Who it is for
Anyone noticing that their hair is thinning, the parting widening or the fullness going, who wants a route without a needle, without a blood draw and without surgery. It makes sense for mild to moderate presentations. Where the follicle is no longer there, we will say so in the first conversation, before you spend money.
How we treat
The procedure is called KeraLase and has two steps. LaseMD Ultra, a non-ablative thulium laser at 1927 nanometres, sets a grid of fine channels into the outermost horny layer of the scalp. Immediately afterwards, while the channels are open, we apply KeraFactor Scalp Stimulating Solution. According to the manufacturer, channels prepared this way take up nanoliposomes five to seven times better than untreated skin. Healite II at 633 nanometres follows if you wish; the manufacturer lists "Hair Rejuvenation" explicitly for that wavelength. The laser here in the house is equipped for the scalp: its own handpiece, its own programme.
What is in the serum
A cosmetic product, not a medicine. According to the manufacturer, seven polypeptides modelled on selected growth factors and skin proteins: sh-Oligopeptide-1 and -4, sh-Polypeptide-1, -7, -9, -11 and -71, plus Copper Tripeptide-1, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, panthenol, arginine and curcumin, wrapped in nanoliposomes. The prefix "sh" means synthetic human: made biotechnologically, from neither people nor animals. Not your own blood, not donor material, not a medicine.
What you may expect
Three months at the earliest before anything shows, because the hair cycle is not faster. The manufacturer names six to nine months after a series of six sessions as the point of greatest change.
The figures that exist come from a pilot study by Taub, Calderhead and Li in Hair Transplant Forum International, March/April 2022: ten participants, seven men and three women aged 29 to 50, mild to moderate androgenetic alopecia. Hair density and hair diameter increased with high statistical significance, p between 0.0004 and 0.0001. As for side effects, all ten reported nothing beyond mild redness lasting one to two hours.
And the caveat that belongs with it: ten people is few, there was no sham-treated control group, and all of them additionally used serum daily. You can read the direction from that, not your result. We promise no result, quote no success rate and show no before-and-after pictures.
Tolerability
The manufacturer gives the downtime of LaseMD Ultra as minimal: usually slight redness and a fine, sandpaper-like feel to the skin for a day or two. Under the hair there is little to see of it in any case. You go back to the office afterwards, wash your hair the same evening, wear no dressing. On uncovered areas, a parting for instance, please remember sun protection.
What it is not made for
According to the manufacturer, not during pregnancy or breastfeeding, not for people under eighteen, not on inflamed or infected scalp, and not for alopecia areata. We also do not treat freshly irritated or sunburnt scalp, do not treat over conspicuous pigmented lesions, and do not treat if you use photosensitising preparations. Thinning hair has many causes: thyroid, iron, nutrition, medication, a period of heavy strain. If the conversation raises the suspicion that the cause lies elsewhere, we say so and recommend the appropriate assessment before we treat.
How it runs
First conversation
Look at the scalp, talk through how it developed, settle goals and limits. Then we say whether we are the right people.
Session
Laser, serum, Healite II if you wish. Six sessions two to four weeks apart.
Home care
One dropper of serum, plus the shampoo. Without it the series is only half the route.
Frequent questions
Does it hurt?
People describe it as warm, comparable to a light prickle. Nothing is numbed: the laser is non-ablative and the channels are microscopically fine. If you are sensitive, say so and we turn the setting down.
Is this the same as platelet-rich plasma?
No. No blood is drawn and nothing is injected. The serum contains biotechnologically made peptides and is applied on the surface, through the channels the laser has prepared.
Do I really have to use the serum daily?
Yes. In the study the figures come from, every participant additionally used the serum daily. Without the home care the series is only half the route.
Does it work for women?
In the study named above, three of the ten participants were women. The procedure follows the scalp, not the sex.
Is there any downtime?
None. Slight redness for one to two hours, barely visible under the hair. Washing your hair the same evening is fine.
Can I add it to the membership?
If you wish, yes. The sessions then spread across the year and run alongside the progress reviews of your tier.
LaseMD Ultra in detail Home care in the boutique Terms in the glossary