I have not had this experience, my scalp is not oily and no extra shedding as such. However, I am doing a host of other things. Can you isolate the shedding to the laser helmet? Or is it due to hormones etc? I have never heard of Lllt causing oily scalp... anyone else?
Hi Cate,
Thanks for sharing. My labs are all normal including thyroid. Doctors didn't think any action was needed. My ferritin tends to be low (still within acceptable range) because I'm a vegetarian but it wasn't a problem before. In fact, I am more diet conscious now than I was 5-6 years ago. I have been on Nutrafol since last November and I have been on multivits for almost a decade.
I've reached out to OMG too and he said this was unheard of. The timing is incriminating, which is why I suspect the laser. My scalp would act out now and then because of weather but all temporary, never shed so many tiny hairs and scalp was generally healthy. Even though hair was thinning, I could still see new growth around my temple and mid line until last July. I have lived in MA for 1.5 years now and it is known for long, hard winters, but this isn't my first winter here. This whole nightmarish struggle started in September '18 when I had a week of massive shed and oiliness because of 2 weeks of Rogaine use. I never was comfortable with it so stopped it after 2 weeks. Then I had high density PRP procedure in Sep which the doctor said would show promising results in a couple of months. Nothing yet, may be it did something to halt further loss but I DON'T see any new growth/hair quality improvement. But with all this extra shedding, the net effect is close to zero. Remember Rogaine making my scalp oily too. I waited for Rogaine shed to plateau before starting lasercap. Ever since, there has not been a day where I have not shed these tiny hairs. I don't know if these are all just miniaturized hairs that would have fell anyway or growing hairs for some reason pushed to fall.
I'm well aware that lasers cause initial shedding in some people because it stimulates follicles, so for new hair to grow, old hair must be shed. But I've waited patiently for 3.5 months now, I see no progress. May be it will stop at some point, but what's the guarantee I will recover all hair that I have lost. I did not have thick hair to begin with to bear this loss. I did come across on published study (not funded by any of the laser guys) that reported scalp pruritis (itching/inflammation) as an adverse event ->
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10103-018-02699-9
Some shampoos I'm experimenting with are products I used in the past with no problems. Its possible I'm suddenly allergic to them, so I'm trying out different shampoos. Not a huge fan of oiling my scalp because I shed a lot when I massage oil into my scalp. It could be coincidental but the oiliness has seemed to have gone down a notch now that I've reduced laser time. 30 mins of lasercap did make my scalp warm and humid.
Cate- what other things are you doing? what's your laser usage regimen?
ETA: I'm an asian (indian) woman with black hair, light brown/olive skin. The user manual of my LLLT device (Regrow by Hairmax) says this technology hasn't been studied in dark brown- dark skin. Wonder if there's any correlation. Doctor didn't say anything about my skin color before prescribing (more like pushing it..lol) this device.
A quick search on FDA MAUDE database that houses all medical device issues and adverse effects for LLLT devices (with FDA defined product code 'OAP') for the past 19 years yields only 8 results, which means only 8 people have volunteered to report a problem. And keep in mind, these are all VOLUNTARY reports by the user/patient. I work in Medical devices and I know this is BS. These are regulated Class II devices which means there are mandatory reporting guidelines to be followed by the manufacturer and the doctor prescribing. In 19 years, no manufacturer/ doctor has raised this issue? Yes, its not life threatening, its still a serious problem?! The box clearly states "No clinically adverse side effects". Hah! how incredibly deceitful. There are reports saying people had migraines because of lasercap. Does FDA truly not see all this?
The whole thing about Capillus and iGrow devices being sold on Amazon (and not being sold by a prescribing physician) messes this system up. You can't hold the company accountable at all. FDA truly sucks at monitoring anything other than cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.