Dr. Martin Unger, a Toronto plastic surgeon and hair transplant specialist, says it does.

"(LLLT) increases the energy in the cells.... It is like the fuel, the gasoline of cells," explains Unger, considered an international authority in the field of hair loss. "It increases collagen synthesis and protein synthesis. It decreases inflammation in the area and increases the circulation by making blood vessels in the area larger and also creating new blood vessels."

Unger, who acts as a consultant to the treatment given at Tony Chaar Salon in Toronto, cites a clinical study he supervised that found that the laser therapy resulted in 86 per cent of patients regrowing hair, while another 11 per cent stopped losing hair. The study was done by Dr. Roy Geronemus.

In December 2003, a LLLT hand-held device (see above picture, HairMax) was recognized as a medical device by Heath Canada; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration followed suit in January, 2007.

While LLLT for hair restoration is more common in Japan, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, it is still a novelty treatment in North America.

Similar LLLT systems are found at some Toronto hair loss treatment centres and doctors' offices but Tony Chaar's is the only Toronto hair salon offering the Sunetics Clinical Laser Model E system  "I've been using it for two months and I can see a difference in my hair," he says.  Chaar, who has been losing hair on his crown and hairline, says he has used the laser unit on himself. 

Three month treatment costing $3,000 is quite expensive but now the HairMax hand-held device is available for personal use.   

Unger admits the medical field is still not sure what combination or which particular factors in LLLT actually stop hair loss and regrow hair, making it a somewhat controversial treatment. But he maintains the therapy is 100 per cent safe, with no side effects.

Though Unger would recommend laser therapy to both men and women losing hair, he thinks the best candidates for the treatment are young men who are in the first stages of hair loss, since the laser therapy works only on live hair follicles and does not reactivate dead ones.

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