Alan J. Bauman, M.D., a board-certified hair restoration surgeon at Bauman Medical Center in Boca Raton, Florida, talks about a new cap that is helping with hair growth.
Interview conducted by Ivanhoe Broadcast News in September 2016.
Let’s get the skepticism out of the way first. Joan said I heard about all these hair regrowth treatments, I was a little skeptical; you probably get that all the time. You get a lot of patients to say, oh I tried this and this was a scam and this did not work, what’s your take on that, professionally?
Dr. Bauman: We see patients every week come in and said they tried lotion and potions; they tried this and that to try to re-grow their hair and have not had success. Well the good news is that medical treatments today work and we measure, and we approve it, and we prescribe it. The trick is to get in early while the hair loss is still undetectable to the naked eye and get the treatments going, especially if you’re at risk.
What do you say about the people who kind of do it on the side, this is what you do all day, every day? There are some kinds of people who do it on the side and it doesn’t really work so well for patients.
Dr. Bauman: There are a lot of physicians out there in the community and even around the country, who kind of dabbled in hair loss and hair loss treatments but they don’t specialize. This is my life’s work for the last 20 years. I’ve been treating patients that have been struggling with the hair loss process and what’s different about us is that we have the ability to measure and monitor what’s going on, so we’ll treat and track overtime and we can prescribe some of the newer latest and greatest technologies to help people grow a new head of hair.
What would you tell somebody if they are trying some kind of hair regrowth? I mean like it’s a very saturated market, a lot of it is you know not like your business it does not compare to your business, what would you say to kind of sway somebody away from that kind of practice?
Dr. Bauman: I would say if you’re out there and you’re struggling with hair loss and you know you have hair loss risk, you got to find a specialist. Find someone that’s board certified in hair restoration, find someone recommended by the American Hair Loss Association. Find someone who does this every single day of the week because if you look to someone who really just treats a hair loss patient once in a blue moon or performs a hair transplant once a month or twice a month you’re going to have a much different result and a much different experience than some place like us down at medical we transplant and treat hair loss patients all day, every day; five days a week.
Now tell me about the focus of the story is going to be on the LaserCap? Tell me about the science behind that? Joan just said, no I’ll just put it on and read my book. What’s happening when she puts it on and she reads her book?
Dr. Bauman: Today we know that laser light therapy affects cellular metabolism and 15 years ago we didn’t know that, we didn’t know exactly how the laser was affecting the hair follicle. Today, we know it creates energy production, it increases blood flow and you’re going to get a thicker, stronger, healthier hair, over time. Devices like the LaserCap which are FDA approved for hair regrowth work really, really well. But you have got to use it. You can’t leave them in the box, you can’t leave them on the shelf, you have to use the laser. For example, 30 minutes every other day and you have to measure as time goes on. The critical step is really to make sure you are getting a good result and that’s 90-day intervals watching and measuring the hair growth process; so at the end of six or twelve months you could see the results.
We saw you doing that with Joan kind of going over what’s been happening?
Dr. Bauman: Correct.
Talk about price points here, so I know when it comes to this type of treatment it’s considered cosmetic and it’s not covered by insurance, correct?
Dr. Bauman: High-loss treatments and services are not particularly covered by insurance so you have to pay out of pocket for that. Very much like Botox and fillers and such hair restoration is not covered. The best investment for hair regrowth in terms of treatment is a laser device, because once you own a good device, you’re going to have that device forever and hopefully you will never have to replace it, unless it gets stolen or something. The latest and greatest technology also in the realm of hair restoration is PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) and that’s a treatment we used for Joan as well to stimulate better hair regrowth. But again, there are a lot of hair variations out there in the industry. Some local physicians have bought some equipment and spinning blood in a test tube doesn’t necessary mean you are going to get a quality PRP. We measure the PRP, the platelet count. We do a sophisticated application technique to make sure the patients are getting the best treatment.
How important is it to find a certified doctor when someone is searching for somebody to help them?
Dr. Bauman: Well, one of the most important things is to make sure that your physician is a member of sophisticated and credential organizations, like the American Board of Hair Restorations Surgery or they are a fellow of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery and that they are accepted by the International Alliance of Hair Restoration surgeons. That’s critical because, otherwise, that person is a part-time, he’s a rookie, he’s a newbie and that’s not the person you want treating your hair loss.
How long does it take to see results with the LaserCap? Is it like four to six weeks?
Dr. Bauman: Normally, we would see hair improvements in hair regrowth at 90 days. That’s a great time to come in and get that cross sectional bundle measurements that we do to track how things are going, because at that point the results are not yet visible to the naked eye. Once we get to six months, then things start to come visible, provided you continuing to get the results from the treatment and your measurements are increasing or staying the same. You will see some improvements visually with the naked eye or on the photography at around six months. The full results will be visible in twelve months. You need to maintain the treatment in order to maintain the results. Hair loss is a chronic progressive condition that starts before you see it, before you know it so getting advice and measurements, and evaluation at the earliest possible time is the critical step for regrowing and maintaining a healthy head of hair.
END OF INTERVIEW
This information is intended for additional research purposes only. It is not to be used as a prescription or advice from Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc. or any medical professional interviewed. Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc. assumes no responsibility for the depth or accuracy of physician statements. Procedures or medicines apply to different people and medical factors; always consult your physician on medical matters.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Alan J. Bauman, MD
561-394-0024
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