals who DO NOT have hair loss issues, but have other problems with their hair.

So, how is this done? Remember, we are dealing with two problems here, one is genetic hair loss and the other is weak, and fatigued hair due to age.  In order to explain what the ManeGain Therapy does, it is best to start with the worst case scenario: Hair Loss / Hair Thinning.

The ManeGain Therapy is comprised of three energies: Low Lever Lasers, Photonics (visible light), and magnetic pulses. To combat hair loss and thinning due to alopecia, we need to break the bond that DHT has on the hair follicle cells.  This is done naturally with the low power red lasers employed by the ManeGain Therapy.  As shown in Figure 5, this will only prevent you from moving further down the dotted red line but it will not get you the total ManeGain Effect™. To do that, we need to resuscitate and bio-stimulate the hair cell follicles, and that is done with visible light combined with our Dyna-Pulse® technology.

In the same vein, if you know that you might lose your hair (look at your parents and your grandparents), ManeGain also offers a Preventative Therapy so you can stop worrying.

Finally, what most people want is beautiful hair.  What they normally get is various shampoos and conditioners that just cover up the problems.  But that does not solve the problem; the weak hair is still all you have.  Solving the problem means growing strong, lush, resiliant hair from the inside out. Thicker, stronger, more abundant, radiant, luxurious hair: This is the essence of what makes The ManeGain Effect™ so unique and viable.  Whole Hair Health, naturally and organically for a younger looking and better feeling you.

New Stratagems in the Quest for Hair

May 5, 2011

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA

RICHARD PADUDA, an athletic man with a dark, spiky coiffure, does not look like your typical user of Latisse, the prescription eyelash-enhancing solution that has been endorsed by Brooke Shields and Claire Danes. That’s because he has used it not on his eyelashes, which are fairly lush, but on his hairline, which he noticed last year was beginning to recede.

“I just put three or four drops on each side of my temple once a day,” said Mr. Paduda, 32, an insurance worker from Boca Raton, Fla. “The hair in that area, which was real thin and wispy — all those hairs got thick again, dark.”

Mr. Paduda is one of a growing number of men experimenting with Latisse as an antidote to encroaching baldness. Made by Allergan, the drug has already won a following among women for helping them grow long, fluttery eyelashes. It was only a matter of time before it made the leap to denuded pates.

Indeed, dermatologists’ offices and Web forums for bald men (yes, they exist: baldtruthtalk.com) began buzzing with excitement over Latisse nearly the moment the Food and Drug Administration gave it the thumbs-up in December 2008.

“First question everyone was asking was, ‘Gosh, if it grows eyelashes, what is it going to do on the scalp?’ ” said Dr. Alan Bauman, the dermatologist and hair-restoration specialist who prescribed the drug to Mr. Paduda as part of an informal study.

While the F.D.A. has not approved Latisse as a hair-loss treatment — only two drugs have that designation: minoxidil (Rogaine, also a topical medication) and finasteride (Propecia, which is administered in pill form) — there are no laws preventing doctors from prescribing it for that purpose. Dr. Bauman said he has been prescribing a generic form of bimatoprost, the active ingredient in Latisse, to combat hair loss since 2007, and that it has worked for about 70 percent of his patients.

“What we found is that where patients were applying Latisse, especially in areas where the hair was thinner and wispier and less pigmented, the hair grew thicker, stronger and healthier,” he said.

Though some users of Latisse have experienced skin discoloration, Dr. Bauman said he had never seen any such reaction on the scalp of his patients.

Certainly, Mr. Paduda, who used Latisse daily from November through February, is a happy customer. By the third week, he said, both he and friends he asked for reactions were seeing results. “I even busted out the old ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures,” he said. “It was a noticeable difference.”

But Latisse does not appear to be a silver bullet for hair loss. Instead, it appears to work in much the same way as Rogaine or Propecia: All three can strengthen and darken hair that grows from a dying follicle, but none can bring a dead one back to life. The result is an enhanced, refortified hairline rather than a brand new head of hair.

Aside from hair transplants, which can cost about $10,000 each and do not always look natural, the only current hope for complete replacement is hair cloning, the act of producing entirely new hair from the DNA of an existing one, which researchers have been attempting, unsuccessfully, for years.

A pair of researchers last year claimed to grow new hair by combining plucked hair with a wound-healing powder made by ACell, a regenerative-medicine company in Columbia, Md. Though the claim was met with some skepticism by other clinicians, the idea that ACell’s powder, which has been approved by the government, could facilitate new hair growth has breathed new life into the race to clone hair.

Dr. Robert M. Bernstein, clinical professor of dermatology at Columbia University, is now one of several researchers experimenting with the product.

“It’s just a question of time now” before hair cloning becomes a reality, Dr. Bernstein said. “We keep on moving back that time, but I think there’s absolutely no doubt that it’s going to be done.”

He believes hair cloning will be commercially available within 10 years. This may sound like a long time to wait, but “it’s important to remember that baldness is unlike other conditions where you can progress past the point of being helped,” Dr. Bernstein said. “Once we have a cure for hair loss, everyone will be able to benefit.”

