How to Use Red Light Therapy for Hair Loss

"Put your lights on!" Everlast rumbled as Santana strummed the soul out of that guitar. The iconic duo was right. Lights can do many wonderful things for your mind and body - and should be turned on to do so.

The light reflected off objects is why we can see the world, while colors are just different wavelengths of light hitting our retinas. But our focus today will not be on these dark abysses inhabiting the back of your irises, but we'll go slightly higher to the scalp and narrow down an entire spectrum of light to a single color - red. If you were to turn on red lights in your room, it might be construed as a naughty invite. But, a planned and concentrated illumination of the scalp with red LED or laser therapy is therapeutic, and red light therapy for hair loss is gaining ever more traction, alone or boosting the efficacy of other hair-growing products.

What is LED Light Therapy?

LED stands for Light-Emitting Diode. LED light therapy is a treatment that uses targeted exposure to specific wavelengths of light. Each spectrum color penetrates the skin and tissues at different depths, reaching down to the cellular level to boost functionality, heal, and restore.

Multiple research papers suggest that LED light therapy can help reduce and improve skin conditions, and thanks to advancements in innovation and technology, these treatments are now available for at-home use. Originating from the skincare industry and praised for its benefits in reducing inflammation, boosting collagen production, and promoting anti-aging, LED hair growth therapy has now made it big. It is used alone or as an addition to traditional therapies to stimulate hair follicles and encourage hair growth.
 

Unlike many other treatments that rely on chemicals or invasive procedures, LED light therapy for hair loss offers a non-invasive, natural alternative that harnesses the power of light for extreme efficacy with zero side effects.

How Does Red Light Therapy Hair Growth Work?

Red light hair growth therapy involves the clinical or at-home use of a device equipped with LEDs that emit red (and sometimes near-infrared) light. The wavelengths penetrate the scalp, reaching each individual hair follicle to stimulate cellular activity and promote new hair growth. The best red light therapy for hair growth feature is that it boosts the efficacy of your own natural processes rather than introducing something foreign to the body.

Safe, concentrated red LED wavelengths mean creating a better environment for your scalps without chemicals, harmful UV rays, or excess heat to cause discomfort. Red light for hair growth stimulates the mitochondria, your body's power factories. This means the cells of your follicles can make more energy to power themselves, meaning improved function and healing capability and lower inflammation while also affecting the dermal papilla cells that regulate hair growth.

A New Era of Red Light Hair Growth Devices at Home

For decades we’ve been obsessed with face and body care, and spared no time and resources to keep our skin looking toned and youthful, but this season beauty comes with an expanded definition of selfcare, and carries a new objective: to give attention to the neglected parts of the self, such as the scalp. We like neat new names for new directions in our reality, and this one is called skinification. Skinification is a new concept that aims to adapt skincare principles (routines, treatments, and cosmetics) to scalp and hair care, ensuring they receive the same level of care as your skin, because why should selfcare stop at the hairline?  Red light therapy for hair growth is a high-tech take on scalp skinification. Just because the scalp is not constantly exposed to view does not mean its health is less important. Each healthy hair follicle will grow 20 new hairs in a lifetime, so scalp care now is an investment into the future.

You can call it vanity if you wish, but the bottom line is hair matters and changes the way we feel about ourselves or others. It is an excellent proxy for quick, few-second, off-hand character assessments (often wrong, but part of our non-verbal communication nonetheless). It marked eras of human history; fashions rose in high society, trickled down to the poor, and were discarded once, no longer serving as a social signal of affluence. Hair was woven (we do so love our much too obvious lame puns) into myth and legends and built careers. Would Curt Cobain have made it with a buzz cut? Would Sinéad O'Connor’s songs hit the same if she wore pigtails? Why does healthy hair matter so much? It´s more than aesthetics. Our hair plays a key role in our aesthetic presentation, and healthy hair is a reflection of our overall health and youth. Premature hair loss has a huge emotional impact.

 

Going back to skinification, treatments such as red light therapy for hair loss are entering our hair care routine due to their effect on hair follicles, promoting hair growth and effective reversals of the miniaturization process of androgenetic alopecia. What was once the realm of science fiction is now a tangible, at-home reality through the seamless blend of innovation, technology, and creativity.

How to Make a Routine with Red Light for Hair Growth?

First, choose the right device that has been clinically proven, approved by medical regulators (FDA/CE), and made of sturdy, hygienic, and safe materials. Check the brand´s reputation and reliability in the market and learn from other people’s mistakes.

Forget the bulky apparatuses that will take up too much space and look for an intelligently designed device, developed for easy at-home use and suited to travel, as red light hair growth efficacy will hinge on consistency. 

Make sure not to go for the latest fad, but search for a technology that will address your specific hair and scalp concerns. If you want intense treatments, consider medication like minoxidil, hair oils, or hair and scalp serums in combination with LED hair growth methods.

FAQ™ Swiss, the brand under the FOREO umbrella focused on exclusive and hyper-effective anti-aging technologies, finally expanded into premium hair care with the launch of FAQ™ 301 LED Hair Strengthening Scalp Massager. Clinically proven to significantly reduce hair loss and increase hair density and thickness in just 1 month, the red light therapy hair growth device features 637 ultra-hygienic silicone bristles that enhance LED light penetration while preventing bacterial accumulation, while a pleasant scalp massage feature dislodges buildup and boosts scalp circulation, for a multi-layered effect.

How to use FAQ™ 301 LED Hair Growth Device

Step 1.  To ensure your red light therapy for hair loss works effectively, you need to reach all areas of the scalp. First, define the treatment areas that will be easier to manage. We suggest dividing your scalp into 4 areas to be treated as separate quadrants. Start with clean and dry hair.

Step 2. This is an optional but highly encouraged step. Boost your red light hair growth results by applying a few drops of a scalp serum. Choose the one with nutritive and repairing ingredients such as FAQ™ scalp recovery & thick hair probiotic serum. The 97% natural origin ingredients formula also boasts microbiome-balancing Probiotics to combat flakiness or an oily scalp, hair-strengthening red clover extract for added volume, and follicle-repairing centella asiatica to revitalize lifeless locks.

Step 3. Turn on your FAQ™ 301 LED hair growth device, press the device firmly onto the scalp, and slowly massage with circular motions across each area, making sure to cover the entire surface and not miss spots. In addition to the serum and LED therapy, you’ll also get the benefits of the brand´s patented T-Sonic™ Massage that stimulates blood flow so oxygen and essential nutrients can reach the hair follicle. You’ll need about 1 minute per treatment area, meaning about 4 minutes to complete treatment.

Life is complicated, and we need to simplify what we can without sacrificing results. With FAQ™ 301 you don´t have to think about when you have to change the scalp. The timer will pulse when it´s time to switch sections. Registering your device in the FAQ™ Swiss app gives you access to guided treatments, so you just follow the teacher guiding you, and you don´t have to worry about anything!

Slow and steady wins the race. Remember, you are bathing your scalp with LED light, so you need to move the device slowly but consistently to reach all cells and achieve your objective.

GET YOUR FAQ™ 301 NOW

The beauty world never stops. We are in a constant whirlwind of trends, innovations, and solutions that we previously thought we would only see in the clinic of Star Trek’s Doc. You are no longer an observer but the main character in this beauty evolution – all from the comfort of your home. So whip your hair back and forth if you feel like it, take care of yourself, stay curious, and enjoy living in your skin. We wish you a very good hair day.