iRestore Essential - Laser Red Light Therapy for Hair Growth - FDA Cleared Hair Loss, Hair Thinning & Alopecia Treatment for Men & Women - Laser Cap for Hair Regrowth Stimulate Denser Fuller Hair

So it's hard to say which of the many steps (this red light therapy, special shampoo & cream rinse for hair loss, minoxidil oil spray, hair vitamins, scalp brush) that I am using to regrow back lost hair and slow down the loss of hair actually works. I can't really say the thinning spots have filled in (I'm six months into my full home treatment), though none of my parts look as wide as before starting. But the really obvious change is that I'm not even loosing a tenth of the hair that I used to shed every time I washed, combed, or blow dried my hair). That is a huge step forward. Perhaps I need more patience. I use the red light cap every other night while watching TV and the time speeds by (25 minutes per use/every other day). It's no bother whatsoever. I thought that the red light on my head would be seeable and annoying, but that's not happened. It's seems to me that this red light cap has moved the progress along, so I am going to continue to follow the instructions for its use.

I have tried many remedies to improve my thinning hair over the years. Here is my story that describes what worked and what didn't work for me.Bottom line about the laser cap: it works! - in combination with other treatments, as I will report.I am a female, mid 70s, never had thick hair, but it started thinning severely after menopause. Several years ago, when my hair loss became really noticeable I decided to go for hair transplant surgery. I knew it would take 12 to 18 months for the hair to grow back in, but I got impatient within a couple months and started using minoxidil (5% foam) once a day in the area on top of my head where thinning was worst. After about a year the results were looking pretty good. For several more years I continued using minoxidil, but eventually it was clear I was once again losing hair. Obviously the hair transplant worked initially but did not give permanent improvement, and the minoxidil was not sufficient to prevent hair loss.I lost faith in minoxidil at this point, and switched to the popularly advertised supplement Viviscal. I used Viviscal faithfully for a full year (stopping minoxidil). I saw that my hair loss got much worse over this time. I was seeing severe bald spots on top of my head and was pretty desperate. My conclusion about Viviscal is that it had absolutely no beneficial result in my experience.Based on my experience so far, I concluded that the surgery worked, but the results were not permanent. My underlying condition caused me to still lose hair. I believe minoxidil probably slowed the rate of hair loss somewhat. I reached that conclusion since after I stopped minoxidil completely and switched to Vivisical, the rate of hair loss became much worse.After that year using Viviscal I was pretty desperate and decided to try the laser cap. This was 6 months ago. I stopped Viviscal, went back to using minoxidil same way as before (5% foam once a day), and started using the laser cap as instructed, 25 minutes every other day. I also started taking a biotin supplement (5 mg per day) at the same time.The way I gauge hair loss is by "combing" my wet hair with my fingers every morning and checking how much hair comes out on my fingers. During the Viviscal days, my daily hair loss was significant. Within a few weeks of starting the laser cap/ minoxidil/ biotin hair loss dropped a lot, and within a few months it dropped to virtually zero.I will say that I found the minoxidil led to pretty significant dandruff and scalp itching within about a month's time. I switched to a popular dandruff shampoo and increased my hair-washing frequency to 4-5 times a week. The dandruff & itching came under control pretty quickly and has not been a problem since then.After about 3 months of using the laser cap I started to feel a little fuzziness under my fingertips when I rubbed the top of my head and thought it might be a sign of new hair growth. I started to see gray hairs emerging and had to color my hair a little more quickly than I normally would. But that was a good thing!After 6 months, I am definitely seeing good hair growth on top of my head. Other people, including my doctor, have also commented that my hair is looking better. However – and this is interesting – I realized my hair is quite thin in the upper back of my head, where I was not using minoxidil (even though the laser cap does hit that region). I also notice some other thin hair areas in spots where I was not applying minoxidil. This leads me to believe it is the combination of the laser cap and minoxidil that gives the good result. I am now using minoxidil over a larger area.I hope to see improvements in these other thinning areas over the next several months and will update this review.I feel like there is a farming analogy here – when you are farming you have to first prepare the soil by tilling or aerating or something like that. You also need fertilizer. I see the laser cap as "preparing the soil" and the minoxidil as the "fertilizer". Not sure about the biotin contribution but I continue to use it.I plan to keep using the laser cap indefinitely but probably after I feel I have reached my personal best for hair growth I will cut back on minoxidil. If hair loss starts to become apparent I think I will notice it right away and can increase the minoxidil.One complaint I have about the laser cap is that it does not stay in place during use unless I keep my face pointed slightly downward (which is awkward). If I face forward, the cap tends to slip to the back and fall off unless I hold it in place. There should be a better way of keeping the cap from slipping backward when the user is facing forward.I also have a concern about the power cord. No matter how careful I am with it, the cord forms "kinks" which I have to carefully untwist every time. So far this has not caused a problem but I think that eventually this could be a failure mechanism. I would suggest either a different type of wire that does not kink so easily, or else change the design so the wire can be easily replaced if it becomes necessary.I am very pleased with my hair growth using the laser cap.

I've been slowly losing my hair for a number of years. As a woman, this has been very hard for me. I've been to the dermatologist, who did the blood tests and determined my hair loss is genetic. When I showed her a picture of my mother who has great hair at 20 years older than me, she suggested I was adopted but hadn't been told. My mother refutes that statement. The dermatologist recommended minoxidil every night for the rest of my life. As a person with many allergies including contact dermatitis/eczema, this didn't seem like a good option for me. So I left it alone and just hoped it would get better. It did not. It got worse.Now at 54, I'm basically doing an obvious comb over in the front. I've changed my part from the left side to the right side, to the middle but it's all thin in the front... Regardless of how I part, I've got way too much scalp showing. This has been emotionally very devastating for me. So I decided I had to act or take up wearing a hat/scarf every time I leave home or have company for the rest of my life...That's how I discovered iRestore. The FDA approval makes me feel better about the device. First, realize that it is intended to use regularly for the rest of your life. And that's what you are signing up for with it as it states stopping using it, "may result in the progression of hair loss." There are other drawbacks. The first is the initial cost without knowing what/if any results it will produce. The company states that it should last for 5 years minimum with regular usage. However, the warranty is only for 1 year. As someone with so many allergies, the possibility of being allergic to the light wavelength is much higher for me than with someone with no allergies. Then there is the initial shedding period of 3 months or more. I'm terrified I'm going to end up more balding in the front than I already am and then have no regrowth.... Only time will tell.I've been using it every other day as directed for about 2 weeks now. So far, I can't tell if there is any shedding or not. I don't seem to be allergic to the light wavelength. However, it does seem to dry out my already dry scalp and hair. I've had itching which I have been addressing with hyaluronic acid serum after each use which seems to help. It is comfortable to wear and easy to use. As someone who wears glasses, I am a bit concerned about the red light reflecting off them into my eyes.The device came with an offer of a free supplement consisting of saw pimento and dht blocker. As a post-menopausal woman, simple research revealed that saw pimento is believed to lower estrogen levels which would be very negative for me. As such, the offer seems to be for men only. It would be great if the company acknowledged that some of their clients are women and offered an alternative for us. Additionally, when registering the warranty, the company offers 1 free bottle of their hair loss minimizing shampoo. As someone who is allergic to fragrance, this is another offer that excludes me. I am going to get it anyway for my brother who is also losing his hair.(Really close to tears) I took before photos to see what shedding/regrowth results I experience. I will update this review when shedding/hair regrowth results are known. If this doesn't help/work, I will be a loveless hermit for the rest of my life so fingers crossed!!!Best to you,