As a dermatologist, we see myriad ways that light and electromagnetic radiation interact and affect the skin on a daily basis.
Light can harm the skin. UV radiation can cause skin cancer, visible light can cause skin pigmentation, light can trigger inflammatory diseases such as lupus, and many medications can sensitize the skin to light.
But light can have many beneficial aspects for the skin as well. We use laser light to remove unwanted pigment, blood vessels, and hair on the body. Red light can have anti-inflammatory effects on the skin and improve conditions such as acne and rosacea. UVB light is used to treat eczema, psoriasis, and vitiligo. So it should come as no surprise that various wavelengths of light could have an effect on hair growth.
I must admit, when reports began appearing about ten years ago on lasers and light sources being used to treat hair loss, I was extremely skeptical. Treatment for hair loss has long been a field that is ripe for abuse and filled with snake oil and charlatans promising unrealistic results from unproven, and sometimes harmful treatments. It was an easy place to prey on frustrated and desperate patients who were not being adequately treated by the status quo of treatments offered by modern medicine.
The current FDA-approved hair loss treatments, topical minoxidil and oral finasteride, are definitely effective, but a significant proportion of hair loss patients are still not meeting their treatment goals on therapy.
A New Treatment Option: Revian Red Hair Growth System
Revian Red Hair Growth System represents a new treatment in our toolkit to fight hair loss, and we think it will help fill in those treatment gaps. It is an FDA-cleared, light-based device that delivers red wavelength light through a cap that is worn for 10 minutes a day.
There is a growing body of science and several small, blinded and placebo-controlled studies showing the effectiveness of low-level light therapy promoting hair growth. There is also basic science that shows light treatments can positively affect many of the factors that we believe are fundamental in promoting healthy hair growth, including promoting blood flow through the nitric oxide pathway, reducing inflammation, and inhibiting hormonal influences, particularly the negative impact of Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
How Does the Revian Red Hair Growth System Work?
The Revian system uses a battery-powered cap, worn for ten minutes each day to deliver orange and red wavelengths of light through an array of LEDs. The system uses a smartphone app to track your treatment and progress over time.
After years of monitoring the science and clinical reports, we have decided to promote Rivian to our hair loss patients for several reasons. We are now comfortable that the body of scientific evidence supports the likelihood that low-level light treatments are effective as a hair loss treatment, both as a primary treatment for patients that cannot or do not wish to take the current FDA indicated treatments, or as additional therapy for patients already on other therapies that wish to enhance their results.
We are also reassured that the treatment is nearly risk-free, given the safety of the therapy and the financial reassurance of a 6-month, 100% money back guarantee so long as you were compliant with treatment 80% of the time. We also love the convenience of the treatment; the battery operated device allows flexibility on finding the most convenient time for that ten minutes of treatment time per day. You can wear the device while watching TV, catching up on emails at work, during your commute, or while decompressing at bedtime.
Patients of Northeast Dermatology who are interested in trying Revian can go to www.revian.com and enter code: nedermhair to receive $550 off of the cost of the device.
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