It has been been 14 years since the F.D.A. approved a new hair-loss remedy (Propecia, in 1997), so it is understandable that anticipation for a new one might be running high. One advantage of Latisse is that it needs to be applied only once a day (Rogaine needs to be applied twice; Propecia is taken once daily), and does not seem to cause reactions in people who are allergic to minoxidil.

It is, however, expensive: a month’s supply of Latisse can cost up to $150, and that is in amounts appropriate for use merely on the eyelashes. Rogaine, which is also available over the counter now, costs about $25 a month, and a month’s supply of Propecia runs about $75. (Even Mr. Paduda has now switched to Propecia, citing cost.)

The potential for Latisse is not lost on Allergan. The company initiated a Phase 1 clinical study in August to determine whether bimatoprost can be used as a treatment in men and women suffering from hair loss (alopecia).

“There is a great deal of interest in developing other uses of bimatoprost,” Heather Katt, a spokeswoman for Allergan, wrote in an e-mail message, “and Allergan is exploring ways to pursue that pathway through the F.D.A. approval process.”

For those too impatient to wait, there is also the bold and fashionable solution of shaving one’s head.

But the fact is that many men — and women — simply do not accept baldness easily.

“Hair has been an evolutionary sign of health and sexuality and youth, and that doesn’t change,” Dr. Bernstein said. “Shaved heads look cool, but not everyone wants one, and not everyone looks good with one.”

Mr. Paduda concurs.

“I have really dark eyebrows,” he said. “I would look like a psycho if I shaved my head.”

Are men obsessed with hair?

January 26, 2011

photo

Thinning hair doesn’t appear to have hurt Prince William’s self-confidence.

Alastair Grant ASSOCIATED PRESS

Of all the details surrounding Prince William‘s April marriage to his longtime girlfriend, Kate Middleton, few seem to have garnered as much attention as his rapidly receding hairline.

“You can leave your hat on” and “No hair to the throne” are among the many headlines that have appeared in the British tabloids. Which poses a question: Is it possible that the 28-year-old prince felt an urge to lock up a commitment from Middleton because his heartthrob status might be beginning to disappear with the hair? If so, what must the rest of the not-so-princely men in the world feel when youthful looks begin to fade?

In the past, only women were perceived to have a marital sell-by date. But thanks to a convergence of social and economic trends, some men feel the same pressures.

“The clock ticks for both men and women,” said W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.

Michael Kimmel, a sociologist, said one contributing factor is the increasing economic independence of women. Kimmel, a professor at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, cited a 1930s study by Willard Waller that evaluated how women and men assessed each other’s sexual marketability based on criteria including physical appearance, social skills and financial stability. A woman of that era valued a man’s earning capacity above good looks and other traits.

But now, Kimmel said, “women are able to provide for a family, so they are more able to focus as well on physical features.”

Also, men have become more concerned with body image, meaning that they are more likely to measure themselves against culturally perceived standards of attractiveness, according to Ashley Mears, a sociologist. She traces the trend to the 1980s with more advertisements and magazines geared toward men.

In other words, those Propecia and Rogaine ads can wear on the psyche.

Men may give themselves some leeway when it comes to putting on a few extra pounds and having wrinkles (two typical areas of concern among aging women hoping to attract a mate). But hair loss — both androgenic alopecia, often referred to as male-pattern baldness, and alopecia areata, which typically involves temporary and localized shedding – can be emotionally traumatic, especially for men in their 20s.

In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology estimates 80 million men and women in the United States suffer from hereditary thinning or baldness.

Dr. Alice Trisdorfer, a psychologist in Philadelphia, said she once had a patient so consumed by his thinning hair that he “would count the number of hairs lost on his pillow and how many he found in the shower drain.”

Spencer Kobren hears such hair-obsessed stories often. He is the host of The Bald Truth, a talk show streamed live online at thebaldtruth.com. The site also has a forum with many thousands of posts.

“As their hairline is eroding, so is their self-confidence and attractiveness,” Kobren said. “We call it a cancer of the spirit.”

For example, one of the site’s users, Zero Confidence Balder, 23, posted this: “I know this is pathetic, but I’ve lost so much self-confidence and I feel like I’m always angling my head so that people can’t see the top.”

Because of the blow to their self-esteem, some balding men simply settle when it comes to spouses, Kobren said. “Guys believe they don’t have much time left as they continue to lose their hair. They kind of grab the person closest to them who they find relatively attractive at the time. Emotionally it’s too difficult for them to go out there and try to court the girl of their dreams if they are feeling emotionally insecure about themselves.”

Although Middleton and most other women aren’t likely to admit having an aversion to balding men, Susan Jones, an executive at an accounting firm in Manhattan, said many of her female friends in their late 30s and 40s are alone, in part, because their “impossibly high” criteria for men have little to do with what it takes to be a good husband.

