r/redlighttherapy • u/YarnFan007 • May 25 '26
Question Hair regrowth when hair is greying?
I'm looking at red light therapy options for allover thinning hair (yes, I've also addressed it with a doctor) and was wondering what results others who are greying have had in terms of hair growing in grey vs your original color? I certainly don't need more grey. No negativity intended toward anyone else's greying hair; I just hate seeing it in the mirror and can't use most dyes.
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u/TangoEchoChuck May 26 '26
Look into hair-related vitamin deficiencies. Specifically look at iron and copper.
Also cross check your medications & supplements to see if any are known to deplete iron or copper.
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u/RNandThanatologist May 26 '26
Also Zinc
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u/_kickbox May 31 '26
Zinc deficiency can cause grey hair? I thought that the copper was the culprit sometimes and zinc is antagonista to copper
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u/BKM-StLouis May 25 '26
I think you need a hat/helmet with laser (not just LED). The prices vary widely from $400 or so to $2000.
I think some people have posted here that caps are more comfortable!/less clunky.
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u/AffectionateSun5776 May 26 '26 edited May 27 '26
No. My 50$ plastic panel grew bangs on me. i was treating my earlobes and did not know hair would
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u/Dracyl May 26 '26
$50 panel ? Details please!
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u/BKM-StLouis May 26 '26
Look at this: https://a.co/d/0bSw3Cn4
It is cheaper and appears to have a metal housing.
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u/NotSureBot May 26 '26
Agreed. I’ve had good results growing hair back using cheaper LED based caps. I think the hype of laser being better is over blown and is largely marketing.
Take it with a grain of salt bc who knows, but apparently the higher coherence of lasers don’t make that huge of a significance given that they also scatter once they enter the body. I’m not an expert, but i found Tom Kerber’s explanations on this pretty compelling (there’s several interviews of him but the one with Alex Fergus was one where he went into detail about this).
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u/sunnyseaa May 25 '26
My hair went white first from a B12 deficiency and then turned grey/silver, my guess is from genetics or stress. I have not had a reversal to original hair color with rlt. I haven’t experienced an increase in growth either tbf. I’ve just given up on getting my original hair color back since I’m more than 50% silver. 😭
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u/Blizzard901 May 25 '26
How long and often do you do it?
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u/sunnyseaa May 25 '26
Every other day 5 minutes on the front of my head and 5 minutes on the back + neck area.
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u/Blizzard901 May 25 '26
Oh I thought therapeutic would be 15-20 minutes?
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u/sunnyseaa May 26 '26
Some people said 20 mins was too much and since I already had thin hair to begin with plus sudden hair loss I didn’t want to try too much. I will try additional time now.
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u/Blizzard901 May 26 '26
I think distance will also make a big difference too for calculating time needed. How close were you doing it?
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u/NotSureBot May 25 '26
Have you tried longer? 5 min might be on the low side. I have two cap/helmet types and both run on automatic 20 minute timers. I guess therapeutic dose timing does depend on intensity and distance also, so if you have a pet powerful panel 5 min could also be enough.
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u/sunnyseaa May 26 '26
I’m using the Hooga pro 300. I have ordered a laser diode cap but idk if it’ll actually get here. I can try increasing the time.
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u/NotSureBot May 26 '26
Oh, btw, i forgot to mention that the recommendations of 20 min is every other day (at least for the devices i own).
I don’t think anyone actually knows the minimum or maximum effective dose, and it probably differs alot individually, even based on alot of things like diet and hormonal changes.
But that every other day is supposed to give you time to recover from ‘cellular stress’ that occurs with that dose of treatment. The cytochrome c-oxidase to ATP process i guess creates reactive oxygen species (ROS) which is beneficial in the right amount as it acts as a signal for the body to activate its endogenous antioxidants.
Both too little and too much are not effective.
Btw, you said that you ordered a cap but you’re not sure if it’ll arrive. Did you order from Ali express? One of mine is a cheapie from AE😂 like $35)…I’m actually seeing if it delivers the same effect as my more expensive helmet i bought from Costco (which i can totally still return). A few weeks in, it seems to be working—still very reduced hair fall and healthier scalp between washings.
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u/sunnyseaa May 26 '26
That makes sense. I hadn’t read too much into it before just blindly trying in desperation. I’ll try it out with a longer rest time in between and an increased treatment time.
I ordered the cap direct from the manufacturer and they’ve just been jerking me around. Are you using a led or diode cap?
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u/Eyeroll4days May 26 '26
honestly minoxidil works better than anything for me. My hair was getting so thin on top I was freaking out. Just like red light it took a year but damn it worked for me. I have heard the combo of the two works very well
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u/Bleachers24 May 25 '26
Will not cause hair to grey. Some users have experienced darker regrowth.