2023-10-25
Hamid, a former NASA scientist, offers a guidebook focused on the use of laser phototherapy to regrow human hair.
The author, who developed laser technology for the space shuttle program, addresses nearly every aspect of his journey, from the discovery that his own hair was thinning to his exploration of the numerous options available to remedy the condition. He later used his biomedical-engineering background in photonics and laser design to create a proprietary solution using laser phototherapy. His book starts by addressing the beneficial use of light for healing purposes, showing an image of a cross-section of a human hair. Chapters on understanding, measuring, and counteracting hair loss also survey common treatments as well as newer options. A chapter on the safety and efficacy of specialized shampoos and conditioners is particularly eye-opening. The author also addresses what he characterizes as misconceptions about the safety of laser therapy on hair follicles and the scalp. The comprehensiveness of Hamid’s work is evident throughout in sections comparing the cost and effectiveness of the top three medicated antifungals; the author then explores FDA-cleared medications, such as minoxidil and finasteride, and compares them with laser phototherapy. Hamid also delves into “off-label treatments,” including plasma therapy, mesotherapy, dermarollers, and hair-cloning therapies. In addition, Hamid looks at vitamin supplements and unconventional treatments in an opinionated chapter that debunks home-remedy concoctions, oils, plant extracts, headstands, and inversion tables, as well as ultraviolet-light and bioelectrical equipment. After 10 informative chapters on the effectiveness of various treatments, Hamid presents his own system-based approach to countering hair loss, involving a multistep regimen of focused hair care, vitaminsupplements, and laser phototherapy.
The guide’s subject matter will be relevant to many readers, who will likely find his book to be a useful resource as they start to explore the wide array of hair-loss treatments. Its overall tone and language strike a fine balance between the conversational and the scientific, and his approach directly addresses the topic from various angles. Hamid also offers an important prefatory disclaimer that the book is meant as an educative resource and shouldn’t serve as a replacement for professional medical advice. The book offers the author’s candid revelations about his own hair-loss issues, which eventually led to the development of his treatment device, the Theradome helmet, which was cleared for use by men and women in 2018 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He takes readers’ concerns about possible side effects seriously, and he asserts that one of the more appealing elements of laser phototherapy is its safety, as he discusses in a closing evidence-based chapter on the functionality, proper dosing, and benefits of the therapy. The book’s aftermatter contains a Q&A section that directly addresses queries on the technology’s safety, its proper applications and restrictions, and its possible multipurpose use. Hamid concludes the book with a QR code that links to a “TheraQuiz,” developed by an unnamed trichologist to gauge the health of one’s hair and scalp.
A comprehensive book for readers weighing options for hair-growth treatment.