“They want to date these good-looking men, but really, that’s not going to get you very far in a marriage,” said Jones, who pointed out that she has been happily married to Richard Jones, who is bald, for 13 years.

Dr. Neil Sadick, a dermatologist in New York who is balding, said, “There is more acceptance for balding.” For proof, one need only look to athletes like Michael Jordan and Mark Messier and movie stars like Bruce Willis and Jason Statham who are popularizing the shaved head.

The rise of the post-industrial workplace in which men (and women) are more likely to engage in face-to-face interactions has influenced men’s self-image as well as their appearance, said Kathleen Gerson, a professor at New York University and author of The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of Gender, Work and Family.

“Now, how we look matters,” she said.

Of course, there are plenty of bald and balding men living happily ever after. For starters, men, like women, are marrying later in life, according to Census data. And although women rank physical features higher on their future-husband wish lists, they also care about personality, said Wilcox of the National Marriage Project. “The good news is that women are even more attentive to a man’s capacity to be a good friend or be emotionally engaged,” he said.

On thebaldtruth.com, one post, Fixed By 35, figured out a more radical way to feel loved: “I’m emigrating to Australia next year. They’re the only English-speaking developed world country that still sometimes elects bald men to lead the country, so logically they must be more mature about disfigurement. Plus if you’re bald, you HAVE to wear a hat in summer to avoid skin cancer.”

Lucky for Prince William, Middleton doesn’t seem bothered by what adorns his head – now or later.

Landmark Study on Ex-Vivo Growth of Hair Exposed to Laser PhotoTherapy

December 26, 2010

Study proves that laser energy stimulates the growth of hair ex-vivo

BOCA RATON, FL – First of a kind data from a study conducted by Laboratoire Bio-EC, Paris France on the on ex-vivo growth of hair from Low Level Laser Light exposure of hair follicles maintained in Philpott hair culture medium were presented at the 17th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS) by Dr. Michael Hamblin.

Michael Hamblin, PhD, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School/Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, is one of the foremost researchers in the field of Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) and Photodynamic Therapy. He presented important data from this study which compared a dose of laser energy and a reference dose on the ex-vivo growth of hair to show that laser energy stimulated hair growth. Isolated follicles were placed in the Philpott hair culture medium, exposed to the laser doses, and measured for hair length increases. Analysis of hairs grown ex-vivo exposed to the two laser doses, were photographed at regular intervals over ten days.

The conclusion of the study was that the wave length dose studied induced statistically significant ex-vivo increase in hair growth vs. control dose at the conclusion of the study.

This significance of these results is that for the first time a study has documented ex-vivo hair growth in isolated hairs using laser stimulation. The results conclusively indicated that laser energy stimulated proliferation in the hair matrix. This is the first time that data has been presented at a medical conference showing positive reaction on ex-vivo hair growth from laser energy exposure.

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Fighting Hair Loss

December 20, 2010

Low-light level lasers, in combination with traditional therapy, are a powerful adjunct in the battle against hair loss.

By David P. Melamed, MD, MSc

Healthy Aging Magazine

A new era of nonsurgical hair restoration technology is here for men with hair loss.

We all know that hair loss can be emotionally devastating for women; hair has long been a symbol of feminine beauty and sensuality. But hair loss in men is no less devastating. Men report reduced self-esteem, difficulty dating and trouble securing a new job. A balding hairline makes a man look and feel older than he is.

Many men with hair loss have dreamed of the “magic bullet,” the special vitamin or treatment that will reverse hair loss. Surgical hair treatments, such as hair transplantation, scalp reduction, flaps and tissue expansion, are available. So is medication, such as Minoxidil and Propecia. However, most treatments have been disappointing, usually saving the hair that’s already there, but doing little to grow back the hair that’s already lost.

For obvious reasons, most men are skeptical of treatments that promise to reverse hair loss. But a new era of hair restoration technology, using “cold” laser hair therapy (LHT), offers hope for those who don’t have advanced hair loss. LHT alone and in combination with topical andlor oral medications has produced excellent results for men and women. Also known as “cold” lasers, LHT uses therapeutic soft low-light level lasers (LLLL) that were developed in Europe for healing wounds, treating hair loss and other diseases of the scalp.

The laser uses a pure visible red light at 633 nm, the optimum wavelength and frequency to stimulate a dramatic increase in micro-circulation of blood supply in the scalp. This increases cellular metabolism and promotes the repair of damaged cells and weakened hair follicles, leading to the cessation of hair loss and the stimulation of hair re-growth. The exact mechanism of action for visible red LHT at the cellular and sub-cellular level is not clear. However, current evidence suggests the effects are based on enhanced cell proliferation. Specific biological effects can be seen by irradiating a cel1.1 In particular, 633 nm light directly affects the physical state of pore molecules.

The physical state of a cell is affected by changing the permeability to calcium ions. An abrupt and transient increase in calcium ion concentrations act as intracellular messengers. This photochemical change affects the mito-chondria, and, in turn, messenger RNA synthesis, which ultimately leads to the observed enhancement of cell proliferation.

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