Alternative Hair Loss Treatments

People with alopecia experience excessive hair shedding that can lead to bald patches or a completely bald head. Only minoxidil and finasteride are proven alopecia treatments, but they have limited success rates. For people who do not fit the treatment parameters or who haven't experienced success with these drugs, alternative hair loss treatments may offer a solution. These treatments, however, have little to no scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness and should be discussed with your physician before proceeding.

Electromagnetic Pulse Therapy

Electromagnetic pulse therapy, or EMPT, is a treatment therapy that uses an electrical device to create magnetic fields which are then directed at specific locations on the body. The device creating the magnetic fields is designed to turn the magnetic fields on and off in specific short, quick time intervals, thus pulsing the field. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicates this therapy has been used in conventional medicine to help speed healing in bone fractures that are not healing well on their own. A study by the University of Medicine in Montpellier, France, published in the July 2003 issue of Advances in Therapy, suggests that EMPT may help to decrease hair loss and increase hair regrowth. It should be noted that this study reviewed EMPT in conjunction with the use of essential oils and consisted of regular treatment over a 26 week timeframe. This therapy may work by regenerating cellular division in the hair follicle but this process has not yet been studied enough to be understood.

Acupuncture

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or NCCAM, acupuncture is an aspect of traditional Chinese medicine that aims to maintain and restore health by stimulating certain points on the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, the kidneys are believed to affect the growth and vitality of hair. After evaluation, an acupuncturist will determine the underlying imbalance in your system, as defined by the Eastern medical tradition, and create a treatment specific to correcting that imbalance. In addition to prescribing a series of acupuncture sessions, the acupuncturist may also prescribe certain Chinese herbs to help to correct the imbalance. Finally, some acupuncturists also use a special needle on the areas of your scalp where the hair is thinning to stimulate circulation. Although acupuncture has been performed in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years, scientists are only recently beginning to perform clinical trials to study the effectiveness of the procedure. There is little to no scientific evidence available to confirm its effectiveness with alleviating or reversing hair loss.

Low Level Laser Therapy

Low level laser therapy, or LLLT, is performed with laser devices known as biostimulation lasers. These devices are believed to help encourage hair regrowth by stimulating the manufacture of energy at a cellular level. This is believed to cause hair follicle cells that have degenerated to repair themselves. The devices are also thought to stimulate additional circulation to the area, providing even more nourishment for repair and growth. There are portable biostimulation lasers available for home use as well as larger units meant for usage in a doctor's office; both versions of the device have received 510(k) clearance from the Federal Drug Administration. This clearance, however, does not verify the effectiveness of the device for indicated use on human. Instead, it simply implies that scientific evidence exists to suggest the device will work similarly to a device that was approved prior to 1976.